The tournament started out great. The field at Mitchell College—where we played three of our five games—was as nice as I’ve seen. It was a fantastic place for the kids to play. Day 2 was a different story. We started at a field that was pretty run down. After the first inning, we were told we had to move. The next field they sent us to had used needles in the parking lot. We waited there for about 20 minutes before being moved again, this time to a third field. That one wasn’t in great shape either, but at least there weren’t any needles, so I guess that’s a win. I posted about the needle situation on social media and also emailed the tournament director. The response I got from the owner was pretty disappointing. Instead of apologizing or acknowledging what happened, he left me an angry voicemail and sent texts saying he was “disgusted” that I posted without talking to him first. He also said I should be praising them for the Mitchell College field. No accountability, no apology—just frustration directed at me for speaking up. After our last game, another tournament rep came over and talked to us. Unlike the owner, he was professional and respectful. He apologized, explained that the town had messed up the scheduling (which is why we had to move mid-game), and said they had no idea about the condition of the second field. He made it clear they would never have used that location if they’d known about the needles. I believe him. It sounds like these organizers might have recently taken over the tournament and are still ironing things out. I get that things go wrong sometimes, and if every field had been like Mitchell College, this would be a completely different review. But if I were a parent or coach thinking about signing up for a future tournament, I’d definitely want to know what happened. A field with used needles in the parking lot is not something you expect or should have to deal with. I also think it’s fair to expect that if something like this happens, the people running the event handle it with professionalism and accountability. Unfortunately, that wasn’t my experience with the owner. All that said, the kids had a good time, Mitchell College was a great venue, and most of the staff were great to deal with. But the other fields were rough, and the owner really needs to rethink how he responds to legitimate concerns. Personally, I wouldn’t return to a War at the Shore tournament based on what happened and how it was handled. But if you’re considering it, I’d just suggest asking some questions and making sure they’ve addressed the issues we ran into.