The annual Craddock Family Pitch Tournament is only two weeks away. I’m know a lot of you are getting excited. I’m really looking forward to turning that giddiness and excitement that you have into sorrow after I win this thing in glorious fashion, but I get ahead of myself.

As you know, the tournament will be held and Joe and Debbie Craddock’s place near Oney, Ok. We are well into planning the details of the event but it would be nice to know who all is going to make it this year and what they will be bringing. If you could please confirm your attendance that would be wonderful. You can do that by commenting below or sending me and email at erik@craddock.org.

Also since Uncle Joe will be hungry and the rest of us might want a snack between games, we will need food and drinks. Typically in years past, everyone would bring something to snack on and share it with the other attendees. It would be nice if not everyone brought the same thing. If you will let me know what you are bringing I will post it here so that others will know to bring something different. I know what your thinking “but Erik, what should I bring?, what do you need?”, below is a list of things I’m told would be nice to have, but bring something different if you’d like.

• Decks of Cards – Erik Craddock
• Hot Dogs – Debbie Craddock
• Relish Tray – Debbie Craddock
• Chips and Home made salsa – Linda Craddock
• Guacamole dip – Larry Craddock
• Burrito Casserole – Samie Craddock
• Brisket or Chicken – Sue Ann Upchurch, Clifford Nath, Ansel Finley
• Desert - Sue Ann Upchurch, Clifford Nath, Ansel Finley
• Dip (Cheese, bean etc) – Stephanie Intagliata
• Veggy Tray – Stephanie Intagliata
• Soft Drinks
• Coffee
• 1 Case of Coke – Stephanie Intagliata
• 1 2 liter of Coke – Heidi Dent
• Finger Food
• Cookies – Stephanie Intagliata
• Plenty of ice – Lacey Craddock
• Watermelon – Ada Morris
• Flatware and napkins – Ada Morris
• Paper Plates (regular and saucer sizes) – Ada Morris
• Plastic or Styrofoam cups – Ada Morris
• Your special dish that you make better than anyone

Let me know what you’re bringing and I’ll keep the list above updated. Also again please let me know that your coming and if you intend on playing pitch or not. We need to know so that we can figure out how many tables we need to procure. Help me get the word out to everyone.

The Craddock family reunion is quickly approaching. This means that the annual pitch tournament is right around the corner as well. As we all remember, last year’s pitch tournament was not without it’s fair share of controversy. Short notice? playing in the middle of the week and in October? these were only a few of the controversies.

This year many of those issues have been corrected. The 2011 Craddock Family Pitch tournament will be played on Saturday, July 16th at the residence of Joe and Debbie Craddock near Oney, Ok.  Play will begin at 4pm central standard time. All attendees should bring a small snack as well as their wits. There will be plenty of banter, laughing and good times to go around.

To avoid any type of game play issues, etiquette concerns, or tournament rules confusion, I am publishing a list of Craddock Family Pitch Rules for everyone’s consideration. I encourage everyone to read the rules and speak up if any of them seem incorrect. I also have a glossary list of terms for those of you who are unfamiliar with Pitch.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and more importantly having everyone else see me walk away with the trophy. I will be posting more reunion and pitch related stories later this month and early next month. If you would like to be notified whenever new articles are posted on the Craddock Connection, I encourage you to sign up for our newsletter. You can do this by entering you email address in the text box at the top right and clicking the Join button.