| July 12th, 2017 | | | SofiaBlog |
Coming at you this weekend: one of the most distinctive tried-and-true expressions of San Diego beach culture!
The second round of Old Mission Beach Athletic Club’s famous Over-the-Line (OTL) World Championship is going down July 15 and 16 at Mission Bay Park on Fiesta Island. When you are a guest of ours at the Sofia—among the finest hotels in downtown SanDiego—you are just a few miles from the bayside bat-and-ball action!
The Game of Over-the-Line
OTL is a homegrown Mission Beach sport, and it’s been around for more than a half-century. This year’s World Championship, which as always brings registered teams from near and far, is the 64th annual: an impressive run, to say the least.
What are the basics of the game, you ask? Well, we’ll direct you to the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club’s handy-dandy breakdown of the rules. OTL has some parallels with baseball or softball, but it’s got some crucial differences—not least the sandy “ballfield.”
The surfside gameplay goes down in an open-ended rectangle with a triangle at its head, the tip of the triangle marking “Home.” The base of the triangle—i.e., where it adjoins the rectangle—is called “the Line.” Standing anywhere in front of the Line and outside the triangle, the pitcher tosses the ball to the batter, who’s on the same team and stands at Home. The object is to hit the ball beyond the Line—aka over the Line, right?—and anywhere within the rectangle to avoid having a fielder (standing on the far side of the Line) catch it.
For the lowdown on alternative ways to score points, home runs, fouls, and other OTL nitty-gritty, again, check out that Mission Beach Athletic Club primer.
Attending the OTL World Championship
Games will be going down at Mission Bay Park Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 AM till nightfall. The OTL tournament is always a festive affair (to put it mildly), and it’s completely free for spectators. There’ll be food and beverage vendors on hand. (The event is BYOB, but no bottles.)
If you want to check out this unique beach-style offshoot of softball firsthand, you’re within easy reach of the OTL World Championship as a guest at one of the truly world-class hotels in downtown SanDiego, the Sofia!
