What started out 69 years ago as a way to pass the time waiting for an open volleyball court, the Over-The-Line World Championship has since morphed into what it is today – an outrageously fun and competitive bat-and-ball sport best known for its tongue-in-cheek humor.
This year’s summertime staple, presented by the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club (OMBAC), will be held on back-to-back weekends, July 9-10 and July 16-17, at Fiesta Island on Mission Bay from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event draws teams from all over the nation and world.
Trademarked by OMBAC, the homegrown sport is a variation of softball that uses rope, a softball bat, and a rubber ball. Three-person teams pitch, bat and field. The game is played on a sand court resembling a triangle attached to an open-ended rectangle.
As usual, the following OTL rules will be strictly enforced this year. The no B’s rules will be in effect: No bottles, bicycles, bowsers (dogs), babies, and boas; as well as no bad attitudes or battles (fighting).
OTL chair Patrick Vaughan said the event was not held in 2020 due to COVID and was held last year, but in a diminished capacity.
“We had less than 600 teams last year, and in 2019, before the pandemic, we had 1,050 teams,” said Vaughn. “[Attendance] has been decreasing every year for the last four or five years.”
Vaughn said the pandemic also forced OMBAC to go to three days instead of four on two separate weekends last year. “And we only had five weeks to prepare for it,” he noted adding, “This year we’re back to having a traditional setting, though we’ve only got around 700 teams.”
But Vaughn pointed out the weather forecast is for a hot opening tournament weekend. “Warmer weather drives folks in the inland valleys out here to the beaches, and this is one of the events they come to,” he said. “So we’re expecting to get a lot of people out here as spectators.”
Vaughn speculated that the San Diego beach booze ban that began in 2008 may have had a dampening effect on crowd sizes at OTL. But not to worry, he said, alcohol, properly controlled, is permitted at the event.
“You can bring your own coolers in with aluminum cans,” he said. “But we also have one big public beer garden right in the middle of the courts.”
Vaughan said the tournament is OMBAC’s biggest fundraiser by far. “Every nickel we make goes to pay for all our events all year long.”
OTL is a public event. However, it is not appropriate or safe for children, due to crowds, bat and ball-related games, and language. Alcohol rules and restrictions will be exactly the same as in previous years’ tournaments.
Originated in San Diego, OTL dates back to 1954 on the sand of Mission Beach, where a group of beach volleyball players waiting for an open court grew antsy and began brainstorming ideas to pass the time. OTL was the result.
OMBAC provides complimentary bus transport, as traditional parking fills the island early, usually closing it to traffic by 10 a.m. The “OmShuttle” goes to and from the island during the first three days of OTL. OmShuttle runs from Fiesta Island to the Sun Runner lot on Sea World Drive, and from Fiesta Island to the Linda Vista trolley station.
There is parking off the island. You can walk or bike in. No bikes however are allowed on the field area and must be left outside the main OTL gate. Or guests can take rideshare (Uber/Lyft/Cab). Paid parking passes are available at OMBAC.org. The cost for a parking pass is $30 plus a processing fee.
Since its founding in 1954, OMBAC has supported many organizations and individuals through charitable donations of money and/or labor. Proceeds from OMBAC’s activities and events have supported a wide range of local, national, and international beneficiaries for over 60 years.
Benefactors have included UCSD Moores Cancer Center, Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego Blood Bank, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, San Diego Junior Lifeguards, Pacific Youth Soccer League, UCSD Women’s Waterpolo, Challenged Athletes Foundation, Pacific Beach Town Council, and Police and Emergency Services Appreciation Night, among others.
MS. EMERSON
If you or a friend are interested in being Ms. Emerson, email your name, age (21-plus), and contact information to [email protected] or stop by the Ms. Emerson lounge during the first weekend of the annual Over-The-Line Tournament to sign up.
The Ms. Emerson contest is a long-standing tradition with Old Mission Beach Athletic Club and the Over-The-Line Tournament. The winner will be elected by the voting members of the Ms. Emerson Committee on the second Saturday of OTL. Ms. Emerson will be a spokesperson and ambassador for the nonprofit OMBAC; and she and her court will volunteer during the year, focusing on fundraising events that benefit young athletes, physically challenged athletes, cancer research, and wounded U.S. veterans.
