Dozens of young baseball players and their families are arriving in the area for multiple Dixie Youth state tournaments over the next two weekends at Harkrader Sports Complex.

The O Zone State Tournament will begin Friday and could run as long next Thursday if necessary. The O Zone grouping involves 11- to 12-year-olds playing for a chance to be in the Dixie World Series in Pascagoula, Miss., July 26 to 31.

Eight teams will compete including host Christiansburg and district winners Bedford Metro, North Roanoke, Rustburg, Montgomery County, Radford, Salem American and Vinton National.

Opening c eremonies are at 6:15 p.m. Friday. That will be preceded by a base-running competition, home-run derby and picnic for players, coaches, volunteers and Dixie officials. There will be double-headers Saturday on two of Harkrader’s three fields, beginning at 5:30.

Christiansburg will also host both the Dixie Junior Boys and Dixie Boys State Tournaments from July 19 to 23. Junior Boys is the 13-year-old age group and Dixie Boys is 13 to 14 age group. The winners of those tournaments will advance, respectively, to the Dixie Junior Boys World Series in Bluffton, S.C., and Dixie Boys World Series in Covington, Ga., from Aug. 2 to 7.

Hosting state tournaments is a lengthy process that begins with a bid to host and ends with making sure the playing complex runs smoothly until the final out. Chuck Muncy, Christiansburg Parks and Recreation’s supervisor of outdoor sports f acilities and parks, is responsible for the beginning, end and everything in between.

“I guess I could be called the tournament director, but that really just goes along with my duties as director of Harkrader Complex,” Muncy said. “It’s my job to go out and bring these types of events into our community.”

Muncy’s duties began at the Dixie State meetings earlier this year.

“The state bids are actually awarded less than a year before the actual tournaments,” Muncy said. “For the Dixie O Zone, we received the bid in January. The Dixie Junior Boys and Boys bids were awarded in March. Once awarded the tournaments, you try to use each month leading up to prepare.” The Harkrader Complex is only 2 years old, and while there has been some minor maintenance work around the facility, Muncy and company have avoided any major additions.

“We’ve got a great staff here that pitches in with tournaments like these,” Muncy said. “We just make sure that the complex is clean and ready when the teams arrive. Forest Redd and Brandon Upton can make a muddy field playable in a hurry.”

Redd and Upton are Muncy’s groundskeepers responsible for maintaining the Harkrader fields for each game.

“The weather is obviously the biggest challenge for us,” Redd said. “Rain always makes things difficult to keep the fields in good shape. The fields at Harkrader drain fairly well. There are some issues with clay in some spots that hurts drainage, but they do pretty well otherwise. But even when it’s hot and sunny, we have to make sure that the fields don’t get too dry and hard.” Redd has been working for Christiansburg Parks and Recreation for nearly eight years. Upton signed on as a full-time employee two years ago. The two have become proficient at keeping tournament games moving quickly.

“Brandon and I are also responsible for working on the fields between every game,” Redd said. “The two of us can drag the infield and have new lines down in around five minutes.”

Muncy’s staff also includes a hospitality committee of Pam Peyton and Tammy Caldwell. For the upcoming O Zone tournament, Peyton and Caldwell have been busy working with area businesses/p>

“There are multiple local businesses that are donating food and such to the tournament this week, and Pam and Tammy have played a major role in that,” Muncy said. “Hopefully, the local businesses who are helping out realize the economic impact these tournaments will make due to families staying in the area for a few days.”

Playing host to big events has become almost routine here.

“This weekend is probably the 20th tournament we’ve had at the Harkrader Complex since March, so I think we’ve helped the economy a good bit by bringing people into the area this year,” Muncy said. “I think all these tournaments will be just as successful.”