Sports are on this weekend’s schedule

John C. Fremont Days will again have the athletic-type in mind this summer.

The Ridge Road Run will be held again along with a sand volleyball tournament, 3-on-3 basketball tournament and the Pathfinder Duathlon.

Because of a volunteer effort, another sporting activity has been added to John C. Fremont Days. A co-ed softball tournament will take place Friday-Sunday.

“Scott Schaller came to us and showed interest,” said Curt Rohrig, director of sports for John C. Fremont Days. “He had put on tournaments similar in the past and was curious if we would be interested in a holding a softball tournament.”

The tournament, sponsored by Bank of the West, will be held at Memorial Field. A schedule is not yet finalized as teams are still being accepted but a schedule will be available at the information booth at John C. Fremont Park on Friday. Entry fee is $75. To register a team, call Scott at (402) 727-5847.

“He was more than willing to organize the event so we were happy to have him,” said Rohrig of Schaller, a Fremont City councilman. “The tournament will also allow us to utilize part of the city that has gone unused in the past.”

Saturday the Ridge Road Run, sponsored by Fremont Area Medical Center, begins at 8 a.m. as does the co-ed sand volleyball tournament, sponsored by Runza Restaurants, at Camp Christian at 1302 Ridgeland Ave.

Ridge Road Run covers five miles beginning at Christensen Field. There is also a 2-mile run/walk event.

The sand volleyball tournament is made up of six-person teams.

“The sand volleyball tournament is limited to only the first 16 teams due to ease of bracketing, but it has never been a problem filling those 16 spots,” said Rohrig, citing the popularity of the tournament.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, Camp Christian will host the 3-on-3 basketball tournament sponsored by Getzschman Heating. In case of rain the tournament will be held at the Fremont Family YMCA.

The Pathfinder Duathlon, sponsored by Heartland Orthopedic and Sports Medicine, opens with a run and then a bike ride before finishing up with another run. Start time is 8 a.m. Sunday at the YMCA.

Rohrig said he receives countless compliments each year on how well Ridge Run and the duathlon are run and he quickly gives credit to the volunteer support.

“Everything is so popular because of all the volunteers and coordinators; we all truly want to put on quality events,” he added. “Both of the runs -- the Ridge Run and the duathlon -- drew a record number of participants last year. The first year about five years ago we were lucky to reach 16 entrants; last year we drew well over 130 for each event.”

Other sporting events of interest during the weekend are a 3-D archery event and trap shoot tournaments. Both begin on Saturday.

The 3-D archery event is hosted by the Robinhood Archery Club at Camp Calvin Crest off of Nebraska Highway 109, south of Fremont. There is a $13 cost for adults. Call (402) 727-1842 for more information. The tournament is a two-day event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Valley Trap Range, located south on Nebraska Highway 36, is the site of the trap shoot events which get under way at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. There will also be trap shoot events at 10 a.m. There is a $10 fee per event. Call (402) 721-8465 for more information.

The annual street pole vault also returns and is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday in downtown Fremont.

Not wanting to wear out the sporting public a John C. Fremont Days golf tournament is scheduled for July 29 at Valley View Golf Course.

Registration forms for all events can be found online at www.johncfremontdays.com.