No plans? Then this weekend is just for you

A potpourri of summer sports activities on the agenda beginning today could make this weekend one of the busiest of the year in Cape Girardeau.

Golf, running, softball, baseball, fishing and youth events add to the packed Saturday schedule.

The National Softball Association Worth tournament at the Shawnee Park Sports Complex in Cape Girardeau hosts men's class C, D and E slow-pitch teams. The tournament is part of the national NSA Worth Tournament of Champions. The top six teams advance to the final round in Columbia, Mo.

A men's slow-pitch tournament, a six-team field in which each team can use its own choice of balls on offense, is on tap at the Jackson City Park at 9 a.m.

Organizer Les Beasley said scheduling the event opposite the NSA Worth Tournament was by design.

"We felt that might play into our hands since a lot of the top teams will be at the Worth tournament, the lower-division teams will be available for ours," he said.

A girls' softball tournament, the Heartland Cyclones Summer Classic, also is scheduled at Jackson City Park. The two-day event, with four age divisions participating, will conclude Sunday.

A 5K run/walk billed "as about as flat and fast as you can get in Cape" will begin at the Osage Community Centre in Cape Girardeau at 8 a.m with proceeds to benefit the Missouri Special Olympics.

Another running event, the Tywappity Trails 5K Run and Fun Walk, will start at the Chaffee Veterans of Foreign Wars' parking lot at 9 a.m. A field of about 70 runners will tackle a course that winds through the hills and woods surrounding Lake Tywappity.

"The course goes through the woods," organizer H.B. Rice said, "so it's really the only race of its kind in this area."

Proceeds from the event go to a scholarship fund for a Chaffee High School senior who will attend Southeast Missouri State University.

For women golfers, there will be a four-person scramble at the Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course at 8 a.m. Proceeds benefit the Southeast Missouri State University volleyball program.

Kid's Day in the Park at the Jackson City Park is a free attraction aimed at the young with games and fun for children. The festivities begin at 11 a.m. at shelter No. 5 in the band shell area with no pre-sign up necessary.

Wal-Mart, in conjunction with FLW Outdoors, kicks off National Fishing Week, June 1-8, with its fifth annual "Take a Kid Fishing" event at Wal-Mart stores across the country, including the Cape Girardeau and Jackson Supercenters.

The program is designed to help parents teach their children the basics of fishing. Interactive games, educational opportunities and scavenger hunts are part of the planned activities.

For those who simply wish to kick back and enjoy a professional baseball game, Saturday is Southeast Missouri State University at Busch Day.

A group of about 1,000 will travel to St. Louis for an evening game at 7:10 p.m. between the Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

llewis@semissourian.com

(573) 335-6611, extension 171