(By Steve Hopkins)

The Bay Area will be host to a large 4-Star tournament on March 1-3.  The 2019 Butterfly Ultimate Fieldhouse Open features 32 events including men’s and women’s singles, a juniors event, an over 40 event, three doubles events, and a series of rating events in both round robin and giant round robin formats.  Prize money is available in 22 of the 40 events with most events awarding prizes through top four positions and Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles offering prize money through for the top eight positions.  The largest purse will belong to the Men’s and Women’s Singles winners who will earn $1000 each.  The total across all prizes is $15,000, making it one of the largest events of the year.   The venue is the Ultimate Fieldhouse on Mitchell Drive in Walnut Creek.  The facility is a huge, state of the art recreation facility that caters to a variety of sports including four regulations basketball courts with wood floors, high ceilings, and great lighting.  For this tournament, the setup will include 28 Butterfly tables.  The venue includes free parking and there will be concession stands in the venue.  When the event is over, CRTTC will be selling many of the tournament-used tables and barriers – so this is also a great opportunity to save as much as 50% for quality equipment for your home or club.   The host of the tournament is the Cedar Rapids Table Tennis Club.  In addition to their events in Iowa, CRTTC have reached out in recent years to run events in Atlanta, Kansas City, and the Bay Area.  They have become experts in running large events well, and the event this March will be one of their largest.   Individual events at the Butterfly Ultimate Fieldhouse March Open have maximum entry limits.  Space is limited, so everyone is encouraged to sign up early.