Twenty years and it's still going strong.

Sixty-four teams will descend on Helena today for the three-day Capital City Classic fastpitch softball tournament. Although the name hasn't always been the same, the Queen City has hosted the tournament since 1989.

The hurting economy hasn't affected the number of teams entering the tourney, which offers a four-game guarantee.

"If anything, we had to turn teams away," said tournament director Jeff MacDonald, adding that 64 teams is about as much as the tournament can handle due mainly to field capacity and time constraints.

Today and Saturday are pool play, while Sunday's action is single elimination. The tournament is divided into five divisions (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U) and games will be played at Batch Fields, Frank D. Mihelish/Ramey Park and Northwest Fields. Today's games are slated to start at 5 p.m, with Saturday's action beginning at 8 a.m.

The bracket consists mostly of Montana teams, nine of which are local Helena squads. A few teams from Canada will be competing, in addition to a group from Idaho.

The tournament annually brings in a ton of revenue to Helena, as teams and families from out of town book hotel reservations and dine out. But, more importantly, the event allows youngsters and teens the chance to gain softball experience.

"As far as youth sports, this is a huge event," MacDonald said. "There's a lot of action, and it also allows younger players in town to see some good quality softball this weekend."

Last year, the Red Deer Sliders out of Alberta edged the Helena Thunder for the 18U division championship and the Sliders are back to defend their title. The Polson Lakers, last year's 14U (B) winners, also return. The Glacier Emeralds won the 10U division in 2008 and will be competing.

Anne Carpenter, tournament organizer and coach of Helena's 16U Montana Madness, said the 12U (B) champions from 2008, the Billings Bulldogs, will not be back as they are playing in a national tournament in Denver the same weekend.

That guarantees a new champion in the 12U division, although with the makeup of teams changing from year to year its difficult to know who's favored, MacDonald said.

"From year to year the teams change, but the Missoula (Lady) Osprey teams are always good," he said. "The 16U Thunder (Helena) is a contender. Great Falls always brings really good caliber teams. It just varies from year to year."

Carpenter is realistic about her team's chances.

"We're a semi-young team in the fact that most of our girls just have JV experience; only a few have varsity experience," she said, adding that those with more experience are Helena High's Caroline Cardenas, Kathy Pocklington, Jordan Briski and Alyssa Kresge. "So that gives other teams an advantage, they just have more experience.

"Our chances are OK, but I'm not looking for us to win the championship. If we can win a couple games, then our girls will learn and develop their skills more."

Carpenter figures the Helena Thunder has the best chance of winning it all in the 16U division. The squad consists of many of the girls from Capital High's championship team, making the Thunder a strong contender.

While the Capital City Classic is one of the biggest youth softball tournaments in the state, it falls short of the hundreds of teams that compete in Denver or the Las Vegas tournament. Still, it provides opportunities for teams in Montana that don't have the resources to travel out of state for competitions.

With forecasts calling for temperatures in the high 70s, MacDonald said it looks to be the perfect weekend to get out and catch some softball.

"Let's hope the weather stays as is," he said.

Amber Kuehn: 447-4079 or amber.kuehn@helenair.com