Another weekend of Binghamton Pond Fest kicked off on Friday with their adult tournament, however the weather would look to alter the start of it with a rain storm in the early afternoon. Event Director Tytus Haller says that everything still was able to run smoothly regardless of the rain and fifty degree weather.

"We did not have any problems," said Haller. "All the games started on time, and you can see everybody is playing with no problems at all".

From the business side, it helps that the ice is maintained fairly consistent by using a large compressor to keep the ice from melting and without relying on the natural elements of the outdoors.

Tournament participant Joe Davie says that because of the machinery used, it provides more consistency compared to a playing surface made from the pond which was originally used the first few years of the tournament.

"It is more of a guaranteed game play no matter what," said Davie. "They seem to be able to control the ice very well and I am very pleased with it."

Going into the third and final weekend of the tournaments, Haller says that expected totals from the three weekends include 115 teams and approximately 1200 skaters coming to Chenango Valley State Park. 

Tournament participant Ian Woodsinger says that he is a yearly competitor within the tournament and that he is certain it will continue to improve.

"We come back to this every year rain or shine," said Woodsinger. "The bigger it is the better it is, every year it is growing little by little so it is awesome to see".

For Davie and Woodsinger who both play on the same team and are originally from the Southern Tier, it is a time to reconvene with friends near and far. Davie currently still resides in the Southern Tier and Woodsinger now resides in the Capital Region. 

"We started this team back in 2016 and every year it is just a way for us to connect," Davie said.

The tournament will resume on Saturday at 9 A.M. and playoffs will begin at 12 P.M. on Sunday.