For the third time this summer, the Governor’s Cup is undergoing a schedule adjustment.

Rather than splitting up the even- and odd-numbered age groups across two weekends as has been done in years past, Vicksburg Warren Athletic Association president Josh Fairley said the entire tournament will be played Sept. 11-13 at Halls Ferry Park.

The odd-numbered age groups had been scheduled to play this weekend.

The move was made to accommodate the wishes of participating teams. Fairley said thisis part of the learning process as Vicksburg’s biggest youth baseball tournament transitions from a July date to one on the fall USSSA schedule.

“With the information we’d received from the even age groups, we’d heard a lot of the same from the odd groups. We said if we’re going to do the move, let’s condense it and do one age group per field,” Fairley said.

From 1995 until 2014, the Governor’s Cup was played at Halls Ferry Park in late July or early August. That changed this year, when the VWAA — which puts on the tournament as a fundraiser — decided to make it a USSSA-sanctioned tournament.

The United States Specialty Sports Association, or USSSA, is one of the biggest governing bodies for youth sports in the country. Most of Mississippi’s major youth baseball tournaments are sanctioned by the USSSA but until this year the Governor’s Cup was not.

Since the decision was made, however, the Governor’s Cup has been unsettled.

It was first moved to Aug. 21-23 and Aug. 28-30. The 16-year-olds’ age group played last weekend, but the rest of the even-numbered age groups were shifted to Sept. 11-13 because a number of teams were still forming up. The 2016 USSSA season began on Aug. 1.

The odd-numbered age groups were still slated to play this weekend, but will now share playing dates with the even-numbered groups.

It’s the first time since 2000, except for when adjusting for rainouts, that the majority of the Governor’s Cup has been played on one weekend.

Fairley said it was the solution to this year’s issues, but didn’t necessarily foresee it being a permanent move.

He added that the switch to a September date, however, will likely remain.

“We’re going to probably keep it in September, and we will look at trying to split it into odd and even age groups on multiple weekends,” Fairley said. “Some of that will depend on the success of doing it this year on one weekend.”