During the time I spent covering the 19th annual Kelly McGillis Women's Flag Football Classic, I had several opportunities to talk with event organizer and International Women's Flag Football Association president Diane Beruldsen.

A Key West resident, Beruldsen has been the driving force of the annual tournament since its establishment and, despite the event's continued success, as the 20th edition of the event is on the horizon, she said there are questions about the tournament's future in Key West.

"When I first started this, I always said that I was going to make it 20 years," said Beruldsen. "With that coming up next year, I would really like to pass it on to someone."

However, that may not be as easy a task as Beruldsen hopes, since she is aware of just how much work she puts into the tournament each year.

"Oh, it's certainly a lot of work," said Beruldsen. "I've been doing this for such a long time, it just seems to be part of me, and I want someone who wants to put in the time, like I have, to take it all over."

Beruldsen credited her cast of volunteers as being crucial to this year's event, but even with all the assistance, Beruldsen still carried a heavy load.

"All I was supposed to do this year was get the teams," she said. "Someone was going to help me, but they became sick and I really thought I was going to have to do it all. I still had to take care of a lot of things, but thanks to all the help from all sorts of volunteers, everything ran real smooth and I didn't have to organize it all."

There are still other problems that might hinder the tournament's future in Key West. With the games being played on just two fields at the Wickers Complex -- one on the outfield on the Men's Softball field -- and the growing size of the girls and junior divisions, Beruldsen said it will be important that the event be expanded to the new fields that are to be built on the Poinciana side of the complex.

"We want to give all the teams their fair chance to play," said Beruldsen. "Those fields that are supposed to go in will be important to us. I really hope we can get on those fields, because if we keep growing the way we have been, there won't be enough room to get all the teams in. If that happens, we might have to move the tournament to Orlando or somewhere where there is room. I certainly don't want that in any way, so those fields are really important."

Until plans can be confirmed, Beruldsen said she had already begun to focus her time on the 20th annual event, which she is hoping Ellen DeGeneres might even be interested in attending. "It would be great if Ellen could come," said Beruldsen. "A bunch of us got out on the field during a halftime and did the 'Ellen Dance' and we're going to send it to her, because it would be wonderful if she would come for our 20th annual tournament. That's what I'm concentrating on now in getting next year ready. Everything after that, we'll just have to wait and see."

Staff Writer J.W. Cooke's Home Field Advantage column appears exclusively each Wednesday in The Citizen. He can be reached at 305-292-7777, Ext. 261, or at jwcooke@keysnews.com.