CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Firecracker Shootout, a Pacificwide open softball tournament that had become a July 4 weekend tradition since it began in the late 1980s, has been canceled due to operational commitments, organizers said Monday.

It’s the second Marine Corps Community Services-Okinawa-sponsored event to meet the ax this year. The Martin Luther King Open Basketball Tournament was canceled in January.

Like the MLK, the Firecracker was called off due to “troop deployments in support of” Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, said Mike Walker of MCCS Semper Fit Athletics, which oversees events such as the MLK and Firecracker.

The Typhoon Classic at Torii Station was canceled for good in October due to budget cuts. The cancellation of the Firecracker, which had been slated for July 1-4 at the Foster Field Complex, leaves just two Grand Slam tournaments scheduled for this year: the Yongsan Pacificwide this weekend in Korea and the Kadena Klassic on Columbus Day weekend at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.