Big effort saves tournament
Rain threatened national championship in O’Leary
O’Leary recreation director Jeff Ellsworth put out an urgent post Saturday afternoon.
The ball fields were flooded from heavy rain, and the water needed to be soaked up before the Canadian under-18 male fastpitch championship tournament could resume. Within 20 minutes of the post close to 25 volunteers arrived to help get the work done.
“As it was coming down, we were dealing with it,” Ellsworth said of the all-out effort, even in the rain. He praised his staff of seven, who worked around the clock on everything that needed to be done.
The championship final went ahead on schedule Sunday afternoon. By then there was no evidence of the previous day’s conditions.
The volunteers, Ellsworth said, arrived with rakes, rubber boots and a shop vac. The rain-soaked infield was scraped off and replaced with fresh quarter-minus rock dust, which volunteers and recreation staff spread around the base lines, batter’s box and pitching mound.
The announcer’s acknowledgement during the Sunday afternoon awards ceremony of the massive effort in dealing with the rain, drew a hearty round of applause from spectators.
“Look at it, it’s still in great shape,” Ellsworth remarked as the awards presentations were going on.
“A couple of years ago, there was no way you could play on that,” he said of improvements to the field, but he acknowledged all the extra hands helped get the job done.
It did make for a late night, though. The final game of the day didn’t wrap up until 1:25 a.m. Sunday, and an 8 a.m. game was played Sunday to finish off Saturday’s schedule. Members of the runner-up team, Napanee Express, who had pitched in to help in the kitchen during the tournament’s opening reception, also helped prepare the field following the rain.
“That’s kind of the understanding
I got from the whole year: We pick each other up,” said Express coach Jamie Thompson. “We care not only for our teammates, but the guys we play against.” Thompson acknowledged one cannot control Mother Nature.
“What they were able to control and modify, they did a really nice job to make them playable,” he said of the host committee’s efforts and volunteers. The effort also drew acknowledgement from Softball Canada.
“It was a great event,” said Canadian championship committee director Lisa Down. “We’re always happy to come back here.
“Any time you want to bid again, just let us know.”
The tournament was also well received locally. Ellsworth said area businesses were thrilled with all the traffic the tournament generated through their doors.