BARRHEAD - Two Barrhead-area teams may have won the Jackpine Slo-pitch tournament. However, the real winner was the Children's Hospital Foundation and all the people they will be able to help due to the sizeable $20,700 donation from the event's organizers.
The softball tournament has been an annual tradition in Fort Assiniboine since the 1980s, but it was only recently that the event became a fundraiser for the Stollery. This year marked the fifth year the tournament was a fundraiser for the children's hospital, albeit not all in a row. Unfortunately, the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to COVID.
Darren Wood, who organizes the tournament with his wife Jennifer, said they decided to make the event a fundraiser for the Stollery because they wanted to do something good.
"And as parents of a daughter with cerebral palsy, we have been to the Stollery a lot, and we know first-hand at the good they do," he said.
This year 23 teams (12 men, 11 women) participated in the tournament, with most of the teams coming from Fort Assiniboine, Barrhead, Swan Hills, Onoway, Whitecourt and Westlock.
"Every team is guaranteed to play at least five games, with the squads competing for the championship playing an extra game," he said. "And there is some pretty good competition. But it’s not really about who wins. It is about camaraderie, having fun and, of course, raising money for the Stollery."
In addition to the entry fee (which partially goes to prize money), the majority of the funds Jackpine raises money come through sponsorships and a silent auction.
"We had some great sponsors step forward. All our event finals had sponsorship," Woods said. "Six teams also donated their winnings back to the Stollery, which is a big plus."
He noted people's generosity did not stop there.
"The long weekend was super hot, and the diamonds were in poor shape," Wood said. "They were so dusty and soft from having no moisture, but we were lucky to have a company donate water for all the diamonds, which made them playable."
Besides the entry fee, Wood asked teams to donate an item for the silent auction, and this year, he said they had some exceptional offerings. As a result, they were able to raise $9,000.
"When we look back, it is amazing how big the tournament has grown and how much money we have been able to raise in a relatively short period," he said. "Our donation on (Friday, Sept. 9) will put us over $80,000 that we were able to raise for the Stollery."
And if you are curious, the winners of the tournament were, for the second straight year, Master Batters on the men's side, and on the women's side, Cleats and Cleavage also repeated as champions.
