February's unseasonably high temperatures nearly forced the shelving of the bats and balls for the sixth annual Sno-Pitch Tournament but the event was saved when the town gave a last minute green light.
And when the two-day tourney, held Feb. 27 and 28 and hosted by the 590 Slo-Pitch League was over, about $2,000 was raised for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Innisfail (BBBS).
“We had to meet somebody from the Town of Innisfail on Friday evening (Feb. 26) to give us the OK. We were kind of hanging in the balance up until that point,” said Farrean Yargeau, co-organizer of the tournament. “But he came and there was enough snow out there that we were not going to ruin the infield. We got the OK.”
Yargeau, who is treasurer of the 18-team 590 league, said this year's tourney featured nine squads, including those from Penhold, Bowden and Pine Lake. She said each team was asked to bring two donations for the tourney, either through themselves or from local businesses. What was brought in was auctioned off for the fundraiser. There was also a 50/50 draw, which added to the kitty. As well, the Fox and Hound sports bar held a bat draw on Feb. 27, which raised $540. To help all players maintain their energy level for two days and to raise more money for BBBS, Don MacIntyre, the MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, donated all the food for the players.
Yargeau said each participating team paid a $200 entry fee, with the winning team in the final collecting $300, with second place earning $200 and third place pocketing $100.
When the tournament was over on Feb. 28, all three winning teams donated their winnings back to the tourney's charity of choice.
When calculating their final fundraising total, organizers had to deduct about $450 for the use of the playing fields because the town did not donate the use of the facilities. It was the first time tourney officials had to deal with this expense.
Still, the tourney raised almost $2,000 for BBBS, which is holding its own Bowl for Kids fundraiser on March 19. And best of all, about 100 slo-pitch enthusiasts in the region still had a lot of fun doing it, despite Mother Nature's lack of cooperation to provide optimum snowy conditions.
“We had a backup plan,” said Yargeau, emphasizing the fundraising component was on no matter what the conditions were outside. “We would not have been able to play, but we were still going to do everything at the Fox and Hound -- the auction and the 50/50 draw – if we couldn't actually play.”
Farrean Yargeau
"We had to meet somebody from the Town of Innisfail on Friday evening (Feb. 26) to give us the OK. But he came and there was enough snow out there that we were not going to ruin the infield. We got the OK."
