CARSTAIRS - Seven teams took part in the first Maxine Noren Slo-Pitch Tournament in Carstairs on Aug. 10-12.
The tournament raised just over $5,000 for a scholarship in Noren's name.
Noren was a popular Grade 1 teacher at Hugh Sutherland School and later, Carstairs Elementary School. She passed away in February of this year after a courageous battle with cancer.
Participating in the tournament were the Chunome Warriors, which is a team that Maxine and her husband Ken played with for a number of years, said family friend Sheila Raposo.
There were also a number of teams from Carstairs and the surrounding area. Finishing first was Royalty, while the Carriage Lane Coronas placed second.
"It's a team they used to play on and they went to slo-pitch nationals a while back," said Raposo. "They got some of the players from that team back together. There was a family team from a lot of Ken's family. There were teams from Carstairs and one from the Sundre area."
Organizing the tournament were Sheldon Henke, Bryton Riley and Jeff Calaghan.
"It was the first year for the tournament and they hope that it will become an annual event that will attract more teams each year," said Raposo. "The money raised goes to the Maxine Noren Scholarship Fund, which is awarded to a student from Hugh Sutherland School who goes into teaching. There were many volunteers that helped make the tournament a success."
Raposo said the tournament went very well and everyone had a lot of fun.
"It was great," she said. "So much fun. A lot of people just came to watch. We had a raffle table and some silent auction items. We had a barbecue as well and sold some burgers and hotdogs."
The tournament will be an annual affair, she said.
"The organizers hope to grow the tournament so they have more teams and a bigger turnout," she said.
Organizers were very appreciative of the many volunteers who helped make the tournament a success as well as the many donations from local families and businesses.
