MY COMMUNITY - The Michael Worrod Help The Kids Play 2012 Tournament Preview

When I photograph events, my goal is to capture the essence and spirit of what is going on.  I hope I accomplished that this past weekend.  To view any of the photos larger, just click on them.  That will take you to the gallery where all of the photos from this blog post are hosted.

What a fabulous weekend it was for the 2012 Michael Worrod Help The Kids Play Slo Pitch Tournament.  There was some rain on Saturday morning, and for the most part, it was stinking hot and humid, but overall, I think it was fantastic!  :)

First off, I want to thank the committee members, sponsors, team participants and volunteers for dedicating time and resources to such a great cause.  I know the huge amount of work that is involved in order to pull one of these types of events off.  Throughout the course of the weekend, there were quite a few younger volunteers helping out at the concession as well.  It was great to see entire families getting into the spirit of paying it forward.  From 2007 through 2011, over 100 kids have had the opportunity to participate in local sports because of HTKP.  I think that's pretty darn awesome!

I have hundreds of photos to review, edit and post after spending over 20 hours over the course of the tournament at the diamonds taking photos.  I should have the full gallery up in the next couple of weeks.  Once it's ready, I'll notify the HTKP Committee and they will pass on the gallery access information to the leagues/teams who participated.

In the meantime, here is a small preview of the weekend......

Baseball diamond food!! So yummy, but not necessarily so good for you.  ;)

I should have taken a picture of one of the 4 frozen yogurts I had.  Those were full of yum!

After the Saturday morning rain.

Go waaaayyyy back!

Did they make the double play??

SAFE!!

Happy Birthday to Bob Candy!

Cake at the diamond!!  :)

A small, shady spot to sit and eat.

Of course there was BEER!

Lots of space for the kids to run around and be kids in.  (checking in only when food or beverages were required, of course!)

Players and Fans

These are just a couple of collages of some of the action fans were treated to during the weekend.

When I arrived at one of the games on Saturday afternoon, I saw a lot of these flyers posted around.....

And then I saw THIS!

Hey!  Isn't that the Umpire??

It was EVERYWHERE!

Doug, your team must REALLY love you.  ;)

And finally, here are the winners for each of the three divisions plus the traditional 'Old Timer vs. Young Timer' game.

Winner of the Ladies Division - Team Blue

Winner of the Old Timers vs. Young Timers - The Young Timers

Winners of the Men's Division - Loretto Inn

Winners of the Old Timer's Division - Brew Jays

And this post wouldn't be complete without showing the huge grin on Piero's face as he rounded the bases after hitting his GRAND SLAM HOME RUN to win the game for the Brew Jays!

Thanks to you all for another great weekend of ball in Tottenham, ON.  And thank you once again for allowing me to photograph such a fantastic local event for such a great cause.  It was even more fun this year than last!  :)

Thanks for looking!

 -- Lisa P.