The Sooke Slo-Pitch Association tournament, which ran from Aug. 4 to 6 in the Fred Milne park area, will be the last for association vice-president, Mike Gibson.
Gibson, now in his late 50s, is ready to pass on the torch after running the event for 27 years.
“Somebody else can do my job,” he said, adding it will be a bittersweet departure to leave the tight-knit Sooke slow pitch community.
And the feeling may be mutual, as Gibson was awarded two memorial trophies, the George Hovell and Larry Grunow, for his hard work and dedication.
The reason behind his resignation is simply age.
“I’m getting too old to play with the young people,” Gibson explained. “My reactions are not as good as what they used to be.”
His last year as vice-president of the association was marked with the introduction of a men’s division and the construction of parallel parking along Sooke River Road.
The parallel parking cost $2,000 to develop and had 67 cars parked per day on average. The cost and labour of the parking lot was borne by the association.
Gibson said the tournament, which saw 26 mixed teams and six men’s teams participate, was a success.
“The tournament went really well. Everybody had a good time, there were no problems in the beer garden, no problems on the playing field,” he said. “It’s a family event.”
Although his affiliation with the Sooke Slo-PItch Association will end, Gibson doesn’t intend to stop playing ball. He has plans to join the Victoria Men’s Masters Slopitch League for players aged 40 and up.
Standings for the tournament are listed below:
A division
First place: Gazoos
Second place: Jack Hammer
Third place: Team Works
Fourth place: Big Rock Masonry
B division
First place: Anything’s Possible
Second place: Hawks
Third place: Shattered Dreams
Fourth place: Crows
C division
First place: Wailers
Second place: Scared Hittless
Third place: Readers
Fourth place: Ash Souls
Men’s division
First place: K-9
Second place: Pemberton Holmes
Third place: Hammers
Fourth place: Foggers
Cash prizes ranged from $200 to $1,000 along with other material prizes.
