Gil Read a big success

I think it is safe to say that the 6th Annual Gil Read Tournament was a huge success. Good weather, great ball, excellent crowds, and lots of money raised for a very worthy cause. Al Read and Chris Read and their team of volunteers have found an excellent formula for success.

Some notes from "The Gil":

- Local support: It is so much fun to play / coach in a game where fans are in the stands. And the Gil certainly delivers on that issue. I am not sure of exact numbers, but I would have to say that Friday night there must have been about 200+ people watching the West Carleton - Napanee game. And the Saturday night West Carleton - Micksburg tilt had a similar number of supporters for both WC and the Twins in the seats as well. The Gil has a reputation now for great ball and lots of fans both hard core and casual make the commitment to come watch the games.

- Beer garden: The Beer Garden at the Gil has become a great fixture with the poker chip tokens, the reasonable prices, the hard working servers and the gathering of players and fans to swap stories, relive games recent and long past and talk about upcoming tournaments and games. If you love beer (check), fastball (check) and good friends (check) it's something you would look forward to all summer, as I do.

- Well run: The tournament committee does a great job during the weekend, with the announcers, the prizes / raffles, the ball toss, etc. Efficient and well run, with a great number of sponsors. The officiating was professional as well, with three umps for every game - except for the semis and finals where there were four men on the field. Kudos to the organizers on keeping things slick.

- Home Run Contest: The home run contest was a new feature that went well and kept fans in the stands while giving the teams a bit of a break. Congratulations to my friend Bill Sherman of the Elkland Thunderbellys on winning the event, edging out another friend and teammate of mine, Charlie "Chico" Ross. Having the kids out on the field was lots of fun as well, though the Caveman was a bit disappointed when his cousin caught one of the fly balls and he missed out.

- Caveman: Speaking of the Caveman, he had a blast all weekend as well, playing impromptu softball games with his brother Fitzroy Junior and the other assorted kids on hand, chasing foul balls, and wondering why all the ball players were addressing him by his nickname. ("How come they all know I'm the Caveman, daddy?" Mrs Fastball: [eye roll]. The Caveman was also very impressed when he heard that #93 of the Micksburg Twins hit two home runs on Friday night. "Daddy, that's Riley! He's a shortstop. He's the guy that I pitched to at the Softball Clinic in Fitzroy!".

Overall, a great time for a great cause. Once again, congrats to the Read family and all the volunteers.