Pink, tutus, maybe a few skull and even more pink graced the baseball diamonds in Leslieville during the annual Help Save Second Base Slo-Pitch Tournament.
Participation was a bit down this year, according to the tournament’s organizer Tamara Lawrence.
This year there were only 16 teams signed up to play, down from the previous year when 24 teams took to the field.
Despite the down numbers, Lawrence said it was still a perfect weekend.
“A lot of people had other events for the weekend like weddings, but that’s alright. We still had a lot of fun and raised some money for a worthy cause,” Lawrence said.
The event raised roughly $14,119 for breast cancer research. The funds were boosted thanks to a matching corporate donation from an Edmonton company.
The donation will specifically go towards clinical research, a case close to Lawrence and her family.
“When my aunt was diagnosed she ended up having to go to the United States because clinical trials were further along there than here,” Lawrence said.
“It is my hope that we can help advance clinical research here in Canada and help people at home.”
Overall, Lawrence is very happy with how the tournament weekend played out, saying it was a little quieter than the previous year.
There were a few different elements added to this year’s tournament. On Friday night of the tournament, a band came out to serenade the players and a teddy bear toss was organized for the Red Deer Regional Hospital.
“Just before the tournament I heard the Red Deer Regional [Hospital] was in desperate need for teddy bears, and I thought it was would be a great way to help locally,” she said.
The regional hospital collects teddy bears to give to children after completing surgery, as a way to offer comfort.
The teddy bear toss at the tournament collected just under 200 teddies for children. Lawrence will be donating the toys to the hospital in the coming week.
“It went so well. It was an awesome weekend,” Lawrence said.
