Fanatics give us three reasons
,why it’s more than just a game
_
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Th e Im perial Sovereign Cose C o urt
P ro u d ly Presents...
The Mr., Mis», and Ms.
Say Portland Paseant
.
...
..
Gay Softball
World Series
by K aty D avidson
rom an economical standpoint, it could be
huge. Very huge.
W hen the Gay Softball World Series
swept through Atlanta in 1998, attendees
pumped $10 million into the local economy.
Most of the money went to queer-affiliated
businesses.
Now, a special committee of the Rose City
Softball Association is preparing a proposal to
bring the event to Portland in 2002.
“We’re talking about thousands of people,”
said Jae Larsen, head coach of Team Mad Dog
and assistant commissioner of the Rose City
Softball Association womens division. “It’s an
incredible week. For an amateur athlete, it’s
the best thing you can be in.”
Both Team Mad Dog and the Portland
Storm, the respective women’s and men’s
league champions, will travel to Toronto later
this month to participate in this year’s world
series. Alongside the teams, the Rose City
committee will give an hourlong presentation
to the North American Gay Amateur Athletic
Alliance, the organization in charge of award
ing the annual series.
W ith help from representatives of the
Portland Oregon Visitors Association and the
Portland Hilton, the committee recently held
its first practice presentation— complete with
an inspirational, come-to-Portland-for-culture
video (set to a smooth-jazz soundtrack). The
presentation also includes a list of Portland fac
toids, weather charts, venue profiles, a run
down of activities, a softball highlight video
with a cameo from the West Hollywood
Cheerleaders and messages from a few local
nonprofit organizations and Mayor Vera Katz.
A t press time, Portland’s only competition
for the event was Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Several
committee members said Fort Lauderdale’s
weak point will be its high temperatures and
humidity levels in August, while Portland’s late
summer weather is generally pleasant. The
committee will make its presentation Aug. 13
and hear the results the next day.
Tournament of Choice
S a turda y, August 26, 2000
Em bers A venue
I IC NW Proadw ay, P o rtla nd
Poors )p m Pageant 6pm
SI6.0C Conation
A ll net proceeds benefit the P ride of the Pose.
PHI a n d A nn Shepherd a n d A u d rla H . Edw ards
___________________ Scholarship fu n d s __________________
The Im perial Sovereign Rose C ourt is a N on-P rofit 501(c)4 O rganization
dedicated to raising m oney fo r charities in and around the greater Portland
m etropolitan area. F o r m ore inform ation, you m ay e-mail us at isrc@aol.com
oftball and naked slip-and-slide: a match
made in lesbian heaven?
S
Later this month, upwards of 800
people will storm the softball diamonds and
camping sites of Prairie Fields, Wash., as the
Lesbian Community Project celebrates the
15th anniversary of its Tournament of Choice.
The event was originally a one-day softball
tournament organized to raise awareness of
LCP’s programs.
These days, the event runs the course of a
long weekend. Tournament organizer Karen
Hefner says it now is held in Prairie Fields,
which is a 30-minute drive from downtown
Portland, because “it’s the only place we could
find that had six fields and camping facilities
all together.”
The weekend includes two days of softball
games between 8 a.m. and dusk, a silent
auction to benefit
LCP, live music, a barbe
cue plus vendors with queer-related
merchandise. Even hairdressers show up,
Hefner says: “They come out and give butch
haircuts and things like that.” A nd yes, there
really is a celebratory naked slip-and-slide
event!
The tournament is not a function of the
Rose City Softball Association, although sever
al of the association’s teams will compete, in
cluding the Just Out Mud Skippers. Hefner says
any women’s team may enter the tourna
ment— in fact, some teams exist only for this
event. Because of the vast range of experience
among the teams, the organizers divide the
tournament into four divisions.
Hefner, who now has helped organize this
extravaganza for eight years, says watching the
event evolve has been interesting. The age
range is now quite remarkable, she says, and
more players show up with children. The
organizers have acknowledged these changes
by creating a quiet section of the camping
area for families “away from the party girls,”
Hefner says.
Despite the evolution, the tournam ent’s
original purpose still rings true. “It’s to build
community,” she says. “It’s become a tradi
tion— people come from all over Washington
and Oregon.”
■ The 15th annual TOURNAMENT OF CHOICE
will take place Aug. 11 ' l 3 in Prairie Fields, Wash.
For more information, call the Lesbian Communi
ty Project at (503) 233-3913.
•
Project Good Dog
o Jae Larsen, veteran coach of Team
Mad Dog, softball is more than just play
ing a game. It’s about bringing together
community.
Earlier this year, the team started Project
Good Dog, a plan in which the whole team
does an hour of community service for every
$25 in sponsorship money it receives. The Mad
Dogs are trying to raise $10,000 to get to the
world series in Toronto later this month.
Though the team is still a few thousand
dollars short of its goal, Larsen says, “No player
will be left behind because of lack of funds.”
In addition to the project, the Mad Dogs are
planning a karaoke party and their own ver
sion of The Dating Game to raise more money
for the trip.
T
■ To make a donation or for more information
about P r o jec t G o o d D o g , call (503) 287-1413.
Team M ad Dog will hold a karaoke party ¡fund-rais
er 7 p.m. Aug. 6 at Chez What in Portland,
2203 N.E. Alberta St. The cost is $5. The team
also will play The Dating Game and hold a dote
auction 8 p.m. Aug. 10 at the Egyptian Club,
3701 S.E. Division St. Both events will help the
team cover transportation costs to this summer’s
Gay Softball World Series m Toronto.
K aty D avidson is a Just O ut staff writer who
can be reached at katy@justout.com.