On Saturday, August 17th, the 11th Annual Softball tournament took place at Oselia CYM in Ellenville, NY. 4 teams from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut participated. Each player paid their $25 and received an "all you can eat and drink" wristband for the day as well as a buffet dinner at night during the Hawaiian Luau. The tournament started with a captains meeting and then a moment of silence for John P. Skala of Passaic, New Jersey who passed away on September 11th, 2001. (John was a member of the Passaic/Colonial Pharmacy softball team for many years and participated in the Oselia CYM Softball tournaments every year.)

The tournament went very smoothly and on schedule. Although everyone was fighting off the heat, they managed to keep themselves cool in the shaded areas and filled with frosty beverages. At the end, the standings after regular play were:

1st - Passaic/Colonial Pharmacy, New Jersey
2nd - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3rd - New Britain, Connecticut
4th - New York City, New York

For 6 hours, players faced the humidity and scorching sun, while giving their all to making it to the finals. For two teams, it was an 8 hour endeavor. In the end, Passaic/Colonial Pharmacy faced off against Philadelphia in the finals. These finals were said to be quite challenging due to the fact that they had to go into extra innings. After all was said and done, Passaic/Colonial Pharmacy went home with the 1st place trophy.

Everyone enjoyed themselves, got sunburned and went home with memories of yet another interesting and talked about softball tournament. Even though there were 2 less teams than last year, the atmosphere was still filled with laughs and sportsmanship as there were in prior years.

- Special thanks to the Administration of Oselia, the volunteers who Barbequed and all the spectators. Diakuyu!!!