It was a beautiful day on Saturday, September 7th as friends came together to celebrate the life of Mike Smith for the annual Memorial Slo-Pitch Tournament.
14 teams competed in the one-day tournament at the Martensville Slo-Pitch Diamonds.
After a hard-fought battle with cancer, Smith passed away in May of 2023. A celebration of life as well as a ball tournament was held at the Slo-Pitch Diamonds shortly after his passing and friends decided that an annual tournament in memory of him would be celebrated every September.
Smith loved his family and was well known for helping others, being a volunteer firefighter for many years, as well as a hockey coach, and he became a very beloved member of the community. Because of his attributes and contributions to the community, friends decided it was important to continue a tournament in his name yearly, with all funds raised going back to the community that he loved, as well as helping others.
The tournament included a 50/50 draw, beer gardens, a concession, a slideshow, and a ‘Rewind Rule’.
To raise some extra money and for some extra fun, players could pay $20 before the game and rewind any play at any point throughout the game, so if someone hit a grand slam, you could ‘rewind’ the play and everybody goes back to their original places.
“Mike’s Hit Crew defeated Mike’s Blues to repeat the A final win. Thank you for everyone’s support today! A huge thank you to the Kinsmen for running the bar, Par-A-Dice Grill for running the concession, Off Constantly for their contribution to the diamond rental, and everyone for coming out and having a great time while giving back to the community and remembering a great guy, Mike Smith,” said Mike’s wife Kristin.
“Also a huge thanks to Angie Reddekopp and Tegan Johnson for all of their hard work and so many more that helped out.”
The funds will be donated to Martensville KidSport and the Kinsmen Club for an accessibility project at the old rink.
PHOTO CAPTION: Mike’s Hit Crew wins the A final for a second year at the Annual Mike Smith Memorial Slo-Pitch Tournament
