The Otter Lake Recreation Association (RA) hosted its annual 3-pitch baseball tournament over the weekend, with eight teams from across the Pontiac and as far as Aylmer competing for the first place prize.
This year’s final was between the Buccaneers and the Bombers, both teams from Bryson, who played a close game, finishing with a final score of 14-10 for the Bombers.
Shane Presley, president of the RA, said the tournament has been something people look forward to every year, and noted that even this year’s rainy forecast did not interfere with the tournament.
“Today, it rained all day. Yesterday, it rained, and they still played,” Presley said on Sunday. “They’ll take cover and they’ll go back out and get wet again.”
Presley said baseball used to be much bigger sport in the region before the pandemic, often drawing up to 20 teams in a tournament.
He explained the tournament is a key fundraising event for the Otter Lake RA.
Last year’s event helped raise funds for the town’s new splash pad, and the money raised from this year’s tournament will help the RA build a roof over the community skating rink.
Catherine Gauthier, a member of the RA and scorekeeper for the tournament, said the tournament is a gathering of close family and friends. She could oftentimes be heard making quips at the players as they stepped up to bat, prompting laughs from their teammates.
She said the fundraising is important to her because it is needed to revitalize the town for her kids.
“I have three children myself, so it’s important for my children to enjoy as much as they can,” Gauthier said. “We don’t have restaurants, we don’t have all that stuff, right? So we make it doable with what we have here, and the more we have here, the more the kids have fun.”
The event featured more than just the games. Attendees enjoyed a bar, food stalls with hamburgers and fries, as well as some live music on Saturday from DJ Ryan Fletcher, all contributing to the fundraising efforts.
Presley said the RA expects the tournament will raise between $3,000 and $4,000.
