2007 Tournament

2007 Stingrays Invitational Tournament July 13th-15th

AS GOOD AS IT GETS-----UNTIL THE NEW BLOOD IMPROVES IT

The Seventh Annual Stingray Invitational Tournament is now complete and, by any standard, it was a great success. Garth Brooks has made a lot of money singing about his friends in low places; fortunately, the Stingrays have friends in high places. This year's tournament was dedicated to Norm Chambers, a longtime coach and supporter of the Stingrays who passed away much too soon. Little did we know that Norm and his co-coach Bill Fish would intervene to provide us with the best weather ever for our tournament. We have played in tournaments throughout the Midwest and beyond, and there is no better venue than the Ohio State fields that are generously made available to us each year. OSU's staff and workers do a wonderful job in making sure that we play on absolutely first rate fields, and we wish to publicly thank them for that. A successful tournament is the result of the hard work of many people, and the task of publicly thanking them runs the risk of omitting someone who should be mentioned. Nevertheless, with the best of intentions, we wish to thank:

Tim, Brenda, Chelsey, and TJ Housh as well as their friends who did an absolutely first rate job of organizing and running the concession stand. Tim also handled the ordering of the tournament shirts, which were wildly popular once again.

William Van Almsack who prepared the pools and brackets as well as the field maintenance schedules. Bill also brought our tournament to a new level technologically by immediately posting the scores on the internet.

Rudy Zych who organized and ran the field maintenance. Rarely have I been at a tournament where the fields were as well groomed throughout the entire tournament.

Jeff Seeds who once again purchased trophies that were on the cutting edge. This year, we provided "spinners" to the first and second place teams n each age division.

Mike Marcum and Pat Toler who were the contacts for the college coaches. At our first tournament, one college coach came, and I think she may have come by mistake. Thirty college programs were represented this past week-end, and many college coaches now have the Stingray Tournament as one of their annual stops.

Matt Tamanini, who handles the field selection and the innumerable inquiries that inevitably arise.

Jim Wharton who heads up the umpires. As we all know, when a call goes your way, Blue is a genius, but, when it doesn't, heaven help the umpire. Jim does a great job of organizing, scheduling and dealing with any issues that arise with the umps.

Finally, the many Stingray parents, family members and friends who are the backbone for doing the work necessary to keep the tournament going.

This year's tournament also reflected a marked improvement in behavior on the part of the players, coaches and fans, and we appreciate the efforts of all in achieving that. There was only one incident that involved clearly inappropriate behavior by a player and, after speaking to that player's coach, whom we know and respect, we are confident that the situation will be addressed appropriately.

Seven years ago, this tournament began at Pickerington High School-when there was only one Pickerington High School-under the expert guidance of Mark and Annie Tamanini. After building the sound foundation that the Stingray Invitational now enjoys, they had the good fortune to head to Florida. Tim and Jennifer Kazimer took over and improved the tournament with the help of the Stingray family and friends. After several years, Tim and Jennifer then headed to the greener pastures of Kentucky, and I was charged with the task of keeping this going. For the last two years, that has been my honor and joy-with a great deal of help and understanding from my wife Norah, family and Stingray friends. I don't plan on moving, but now, I pass this tournament on to Pat Toler and the many other members of the Stingray Family who will only make it better. I have only one request: if the number two toilet in the women's bathroom at the upper hub gets plugged up again, please don't call me.

GO STINGRAYS!!

Tunney Lee King,
Retired Tournament Director and
More Available Grandfather   

Universities and Colleges Represented at the 2007 Stingrays Invitational Tournament

Ohio State University
University of Michigan
Youngstown State University
Ohio Dominican University
University of Akron
University of Rio Grande
Northern Kentucky University
Ohio University
Cleveland State University
Malone College
Heidelberg College
Muskingum College
Wright State University
University of Toledo
Wilmington College
Slippery Rock University
Wittenberg University
Ashland University
Grove City College
Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio Northern University
Urbana University
Bowling Green University
Marietta College
Bluffton University
John Carroll University
Kent State University
Ohio Valley University
Robert Morris University
Ursuline College

Norman L. Chambers April 10, 1944 ~ March 01, 2007

Every softball organization is a product of the work and sacrifice of many people--coaches, players, fans and others too numerous to count. But, in every softball organization, certain people stand out because of the enormous contribution that they have made over many years. For the Stingrays, one of those individuals was Norm Chambers, who recently passed into Heaven. Today, the Stingray organization wishes to celebrate Norm's life and contributions.

For many, many years, Norm and his coaching partner, Bill Fish, not only kept the Stingray organization going but helped lay the foundation for today's Stingrays. The contributions of Norm, Bill, their spouses and their daughters who played for the Stingrays cannot be overstated. Norm will always be remembered not only for his superb knowledge of the technical aspects of softball and coaching, but also for his warmth and generosity. Heaven's gain is our world's loss.

In recognition of his many contributions to the Stingray organization, this year's Stingray Tournament will be dedicated to the memory of Norm Chambers.

Questions? matt.tamanini@stingraysfastpitch.com