Ripple vows return of Crime Stoppers

A couple of days after the dust settled at Tan Ge Softball Field, players, organizers, and fans agreed that the 4th Annual Crime Stoppers Slow-Pitch Softball Tournament was a success by all standards.

Aside from providing a competitive challenge to the players and entertainment to spectators, the tournament raised funds and awareness for the plight of NMI Crime Stoppers—the organization that rewards the local community for helping to put criminals behind bars.

This year the talented Wells Fargo squad emerged from a power-packed nine-team field to take the double-elimination tournament. While it is the first time that Wells Fargo will have its name added to the perpetual trophy, most of the players from the wining team had a hand in earning the title in 2003 and 2005 with No Ka Oi.

Tournament coordinator Jim Ripple said that he was pleased with the way everything turned out, and that everyone came together to create a memorable event.

“It went very well. We had a lot of great turnouts, the sponsors were great, we had a lot of great prizes to give away, and I think all of the boys had a good time. All in all, it’s good family fun and a great way to help take a bite out of crime on Saipan,” he said.

Ripple said that there was never a question about the return of the popular tournament and said that he will get to work right away for the 2007 edition of mountain pitches and long balls.

“Absolutely we’re going to bring it back. We have a perpetual trophy and we plan on making this an annual event all of the time,” he said.

According to Ripple, all of the hours spent planning the tournament would be in vain were it not for the event sponsors.

“We had a lot of sponsors come in late in the game, and our hats off to them for joining us. Thanks to all the sponsors. Without all of the sponsors and all of the players none of this would have come together,” he said.

It was easy to see the support from the business community with a glance at the outfield, as the homerun fence was lined with banners from local companies eager to make the weekend affair a success.

Ripple said that he hopes to have even more banners out there for the 2007 tournament, while most of the children who showed up for the final day’s events will be happy to see more of the same activities next February.

To ensure that the grown ups weren’t the only ones having fun tournament coordinators launched nearly 30 T-shirts into the outfield to the outstretched arms of a waiting crowd of children during the homerun derby.

“We shot all of those shirts all over the field. It was really good, the kids liked it,” said Ripple.