WS Chronicle

The Elite 8 Alumni Association recently held their second annual Kickball Tournament. Female alumnae from North Forsyth, East Forsyth, West Forsyth, Mount Tabor, Reynolds, Parkland, Carver and Glenn gathered together at Washington Park on April 20 for some old-fashioned competitive fun.

The game was originally slated to take place back in November, but due to inclement weather, it was pushed to the spring in hopes of better weather. The ladies of Reynolds took home the championship last year; in 2019 the ladies from Mt. Tabor were crowned champions of the tournament, defeating Carver by the score of 4-0.

Event organizer, Nakeeba Orr, was part of the championship team from Mt. Tabor. She said the joy of seeing old friends and classmates while also having fun is a great environment for all.

“Being that it was a good turnout last year and people were asking me what we were going to do next, I knew that I was going to go forward again with the tournament,” said Orr.  

The Elite 8 Alumni Association always has had a heart for the community as well. During all of their events, they collect donations of various products. For the kickball tournament, they collected hygiene products and school supplies to donate to teachers.

“My mind is always focused on other ways we can give back as an organization,” she said.  

The plan was for teachers and educators to come out and grab what supplies they needed. Since there were so many supplies left over, the remaining donations were given to Main Street Academy.

Orr said the idea for the kickball tournament came to her because she wanted to have an activity for the women. The men in the Elite 8 have had the flag football and basketball tournaments during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. “We never really had a voice in the Elite 8, the women didn’t, so I am just advocating for them and putting us out there,” she said.

“It is so much fun and for one thing, it kind of gives us women something to do,” she continued. “We just laugh and have fun with one another and this year I went into heavy recruit mode, because we were knocked out in the first round last year.”

With the success the tournament enjoyed this year, Orr says they plan to keep the tournament in the spring. “The guys kind of have the holiday season, so I kind of want to step away from that and begin to do this during the Easter weekend,” she said.

Bringing everyone together is the continued goal for the tournament, Orr said. Her wish is to have the kids of the Elite 8 Alumni take over the tournament as the next generation.  

“It’s overwhelming for me to see us all come together and have fun and nobody is arguing or stepping on anyone’s toes,” she said. “This is something for the city to look forward to that is positive and it is community oriented.”

Harry Harris, an Elite 8 member, said he was happy with the great turnout of this year’s tournament. He said he was glad that the women have the opportunity to display their athletic talents, while also enjoying the fellowship of other alumni.