All ball tournaments are not created for the same reason.
The Karri Oksanen Memorial Softball Tournament, held June 13 and 14, was created for Karri Oksanen, who tragically departed from this earth in an accident in 2012.
At 22 years of age he wasn’t ready to leave. With a brilliant career as a ball player in front of him – he was attending a Texas university on a Sports scholarship – his passing was tragic.
His father Peter Oksanen said he had an epiphany one day and decided to create Karri Hour. This developed into a movement.
For him it was to do something good one hour a week, like helping an older person or shovelling snow for someone.
Shortly after a website was created (www.KarriHour.com) with the help of some friends to try and get people to do some good for someone else and explain how that would help towards Karri’s legacy.
It started with a golf tournament and now there is a foundation operated by Peter’s daughter.
“The whole purpose for the foundation is to eventually help Sports facilities in Guelph and area,” organizers state.
“Eventually maybe even a baseball stadium bearing Karri’s name could become a reality because that was his sport.”
Shaun Valeriote and Nathan Lodder founded the baseball tournament played on the weekend at the Ponsonby Recreational Centre.
The mixed event has a competitive division and a non-competitive division. This year there were 225 participants and later in the day there would be more than 500 people in the park. Sponsors graciously supported the event, which has grown enormously in just a couple of years.
During the first day there was a home run derby, ring toss and beer tent and more.
As it turned out there was someone on each of the 15 teams that was a friend of Karri’s. Since he was involved in Texas, there will be a team from that state registered in the tournament.
Sadly, the event was rained out on the last day, but organizers say a champion will be decided in a couple of weeks.
