Saturday at the AYF Olympics has become something special. There are two athletic events— softball and basketball—plus a picnic with music, and of course, the Saturday night dance. Softball and basketball usually take place at the same venue or within a short walking distance from each other. The picnic was previously held on Monday, but as families began traveling home on Labor Day, combining it with softball was a brilliant idea. These days, large crowds of people socialize, root for their teams, enjoy some kebab, and listen and dance to Armenian music.
There are no points awarded for softball or basketball, so they have no bearing on which chapter wins the Olympics. The Olympic events of swimming, tennis, golf, track and field are individual events. Participants earn points in individual events, contributing to their chapter’s total. Softball and basketball are team sports and bring a new dynamic to the Olympics with both spirited fans and games. While everyone strives to win, it is also about the camaraderie and having fun.
This year’s venue for softball and the picnic was spectacular. Washington took it to a new level by having it at the National’s Youth Baseball Academy—a nine-acre campus with three baseball fields, plenty of seating and a large, covered pavilion between two of the three fields—all making for an exciting day of games. There were face painting and balloon sculpting booths that were immensely popular with the kids. The concessions? Well, they couldn’t make the food fast enough and sold out of almost everything.
The games were fun to watch and very competitive. Another best practice of softball this year was having paid umpires for each game. The fields were in close proximity to each other and each field had stands. The larger field wher
e the finals took place was more of a small stadium. Detroit and Providence both had byes in the first round and found themselves in the championship game. Providence jumped out to a quick lead. Detroit fought back to make it close, but Providence prevailed and won the tournament.
For the first time I can recall, the close proximity of the fields allowed for each game to have an Armenian music soundtrack. The Norkef Ensemble provided the music, both for dancing and as the perfect background to all the games—a truly Armenian experience. People commented on how talented these young men are—all in their twenties—and how happy they are that our music will continue with another generation. Bravo Alek, Daron, Datev, Michael and Sam!
The three-on-three basketball tournament is a newer addition to the AYF Olympics that began about five years ago and is usually held on Saturday simultaneously with softball. Similar to previous years, many of the players would go straight from a softball game to play basketball and vice-versa. This year, for the first time, the games were held outdoors very close to the softball fields. The courts were right out of a movie—gritty, urban, no stands and a bit of grass growing out of the cracks in the surface where this kind of basketball was born.
On paper, Philadelphia was the odds-on favorite to win, and they did. The Philly team featured two very tall, athletic Keshgegian brothers who are accomplished players. The West Coast team gave them all they could handle in the semi-finals, and New Jersey did the same in the finals. Both games went to the last point. In the finals, New Jersey had the athletic and talented Zorian brothers, along with their cousin. Both teams played with a lot of heart, as Philadelphia prevailed.
There will be more in-depth coverage of softball and basketball in the Armenian Weekly Olympics Special Issue.
At the end of the day, it was off to the Saturday night dance featuring the ever-popular father and son duo: Nersik and Arabo Ispiryan. 1,700 tickets were sold for this event, and the dance floor was packed all night—a spectacular finish to a spectacular day at the AYF Olympics.
On Sunday, it is the track and field events and the Olympic Ball where we find out who the high scorers are and celebrate all the chapters that participated.
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Bravo to the AYF for adding the ever popular team
softball and basketball. Perfect blending to the weekend
Venues sound superb. Keeps getting better. Remarkable
multi generational experience continues.