Saturday is always a fun day at the AYF Olympics. It is the chapter softball tournament accompanied by a picnic with live music and later on the Saturday night dances.
We were back in Livonia for the picnic and softball — this time at the well-groomed and well-appointed Bicentennial Park. The best part about this park was that it had four ball fields and their home plates all abutted each other. The fields and picnic area were conveniently close to each other, and the weather was perfect with blue skies and pleasant temperatures.
As there were four fields, the softball tournament was shorter than at any other Olympics this reporter has covered. There were 12 teams in the tournament with both Chicago and Detroit having A and B teams. Providence, Detroit A, New Jersey and Greater Boston had byes in the first round. There were four games in the first round and four in the second round. The biggest upsets might have been Philadelphia over New Jersey and North Andover over Greater Boston, both in the second round.
In the semi-finals, Providence beat Philadelphia and Detroit beat North Andover to set up a repeat of last year’s final: Providence vs. Detroit. Providence came out on fire and scored eight runs in the first inning. Detroit hung in there and began clawing back. Providence had another strong inning to close it out 18-8 and win their third softball tournament in a row.
AYF softball is special — played for fun and chapter pride with no points awarded. It is indeed fun, but let’s not discount the chapter pride. Everyone wants to win, and everyone cheers loudly for their team. The competition is intense, but so is the AYF fraternity shown by the teams after each and every game.
The bracket for softball games can be found online and includes all the scores. More in-depth coverage will be provided in the AYF Olympics Special Issue.
What is an Armenian picnic without food and music? Everyone commented on how plentiful and delicious the food was. The kebabji crew manned the grills all day, and the servers were excellent.
Two bands, Hrant Gulian and the Ara Topouzian Trio, entertained those under the tents for the picnic. Gulian enthralled everyone with his resonant voice and his folk and modern repertoire. The Ara Topouzian Trio presented the more classic style of music that is the soundtrack of the AYF Olympics. The trio soon became a quintet as Mal Barsamian joined the group on clarinet and Steve Vosbikian sang several songs.
After the softball and picnic, a large number of AYFers gathered in the hotel lobby restaurant and bar to eat, drink and socialize. Alek Surenian on dumbeg and Michael Kamalian on oud entertained everyone with some lovely and lively music, making for a great relaxing time.
A lot of folks went out to dinner to experience the wonderful restaurants that have bloomed in the resurgent Downtown Detroit. I went to Mootz Pizza with my family, which was fabulous.
Everyone then returned to the hotel for the Saturday night dance featuring Nersik and Arabo Ispiryan, the amazing father and son vocalists. Their band, with duduk and dhol, entertained the crowd with traditional Armenian melodies and folk songs before Nersik and Arabo came out and filled the dance floor. It was a great ending to a wonderful Saturday at AYF Olympics.
Latest posts by Mark Gavoor (see all)
- The day after Detroit wins the AYF Olympics - September 4, 2024
- A spectacular Sunday at the AYF Olympics - September 2, 2024
- Saturday softball at the AYF Olympics - September 1, 2024
Be the first to comment