The Funtastic Slo-Pitch Tournament is the highlight of Canada Day weekend in Enderby. People come from far and wide to take part, every year without fail.
But it's no secret that alcohol is a big part of the festivities, among spectators and players alike.
So, what is there in town for people who love playing ball but also want to live a sober lifestyle?
The answer is the Jordan Stone Memorial Slo-Pitch Recovery Tournament.
Taking place Aug. 8 and 9 at the Riverside Park ball diamonds, the tournament brought together people in recovery from across B.C. for some outdoor fun, without the pressure to imbibe that reigns supreme at those same diamonds on July 1 weekend.
Brayden Morton, founder and owner of The Oaks Wellness Centre just outside of Salmon Arm, started the tournament four years ago with his friend, Jordan Stone, who he'd grown up with in Red Deer, Alta.
"My best friend of 30 years, he was struggling. He came out to treatment in Salmon Arm to the centre and he worked for me. He went to treatment. He had sustained sobriety," Morton told The Morning Star in between innings.
"One day, he came to me and asked me if he could put on a ball game for the local treatment centres, and I said absolutely. He and I have been playing ball since we were five years old, and he wanted to put it on, so we went ahead and put it on."
It started out with two teams from two treatment centres and grew to four or five teams in its second year.
Sadly, two years ago Stone passed away. Morton turned the tournament into a memorial for his friend.
"He started this, and I wanted to keep it going and make sure that people in the community know they're supported and that we're out here doing fun stuff, we're not just sitting at home in basements," Morton said.
The tournament is about showing people in recovery that life can be full of fun and fulfilling activities without drugs or alcohol. For Pat Mandryk, an organizer of the tournament, it's about re-learning how to socialize in a sober lifestyle.
"It's learning that there are different ways to socialize, and you don't have to get loaded, you don't have to get high, in order to socialize," Mandryk said.
For Morton, playing ball again was about returning to a joy from his youth, before his struggle with addiction took away that joy, and much more.
He went to treatment 13 times before sobriety stuck, having been addicted to fentanyl.
"I cleaned up in the Kootenays. There was a recovery ball team and I didn't really have the means to even get a glove or a bat or anything, and they made sure I had equipment to come out and play. And I've been playing ever since," he said.
The tournament is for people in all stages of recovery. Morton said a player came up to him in the morning and told him he was just two days clean.
"And he's out doing something," Morton said. "Previously he was in recovery and he had to stop playing ball because everybody was drinking there, and he feels safe and comfortable coming here. And I mean, that's what it's all about, is you're showing people support, and for the newer people that are here and making sure that us who have been doing this for a long time, that we're here for them."
Morton has been an interventionist for the last six years, working across Canada. Asked if there's a key to a successful intervention, he said "proper prep work, knowing the dynamics that you're dealing with, and having the family in the right head space."
Family support is a huge part of the recovery work that is done at The Oaks, and the ball tournament was a family-friendly event, complete with bouncy castles for the kids.
A memorial banner for Stone was set up behind home base at one of the diamonds.
"Jordan was just a great athlete all the way. He was great at whatever he tried doing," Mandryk said.
He added proceeds from the tournament would go to the SPCA, as Stone was an animal lover.
"We suspect that's what Jordan would want."
Four recovery centres took part in the tournament and had booths set up under the Enderby Lions gazebo.
Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee MP Scott Anderson attended the event in the morning to show his support.
