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The
confluence
of
two
hurricanes—the
14th
Annual
Hurricane
Showdown
Softball
Tournament
and
the
inaugural
Hurricane:
A
Soccer
Competition—may
be
the
harbinger
of
a
perfect
storm
for
gay
athletes
and
sports
teams
in
South
Florida.
This
year’s
combined
tournaments
at
Mills
Pond
Park
in
Fort
Lauderdale
on
November
28-30
was
no
coincidence
or
an
accident.
It’s
a
well-planned
experiment
of
sorts,
and
promises
a
winter
delight
for
frost-bitten
visiting
teams
from
around
the
country.
“The
reason
we
did
this
as
we
did
was
because
we
wanted
to
combine
the
two
tournaments,”
said
Marcos
Oliveira,
of
the
Florida
Storm,
the
director
of
the
Hurricane
soccer
tournament.
“The
idea
is
to
bring
in
to
the
Hurricane
Showdown
other
gay
sports
being
played
in
this
area,”
he
said.
“We’ve
been
trying
to
do
this
for
a
while.
In
the
future,
maybe
we
can
have
volleyball,
swimming,
tennis
and
bowling.
Maybe
we
could
do
a
mini-version
of
the
Gay
Games.
The
soccer
tournament
with
the
softball
will
be
the
first
step.”
The
softball
tournament
is
conducted
by
the
South
Florida
Amateur
Athletic
Association
and
offers
competition
in
men’s
B,
C
and
D-division
play.
All
told,
more
than
60
teams
have
registered.
Most
are
from
Florida,
but
others
come
from
Georgia,
Virginia.
New
York,
Tennessee,
Massachusetts
and
Ohio.
In
the
D
division,
there’s
the
London
Bulldogs,
from
that
city
across
the
pond
on
the
River
Thames.
While
the
softball
tournament
enjoys
a
robust
registration,
and
a
great
reputation,
the
soccer
tournament
is
starting
out
small.
“Only
six
teams,”
Oliveira
said.
“We’ll
have
two
Florida
Storm
teams
and
a
team
each
from
New
York,
San
Francisco,
Atlanta
and
a
team
from
Memorial
Regional
Hospital
in
Hollywood.
We
had
a
lot
of
interest
at
first,
but
when
the
economy
turned
down,
a
lot
of
teams
lost
interest.
We
had
a
lot
of
turndowns,
but
you
know,
maybe
it’s
for
the
best
for
us
to
start
small.”
The
weekend’s
activities
open
on
Thanksgiving
Day
with
a
Thanksgiving
Orphans
Dinner
and
registration
for
the
high
heel
race
at
5
p.m.
at
Georgie’s
Alibi,
2266
Wilton
Drive,
Wilton
Manors.
The
contestants
in
the
high
heel
race
will
begin
blasting
from
the
blocks
at
7
p.m.
At
9
p.m.,
the
action
shifts
across
the
street
to
Bill’s
Filling
Station,
2209
Wilton
Drive,
for
the
Hurricane
Showdown
Pageant.
On
Saturday
morning,
the
games
begin
on
the
fields
and
diamonds
at
Mills
Pond
Park,
2201
N.W.
Ninth
Avenue,
FTL.
Softball
competition
starts
at
2
p.m.
with
round-robin
games,
while
soccer
will
start
earlier,
at
9
a.m.
After
the
day’s
play
is
complete,
the
fun
starts
again
at
a
9
p.m.
host
party
at
Sidelines
Sports
Bar,
2031
Wilton
Drive,
Wilton
Manors.
On
Sunday,
softball
action
will
start
with
double-elimination
games
at
8
a.m.,
and
the
divisional
championship
games
are
slated
to
start
at
3
p.m.
Soccer
should
start
around
9
a.m.
Oliveira
said
he
hopes
to
get
the
championship
match
started
about
4
p.m.,
or
sooner
if
possible.
The
long
weekend
closes
out
with
the
closing
banquet
at
5
p.m.
and
the
awards
ceremony
at
7
p.m.
at
Georgie’s
Alibi.
“For
us,
the
soccer
side
of
all
this
is
an
experiment,”
Oliveira
said.
“With
the
kids,
soccer’s
a
very
popular
sport,
but
not
as
much
so
with
the
adults
in
this
country.
Softball
is
very
popular
among
adults
already.
The
idea
of
combining
two
different
sports,
I
think,
is
a
good
one.”
The
Florida
Storm
members
will
be
selling
their
fundraising
calendar
throughout
the
weekend.
They’ll
use
the
proceeds
as
the
team
saves
for
a
2010
trip
to
the
Gay
Games
in
Germany
and
to
help
a
few
of
their
favorite
nonprofits.
“The
community
has
always
been
there
to
help
us,”
Oliveira
said.
“Every
once
in
a
while
we
like
to
say
thanks.”
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