Locals and visitors participate in Donnie Crump OTL Late Night Tournament
Paul Vozzella
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The City of Yuma Parks and Recreation hosted the Donnie Crump Over the Line (OTL) Late Night Tournament this weekend.
The tournament took place at Pacific Avenue Athletics Complex, located at 1700 E. Eighth Street, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, with check in starting at 5:30 p.m.
Teams of two gathered from Yuma, and as far as the greater Los Angeles area, to face off in the tournament.
For many, it’s more than just a game. It’s a tradition.
“They’re always great out here. The people out here are great…the competition, crazy, you know, playing all night,” said Jeff Briggs, one of the players.
While the group of regulars share a strong passion for the sport, they are looking to bring a new generation of competitors who can appreciate it the way they do.
“I would say it’s definitely a very tight-knit community…We’re trying to keep tournaments in town and continue to grow and get a new class of younger players to come out,” said Louden Young, program coordinator.
The person whom the tournament is named after embraced the local sports community like no other as Donnie Crump spent much of his time involved in the Yuma sports scene.
“He did the open gyms. He was at the softball leagues. He was here at the two-man late night OTL Tournament. He ran, you know, helped come out and run the softball leagues and everything, so he was just one of those guys that was out every single event and you knew who he was if you played sports,” Young shared.
The winner in the men’s bracket took home $1,000 cash while the winner in the women’s bracket walked away with $500.
However, even with the cash prize on the line, OTL players took the field for the love of the game and a passion for the community, something Crump exemplified in his everyday life.
The tournament lasted until at least 7:00 a.m. Sunday.