Tournament to Benefit AIDS Assistance Program 

 

Hundreds of LGBT softball players will gather in Palm Springs the weekend of February 8-10, 2013 to compete in the 22nd annual Palm Springs Winter Classic Softball Tournament to benefit AIDS Assistance Program (AAP). Participating teams are members of the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting amateur athletics for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community.

 

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Registration and an opening reception will take place on Friday, February 8 from 7-10 pm at Hunter’s Video Bar, 302 East Arenas Road in Palm Springs. Players will greet each other and receive their game schedules. Throughout the weekend, teams will be competing on several fields, including Demuth Park in Palm Springs and the Big League Dreams Sports Field in Cathedral City. The tournament is open to a maximum of 80 teams in various divisions of play.

 

“The Winter Classic is always a special event, because many of these players come year after year, so it is really like a reunion for them,” said Vicki Oltean, Tournament Director. “The players love the terrific desert weather, and we get the chance to help AAP, so it is truly a winning combination.”

 

The Palm Springs Winter Classic Softball Tournament was established in 1991 as a fundraising event to help offset out-of-town tournament travel expenses for the Desert Heat Softball team members. Local host hotels have also agreed to donate 10% of that weekend’s proceeds to AAP. For more information on the 2013 Tournament, visit www.pswinterclassic.com or call 760/323-8277.

 

Since its founding in 1991, AIDS Assistance Program remains dedicated to providing nutritional support to improve the quality of the lives of those surviving HIV/AIDS. Initiated by a small group of concerned citizens, led by the late Gloria Greene, Jeannette Rockefeller, and Joanna Jakway, AAP provided meals to members of the community with low incomes and suffering with HIV/AIDS. Since then, the AAP client roster has grown from approximately 20 to more than 500 people.

 

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