While many of us were spending time gobbling up Thanksgiving leftovers or camping out for Black Friday deals this past weekend, others were busy competing in some big time tournaments around Maryland. We talked about the NATT Teams Championship in Baltimore last week, but there were plenty of other events going on in Maryland. These athletes were busy devouring their competition instead of turkey.
In Ocean City, anglers were occupied with trying to win money rather than spend it at the 5th Annual Black Friday 550 Rockfish Tournament. The tournament began on Friday and continued through Sunday at the Ocean City Fishing Center. The total purse was $5,000. Boats were allowed to weigh four rockfish per day, and it was up to the discretion of the captain which of their four keepers got weighed.
Along with the fishing tournament, silent auctions and raffles were taking place to raise money for the Worcester County Autistic Children’s Support Group. Last year, the tournament raised $3,400 for the charity. As for the fish, anglers were struggling to catch keepers since the rockfish were just starting to make their way into the waters around Ocean City. The keeper fish started showing up about three weeks later than normal, just in time for the tourney to begin.
Moving from the open water to the frozen kind, curlers were in action at the 2011 National Capital Cashspiel at the National Capital Curling Center in Laurel, as well. The event was part of the Ontario Curling Tour and the World Curling Tour. The event was put on by the Potomac Curling Club, which has been in existence since 1961. The club has operated out of the Curling Center in Laurel since 2002.
The total purse for this year’s tournament was $6,000. Teams competed in a round-robin format, ending with the finals on Sunday. There were five draws overall: two on Friday, three on Saturday and the semifinals and finals on Sunday. The top team was Team Dropkin, beating Team Edie 7-2 in the final match Sunday afternoon.
Another event that wrapped up on Sunday was the NSCAA Baltimore College and Junior Showcases presented by Under Armour. Some athletes at this event might be guilty of shopping this weekend – shopping themselves, of course. The purpose of this tournament is for high school-aged soccer players to showcase their talent for college coaches.
Divisions included U18 men and women, along with boys U15 – U17 and girls U16 – U17. Games were held at various locations throughout the Baltimore metro area, like Covenant Park and Cedar Lane Park in Columbia, Western Regional Park in Woodbine, and Rockburn Park in Elkridge. Over 90 teams participated in the showcase. They came from all over the Northeast.
College coaches from all over the country were in attendance, as well. I guess you could say they were doing a bit of shopping themselves, out scouting talent for their programs. Coaches came from all types of athletic programs, whether it be NCAA Division I schools (like LSU, Pitt, Villanova, Towson and Maryland, to name a few) or the National Junior College Athletic Association. Over 115 colleges and universities were represented at the three-day tournament. For a full set of results, check out the tournament page.
There were no Turkey Day hangovers for these competitors. No matter the sport, athletes were busy keeping their games in gear over the long holiday weekend.
