by Anthony Greer - SGN Staff Writer

The Dirty Dawgs, Vendetta, Squadron, SIN, Sacrifice, and Buzz will all be competing in the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) 35th World Series in Chicago in August.

'[The World Series] is probably like a smaller version of the Olympics. There are just seas of softball players on these fields and they're all there for the same reason,' Ken Kramer of the Seattle Buzz said. 'It's kind of exciting because you get to meet all of these different people from different parts of the country. The only real competition is on the field.'

This will be Kramer's third world series.

'We're looking forward to competing against the best teams in our league and stepping up our play level,' Greg Whitehead of the Seattle Sacrifice said. 'Tournaments are a lot of fun. They're stressful as well, but mostly fun.'

Chicago is expecting to host 153 teams from 42 different cities in the United States and Canada and roughly 4,000 participants in the games. The tournament itself starts on August 29 and continues through September 3. The awards ceremony will take place on September 4 at Wrigley Field, the home stadium of the Chicago Cubs.

'Gay softball is the largest of the annual championships in the Gay sports community. Our teams and players, therefore, are goodwill ambassadors for the Seattle LGBT community. As a league, we do everything we can to make sure we're sending competitive teams that exhibit great sportsmanship. We've been able to build an excellent reputation for Seattle's softball community, and I truly believe the impact is that other teams are left with a favorable impression of Seattle as a whole,' Jeff Card, the Emerald City Softball Association commissioner, stated.

In preparations for the World Series, the teams are kicking off their fundraisers through their sponsored bars and other neighborhood-friendly businesses.

The Seattle Sacrifice will be at Purr selling shots and accepting donations on July 22, July 29, August 6, and August 19. They will also be hosting a happy hour event at the Sole Repair Shop on Capitol Hill on August 4, and then return to the Sole Repair Shop on August 23 for their Bon Voyage party.

The Seattle Buzz is hosting a scavenger hunt on July 23. It will start at the Roanoke Tavern at noon where people will pick up the list of items they need to scavenge and then conclude at their sponsor's space, the Lobby Bar, at 3 p.m.

The Seattle Squadron got Le Faux-ed at Julia's, their sponsored bar, on July 21, where Robbie Turner, Lady Chablis, Lil Kim Chee, Tara Hymen, Evie Twig, Miss Tapatio, Aronda Bases, Jaxen Brown, Cambootie Licious, and Alexandra Paradisco put on a show.

The R Place-sponsored Seattle SIN held a garage sale at the Canyon Ridge Community Garage Sale on July 16 and will also be at C.C. Attle's on July 23 at 9 p.m.

R Place's Dirty Dawgs will be hosting a car wash/sidewalk sale where they'll wash cars, trucks, and whatever else you bring that's dirty on July 31 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Seattle Vendetta will be doing two Jell-O shot fundraisers at their sponsored bar, Purr, on July 30 and August 20 from 9 p.m. to midnight. They may also be doing an Amazing Race-type fundraiser, but the event is not yet confirmed.

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