Alumni team nabs back-to-back softball tournament trophies.

A little healthy competition between departments was seen on the diamond again this year.

The annual George Brown College (GBC) softball tournament was held July. 26, serving up a chance for summer fun and connection.

Since 2013, the tournament has been a cherished tradition, with John Valle, staff member with the shipping and receiving department, organizing the event for over a decade. This year, Bryan Mulveney stepped in as co-facilitator and led the winning team.

Valle believes the tournament is a great opportunity for reconnecting with people, network and have fun.

“I think this is a more of a stress reliever, because everybody’s tied up and being at work and being at school and with COVID just passing and everything else. This gives an opportunity for people to get back together, reconnect, network and different things like that. So, I think everybody seems to have fun. Not too many people take it too serious. And they get to mingle with their colleagues which they usually don’t at work now that they work from home and remote work and stuff like that. This is an opportunity to actually see them in person.”

Held at Greenwood Park, this year’s event featured 10 teams competing against each other, with the Alumni & Friends (A&F) team ultimately taking home the tournament trophy.

This year, the final game was a near repeat of 2023, with A&F facing off against Voltron. Last year, these two teams faced off in the final with the same team coming out on top.

Mulveney, team leader of A&F, noted that he has participated in 10 of the 12 tournaments held over the years. He attributed their success to maintaining a light-hearted and fun approach throughout the games.

“Everybody’s just loose here at this tournament. It’s easy going. It’s a Friday. I think that’s the main reason why I do this. And it’s the people that I meet along the way. And then it’s just like the long lasting relationships that come out of it. And it’s nice, because it’s something that we only do once a year. This is by far the largest staff tournament that I’ve seen, because John does organize volleyball and dodgeball, and a few other tournaments.”

While smaller in scale than softball, Valle organizes many other sporting events throughout the year. This includes things like cornhole, dodgeball, volleyball, and more.

For more information on some of the upcoming sports, visit https://gbc4me.weebly.com/.