Post by Okwes on Aug 22, 2006 9:42:50 GMT -5
Morongo women represent state in Indigenous Games
A team of women softball players, many from the Morongo Indian Reservation, beat three other teams to win the gold at the 2006 North American Indigenous Games in Denver last month.
Team California practiced for several months before the games, but some members said they knew their teammates from other reservations because they compete against them in tournaments. At the Indigenous Games, they competed in the women's age 20-and-up bracket
"Softball heaven" is a term Mary Ann Andreas uses to describe the popularity of the game that draws family and friends together to watch tournament play. Andreas, Morongo Tribal Council vice chairwoman, went to the Denver games where her daughter, Cindy St. John, managed the California team, and her granddaughter, Melissa St. John, played.
More than 7,000 Indian athletes from 34 American and Canadian delegations competed in 16 sports, according to the games' Web site.
Long before the games, the Morongo Women's Fastpitch Team had been playing for about three years, according to a summary of the team's history by Cindy St. John. Their tournament wins included first place in the 2005 and 2006 Morongo Cultural Heritage Days tournaments and first place last year at Pala and Soboba tournaments.
One such round-robin tournament took the Morongo team to the Reno area, where they met the Pitts sisters from the Washoe Tribe of California and Nevada, who became part of the state team.
"The girls have all faced each other at one time or another. This time they came together to represent California in Denver and did an outstanding job," Cindy St. John said.
"I love playing with the team that we have. Everybody knows each other, and we all get along," Jackie Nelson, of Morongo, said by phone.
"It was a great experience, I enjoyed it." Her sister, Jolene Nelson, also played.
Most of JavonnaSmith's siblings and cousins have played ball. She is the first player from the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians near Mecca to compete in the Indigenous Games.
"It was pretty cool going out and bringing back the gold," Smith said.
The next games are scheduled in Vancouver, Canada, in 2008. At Morongo, there has been talk about entering other events.
"We're going to be prepared with more than just softball," Andreas said by phone.
<http://www.pe.com/localnews/sanbernardino/stories/PE_News_Local_B_b2spot18.39b016a.html>
A team of women softball players, many from the Morongo Indian Reservation, beat three other teams to win the gold at the 2006 North American Indigenous Games in Denver last month.
Team California practiced for several months before the games, but some members said they knew their teammates from other reservations because they compete against them in tournaments. At the Indigenous Games, they competed in the women's age 20-and-up bracket
"Softball heaven" is a term Mary Ann Andreas uses to describe the popularity of the game that draws family and friends together to watch tournament play. Andreas, Morongo Tribal Council vice chairwoman, went to the Denver games where her daughter, Cindy St. John, managed the California team, and her granddaughter, Melissa St. John, played.
More than 7,000 Indian athletes from 34 American and Canadian delegations competed in 16 sports, according to the games' Web site.
Long before the games, the Morongo Women's Fastpitch Team had been playing for about three years, according to a summary of the team's history by Cindy St. John. Their tournament wins included first place in the 2005 and 2006 Morongo Cultural Heritage Days tournaments and first place last year at Pala and Soboba tournaments.
One such round-robin tournament took the Morongo team to the Reno area, where they met the Pitts sisters from the Washoe Tribe of California and Nevada, who became part of the state team.
"The girls have all faced each other at one time or another. This time they came together to represent California in Denver and did an outstanding job," Cindy St. John said.
"I love playing with the team that we have. Everybody knows each other, and we all get along," Jackie Nelson, of Morongo, said by phone.
"It was a great experience, I enjoyed it." Her sister, Jolene Nelson, also played.
Most of JavonnaSmith's siblings and cousins have played ball. She is the first player from the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians near Mecca to compete in the Indigenous Games.
"It was pretty cool going out and bringing back the gold," Smith said.
The next games are scheduled in Vancouver, Canada, in 2008. At Morongo, there has been talk about entering other events.
"We're going to be prepared with more than just softball," Andreas said by phone.
<http://www.pe.com/localnews/sanbernardino/stories/PE_News_Local_B_b2spot18.39b016a.html>