Tufulios’ pitcher Deb Lander comes out year after year to support Special Olympics Maine by participating in the annual Fred Webster Snow Softball Tourney. (David Hart photo) CARRABASSETT VALLEY — The conditions were not so perfect for the 23rd annual Fred Webster Snow Softball tournament last Tuesday. Rain fell creating muddy conditions, but that didn’t lessen the overall spirit and intent of this classic fundraising event.

Many teams supporting the Maine Special Olympics came out to represent their sponsors and played numerous games between the Carrabassett Valley Town Park softball field and the Black Fly Field. Snow softball is a pledge-based event that occurs annually each spring regardless of the conditions and is almost considered a paid holiday for most employees of the town.

It is anticipated that nearly $25,000 was raised by local teams which include, for the fifth year now, a team of staff and board members from the Maine Special Olympics. As of press time the money from this event was still rolling in.

In no surprise, Freeman Ridge Construction, or sometimes known as Schneipp’s Team, came out and won their first game early Tuesday morning and never stopped winning to take the title. Schneipp’s team took the final championship game against Tufulios by the score of 13-7. Nobody could quite remember how many years straight that Freeman Ridge has taken the championship.

Whether winning or losing, all of the team players had tons of fun while supporting a great cause.

“This just shows the commitment of the people in this community and the players. The weather makes no difference,” Mike Feldman general manager for the Special Olympics teams said. “A lot of events say ‘rain of shine’ but here they really mean it and play under any condition.”

“This is a major fundraiser for us,” Feldman explained between games. “Nothing is like this. Do you know when we come for the winter games the first night, Sunday night, all the dinners are provided by the people of Carrabassett Valley. Then we do games like this and raise $25,000. Everyone here is so nice to our athletes for what is a major trip for many of them every year. This is a special place and one of the major reasons I ski Sugarloaf. This area is great and one of the best areas in the state.”

The Maine Special Olympics is now in its 42nd year of operation. Over 3,200 athletes participate statewide in Special Olympic events on an annual basis. This could not be sustainable without events such as the annual snow softball tournament.