Aaron Chatten Softball Tournament This Weekend

The 4th annual Aaron Chatten Memorial Softball Tournament takes place this weekend and Glasgow Recreation Department Director Jory Casterline expects another great turnout for a good cause.

“The tournament has evolved since the first year,” Casterline said. “Last year was the first year back in Glasgow and have bounced around on the date to hold the tournament, but this year we found a date that not only worked for Glasgow, but for the surrounding communities in the area as well.”

Twelve teams are registered for the tournament so far, but Casterline said registration is still open for any straggling teams still wanting to take part in the tournament. Registration will close by Thursday at the latest so it will give organizers a chance to draw up the brackets for the weekend.

The memorial tournament was started four years ago after the sudden passing of Aaron Chatten. Chatten lost his life tragically in a car accident at the age of 27 in 2010. An active member in youth sports in the Glasgow community, Casterline explained how the idea of a memorial tournament in his name came about.

“It was something that Brenner and I talked about,” Casterline said. “We brought it up to the recreation board and thought it was a little too soon, it was when the flooding happened here. We talked to Lacy and Robyn [Chatten’s widow and mother] and they wanted to get it going right away.”

Casterline said that the first two years of the tournament was outside of Glasgow because of the field conditions after the flood.

“The first and second year, the tournament was held out at Fort Peck,” Casterline said. “There was a lot of traveling back and forth. Now that we do it in town, it’s not as bad.”

The tournament made its first appearance in Glasgow last year and Casterline is expecting another good turnout this year.

“It’s got the makings of a great tournament this year,” Casterline said. “The fields are going to be soft and it should be good playable conditions this weekend.”

Casterline pointed out that many businesses in the community make this tournament possible each year and is thankful for the community’s support along the way.

The co-ed tournament starts Saturday morning at 9 a.m. The participating teams will each play two games on Saturday to determine the single-elimination seeding for Sunday. Saturday night will feature an all-star game for men and women and a home run derby if time allows for all three.

The Durum will host a player feed Saturday night for the teams participating in the tournament.

When the tournament wraps up on Sunday, the winning team will receive $500 while the runner-up will receive $250. MVPs of the tournament will also be recognized for men and women and the trophy will be in the shape of home plate as in previous seasons.

Tournament organizers have raised a good amount of money in the four years that this event has been going and the organizers expect to sit down after this year’s tournament and decide the best way to distribute the money for a good cause.