by Geary Mason, featured writer
photos by Nicholas A. Ziegler, Editor-in-Chief

To see hundreds of other photos from the 24th annual SAE World Series,
visit the Fraternity’s collection of convention and World Series pictures on Flickr.

Despite months of preparation, sometimes Mother Nature forces a change in plans at the last minute. This year’s SAE World Series, the 24th time the event has been held, was slated to take place in conjunction with the 153rd Anniversary Convention — as both events would be in New Orleans in late July. The convention, which started on the evening of July 30, featured a kickoff ceremony to get the attendees ready for the Fraternity’s annual softball tournament. But heavy rains took their toll on the playing fields, forcing the tournament’s host committee to switch to a different venue — the sports complex’s adjacent soccer fields.

Ron Rigamer and Geary Mason, the tournament’s directors, had to make the last-minute preparations. Players from more than 20 teams from around the country pitched in to move the soccer goals and to set up bases and infield lines on the wet-grass fields. With such a difficult start, play did not finish that evening until well after 11 p.m., but the late hour gave the convention attendees something to cheer about after sitting in meetings and sessions all day.

A group of middle-aged alumni who compete in the tournament year after year entered their team, the Rejects II — named for their previous incarnation, the Rejects — which is the only team to compete in each of the 24 years. While the Rejects II would lose two games that first evening, 6–2 to the Cal State-Northridge Alums and 10–0 to South Florida, other newcomers would fare better. The active members of the Birmingham- Southern chapter showed the Tulane Old Alums who was in better shape, trouncing the older members 26–2 before defeating the Louisiana Tech Alums 9–2 — placing Birmingham in the winners’ bracket. But it was the defending champion, the Nicholls State A team, who would post the most impressive scores. The men thrashed South Florida 22–6 before hitting even harder against in-state rival LSU, winning 30–1. The Nicholls State B team turned in opposite results, however. In a game where active members faced their own alumni, the B team lost 27–12 and then continued that negative streak, dropping the game to the Southern Mississippi Alums 20–3. Their less-than- impressive showing earned the members the tournament’s Last Place Award for the fourth year in a row.

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