Kickball Classic Information

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Hawaii Gay Kickball Classic Tournament!

Our tournament will be held over Labor day weekend here on Oahu at Kapiolani Park and we have a really great weekend planned.

This post contains a lot of information, so take your time to read through it all.

Mahalos:

First and foremost, the HIGKL board of directors want to send out HUGE MAHALOS to each of you for making this weekend happen. With the teams, players, events, and vendors we have enlisted, it is going to be so much fun and we cannot wait! We have been working steadily behind the scenes to make this a super fun event.

Secondly, We want to send a double HUGE MAHALO to all of our sponsors and vendors who, with your registration, are making this such a cool event.

Background:

A little background on this event: The HIGKL founder, Mikey Rickman, has wanted to initiate an all island kickball tournament for many years- COVISD disrupted those plans, however last year, we held our very first HIGKL Classic in Kona, Hawaii! Each year we will be planning to hold an all island classic and we will also include our mainland sisters. In fact we sent out emails to several teams on the mainland to join us. While they are unable to join this year, they are stoked for next year!

Scheduling:

This year, our classic will be on Oahu, and next year it will be back in Kona- alternating every year. This year we had some scheduling issues with the calendar, but were able to secure a date thanks to the huge help from the Aloha State Softball League and their board of directors led by Rich Kidd, commissioner of the league. To alleviate scheduling issues in the future, Aikane Ohana (our fiscal sponsor and community organization) created an all sports league calendar for us to use for upcoming events. That calendar is located here! Check it out!

Welcome to Oahu!!

This weekend will be so fun and we want to encourage you to enjoy your stay or your staycation at one of our Classic Tournament host hotels. Please encourage everyone to make reservations today! These are super sweet deals that we have scored. Check them out here!

Points of Contact for the Weekend:

Similar to Kona last year, we will have 2 Directors of Operations for this weekend and they will be your points of contact for questions, suggestions, and help. I am pleased to introduce your Directors of Operations for the weekend- Jordan Lee and Rick Ramirez!

Events of the Weekend:

Friday 9/1/23:

-3p-6p -Player and team check in will occur at Kaimana Beach Hotel from 3p-6p at the front entrance. Here players will register and pick up their swag bags and shirts for the weekend including an all access wristband that will provide access to events, discounts on food and vendors, and more. Full details of what player registration comes with will be updated on our website soon!

-630p-8p -Captains Meeting- (Locate TBD) All captains will meet with operations, and the Directors of Fields/Umpires Stephanie and Mari. We will go over the rule book, weekend events, answer questions, etc.

-8p-2a- HIGKL Classic Opening Party- Located at our Host Bar- Hulaʻs Bar and Lei Stand. If you have a player who was not able to come to player check in- no worries! We will have a check in station at Hulas for people to pick up stuff. There will be a theme for the evening (TBD), a raffle with exciting raffle prizes (located on our website soon), opening remarks from the Operations team, and lots of fun!

Saturday 9/2/23:

All teams and team players will need to be on the field and ready to play before 8am!

8am- Opening Ceremony and Blessing- Kumu Brad will lead us in an opening ceremony and blessing of the Classic and the Fields. We will be enlisting players from each team to help with this. More information to come!

815am - Classic tournament all team picture will occur in front of Diamond Head

11a-12p- Lunch will be served!

4pm- Field tear down occurs.

9p-2a- Classic tournament after ames party and social event at Atlas Honolulu! It is going to be such a fun event, look for specifics on our website about the theme and theme events for this party.

Transportation: We are looking at providing a party shuttle that will leave from Hulas and travel between Hulaʻs, Atlas, and Scarlet Honolulu for the evening. A schedule will be posted and this will be a free service for all tournament wristband holders.

Sunday 9/3/23 Playoffs and Championship:

830am- First games begin! We will have 6 fields to play on. 3 fields for recreational teams, 3 fields for competitive teams. Umpires will be selected and scheduled PRIOR to the weekend and will be made up of members who are players from Oahu. We are going to have an operation tent as a landing spot for teams, to get updated information, and to get supplies, score sheets, see the brackets, etc. Games will most like last until about 3p-4p11a-12p- Lunch will be served!4pm- Field tear down occurs. 6/7p-9p- Closing Ceremonies, remarks, and trophy awards at Scarlet Honolulu followed by our Sunday night closing party! Scarlet has some special treats in store for us to make this a really fun evening. Your wristband gets you free entry (Normally $20). 9p-2a- HIGKL Closing Party at Scarlet Honolulu!Monday 9/4/23- Labor Day:

Monday morning there will be an opportunity to participate in a Volunteering event to give back to Oahu. Stay tuned for more details about that.

11a-whenever: the HIGKL Classic tournament Ohana Picnic- Located at Kaimana Beach- come unwind after the weekend with some great food, great company, great music, and lots of fun!

Finally, but not the least, I want to send a special thank you to the HIGKL board of directors who are making this weekend possible. Without them and their expertise- we could not be able to do any of this! Please welcome our board and thank them the next time you see them!!!

Thank you all!