Forget about the issue of gay marriage currently roiling Washington, D.C. This week the question in our nation’s capitol is whether the Los Angeles Stray Cats can make it 10 in a row by winning another North American Gay Amateur Athletics Association (NAGAAA) World Series. Though the annual tournament was held in Portland, Oregon, last year, this year Washington, D.C., played host to the NAGAAA competition.

Every year, teams from the United States and Canada compete in their local leagues to earn the right to play in the tournament — in total, 164 teams are taking part this year. Play is divided into the male-dominated Open Division and the Women’s Division. Each of these divisions is broken down by skill level, to accommodate a total of seven different levels of play.

“The world series games will be very competitive,” said Bill Walls of the Moby Dick’s Trojans, who will be playing in the Open C Division. “We will be facing the best teams from all over the United States and Canada. We have faced some of these teams before, … but for the majority of the teams it will be a new experience — which is not always a bad thing. It allows you to play your game.”

Moby Dick’s is also the sponsor bar for the A Division Hitmen, as well as the Last Call team, which is expected to be one of the powerhouses in the women’s tournament this year. Also representing San Diego in the Open Division will be Extasis, Brians’ American Eatery/PECS Bears and Aberration.

“I think we will do pretty well,” said George Biagi of Extasis, who announced that he will be hanging up his glove after playing softball for 14 years. “I think we have some good pickup players. We had a pretty up and down season but we were pretty consistent throughout defensively, so we will just have to see how our offense does. You never know how these other teams are going to be stacked or how they are going to match up with you. It all depends on the draw sometimes.”

Off the fields, the tournament kicked off with opening ceremonies Aug. 19. The event, held at Freedom Plaza, was sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and featured appearances by comedienne Suzanne Westenhoefer, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the HRC, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The tournament is expected to be a tourism boom for D.C., drawing close to 5,000 people into the city for the weeklong event. In addition to players there are more than 100 umpires, along with other tournament staff, partners, fans and friends.

Series director Bradley Houseton, a local player and tournament veteran, said, “The tournament’s impact on the local community and economy is huge. We anticipate bringing between $250,000 to $1,000,000 per day in revenue to the D.C. Metro area. Over 5,000 people will be here for a week, each spending anywhere from $50 to $200 per day on hotel rooms, taxis and rental cars, dining out, entertainment, and shopping.”

With over 100 players from San Diego alone, representatives from America’s Finest City are sure to add to the revenues that the tournament brings into the city.

“The game schedule should allow us to do a lot of sightseeing,” said Walls. “Of course, we are staying close to Dupont Circle, which should allow us a few nights checking out the social scene, but our main goal is to bring home a trophy. This would force Tony [Moby Dick’s owner] into building that trophy case at Moby Dick’s.”

Round robin play in the tournament began on Tuesday, Aug. 19, but no records were available as of press time. Double elimination play is scheduled to begin on Thursday, Aug. 21, and will continue through the championship games, which are scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Next week the Gay and Lesbian Times will have complete coverage of San Diego’s performance in the tournament.