The dust has settled and the awards have all been handed out in Washington, D.C., at the 2003 Gay Softball World Series. Though San Diego came home without any championship trophies it was still an exciting week of softball that included teams from across the country. Last week’s issue of the Gay and Lesbian Times included a complete wrap-up of the open division results. This week, we give you the results from the women’s division.

A new record-high of 58 Women’s Division teams competed in the championship tournament this year, a 23 percent increase in the number of women’s teams from the 2002 series in Portland, Oregon. In addition to the increase in teams, an all-new two-day exhibition tournament for the Women’s Recreational Division was held in conjunction with the series.

Moby Dicks Last Call, San Diego’s representative in the Competitive Division, went 3-0 in pool play beating KC Ultimate Distraction, 6-5, Minnesota Rebels, 4-3, and San Francisco Pilsner Panthers, 5-2.

Their record earned them the number three seed out of 16 teams vying for the title in the Competitive Division. In the first round of double elimination play Last Call beat the Atlanta Armory Dramanotz, 15-3, to advance to the second round where they lost to LB/OC Yes I Am, 8-4. In the losers’ bracket Last Call survived through two rounds of play that included wins against South Florida Alibi Blaze, 5-4, and LA Bent, 9-2, before losing to ATL Force, 5-4, to end their bid for a World Series championship.

In the Competitive Division the Minnesota Rebels defeated the Dallas Front Runners, 7-6, to take first place.

San Diego Aberration went 2-1 in the Women’s Alternative Division pool play, beating Tucson Karyn Garvin & Associates, 14-7, losing to Kansas City Cabaret, 5-3, and then beating LA Boltz, 7-4. In double elimination Aberration was seeded number nine out of 31 teams. In the opening round of double elimination play they lost to Kansas City Cabaret, 11-9. In the losers’ bracket Aberration’s hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed as they lost to the Long Beach/Orange County Underdogs, 4-3.

The South Florida Storm beat Long Beach/Orange County Title IX, 7-1, to win the Alternative Division. In the recreational exhibition tournament, Norfolk Virginia’s The Crew beat the Los Angeles Bat Girls, 7-6, to win that division.

“I cannot imagine that this is an all volunteer organization,” said Rebecca Hamel, publicity chair for the 2003 series. “When I came to this organization I knew it was wonderful because it was 27 years old, it was sponsored by Miller Light and one of the beneficiaries in Washington D.C. was the Whitman Walker Clinic … one of the premier providers of services for people living with HIV and AIDS in the area. I knew this was something that’s really special but I didn’t know the size of this.”

In addition to the excitement on the fields, every night of the 2003 Series, D.C.-area bars hosted parties for both the men and women. World Series traditions included an annual talent show fundraiser hosted by the one and only Bubba D. Licious, honored with a plaque for her 10 years of service to the NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series. This year’s closing ceremonies were held at Velvet Nation, a popular D.C. club that was set up auditorium style for the presentation of trophies and awards.

“In the front row were parents who were in their ’60s or ’70s, so we really ran the gambit of everybody coming to this,” Hamel said of the closing ceremony.

The 2004 World Series will be held next August in Dallas, Texas. Meanwhile, get ready for Fall Ball to begin in San Diego with the new season kicking off on Sunday, Sept. 7 at the Poway Sportsplex.