Troy PD’s Kickin’ for the Fences Tournament Successful On-And-Off The Field In Fifth Year

By Anthony Jones, Reporter

This past week the Troy Police Department hosted their fifth annual kickball tournament at the Tri-Township Park. Each team featured between ten and twelve players. The games lasted seven innings and had a fifty minute time limit. The day culminated in a championship bout between the Fruits and the KeKambas.

Ultimately, the Fruits prevailed and won a closely contested game by a final score of 2-1. They were lead by their captain, Travis Speer, and the team consisted of Triad High School student-athletes. Their opponents, the KeKambas, have been champions of the tournament three of the past years. Both teams played a hard fought game and demonstrated high levels of sportsmanship.

Troy’s Police Department put the event on to help raise awareness and funds for the Triad Special Olympics Illinois Team. Triad has athletes from high school and younger who compete in Special Olympics.

The assistant chief Brent Shownes said at the city council meeting on Monday that they raised approximately $10,000 for Special Olympics from the event.

The department stated on their social media page, “We share an invitation to come to the Truck Convoy on September 14th and watch the spectacular display of big rigs in a 26 mile convoy down the interstate.” In prior years this event has been the biggest raiser with amounts exceeding over twenty thousand dollars at least one year.

The funds raised through that event will go to Special Olympics as well. Various police departments throughout the state and the nation help organize events in tandem with Special Olympics. There are over twenty two thousand Special Olympics athletes. Special Olympics features twenty two different sports

For more information on Special Olympics Illinois, you can visit one of their two websites listed below

https://www.specialolympics.org/programs/united-states/illinois.