The Selma Times-Journal

It may be hard to believe a game can make a difference, but that is the goal of the Spring Bling Softball Tournament.

The tournament this Saturday and Sunday at the Elks Club softball field will consist of 20 teams, 10 male and 10 co-ed. Organizer Robert Crum, founder of Selma-based LL Entertainment, said groups are coming from all over the state and Georgia, and there is still time to sign up.

The tournament is part of the 40 Days and 40 Nights of Nonviolence campaign.

“I just want to let the youth know that there is another way to have an outlet for your energy instead of doing crime,” Crum said. “Point blank, we want to take back the streets of Selma, take back our neighborhoods, police our own streets. We want to take it back to the good old days.”

The 40 days campaign, which will last until mid-May, calls for Selma groups or businesses to sponsor projects and programs to create a greater awareness and consciousness of principles and practices of nonviolence.

For more information on the artists or to sign up to play or perform, individuals are asked to call Crum at 375-0782 or come by the Z105.3 WBFZ radio station at 1501 Jeff Davis Avenue.

Crum said there would be DJs working the event and speakers on nonviolence.

There will also be discussions of mentoring, job readiness and sports training.

“There is another way to use all that potential, that energy. We don’t want that to go to waste,” Crum said.

Following the softball tournament, there will be entertainment from a variety of local and out-of-town artists. Participants in the tournament will receive a discount on the entertainment events.

The cost is $2 for adults, and kids 8 and under get in free. Games begin Saturday at 11 a.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.