Sports

Covid-19 has struck out the 2020 East Hampton Artists and Writers Softball Game, originally scheduled for Aug. 15 at Herrick Park. The charity game's organizers have decided it is not yet safe enough to play, but will continue to raise money for the four nonprofits the game supports.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association postponed the start of fall sports for high schoolers by about a month, from Aug. 24 to Sept. 21, and canceled regional and state championship events.

"The Father of Baseball," Henry Chadwick, whose retirement house in Noyac, not far west of Trout Pond, still stands, is to be among those inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 1.   

Sam O'Hara, a 15-year-old who lives in Rye, N.Y., and East Hampton, and who plays golf at the Maidstone Club, and Mia Sessa, a 16-year-old who plays at the East Hampton Golf Club, won the Long Island Boys and Girls Championship at the Smithtown Landing Golf Club on June 24.   

There are plans to play the big charity softball game in Herrick Park on Aug. 15, but it is by no means a sure thing. Leading up to it, the two sides will engage in an online competition to see which team can raise the most money for the game's beneficiaries.

Ally Friedman, who for the past three years at the Ross School in East Hampton has been using tennis as a vehicle through which to boost her 7 through 12-year-old female students' self-esteem, health, and resilience, is one of seven young people from across the country to have won a Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award, which includes a $10,000 scholarship.

​​​​​​​Rather than traverse the accustomed Montauk Firehouse to Lions Field route along Edgemere Road, this year's Montauk Mile participants were asked to run, jog, or walk the distance wherever they wanted over a two-week period, and to submit their times to the race's sponsor, the Old Montauk Athletic Club.

Tony Caramanico of Montauk was recently inducted into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame for "having made the most significant contributions to the sport, thereby preserving their historical significance and the sport's cultural lore for future generations." He was one of 10 singled out for this honor from a list of 200.

Many businesses have struggled to survive during the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic shutdown, but one niche industry is witnessing solid sales. Bait and tackle shops around Long Island have seen a significant uptick in business as more people take up fishing as a social distancing pastime.

As if we didn't have enough to be concerned about these days, Mother Nature has been in a rather ornery mood of late. I'm not sure what's ticked her off, but her unpredictable exploits have left a mark in many parts of the world, including our area.

Add sailing to the short list of competitive outdoor sports, including golf and tennis, that have made comebacks in the wake of the coronavirus shutdown.

A month later than usual, the Breakwater Yacht Club's Wednesday evening Summer Series of large boat races got underway in Shelter Island Sound on June 3, windward-leeward practice runs that attracted four entrants - three J/70s and Caminos, Don Filippelli's 36-foot J/109 out of the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett, a boat that has a North American championship to its credit.

When Vinny Alversa, East Hampton High's baseball coach, was asked if he would be interested in entering his team in a high school tournament in Brookhaven between July 8 and July 12, the answer was an immediate yes.