The Month That Was

As Spring geared up, so did the events in April. There were a range of sporting activities to choose from around the state. Here are some of the events that happened in April.

International Curling Fellowship of Rotarians World Championships

The event kicked off the sports events in April. The event lasted an entire week, from April 1 to April 6, at the National Capital Curling Center, home of the Potomac Curling Club. Competition and other activities were also held at Gardens Ice House, which is adjacent to the National Capital Curling Club. More than 150 competitors and their families from across the U.S. and around the world, including England, Scotland, and Canada came to Prince George’s county to compete in this week long event. There were two divisions: Championship and Friendship. Spruce Grove from Alberta, Canada won the Championship Division, followed by Kingston from Ontario, Canada and Barron County Sunrise from Wisconsin. Peterborough from Ontario, Canada won the Friendship Division, followed by Grand Prairie Sunrise from Alberta, Canada and Stratford from Ontario, Canada. For more results and information on the event, go to www.curldc.org.

Camden Yards 20th Anniversary/Orioles Opening Day

Camden Yards celebrated its 20^th Anniversary as the Orioles opened their season with a three game stretch against the Minnesota Twins. A sellout crowd of more than 46,000 attended Opening Day to see the renovations to Camden Yards and the Orioles defeat the Twins, 4-2. Some of the new features to Camden Yards include an eating area, rooftop deck behind center-field, improved view from the flag court area, and six statues that will be unveiled throughout the season. The Orioles concluded their Opening Weekend stretch with a three game series against the Yankees from Monday to Wednesday.

St. Charles Running Festival

In Southern Maryland, Charles County hosted the Second Annual St. Charles Running Festival at Regency Furniture Stadium. The event coincides with the Blue Crabs annual Fan Fest to start their baseball season. The Running Festival featured several different race events for participants to compete in: 10 mile race, 5K and the Chick-fil-A Kids’ Fun Run. Over 330 men and women competed in the 10 mile race through scenic Charles County. For the Men, Christopher Nowakowski from Baltimore, MD narrowly won the race with Jesse Stump from Catonsville, MD and Larry Hutchinson closing out the top three. These were also the only competitors to finish with sub-60 minute times. Rebecca Scott from Ashburn, VA won first place for the women, followed by Teresa Murphy from Waldorf, MD and Kate Dochelli from Richmond, VA. For more results from the St Charles Running Festival, check out www.stcharlesrunfest.com.

Athleta Iron Girl Half Marathon

The Inaugural Athleta Iron Girl Half Marathon in Howard County through Columbia Town Center concluded another busy month of sports events in Maryland. This is the first Iron Girl Half Marathon in the Mid-Atlantic with all proceeds going to the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource Center. Over 250 female competitors and 50 male competitors from across the U.S participated in this event. Norah MacPhee from Columbia, MD won first place for the women followed by Kelly Nave of Pasadena, Md and Jennifer Lee of Hanover, MD. Cliff Franz from Silver Spring, MD won first place for the men with Ben Mertes of Elkrigde, MD and Matthew Warnick of Silver Spring, MD round out the top three competitors. Be sure to check out www.tricolumbia.org for more information about this race and future races sponsored by this great organization.

Keep checking back with Here 2 Play for updates on all this month’s big events.