For many its on the  slowpitch field.

Since 2011 a number of CEESA teachers have started the school year with personal and private connections on the slowpitch field!
If you are new to the CEESA region you may be surprised to realize that for a number of schools slowpitch is the first event of the school year. Going back and forth between Vienna and Budapest the annual event has brought teachers from all over the region together. Joining Vienna and Budapest each year is the American School of Warsaw and over the years there have been teams from Helsinki, Istanbul, Bucharest and Sofia.

One of the best features of this event is that it is all about connecting and enjoying yourself but yes there are some competitive aspects as well. The athletes on the field are all members of school communities like; directors, teachers, athletic directors, coaches, assistants, business office members, spouses and friends. It was not only the five schools that but teams in to this year tournament that were represented as individuals from 4 other schools flew in, joined another team and had a great time.

This annual event is also an annual CEESA news article for me but with the amount of new people in the region it is important to get the word out as these connections made on the athletic field help immediately in the sharing of ideas while you are at the tournament but also further down the road as you may be looking for your next stop in the international teaching world. 

Congratulations to this year’s champion, the AAS Sofia who defeated the first time participants, AIS Bucharest but also thanks and congratulations to everyone who enjoyed a great day of slowpich and sun in Vienna this August.

Next year’s CEESA Slowpitch Tournament will be back in Budapest in August and full teams or individuals from any school are welcome.

Nick DeForest CMAA, is the Assistant Director of the Events Office at AIS Vienna, Austria and host of the Globetrottin’ ADs Podcast. Originally from Ontario, Canada, Nick has been in Austria since 2000 .
To connect with Nick and learn more about what he does outside of AIS Vienna please visit www.globetrottinads.comand/or follow him on Twitter @Nick_GTADs