While nearly everyone is getting caught up in the Christmas spirit and shopping madness, some people in the Bangor area are thinking even more long term and preparing for the 1992 Sno-Ball Softball Tournament.

The Sno-Ball Tournament … already?

That’s right. The benefit tournament for the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation will be held Jan. 18-19 at various fields in Bangor. The deadline for team registration is Jan. 8.

After rainy weather and a lack of snow forced the tournament to be canceled in 1989 and 1990, and a fairly low number of teams participated in the Sno-Ball Softball Tournament last year, organizers are hoping for a big turnout and ideal conditions in 1992.

“I’d like to bring it back up closer to 100 (teams) the next couple of years,” said Chris Olsen, community director for the March of Dimes’ Maine State Chapter in Brewer.

“We only had 52 last year and I’d really like to see it get back up to where it was in the mid to late ’80s.”

The high-water mark for the tournament came in 1987, when 100 teams participated. In 1988, 95 teams competed and raised $11,000 – the largest amount raised in the tourney’s history.

Despite its recent weather-related setbacks, the tournament has enjoyed steady growth since its modest beginning in 1982, when 21 teams raised $1,500 for the prevention of birth defects.

All of the proceeds benefit the March of Dimes, a non-profit agency dedicated to the prevention of birth defects and low birthweight, and the reduction of infant mortality rates.

This year’s tournament is being sponsored by Sharp’s non-alcohol beer and Pine State Beverage of Bangor.

The Bangor Elk’s Lodge on the Odlin Road will again serve as tournament headquarters. Teams will play on fields at Husson College, Union Street, and Dow Field.

“We haven’t had to use as many fields the last few years,” said Craig Orff, recreation superintendent of the Bangor Parks and Recreation Department. “We even used to use the fields at the airport.”

Besides mailing out information packs to team members who have played in the tourney the last couple of years, organizers like Orff and Olsen are trying to arrange for a local celebrity to promote the tournament and present awards.

“We used to have the Lite Beer All-Stars, but we haven’t had any for awhile,” Orff said. “We’d like to get a state celebrity to do promotions for the tournament.”

The annual preparation for the tourney has become easier each year for two principle reasons, according to Olsen. One is increased familiarity with the annual process. The other is a strong core committee.

“I’m grateful that we have such a great committee to work with, and so many volunteers who help out each year,” Olsen said.

The only major changes from the usual makeup of the tournament are the renaming of the “Tastes Great” and “Less Filling” divisions to open and coed categories and the addition of a new, media challenge.

The media challenge will match teams from local newspapers and radio and television stations.

Although bright orange softballs and bases are provided, thermal underwear is not, so players should dress for the cold and wetness they could encounter.

Each team should supply an umpire and at least 10 players.

Entry is still $110 per team. Entry forms are available at the parks and recreation offices in Orono, Bangor and Brewer, the March of Dimes office in Brewer, and the Bangor Elks Lodge.