A record 108 teams and 1,700 players from 31 cities across North America took place in the week-long tournament which annually crowns the champions in the five divisions of play which make up the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA), the organizing body for gay and lesbian softball in North America. Since organized gay and lesbian softball is predominantly a North American sport, it is generally accepted that the NAGAAA GSWS champions are the best in the world in their divisions.

The Stray Cats started their run of championships at the GSWS in Nashville in 1994, followed by victories in Seattle in 1995, Minneapolis in 1996, and now in San Diego -- the site of their first invitational tournament victory in 1992 at the Autumn Classic -- a tournament they've won every year since that first victory. Runners-up to the Stray Cats were the Atlanta AEN Bucks, followed in third by hometown San Diego Rich's, with the New York Sunny Day Knights in fourth.

The Open B Division crowned the Twin Cities Gay '90s Bandits as its new champions, with Chicago MSA Fusion as its runner up. The Atlanta Eagles finished in third, with the Birmingham Braves taking home fourth-place honors.

The Women's Alternative (recreational) Division was won by Philadelphia Moxie, who defeated the Chicago Baton Showgirls in the final. Third place was won by the Dallas Dewovers, with fourth place secured by Long Beach Call The Shots.

Toronto Crew brought the first ever GSWS Championship to Canada when they knocked off the Atlanta Angels in the final of the Open C Division. Third place finishers were the San Francisco Cinch Posse, and forth place went to Milwaukee Pride.

Athletes and fans were treated to a week-long series of special events throughout the San Diego region, including Opening Ceremonies at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, a dance cruise on San Diego Harbor, and a Closing Ceremonies Dance Party at the world famous San Diego Zoo. Net proceeds from the week's events will benefit the San Diego Lesbian and Gay Men's Community Center. The primary sponsor of the event was Miller Lite, who donated $40,000 to the event, along with $6,500 from its Sharps non-alcoholic beer to underwrite a safe-driving shuttle from the host hotel to the local bars and clubs at night.

Additionally, three local organizations -- Mama's Kitchen, Special Delivery, and the Lesbian Health Project -- are each $4,467 richer thanks to the generosity of the more than 700 softball players and fans who attended the Gay Softball World Series Talent Show and Celebrity T-shirt Auction on Wednesday, August 13, at the Holiday Inn on the Bay. The annual event, hosted NAGAAA in conjunction with the organizing committee of the host GSWS city -- in this case the Ride The Wave/San Diego Series '97 Committee -- was started in 1990 in Pittsburgh as a way for NAGAAA to give something back to the host city.

The $13,400 raised was a record for the event, with the previous high of $7,600 achieved at last year's GSWS in Minneapolis. The lion's share of the donations ($8,900) came from the Celebrity T-shirt Auction and the cover charge ($5 per person). An additional $900 was raised from the tips given to the talent show performers, who in turn, donated the money to the organizations.

"The generosity of the people who attended this year's event was unbelievable," said Series '97 chairman George Biagi. "And you can't imagine how badly these three organizations need this money. Quite frankly, those of us on the board of directors were overwhelmed by the amount of money everyone donated. It was one of the high points of this week's events."

The special edition Series '97 t-shirts, emblazoned with the Series '97 logo and the phrase "In memory and support" with a red ribbon in place of the letter "e" in the word memory, were autographed by such luminaries as Whoopi Goldberg, Melissa Etheridge, Bette Midler, Liza Minelli, Cher, Faye Dunaway, Joan Rivers, Gregory Peck, Rudy Galindo, and Vice President Al Gore. The largest bids were reserved for the final two T-shirts auctioned, with Liz Taylor's autographed shirt going for $3,000 and Madonna's shirt fetching $1,800. Two autographed Tony Gwynn baseballs, donated by Premier Glaser Bailey of Escondido -- the trophy makers for Series '97 -- were auctioned off for a total of $380. Gwynn is the seven-time National League batting champion who plays right field for the San Diego Padres.