Bobby Vargo’s legacy continues in Kipling’s 13th annual memorial slo-pitch tournament June 27-29
June 16, 2025, 12:14 pm
Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
One of the many values Bobby Vargo is remembered for is his commitment to community. Growing up in Kipling, he was active in several local groups—something he carried south of the border after moving to the U.S. Sadly, his life was cut short at the young age of 27 after a motor vehicle collision. To honour his memory, the Bobby Vargo Memorial Slo-Pitch Tournament was established, and has been going strong ever since.
“Bobby was one of my good friends, we went to school together our whole lives,” says Colby Sproat, Deputy Mayor of Kipling and one of many locals who help with the annual slo-pitch tournament that bears Bobby’s name. “It’s getting into 13 years past, there’s probably a lot of people who don’t know who he is, but for friends and family, the tournament is still a really good reason to get together and remember him.”
This year the tournament is planned for June 27-29. The tournament raises funds for community projects, symbolic of Bobby’s dedication to Kipling.
“You look at the things in the community that would have come from it, and even just the restoration of the ball diamonds, you go back 10 or 12 years, they didn’t look near as good as they do now,” Sproat said.
Now in its 13th year, the Bobby Vargo Memorial Slo-Pitch Tournament continues to support the community, having raised more than $359,000 since inception.
“Several organizations in town have been a part of it, and we appreciate that,” said Bobby’s father, Glen Vargo, giving a few examples. “The Lions Club has done a lot of work with us the last few years. They run the food booth for the whole weekend, and they get all the proceeds from that food booth. All of their money that they make comes back into community projects as well. The firefighters put on a breakfast every year, and the proceeds stay with them.
The senior hockey team is going to be running a dunk tank for the weekend.”
Last year, a pavilion was added to the ball park after the tournament received a donation from Kingston Midstream totalling $45,000, which was added to $80,000 raised from the tournament for a combined donation of $125,000 to the Town of Kipling. This covered construction costs of the shelter.
“We couldn’t do it without people’s support—coming down and being a part of things, playing ball, and all the sponsors we get,” Glen explained. “We’re humbled every year by the amount of sponsorship we get—not only through the signs for a monetary donation, but people who give to the silent auction as well. I think that silent auction last year raised over $13,000. These are all donated gifts, and like I say, we’re humbled by the support that we receive.”
New this year
Something new this year is the inclusion of a cornhole tournament, which received a not-so-dry run last year.
“On the Friday night, it was raining,” Glen recalled of the 2024 tournament. “We had probably two-and-a-half inches of rain, and it was cold!”
The newly-constructed shelter was put to the test.
“We taped in some sides and brought some patio heaters down, and we had a cornhole tournament Friday night,” Glen said. “Now it will turn into an annual thing on the Friday.”
He said Bobby was who introduced Glen and Lynn to the game.
“Actually, our son Bobby introduced us to that game when he was living in South Dakota,” Glen said. “We went down there to visit him one weekend, and he and some friends were playing, so we got involved in it and we really enjoyed it, too.”
Also new for 2025 is the addition of some U13 AA and U11 AAA ball games on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
“Our grandson and our great-nephew were both playing AAA U11 baseball out of Estervan last year,” Glen said. “On Sunday of the tournament, they played a double header in town, and it was very popular. Our grandson graduated to U13 now, but our nephew’s boy still plays on the U11 team, and they requested to come back, and if they could make it work, play a double header again.”
The U11 Estevan Brewers take on the Regina Wolfpack at noon and 3 pm on the 29th.
“Our grandson plays U13 AA with the SaskEast Diamond Jaxx, and they’re going to be playing a double header on Saturday,” Glen continued. “They’re playing two different teams, the Moose Jaw (Canucks) and a Regina team (White Butte Broncos). That brings in different people for our silent auction, it helps out for the food booth, it helps out for the beer garden. Bringing different people in makes a big difference. And Saturday is our big day, that’s our kids day when we have all the stuff going on for the kids.”
Saturday is also when the home run derby and Calcutta take place, plus opening ceremonies starting at 6 pm.
“Everything we try and do is definitely community-based,” Glen said. “We’ve got some younger teams that started playing last year and are definitely coming back this year. One young fella, he actually told my wife that he started out when he was a little guy, when his mom and dad played in the tournament, and he hopes his kids will be able to play there too! That’s the whole thing we’re trying to build.”
While the event is free for people to come out and enjoy, teams do pay an entry, which is part of how the annual tournament raises the funds for community projects.
“The teams pay an entry fee because it’s always a fundraiser, and they have no problem with doing that,” Glen said. “They pay us to be able to play in our tournament, and we don’t pay out any prize money. It’s just kind of bragging rights to have a trophy at the end. It’s a lot of family teams, it’s not overly competitive, and that’s the way we like it. There’s people who come back home from all over the place for this weekend and spend time with their parents and grandparents, that look at it as a family reunion.”
Spots are nearly all filled up, but last minute additions are common.
“Last I heard we had 15 and we’re open for 16,” Sproat said of the number of teams. “I don’t know if we got that last team in or not. That’s the tough part is there’s always a last minute team, and then there’s always a team that backs out last minute. Ideally, you plan for 17 and just have someone on hold.”
With the vast majority of planning secured, there’s one elusive factor that is still required to ensure the 13th Bobby Vargo Memorial is a huge success.
“Good weather! Last year kind of threw a kink at us,” Glen said. “Our fields are shale, but we had so much rain that they were unplayable for basically three days. What we did was we set up on the big ball diamonds, we set up fields in the outfield and played on the grass because that was the only way we could do it. Good weather definitely is about all we really need.”
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