Part of the fun on May 7 will be hearing the wild new names when prospective teams line up on South Mission Beach to register for the 58th annual Over the Line Tournament. Close to 1,200 people will be taking their first steps toward Fiesta Island’s courts to engage in the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club’s (OMBAC) two festive weekends on July 9-10 and 16-17. “Registration starts at 10 a.m. and the last usually will sign in by 1 p.m.,” said media representative Ed Martin. “We used to begin at 8 but people started getting here the night before and it got a little unwieldy.” A similar sign-up procedure will be held May 14 at Blackies At the Beach in Newport Beach to accommodate Orange County residents. As much as the need is for athletic ability with a ball and bat, those creative and bizarre “bleeping” words seem to tickle the fancy of fans. “People buy the program just to see the names,” said Martin. “That’s a big selling point.” However, Martin warned that OMBAC will draw a line in the sand for some “outrageous” team names. “If we don’t see the humor in it, we’ll ask them to come up with another name,” he said. “Otherwise, we’ll give ’em a name that they may not like. You may not think so, but we have some limitations and we must follow some guidelines. Some people’s idea of what’s funny isn’t really funny. So we clean ’em up.” Martin said because of what’s seen on the Internet, the OTL listings are not as blushingly incorrect for the courts today. Meanwhile, he said the goal is to limit the number of teams to 1,200. “It got up to 1,300 last year and that was borderline manageable to get the tournament completed in two weekends,” he said. Martin has been an active OMBAC “mouthpiece” since 1979, so there may be little that surprises him. Like the other 150 club “movers and shakers” in volunteer capacities, you can spot him with the words “We never have any fun” engraved on his shirt sleeve. Tom Smith heads the OTL committee, setting up subcommittees, arranging for buses and a myriad of things to put the show on. The playing surface and location of the courts haven’t changed. And some of the contestants haven’t changed either. “This is the most prestigious over-the-line event,” Martin said. “To win or be in the top four or five is a pretty significant athletic achievement. The winning three teams receive rings and trophies. So it means a lot.” The registration takes place at The Beachcomber and The Pennant, 2901 and 2893 Mission Blvd. For details, visit http://ombac.org/ over_the_line/index.html .
