Keeping the diamond in play
Softball interest is growing nicely in Grand FallsWindsor
Softball is alive and well in central Newfoundland and Labrador. And it’s looking like another busy summer on the field in Grand FallsWindsor.
Among the annual fun and year-end league tournaments taking place in the community in the coming months, Grand Falls-Windsor will be hosting SPN (Slo Pitch National) men’s, ladies and co-ed regional qualifiers, as well as co-ed and men’s provincial tournaments.
The co-ed league is growing in the community, going from eight teams up to 13, and at 11 this year, and is now three divisions – C, D and E – for regional qualifiers and the provincial tournament.
“The interest is there,” SPN Central representative Mary Folkes says. “I moved here in 1991 and we have been hosting co-ed ever since. We could never get a regional off the ground. We have been building.”
Hannah Russell, president of the Grand Falls-Windsor co-ed softball league, says last year they got a new young team in the league from Botwood and this year there is a new team entering from Norris Arm.
“It’s nice to see the league actually grow from the couple teams we used to have struggle back and forth to a dozen teams,” Folkes says.
They are expecting seven or eight teams for the co-ed regional qualifiers, including teams from Grand FallsWindsor, Peterview, Botwood and Lewisporte.
“If we could get men’s to grow it would be great,” Folkes says.
The men’s league is run by Jeremy Drover from Bishop’s Falls.
“They got together a couple years ago from Bishop’s Falls and started travelling and playing tournaments,” Folkes says. “They went to nationals last year.”
Since then, there is also a Grand Falls-Windsor travel team as well.
“The men’s has been in a little slump lately,” Folkes says.
“It was a lot of people leaving the province going away to work, that kind of hit the men’s. Then COVID hit … now it’s just a matter of getting the younger ones more involved, which co-ed is helping with.”
The ladies has also been a struggle, Folkes says, adding she’s tried multiple times to get a ladies league off the ground. However, their ladies tournaments go really well.
Every year, at the end of June, they host a ladies fun tournament which began because players don’t always want to play competitive ball. It started with four teams, doubled the next year, and then went up to 12 in year three. Over the years there has been as many as 16 teams entered.
“Teams look forward to it every year,” Folkes says, adding she manages to pull off a ladies regionals each year that consists of Grand Falls-Windsor, Peterview, Gander and sometimes Clarenville.
“The sad thing about it is, it’s limited nights that you can play with one set of lights and limited times,” Folkes says.
With a set of lights on another field it would open time slots they can utilize that lessens the nights they have to play, she says.
“Right now co-ed is four nights a week, men’s is two nights a week, there is nowhere really to fit in ladies … Now we have tournaments almost every weekend. June is booked up every week.”
“We got a lot of interest,” Russell adds. “I would bank on the idea that there is a lot of interest in the kids as well.”
“As much as we grow, it can only grow when the young ones come up,” Folkes adds.
“The league can’t continue to grow without the young ones coming up playing. At one point the league will cease.”
Folkes says the consensus from teams is they have the best fields in the province.
They are hosting at least nine tournaments this year, even though the annual May tournament didn’t happen due to field upgrades.
“We already have nine teams interested and we don’t even have the details out yet,” Russell says of the Roderick Payne Memorial tournament June 10 and 11.
Co-ed provincials brings in at least a dozen teams from outside the region if not more, she says, adding they usually host anywhere between 16 and 18 team tournament in town for provincials.
They also support players and teams by travelling to other communities for tournaments, including Badger and Peterview.
“When they host their tournaments we all try to support them,” Folkes says. “It’s working with everyone. The main thing is trying to work with everyone and get everyone involved.”