The First Class Collision Fembots will need the stamina of androids and the strength of metallic arms to make it through the summer, as nearly every second weekend will test their mettle with another tournament.
The peak of the season, situated smack dab in the middle Aug. 1 – 5, is their second tilt at the nationals, which they will play on (almost) home soil.
“We’re super excited especially that it’s in our province and we get to represent there,” Candace Miller, a long-time player with the team said.
“And we’ve played in Kelowna and we know the fields so we’ve got an advantage there.”
The team has grown since it’s last trip to nationals, taking lessons from the teams they competed against and also getting a bump from the two-year old softball league in town.
“When we went to nationals we learned that it’s good to have a coach. We had been together four years but had coached ourselves,” Miller said.
Now with a coach, Miller and Cherie Mailloux, co-president of the team, feel the team has made progress.
They said the coach has helped to sort out any issues on the team and helped each player find their niche on the field.
“Making that decision is key to playing well,” Miller said.
Another big change since the Fembots last made a run at nationals two years ago is the formation of the women’s softball league in town.
The league offers the chance for the Fembots to test their mettle against other all-women teams and see where they sit.
“We’re definitely getting a good sense of where we need to improve and it’s made such a difference,” Miller said.
And of course the plethora of extra games has required the Fembots to push harder to keep up
“We’ve dedicated a lot more time to practicing and practice games,” Mailloux said.
With the extra practice and experience, the Fembots have one goal in mind for the nationals: to do better than last time.
This year the Fembots will add a list of tournaments to their season to ready themselves for nationals.
The Fembots will play in the provincial qualifier in Burnaby this weekend, July 6 – 7 then in their own Kings and Queens tournament July 13 – 14, where they will have a 50/50 draw and other fundraising events to help pay for their trip to nationals, after which they will head to Abbortsford for provincials in early September, which is a qualifier for next year’s nationals.
Last time the Fembots went to nationals, in 2011, they crossed country to play in Atlantic Canada. The next year they opted out due to the nationals again being held out east. But knowing this year’s nationals were in B.C. they gave it their all at last year’s provincials to make it.
For information about the team or to donate towards their national drive, call co-president Carrie Johnson at 250-991-8673.