Commonly recognized signs of spring include daffodils poking their heads out of the ground, the ice retreating to the banks of the Fraser River, people sitting on city benches to have a chat and the thwack of a well-hit softball coming off the sweet spot of an aluminum bat.
City of Quesnel ball fields might still be too soggy for even the best hit ground ball to make it past the pitcher’s mound but Quesnel Girls Softball Association participants have been sharpening their skills on the Indoor Sports Centre’s turf during the past couple months.
“The wind up tournament will be June 24-25, and that’s because summer holidays start and you just can’t field a team, so it’s a very, very short season,” says Debbie Telford, a coach for the association.
“That’s why, after Christmas, they organize one night a week to have practices in here, so everyone gets a longer season and they’re ready to play when they get on the fields.”
The nights of April 11-12 saw the girls, ranging in age from six to 18, being evaluated on pitching and catching, batting, ground balls, fly balls and base running speed.
Based on their scores, they are given a ranking from one to five (one being the lowest) and then evenly distributed to teams in one of five divisions; U10 (under 10-years old), U12, U16 or U19.
Just fewer than 150 girls are registered to play altogether.
The season is expected to start on April 30, weather permitting, with the annual Ice Breaker Tournament scheduled for May 5-6.
Telford’s 15-year-old daughter, Riley, has been competing since she was six-years-old.
She says many of the girls come back year-after-year.
“It’s the friendships that are the Number 1 thing I think, the bonding they’ve got all through the years.”