I know I’m backtrakking in a big way here, but I wanted to pass along congratulations again to the organizing committee of the 2009 Canadian Junior Men’s Fastball Championship at Duncan McLellan Park in Owen Sound.
This was the second consecutive season the National Junior event was staged here.
Somewhat amazingly, no other centre seems to want to host this event.
From my viewpoint, where else would you want to stage it ?
I guess the Softball Canada price tag for hosting the 8 day affair scares many communities and organizations away in a hurry.
And while that’s obviously a big consideration for the Owen Sound crew, after weighing the pros and cons, in back to back years, they see the merits of being the host city which are numerous.
One, you bring a National Championship to your city.
Two, with the tournament, you bring in 10 or more teams from across Canada which has to be a huge economic boost for the city and region.
Three, you expose the sport and showcase the best players under age 23 in the country.
Four, you build healthy links to the local fastball community and beyond, for example, this year, a good contingent of youngsters & ball players from Cape Croker came to cheer on the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nation Chiefs one day.
There’s other benefits as well, too many to mention, and even though the Brick Brothers Selects didn’t win the title, there were many victories for Owen Sound and area in hosting this event……again.
I’m Fred Wallace