Sunnyside Park was buzzing with excitement last weekend (June 17-18) as the South Surrey White Rock Minor Softball Association was host to Softball BC’s U13 and U17 District Championship.
This three-day championship brought together fourteen teams from Cloverdale Minor Softball, Fleetwood Fastpitch, Surrey Storm and South Surrey Minor Softball associations.
The winners were:
U13C Division
- GOLD - Cloverdale Royals
- SILVER - SSWR Tsunami
- BRONZE - Fleetwood
- (Participants: Cloverdale Flames and SSWR Cherry Bombs)
U13B Division
- GOLD - Cloverdale Fury 10B
- SILVER - Cloverdale Fury 11B
- BRONZE - Surrey Storm 11
U17B Division
- GOLD - Cloverdale Fury 07B
- SILVER - Cloverdale Fury 06B
- BRONZE - SSWR Thunder 06B
- (Participants: Fleetwood Force 07B, Surrey Storm 07B and SSWR Thunder 07B)
“We are very proud all of our South Surrey White Rock teams that participated in the championship, including U13C Cherry Bombs, coached by Kevin Furness and U17B Thunder 07, coached by Steve Thibodeau, as well as medal winners U13C Tsunami, coached by Travis Deeter and U17B Thunder 06, coached by Clint Walker,” said Thomas Bell, president of the South Surrey White Rock Minor Softball Association (SSWRMSA).
The South Surrey White Rock Thunder 06B captured bronze at the U13 and U17 district championships, hosted by the South Surrey White Rock Minor Softball Association recently at Sunnyside Park. (SSWRMSA photo)
“We were saddened that our Thunder 11 team coached by Davis Jackson had to withdraw from the U13B division. There are no pickup players allowed at district championships and Thunder had a few players unable to attend, which dropped the team below the minimum roster size required to participate in the district championship,” Bell said, noting the team had worked hard all year for this opportunity to challenge for a berth in the provincial championship.
“We wish Davis and Thunder 11B the best of luck in their remaining regular season games.”
Bell noted that SSWRMSA is a volunteer run association and we could not have hosted this event without the tireless effort of our member families.
Prior to play last weekend, volunteers arrived as early as 6:30 a.m. to get the fields ready for playoff games after some wet overnight weather.
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“Just before game time, we were hit with a flash rain and hail storm that literally destroyed our six fields, turning them into mud swamps and making them unplayable. If we were unable to repair enough fields, the tournament could have been converted to a single-elimination format, according to Softball BC rules,” Bell said.
“This would mean that many of the teams that showed up on Sunday to play would have been retroactively eliminated from the competition. This would have been unfortunate, considering that some of those teams went on to earn medals. After a two-hour rain delay, removing surface mud and water and adding loads of new material, our volunteers were able to get most of our fields back to a safe and playable condition,” Bell said, extending thanks to SSWRMSA volunteer co-ordinator Alicia Johnson and her family, including her parents, as well as tournament director Angela Humphrey and her family, as well as past president David Harris for their “tremendous efforts to repair the fields that allowed the tournament to continue. “
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