ISC II qualifier in McNab needs teams

The 2008 eastern Ontario ISC II qualifier in McNab is still looking for teams. They need at least eight to make it viable and currently four teams have paid with another cheque in the mail.

If your team is going to enter or you have questions, contact Blair Setford at blairjs[at]rogers.com and let him and make arrangements to enter. Deadline is May 15.

The fee is $350 and the tournament will be held June 20-22 in McNab, west of Arnprior. Winner of the double knockout tournament gets a berth in the ToC in Wisconsin this August.

Flip flop on diamond date

The City of Ottawa has changed its tune on ball diamond usage. The date has been moved to the original May 1. So now our GOFL schedule can be played as originally planned.

www.gofl.ca for the schedule.

Read the memo below for a chuckle:

Ball Diamond User Groups,
In response to public concern with the delay of the ball diamond season the staff within the Surface Operations Branch have implemented a plan to have the ball diamonds ready for public use by May 1st, 2008. They have agreed to alter their work program and dedicate staff around the clock to ensure that ball diamonds are functional by May 1st. With continued good weather we hope to meet this goal. For all ball diamond user groups who would like to revert back to their original start date please contact your respective Program Coordinator to make the necessary changes to your contracts.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility.

Chris Dunlop

The West Carleton Electric lost a good friend on Thursday night. Chris Dunlop was killed in a car accident in White Lake. "Dunny" was a regular at Electric games and was a close friend to many on the team. We'll miss you Dunny.

Obit in the Citizen.

UOVMFL ready to go for 2008

from Shawn Laframboise

The UOVMFL had another meeting Wednesday night at the Cobden Legion. Many issues were discussed as the lengthy meeting, which started at 7:00, saw the last team representatives leave at close to midnight (so I'm told). The finalized schedule will be released within the next few days due to some minor revisions.

Week 1 has already been set in stone, with the '08 campaign beginning on Friday May 23rd with a double-header in Micksburg. Game 1 will see Fort - Coulonge faceoff against the Micksburg Jr. Twins at 19h00. Immediately following will be Game 2 which will showcase the host Micksburg Sr. Twins against the Shawville Snappers. Week 1 will wrap up with the Jr. Twins travelling to McNab for a game at 18h00 Sunday evening (May 25th).

The league has also decided that it will send it's winner to the ISC Home League tournament hosted by WC Electric this fall. If that team decides that it cannot attend, another representative from the league will enter.

City of Ottawa ball field restrictions

The City of Ottawa announced today that ball diamonds are off limits until May 12.

This means several leagues in the city, including the GOFL will have to push back their start dates. Look for a new GOFL schedule to be released soon.

UOVMFL meeting Weds night

The Upper Ottawa Valley Men's Fastball League will be meeting Wednesday night (Apr 23) to finalize things for the 2008 season. Looks for updates to be posted on the old website.

The 1st Annual Gil Read Memorial Tournament

The Gil Read tourney is still looking for teams - call Al for more information as per the info below.

The 1st Annual Gil Read Memorial Tournament

Date: July 4th 5th & 6th, 2008
Location: Ottawa - Carlington Park
Contact: Allan Read - aread[at]lwlaw.com or (613) 225-3837
Level: Men’s Intermediate & Junior (ISC II)
Entry Fee: $425 Canadian
Prize money: $2,000.00
Entry Deadline: June 22, 2008

On Sunday August 26th, 2007, the fastball community lost one of its best coaches for not only the City of Ottawa, but the entire country.

With the help of many ex-players, family and friends we will be hosting the 1st Annual Gil Read Memorial Fastball tournament this summer to honor a legend. The tournament will be open to all Junior men’s and Intermediate men’s teams. All proceeds of the tournament will go to the Gil Read Foundation which is being created in his memory. The foundation will help kids who are less fortunate compete in sports across the City of Ottawa.

If you are unable to attend the tournament but would like to help the cause, donations can be made directly to the foundation once it is complete. Please contact Allan Read at aread[at]lwlaw.com or Terry Cannon at tcannon[at]sympatico.ca for further information.

We are also looking for volunteers to help with the tournament. If you wish to volunteer your time to the cause, please contact Nicole Dunlop at nickydunlop4[at]hotmail.com

I look forward to hearing from everyone. Good luck in 2008!

Al Read
613-225-3837

For those of you unfamiliar with Gil, please see attached a small bio.

Gil started with T-ball in the early 1980s in Kanata and worked his way up. He guided his various age group teams to five provincial class A titles and made three national championships. His accolades include:
- Team leader for the Canadian women's softball team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

- Softball Canada's team leader for the 2003 Olympic qualifier (gold) and the 2001 Pan American junior and senior women's championships (silvers).

- Coach of the Ontario men's under-18 team gold medalists at the 1997, 2001 and 2005 Canada Summer Games.

- Coach of the University of Ottawa women's fastball team, which won a provincial silver medal in 2005.

- A dedicated volunteer with Softball Canada, he served on its coaching committee from 1995-2002 as a coaching instructor and master course conductor. He also was involved with the coaching committee and the initiation program.

Some updates

Some random fastball updates from the area:

The Blackburn League hosts their annual "evaluation camp" for new players this Saturday at the Blackburn Arena. UPDATE: Eval camp is April 26 as per the comments.

More news coverage for the Greely Eagles team in the GOFL.

Word is that the "Glen" has eight teams for this season, down from 10 last season.

The North Leeds league should have all five teams back from 2007.

Team Easton heading to the Snapper Shootout

Good luck to Ottawa Team Easton who will be playing the "Snapper Shootout" on the June 6-8 weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Lots of great ISC II teams will be there, including the California Lumberkings (know to some as the California "Raisins") and several top teams from southwestern Ontario. Also attending will the CPI team from New York state - check out some of their roster changes here.

Check out the schedule.

GOFL web address

The Greater Ottawa Fastball League now has a proper URL: http://www.gofl.ca.

Thanks to Lukas Kamps for setting this up.

ISC II Pre-season Message

from Blair Setford

This is just a preseason reminder for all teams that are considering ISC II play for the 2008 season.

Qualifiers - There is limited space available in both Canada East ISC II qualifiers. Both tournaments are being held the weekend of June 20-22 in Palmerston for southwestern Ontario teams and in McNab/Braeside for eastern Ontario and Quebec teams. Contact Blair Setford for more info at blairjs@rogers.com.

Rosters - Pre-season team rosters are due by May 1. The roster form is available from the ISC web site www.iscfastpitch.com. Click on the Rules and Forms link on the front page. If you’re unable to save the roster form from the web site, let me know and I’ll send you an email attachment of one.

The May 1 roster is only preliminary and can be changed during the season. Future roster submissions for teams that qualify for the ToC are due July 15 (for printing in the tournament programs) and August 4 (final roster).

Rosters are to be sent by email attachment to ALL of the following people:
hdewild@milwpc.com,
tschaaf@kimberly.k12.wi.us,
jrwilliamson@foodfacility.com,
blairjs@rogers.com,
rudiereed@aasd.k12.wi.us,
jody.lockhart@thedacare.org

Out of Region (Letter of Intent) Forms - If you are signing an OOR player, the OOR form and fee must be postmarked to Ken Hackmeister no later than May 1. The OOR form is also available on the ISC web site under the Rules and Forms link.

Remember that you are permitted three (3) OOR players only two (2) of whom can be pitchers. (Note that ISC II teams may sign a pitcher from the Canada East region between June 23 & July 21.) Region definitions are also shown on the ISC Web Site, Rules and Forms link.

Out of region fees are $100 per each OOR player.

Preliminary Schedule of Events - With the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions being only 4 days, we have had to alter the times of various functions. Here is the tentative schedule of events:

ISC II Tournament of Champions
Saturday - August 9
7-8 PM - Team Registration at Settle Inn in Appleton
8-9 PM - Team Manager meeting at Settle Inn
Sunday - August 10
10:30 AM - ISC II games begin at Memorial Park in Appleton (tournament ends Wednesday)
5 PM - ISC II Opening Ceremonies at Memorial Park

Team Rankings - Pre-season team rankings for ISC II teams will be distributed in early May. Final rankings determine the seeding for the ToC. We remind teams, as we always do, to fully utilize the Internet to update everyone (including ranking committees) of your team roster, schedule and tournament results during the season. Results should be sent to Al Doran (fastball@pmihrm.com) and Jim Flanagan (jim@fastpitchwest.com).

Best of luck on the season and we look forward to seeing you in Appleton in August.

Cheers,
Blair Setford
ISC II Commissioner
Canada East VP

Softball in Fitzroy, and lots of it

A nice problem to have - a resurgence in house league minor softball is resulting in limited diamond times in Fitzroy Harbour. There are two t-ball teams, two "5-pitch" teams, two mite teams, a squirt/peewee girls team, a bantam/midget girls team and a bantam/midget boys team, plus four Little League baseball teams. Add in a Junior Men's fastball team, a men's fastball house league and a ladies fastball house league as well as a ladies 'travel' softball team, this means games 7 days a week in Fitzroy during the spring season. There is talk as well of a "select" boys fastball team from the West Carleton house league playing during the summer at the squirt/peewee level against other teams from Stittsville and Orleans. Note - no slow-pitch in Fitzroy!

Unfortunately, it might mean a change to the "Friday night fastball" games on May 23 in which Orleans and Greely were to come to Fitzroy to play the WC Electric. Once confirmed, the schedule will be updated.

Cornwall League Registration Night

This information from the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder website:

League holding registration night

The Cornwall and District Fastball League will hold registration for the upcoming season on Wednesday April 16.

The registration will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at the Navy Club on Sixth Street.

Cost is $100 per player.

For information, contact Brian O'Neill (613-936-1960), Steve McGillis (613-932-8880) or Frank Marceau (613-938-5644).

Greely Men's Fastball Club Announces New Name and Sponsor

Greely Men's Fastball Club Announces New Name and Sponsor

OSGOODE WARD, OTTAWA—The Greely Men's Fastball Club is proud to announce a new name and new sponsor. The men's fastball club, which is based in Greely, will now be known as the "Greely DNTW Eagles."

In light of the club's new home in Greely, the club has decided to change their name from "Bombers" to "Eagles." The club's captain Shannon Borho explained that historically fastball teams from Greely have borne the name "Eagles."

"The Blackburn Bombers had a lot of success," explained Borho. "But since we have moved the club to Greely, we are proud to take on the historical Eagles moniker."

The club is also thrilled to announce that it has entered into a partnership with a new sponsor, DNTW Chartered Accountants. DNTW is a national chartered accounting firm with offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Saskatoon and Toronto. In Ottawa, DNTW is represented by the firm Swindells and Wheatley, Inc. Graham Wheatley, a Principal at DNTW, has a history supporting local sports. He is a former fastball coach in the Kanata Minor Softball Association.

"I used to coach Stefan Sklepowicz and the Cox brothers (Tyler and Ryan)," explained Wheatley. "I am happy to see them continue to play fastball and to help them give back to the community."

Leftfielder Stefan Sklepowicz talked about the significance of having DNTW's sponsorship.

"One of the big challenges of starting a fastball club is finding sponsorship," said Sklepowicz. "DNTW has really given our ball club a boost."

The sponsorship deal is a two-way partnership and already the club has demonstrated its commitment to DNTW. The club has adopted not only DNTW's name, but also the firm's trademark blue and white colours. Accordingly, the ball club has recently ordered new blue and white uniforms.

The Greely DNTW Eagles Men's Fastball Club is an expansion team the Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL).The GOFL is a nine-team premier men's fastball league in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. The Greely DNTW Eagles will play their home-opener on Monday, May 5 at 8:30 at Andy Shields Park. Admission is free.

For more information about DNTW Chartered Accountants, please visit their website: www.dntw.com.

For more information about the Greely DNTW Eagles Men's Fastball, please contact Tyler Cox at 613-286-6661 or tyler.cox@gmail.com.

GOFL Showcase Schedule

Here's the schedule proposed for the GOFL Showcase on May 31, 2008


Time Dia Visitor Home

9 AM 1 Greely Manotick
9 AM 2 Orleans Stittsville
11AM 1 Blitz Carp
11AM 2 Kid's Fastball Clinic
Noon 2 Manotick Quyon
1 PM 1 Stittsville Easton
2 PM 2 Carp Fitzroy
3 PM 1 Quyon Greely
4 PM 2 Easton Orleans
5 PM 1 Fitzroy Blitz

South Grenville League

from the Brockville Recorder website www.recorder.ca

Men's fastball league has meeting Wednesday

The South Grenville Men's Fastball League will be holding a general meeting in the community hall here on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

The league, ready to begin operation in its second full season, had a meeting scheduled earlier this month but that was cancelled due to a snowstorm.

The league operated with six teams last year - Domville, Maynard, Spencerville, Johnstown, North Augusta and Maitland.

This season, the league will be losing Maitland but gaining a team from Roebuck. Other teams interested in joining the league are urged to attend the meeting.

The regular season will run from mid-May to mid-August with playoffs to follow.
For further information, contact Greg Beach at 925-3696, Derek Prosser at 925-1967 or Charlie Murray at 348-3763.