Successfully hosting a five-division, 77-team tournament is no easy feat. Despite the challenges involved in running such a beast of an event, the Canadian Native Fastball Championships got high marks across the board.
"Generally there was a consensus that the tournament was very well-run and organized," said Harley Desjarlais, chair of the host committee. "It was really nice to get that kind of appreciative feedback from a lot of the people that participated and a lot of the people that attended. And it was really nice to be able to facilitate that kind of a gathering. In our community it's a little bit more than a sporting event, it's also kind of a cultural gathering. A lot of people plan their holidays around it and use it as a meeting point during the summer."
The tournament ran Friday through Sunday in Prince George. With the large number of teams, games were held at diamonds in Carrie Jane Gray Park and Freeman Park. Desjarlais tipped his hat to the committee members and volunteers who helped nationals run smoothly.
"We couldn't have done it without the efforts of our committee and our volunteers," he said. "The volunteers really stepped up to the plate. A lot of them put in full days in the hot weather and sometimes rainy weather. There were very few logistical challenges."
As many as 15 individuals were on the host committee, while the army of volunteers reached an estimated 200 people.
On the field, two local teams made their mark on the tournament. The Big Guy Lake Blazers claimed the championship title in the junior men's (under-21) division and the Prince George River Kings placed third in the men's division. With the age of the core River Kings players, the team could have entered the masters (40-and-over) category.
"They could have easily competed in (masters) but they wanted to compete in the main event, and they did very well considering the level of competition," Desjarlais said.
In total, Desjarlais said $81,000 in prize money was paid out. Of that amount, $75,000 came from entry fees.
"We had to augment (the prize money) with sponsors and other sources of revenue," he said.
"We still have to go through a few things and pay some bills and maybe we'll get a good indicator of where we stand financially."
The Canadian Native Fastball Championships move from province to province each year and 2016 was B.C.'s turn to host. Led by Randy Potskin and Chad Ghostkeeper, Prince George submitted the winning bid package by the August 2015 deadline.
The 2017 nationals will be held in Alberta. The exact location has not yet been determined.
The B.C. Lennys Selects, stocked with Prince George talent, lost their opening game at the U21 Men's Canadian Fastpitch Championship on Tuesday in Tavistock, Ont. The Selects fell 9-2 to the host Tavistock Junior Athletics.
"They were flying all night (to get there)," Desjarlais said of the Selects. "They got into Ontario and were out on the field in a matter of minutes, literally. So considering the time change and the flight and everything - and they played a loaded team, Tavistock has several Team Canada guys - they did all right."
After a scoreless first inning, the Athletics took control when they scored four times in the bottom of the second inning and added three more runs in the third.
P.G. members of the Selects are Theo Potskin, Nicholas Potskin, Tyson Ghostkeeper and Lane Desjarlais. The team has two games today, the first against the Irma Junior Tigers of Alberta and the second against the Nova Scotia Selects.
The tournament continues through Sunday.
