Later this summer, Surrey will host the granddaddy of fastball events, the International Softball Congress World Tournament.
To earn the right to be there on the field at Softball City Aug. 10-17, teams have to win one of 19 qualifying tournaments on the ISC schedule, and one of them will be played this weekend in Prince George at Carrie Jane Gray Park.
For the first time in the long history of the John Cho Cup/Canada Day Fastball Tournament, the winner of the men’s open division will be an automatic qualifier for the ISC tournament.
Will it be the two-time defending John Cho Cup champions STK of Chase?
Perhaps the California collection of fastball talent on the JB Bombers will take home the $10,000 cash prize to Agoura Hills, Calif.
Or better yet, for local fans, maybe the big money will stay close to home and the Prince George Falcon Contracting River Kings or Vanderhoof Moby Concrete Rippers will go on to represent northern B.C. and play for the world title.
The first pitches will be thrown Friday at 10 a.m.
Four fields (all at Carrie Jane Gray Park) will be used for the 65 games scheduled in the three-day event.
Getting Prince George on the ISC qualifier map has already stirred up interest from afar.
Bjorklund said a team from Texas wants to enter the tournament next year and the upstart Saskatoon Jacks would have been here if not for the wedding of one of the Jacks players this weekend. Getting a California team into the fray will certainly bring an international flavour to the ball diamond.
“It’s an exciting time for Spruce City Stadium” said Bjorklund. “I know the only teams from the U.S. that have ever been here was when the River Kings were in the Nor-West (Major Fastpitch) League, when we had Lacey and few of those teams would come up (from Washington state).
“(The JB Bombers) was ranked No. 9 in the preseason rankings and they finished fifth last year at the ISC. They have Venezuelan national team pitchers and their main guy is Maiael Pimentel. They have four Venezuelans, six Mexicans, one Argentinian, two New Zealanders, three Americans and two Canadians.”
The two local teams in the open event will rely on their pitching aces to get them through to Sunday's final. Vanderhoof will have Nick Neid, a 19-year-old from Terrace who didn't have a league to play in but worked out with his dad long enough to make Canada's U-20 national team that played in the Pan_Am Games qualifer.
The hometown River Kings have rounded up Tyson Barkman (Victoria) Josh Anderson (Vancouver) and Travis Kuntz (Kelowna) to carry the lpitching load this weekend,
Thirteen teams are entered in the intermediate men’s division. There are nine U-23 teams and six women’s teams.
“Every weekend there’s big tournaments like this now,” said Bjorklund. “This is the biggest annual tournament in Western Canada, hands down. It’s a big effort by a few, and we have some really good partners. Prince George is a sports town, they rally behind almost any sports event.”
The open men’s final is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, followed by the intermediate final at 3:30 p.m., both at Spruce City Stadium. The women’s final is at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the Prince George minor girls field and the U-23 final is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. at Ron Wiley Field.
The Spruce City Stadium concession building damaged last year by a $100,000 fire on Aug. 3 that destroyed the kitchen area has been rebuilt. But it won’t be enough to handle the food demand for the thousands of fans and players expected this weekend, so several food trucks have been called into service.
The tournament weather forecast is looking a bit dicey.
Opening day Friday should be just about perfect with sunny skies and a high of 24 C, with no rain forecast for the entire day. Clouds will move in and it will remain mostly cloudy Saturday and Sunday with a 60 per cent chance of showers both nights.
The predicted high temperature Saturday is 22C and 19 C on Sunday. If the weather forces postponement of games into Monday it might be a bit wet, with a 40 per cent chance of rain and a high of 21 C.
Here’s the John Cho Cup tournament lineup:
Men's Open Division (seven teams)
- PG River Kings, Prince George
- Vanderhoof Rippers, Vanderhoof
- STK, Chase
- JB Bombers, Agoura Hills, CA
- Grande Prairie Pirates, Grande Prairie, AB
- Alberta Masters Pirates, Alberta
- Pukaist Heat, Ashcroft
Men's Intermediate Division (13 teams)
- Big Guy Lake Reds, Prince George
- Burns Lake Bandits, Burns Lake
- Burns Lake Redskins, Burns Lake
- Saik'uz Tigers, Saik'uz
- Takla Lakers, Takla
- Witset Arrows, Witset
- Nak'azdli Braves, Nak'azdli
- Gordy's Selects, Lillooett
- Cree Valley Hitmen, Prince George
- 86'ers Masters, Driftpile, AB
- Vernon Bannock Slaps, Vernon
- Wyonne Nation, Burns Lake
- Nak'azdli Hummingbirds, Nak'azdli
U23 Men's Division (nine teams)
- Big Guy Lake Jr Reds, Prince George
- STK Grizzlies, Chase
- Nak'azdli Rez Sox, Nak'azdli
- Saik'uz Jr Tigers, Saik'uz
- Saddle Lake, Saddle Lake, AB
- Okanese Thunderstrikers, Okanese, SK
- Terrace Titans, Terrace
- Fleetwood, Surrey
- BC Bombers, Vernon
Women's Division (six teams)
- Big Guy Lake Aunties, Prince George
- Skwlax Saints, Chase
- Alexander Rampage, Morinville, AB
- BC Ravens, Victoria
- Dreams, Okanagan
- Pukaist Heat, Ashcroft
