Tournament hopes to revive women’s softball

Good evening, I?m James Adderley and here?s your dish of Sports Monday. If we lived in the desert people, the nine days of continuous heavy rain would have been a most welcome thing. Unfortunately, these here flatlands located inside the tropic zone are now largely inundated under the relentless deluge.

In fact, a look at the M.C.C. Grounds this very morning reveals the reason why all weekend matched inside the RFG Cup Tournament at the vaunted venue were subject to cancellation including Saturday?s scheduled B.P.F.L. clash between F.C. Belize and Hankook Verdes and Sunday?s showdown between Acros Lake and Wagiya. Even the Saturday night face off between Belmopan Bandits and Alpha out at capital city drowned under the torrential condition.

Nevertheless folks, the standings after eight weeks shows that the post-season performers have already emerged. Undefeated Wagiya shows eighteen points from five wins and three ties. Hankook Verdes has won five, lost one, and drawn two for sixteen points. F.C. Belize continues in third place with fourteen points from four wins, two losses, two stalemates; and Belmopan Bandits completes the playoff four with eleven points from three wins, two losses, and three draws.

Meanwhile, with two weeks to go, Across Lake and Alpha of O.W. continue to battle it out to avoid the cellar as both teams have only amassed three points from three draws and five losses apiece with neither having earned a win so far this season.

In the meantime, the B.P.F.L. has decided to push back the competition by a week. Thus we return to week nine this weekend. F.C. Belize will host Hankook Verdes at the M.C.C. Grounds on Saturday, while at Capital City the Belmopan Bandits will take on Alpha of Orange Walk. In Sunday?s ticket at the M.C.C. Grounds, Acros Lake will come out to meet undefeated Wagiya of Dangriga.

Turning to the softball scene, this Sunday, October fifteenth brings up the fourth annual CLB Rogers Memorial Softball Tournament. And for you young people, who don?t know Carl Lindberg Rogers was, he was the deputy prime minister of Belize for some fifteen years and his son Leslie Rogers, a true softball man, uses softball to honour the big man who was a consummate sport fan and an accomplished commentator.

Leslie Rogers, Organiser, CLB Rogers Softball Tourney
?We want to invite out to fans to the fourth annual CLB Rogers Memorial Tournament this year. It features three teams from the districts and one from Belize City. The Hot Mama Girls are the national champions this year and you know we never had any softball in Belize, so I guess the crowd should come out and watch softball. The girls from Hot Mamas were the champions and the Boom girls them, also the champion from the rural and Hattieville, the runner up. And we are we re representing the Lady Rebels, my team representing the city.

I try to invite the best teams all the time, close to the best, so we have the champions them that we have a good tournament every year. Also we?re having one of the highlights, we?re having at eleven o?clock Sunday we?re having the homerun derby that I usually have.?

James Adderley
?So what level of competition can the fans expect to see this weekend??

Leslie Rogers
?Oh the best, this dah the top. You wah get the best and also after that we got the quadrangular and the MVP highlight at the end, we cannot afford a Mercedes or a Ford, but like last year we will giveaway a bike again for the M.V.P.?

James Adderley
?Would presenting this particular tournament be the springboard for the revival of Belize City softball??

Leslie Rogers
?Yes James, I would say this dah one of the springboards. We would want to keep softball alive. I mean we used to be the best in the whole region. We ranked number one from ?74; now we?re not even in the rankings. But we have to keep softball alive and I hope this dah the springboard to keep the girls them active because that dah weh we need, to keep the young girls them going.?

James Adderley
?So, what next??

Leslie Rogers
?Hopefully from here next year we could take?we have a season in Belize and like I said, it?s a shame we never had a season this year and we hope to take it from here and have a season in Belize next year that we could mek the girls them play softball. It?s all about that, play softball.?

In closing folks, Sports Monday takes time out to salute international track and field great, lady Marion Jones, who has now been completely exonerated from charges of using performance enhancing drugs; a charge she has continually denied. Marion Jones, you kept your pose, you kept your dignity, you showed class under the weight of false accusations. Hey girl, you are one to emulate.

That?s it for now. We invite you back same time, same place next week. Jah over all, I?m James Adderley.