Normally, the 2019 provincial women’s fastpitch championship that began Friday in Holyrood would be the premier female softball competition being held in Newfoundland and Labrador this year.
But this is not a normal year.
The provincials, being played this weekend in Holyrood, can be seen as sort of a set-up for Softball Canada’s 2019 national women’s fastpitch championship, set for St. John’s Aug. 14-18.
The job of hosting the Canadian championships comes in just the second year of Newfoundland’s re-involvement in the national tournament. The province was a regular participant in national women’s championships during the 70s, 80s and the early 90s, and twice hosted the event (1982 and 1988) during that stretch, but was absent for more than two decades before returning (as the NL Three Cheers Pub Impact) to the all-Canadian tourney last year in Saskatoon under the direction of head coach and Saskatchewan native Andrea Wolf.
Five teams are participating in the provincials. Two — Marble Zip and Whelan’s Gate — are from Corner Brook, while the others are Galway and two Selects age-group entries, the U16s and U19s.
The round-robin portion of the tourney is set to wrap up Saturday leading into a playoffs Sunday, when there will be morning semifinals and a championship game at 2 p.m.
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Provincial championship schedule
(All games in Holyrood, except where noted)
Today
2 p.m., Galway vs. U19 Selects
4 p.m., Whelan’s Gate vs. Galway
6 p.m., Whelan’s Gate vs. Marble Zip
8 p.m., U19 Selects vs. U16 Selects (at Avondale Field)
Saturday
9 a.m. Marble Zip vs. U16 Selects
11 a.m. Whelan’s Gate vs. U19 Selects
1 p.m. Marble Zip vs. Galway
3 p.m. U16 Selects vs. Whelan’s Gate
5 p.m. U19 Selects vs. Marble Zip
7 p.m. Galway vs. U16 Selects
Sunday
9:30 a.m., semifinal (4th vs. 1st)
11:30 a.m., semifinal (3rd vs 2nd)
2 p.m., championship game
