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Polishing up the diamond Rankin coed softball league revved up for new season
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, June 19, 2013
RANKIN INLET
The Rankin Inlet Co-ed Softball League is pumped for another season of action.
Rankin Inlet Coed Softball League spokesperson Robert Connelly is excited about the upcoming season, which is scheduled to get underway on June 24. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo |
League spokesperson Robert Connelly said the league will meet this week to elect its executive members.
He said five teams are ready to go, and two more have expressed interest in joining the loop.
"We had four teams this past year, but they were very large teams with as many as 22 players," said Connelly.
"This year, the teams have moved back to an average of about 14 to 17 players.
"So, as far as the number of players registered, I'm confident we'll have as many, if not more, than what we had in 2012."
The Rankin league is planning several key events, including its first slo-pitch national qualifier tournament.
Connelly said the top two teams from the tournament will earn berths at the 2014 national championship.
He said the qualifier will, most likely, be held in July, while the regional Calm Air Cup tournament will be held in August.
"The Calm Air Cup is always a big event for us, with 10 teams and 137 players from six communities participating in 2012.
"We also have a Rankin team (Juggernauts) representing Nunavut at the national in Niagara Falls, (Ont.) this coming August, by virtue of their win at the Slo-Pitch National (SPN) territorial in Iqaluit this past September.
"We're hoping to attract between six and 10 teams to our first SPN qualifier.
"We know we can have great tournaments in the Kivalliq, the 2012 Calm Air Cup really showed that, so that's what we're shooting for."
Connelly said the co-ed league fundraised a lot to have artificial turf added to the Rankin diamond this past year.
He said the turf held up extremely well, and its addition helped improve overall play while lowering the number of injuries in the league.
"The artificial turf attracted some of the other communities to Rankin so they could try it out.
"It also seemed to inspire other groups to try and get artificial turf for their sport or community, and we've been excited to see a lot more kids playing ball on the field now.
"The league approved a $5,000 contribution to the hamlet this past week to bring in additional materials to upgrade the field.
"It promises to be an exciting summer, so we're very happy about that and we can't wait to get started."
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