By KELSIE JOHNSON, NG Sports Reporter
Although the Bahamas Softball Federation (BSF) is not able to confirm how many teams will compete in the 9th Annual Austin ‘King Snake’ Knowles National High School Softball tournament, 1st Vice President Burkette Dorsette is confident that the tournament’s hit will be a ‘home-run.’
The national championships are set to be held from October 23-25 at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. It is designed to unite all the teams from the various Family Islands, and it will also give national coaches and executive members a good look at the young talent in the country.
According to Dorsette, the BSF is really thrilled to host this year’s tournament, even though there isn’t a definite number. He feels as though tournaments of this nature are great for The Bahamas as they not only highlight the talents of our younger players but also points to the bright future in the sport.
“We are not able to confirm the number of teams as yet, but we have had calls from Abaco, Andros, Exuma, Long Island and Eleuthera. These are among the Family Islands that have expressed interest, so far. Of course we have teams from New Providence, most of the government and private schools,” said Dorsette.
“The response has been pretty good in the past. We’ve been having this tournament now for nine years and it is paying dividends for fast pitch softball. There are quite a bit of players who came into the (night) league from the Austin Knowles tournament. The men’s division in particularly has picked up some promising pitchers, who have played on those teams from Long Island. Quite a bit of the players from Long Island are now playing, I think, with the Proper Care team in the ladies’ division. In the men’s division we have new faces on the New Breed and the Sigma Brackettes for women, so it has paid dividends for fast pitch softball. It is like a feeder system for the sport.”
Although softball is the ‘lead-off’ sport for only private schools, Dorsette revealed that the government schools are ready each year. The government-based schools in New Providence may be placed at a disadvantage this time around as their after school activities have yet to start. However, he stated that the competition rises each year and this tournament should be no different.
Returning in search for their third consecutive title will be the team from Long Island, NGM Major Wildcats. They are hoping to retain the title despite having lost their coach, who was transferred to Eleuthera. As a result, four teams are expected to represent the island of Eleuthera, two coming with Tony Crean.
“There is going to be some keen competition. I have been around the islands, and particularly down in Bimini they have some very young players there, in Long Island as well. I haven’t seen any of the players in Exuma but in New Providence the teams are ready. It is going to be a very exciting competition. Stiff competition is expected, so it is going to be good.”
The tournament is expected to have a round-robin format, but this would be based on the number of participants. If there aren’t sufficient teams for the round-robin, a sudden death system will be used.
Editor’s note: Emphasis (bold) in story is mine. Nice to see a “feeder” system working to invigorate the game.