One of Werribee Softball Association’s biggest weekends continues to grow with more than 500 players converging on Presidents Park across Saturday and Sunday.
The association held its annual Memorial Shield Tournament on the weekend, with teams coming from across Victoria and South Australia to compete in the tournament.
Association secretary Janine Culph said it was a really big weekend for the club despite wind and rain across both days making it challenging at times.
“It was really good,” she said. “It was a bit wintery.
“We had 47 teams and they were able to play some of the highest level softball which is really good.”
Culph said after Covid-19 they had to rebuild the tournament and had been able to increase the number of teams from 40 last year to 47 this year.
This year they had A, B and C-grade men’s competitions, while on the women’s side there were A, B, C, D and E-grade competitions.
“It’s really popular,” Culph said.
“A lot of sides see it as a good pre-season hit out before the summer season starts.”
The tournament was held for the 25th time, making it an even more special occasion.
The tournament was founded in memory of two young softballers, Heather O’Keefe and Matthew Alderson, who both tragically lost their lives in their 20s.
Culph said it’s a special weekend for our community, celebrating their lives and the sport they loved.
This year the association also honoured another person special to them.
“We honour their memory which is a big thing,” she said. “Each year we talk about them.
“One of our life members and past presidents, Bob Stevens, has passed away this year.
“His daughter came down to talk about him. It was special.”
The winners in the men’s competitions were, Springvale Greysox (C-grade), Emeralds Fastpitch (B-grade), and the Ducks claimed the A-grade title after their beat the Hawks, 6-2.
Among the women’s winners were, South East Slayers (C-grade), Casey 2 Cans D (D-grade) while the Stars and Southern Knights won the two A/B women’s grand finals. There were no scores available for E-grade.
Federal MP Joanne Ryan and local councillor Peter Maynard both attended the event with Culph saying they provided some ideas on how to help the association get some funding for better facilities.
White the big pre-season tournament is over, the association is turning its attention to the summer season which kicks off on the first weekend of October.
Culph said they were hoping for a big season.
“We have a travelling junior competition between Geelong, Point Cook and Werribee,” she said.
“We have a lot more kids playing this year.
“We then have a standalone competition for senior men and senior women.”
