The annual Lac La Biche Summer Days event is right around the corner. With dozens of family-friendly activities taking place, it’s sure to be a home-run weekend for visitors. One of the staple events returning during the weekend-long roster is the Slow Pitch Tournament. The tourney is gearing up to take place for all three days during the festivities from July 29-31, says organizer Jeremy Trimble.
The three-day tournament is hosted by the Lac La Biche Boxing Club. The first pitch starts right after Friday’s Summer Days parade.
The games will be held at both the Mcarthur Park and Bold Center ball diamonds, both offering lots of bench-space for spectators over the weekend.
The co-ed slow pitch tournament will include teams of up to 20 players with a minimum age of 16, he says. The entry fee for each team is $500 with more than $5,000 going back into prizes and giveaways during the weekend. The local boxing club is hoping to punch up their fundraising account with the remainder.
Teams will be divided into two pools in a round-robin playdown to the finals on Sunday.
“Saturday and Sunday will be a double knockout tournament, so if you win the first game, you’re on the A side; if you lose you’d be on the B side but you’ll also have a chance to win your way back to be in the finals,” he says.
More participation
Leading up to the last week of registration, there are still a few spots open ... but Trimble urges teams who might be on the fence, to sign up.
“It's probably going to be last-minute ... but teams can't wait too long," he said, explaining that the $2,000 top prize, $1,500 second and $1,000 third place prize has been a pretty enticing draw.
“We’re happy to have a big prize pot and we thought that would be a draw,” he said, saying that while the tourney is a fundraiser for the active boxing club and its crew of young, local members, it's also about giving local teams a chance to take home some decent prize money. "The slow pitch tournament is to not only raise money for the club but we wanted the teams to walk away with some cash and come and have a good time.”
As the days get closer to the first pitch, Trimble says they are also looking for any umpires who might like to make $50 a game.
Ultimately, as they get ready to close up registrations, organizers hope to bring a tournament both teams and spectators can enjoy, said Trimble.
“We’ve got a lot of support from local businesses and a lot of support from the Summer Days Association and the other clubs involved. We’re looking forward to hopefully putting on a good event for everybody."
Anyone looking to register a slo-pitch team for the Summer Days tourney can contact Trimble directly through email at [email protected] or call him at 780-623-1481
