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Post by inthestands on Feb 22, 2016 9:26:28 GMT -5
So... Junior and Midget 1 will share the same weekend at the same location.... Milton
Currently there is one Junior team and 8 Midget 1 teams affiliated. It is expected the Junior division will fill out over the next month or so.
I have always been an advocate for combining divisions at a single location. Last year Junior and Senior played the same weekend in Innerkip.
Schedule is the thing that can suffer with this sort of format. Due to the good fortunate of impending weather last year the schedule was changed to what it should have been in the first place and the games finished ahead of the original schedule. Certainly all the teams were quite happy with the result and that the final day did not drag out unnecessarily.
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Post by softballfan5 on Feb 22, 2016 9:30:45 GMT -5
What diamonds in Milton?
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Post by inthestands on Feb 22, 2016 9:41:04 GMT -5
SBF...the only set I could find are located behind the Milton arena off Thompson Road. There are two softball diamonds with varying outfields at 200 to about 230 feet....and one slo-pitch diamond at 300 feet. All three are lighted and fenced.
There are others scattered around the city but they all appear to nothing more than a back stop and nothing else. There are a couple of good looking baseball diamonds on #25 heading out of town.
Unless something has been built very recently....those are the only real choice.
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Post by softballfan5 on Feb 22, 2016 10:06:12 GMT -5
Interesting. I sure hope it was a requirment to have temporary 200' fencing in! Thanks for the info ITS
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Post by inthestands on Feb 22, 2016 10:51:40 GMT -5
Interesting. I sure hope it was a requirment to have temporary 200' fencing in! Thanks for the info ITS it never is at provincials......the hosts are given no financial incentive to provide anything aside from a token payment of $500...
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Post by inthestands on Feb 22, 2016 13:10:49 GMT -5
Interesting. I sure hope it was a requirment to have temporary 200' fencing in! Thanks for the info ITS it never is at provincials......the hosts are given no financial incentive to provide anything aside from a token payment of $500... A correction to my comment above. The exception to the temporary 200' fence is the Packham Sports Complex in Stratford. All 5 of the diamonds at that facility have the Enduro fence system. Ground sockets are installed at 200' for regulation fastpitch for ages through Midget/18U and also has ground sockets installed at 250' for men's fastpitch and senior/college women. With the sockets in place permanently it takes about 20 minutes to erect a 200' fence on a diamond. Fences remain in storage at the facility when not in use and the sockets remain in the ground year round.
Peter Hallman in Kitchener also has on site temporary fencing for the main diamond (can't recall if they have it for the other two).
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Post by fastpitchcoach on Feb 22, 2016 15:22:03 GMT -5
Milton have a few options. One is a dual diamond set up in Drumquin Park, Brittania just west of Trafalgar. Lodging may be an issue here, although it is close to the Premier Outlet Mall. Another option is in Brookville. Not sure about size of diamonds, as it has been a few years since I was there. Brookville is on Guelph Line, about 10 mins north of 401. Accommodations could be at Mohawk Inn and Conference Ctr. Plus racetrack is nearby so parents can go watch the pony's between games . Wherever played, Steve and the crew from Milton will put on a great event.
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Post by inthestands on Feb 22, 2016 16:19:09 GMT -5
I looked up Brookville and it is somewhat remote (I know Guelph line 10 minutes north of the 401 is not exactly playing in Hearst Ontario but you get my point). Its two diamonds, one a 300 foot slo-pitch and the other a 230 foot diamond. Drumquin Park (east of Trafalgar) is a nice 2 diamond facility (nice BMX track there too) and its lighted....but both are slo-pitch 300+ foot diamonds.
That said with 8 Midget and as far as we can tell 5 or 6 Junior teams 2 diamonds will not cover the weekend, at least not the way the association schedules things.
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Post by fastpitchcoach on Feb 22, 2016 16:59:38 GMT -5
I looked up Brookville and it is somewhat remote (I know Guelph line 10 minutes north of the 401 is not exactly playing in Hearst Ontario but you get my point). Its two diamonds, one a 300 foot slo-pitch and the other a 230 foot diamond. Drumquin Park (east of Trafalgar) is a nice 2 diamond facility (nice BMX track there too) and its lighted....but both are slo-pitch 300+ foot diamonds. That said with 8 Midget and as far as we can tell 5 or 6 Junior teams 2 diamonds will not cover the weekend, at least not the way the association schedules things. There are others, such as Lions Park. Three diamonds, all lit. Likely require portable fencing. I don't think we need to worry too much. Milton will get it right. They have a relationship with Celtic Gold, who will really be the host. Between Danny and Norm, there is enough experience for the Milton folk to lean on.
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Post by inthestands on Feb 22, 2016 17:23:53 GMT -5
I looked up Brookville and it is somewhat remote (I know Guelph line 10 minutes north of the 401 is not exactly playing in Hearst Ontario but you get my point). Its two diamonds, one a 300 foot slo-pitch and the other a 230 foot diamond. Drumquin Park (east of Trafalgar) is a nice 2 diamond facility (nice BMX track there too) and its lighted....but both are slo-pitch 300+ foot diamonds. That said with 8 Midget and as far as we can tell 5 or 6 Junior teams 2 diamonds will not cover the weekend, at least not the way the association schedules things. There are others, such as Lions Park. Three diamonds, all lit. Likely require portable fencing. I don't think we need to worry too much. Milton will get it right. They have a relationship with Celtic Gold, who will really be the host. Between Danny and Norm, there is enough experience for the Milton folk to lean on. FPC...No question about the experience and leadership, in fact never questioned that.
The issue in Ontario repeatedly is facilities. Temporary fencing if not owned out-right is expensive to rent and I have yet to see any organization "rent" fencing to comply with the field dimensions of fastpitch. As no funds of any meaningful amount is ever given to the host by the association....ya play on what ya got....like it or not. Playing on slo-pitch fields is a substantial alteration of the game.
We were fortunate to play at Innerkip last year on regulation fastpitch diamonds....they used 2 for Junior and Senior, but the facility has 3. Three will probably be needed this year. The best facilities in the Province are seldom if ever used for Provincial Championships that require three or more diamonds.....and that is a shame.
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Post by fastpitchcoach on Feb 22, 2016 20:14:40 GMT -5
ITS - Apologies if you felt I was intimating that. It was not my intention.
Out side of Brampton, one of the big problems in the west GTA is the lack of a tournament ready softball or even slow pitch complex.
Isn't going to happen anytime soon either. Mississauga hosting Ontario Summer games, and is putting nothing into Dunton or any other complex.
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Post by inthestands on Feb 23, 2016 9:33:40 GMT -5
ITS - Apologies if you felt I was intimating that. It was not my attention. Out side of Brampton, one of the big problems in the west GTA is the lack of a tournament ready softball or even slow pitch complex. Isn't going to happen anytime soon either. Mississauga hosting Ontario Summer games, and is putting nothing into Dunton or any other complex. FPC....no apologies needed.
Very true regarding the west side of the GTA (can't speak to the east side of the GTA as we haven't played out that way for years). Portable fencing, specifically the Enduro fence system, would do wonders for the ones that we do have to chose from.
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Post by fastball27 on Apr 5, 2016 19:26:25 GMT -5
I only know of the junior teams Milverton and Kitchener. Anyone know the other teams competing this year in the junior level?
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Post by inthestands on Apr 6, 2016 8:20:38 GMT -5
I only know of the junior teams Milverton and Kitchener. Anyone know the other teams competing this year in the junior level? As of March 21 the association website shows two affiliated teams:
Barrie Brantford
Brantford took gold and Barrie silver last year.
In terms of what looks to be the team list, Kitchener Royals always seem to put a team together. Bramalea is looking for players, as is Orleans. Celtic Gold, Brampton and Milverton has apparently got their teams together
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Post by inthestands on Apr 12, 2016 8:26:28 GMT -5
As of April 8th....still just 2 Junior teams
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Post by softballfan5 on Apr 26, 2016 11:07:59 GMT -5
As of April 8th....still just 2 Junior teams Still only 2 Junior teams? I doub't there will even be a Provincial Championship for Junior with those kind of numbers!
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Post by inthestands on Apr 26, 2016 11:18:35 GMT -5
Up to 4 as of the 21st
Added Milverton and Whitby
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