By Kylie Blanchard, Staff Writer
As a softball player myself, I can definitely say it isn't the weather that draws many North Dakotans to the diamonds each spring. (That's me pictured at bat in Tuesday night's game...in sweatpants, sweatshirt and layers underneath.) With the fields scheduled to open for practice in mid-April, many times the piles of snow keep us waiting until mid-may to put on our cleats, hats, mittens and many layers to toss the ball around. Games start shortly after the first practice and we still often sport the warm weather gear, as well as the occasional rain jacket, as we play through early spring showers/late winter flurries. There are times when you truly don't know what your opponents jerseys look like buried under all the layers.
But once spring lets go of its hold on North Dakota, there are few things many individuals would rather be doing then playing softball on a sunny, warm summer evening. The fun of the game and camaraderie of teammates get you through the blustery, cool spring, but the wonderful summer softball days only add to the many reasons players keep coming back to the game year after year.
I first started playing summer softball when I was in elementary school and continued through junior high school. I picked up the game again four years ago when I joined a women's recreation league and have played through snow flurries, pouring rain, gale force winds, but also some of the most beautiful summer evenings on record. It is truly a great game for all ages and abilities, but in North Dakota I think it takes a certain level of hardiness (or stubbornness) to see the summer evenings ahead as you sit shivering in the dugout in early May.
However, it's a game that continues to grow in popularity across the state. Currently, the Bismarck Women's Slowpitch Softball Association has eight leagues of various ages and abilities with 70 teams playing this summer. And almost every night from mid-May to mid-August the diamonds in Bismarck are full of players (both men and women) and fans taking in the game and atmosphere. Some diamonds even host two games a night! Girl's fastpitch is also experiencing a resurgence across the state, with high school sponsored teams practicing and playing in the spring and leagues taking off in the summer.
Bismarck is also home to the Sam McQuade Sr./Budweiser Charity Softball Tournament, the largest non-profit, one-weekend slowpitch softball tournament in the nation. Founded in 1976, the tournament draws teams and spectators from across the U.S. and world. Last year the tournament hosted 472 teams and, since its beginning, has raised over $1 million dollars for a number of local charities. The 2011 tournament is scheduled for June 24-26 and, as always, will be a fun-filled experience for players and fans alike. (And to add an interesting weather fact: The McQuade tournament has only been rained out once, in 1986.) Softball tournaments are held throughout the state and really can be a great way to see North Dakota as both a player and spectator, and experience some great softball competition.
But regardless of the activity, when the weather gets nice (and it always does regardless of how much rain or snow falls) and the summer evenings set in, I hope you get outside to enjoy them. And for more information and ideas on the summer happenings in North Dakota, be watching for the summer issue of North Dakota Horizons which will hit newsstands in mid-June.
I hope you find your "diamond in the rough" and get out and enjoy summer in North Dakota.
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