Softball was also on a national stage in Nigeria at last month's 16th National Sports Festival. Above is the Lagos team that took part in that competition. (Photo courtesy of Nigerian Softball Association)

NATIONAL EVENTS IN FOUR COUNTRIES
2009-03-06

The beginning of the national championships in South Africa is just ten days away as the sport of softball marches on through a particularly busy 2009. The African continent is one of four where major tournaments such as the one that runs March 16-21 in Gauteng are either about to get underway or have recently taken place.

The national senior fast pitch competition that will be staged in a week-and-a-half is a premier event in South Africa. A total of 32 teams will be in action, with eight (provincial teams) playing in each of the following sections: Women Major, Men Major, Women Reserve, and Men Reserve.

All games will be played at the Pirates Sports Grounds in Edenvale, Johannesburg. Information will be posted on the Softball South Africa website.

Meanwhile, in Asia, the beginning of the Chinese National Games is almost at hand. The softball competition is scheduled for March 17-24 in the Sichuan province.

Down in South America, the tenth edition of the Argentinean Softball Club Championship (1st Category) just concluded at the beginning of this week. Thanks to a 4-1 victory over the (red and black) Patronato team, the Salesiano’s (Don Bosco’s Club) team took the title for the first time. Liniers of Bahia Blanca finished in third place at the annual event that saw this year’s Best Pitcher award go to the champion’s Francisco Sabate, who is the son of Eduardo Sabate, the head coach of Argentina at the June 2007 ISF VIII Jr. Women’s World Championship (19-and-under) in the Netherlands.

Speaking of ISF connections, BackSoftball Athlete Ambassador Danielle Stewart was a member of the Queensland Heat team that won the 2008-09 Gilley’s Shield on February 21. Fittingly, the 2008 Olympian was playing in the Blacktown Olympic Park, which hosted the softball competition at the 2000 Games.

The Gilley’s Shield is the Australian Open Women's Fast Pitch Championship. In the bottom of the fourth inning of the grand final game, Stewart scored what would prove to be the winning run as Queensland defeated the ACT Diamonds, 2-1. The tournament was also utilized by Stewart to promote the ongoing efforts of the BackSoftball campaign.