MASTERS PLAY IS IN THE AIR
2009-06-10

This weekend in Salem, Virginia (USA), softball teams made up of competitors ages 35-and-up – up to a 70+ division! – will participate in the 8th Senior World Cup. They will come from as far away as Colombia, and number as many as 60 (teams). The event runs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and features both men’s and women’s slow pitch.

Two months from now, similar age groups will be competing as 25 years of masters softball is celebrated at the South African Softball Masters Association’s (SASMA) annual National Masters Tournament. An affiliate of Softball South Africa, the SASMA is inviting all masters softball teams (men’s and women’s) to participate in the August 7-9 event that will be played at the Queensland Hockey and Softball Stadium in Umbilo, Durban. (Teams should register by July 7 by emailing SASMA Secretary Jacki Roberts at jroberts@munsys.com.)

The fast pitch tournament typically draws upwards of 20 teams and SASMA defines “masters” participants as no younger than turning 35 at the end of December 2009. They have and will be participating in the World Masters Games.

Yet another event that lends playing opportunities to the seasoned softball player, the World Masters Games usually has softball as its second or third biggest sport in terms of participation. This year’s edition will take place in October in Sydney and feature a reunion of the 1996 Olympic softball team that represented Australia.

Men’s softball is also a part of the World Masters Games, and the 2009 competition will be held in Blacktown Olympic Park, the venue where the sport was featured in the 2000 Summer Games. This year’s is the 7th World Masters Games, a multi-sport event that takes place every four years. (A total of 28 sports will make-up this year’s programme.).