It's time to play ball.
That's what more than 1,000 athletes are doing at Softball City in South Surrey this week, with the 2024 International Softball Congress (ISC) World Men’s Fastpitch Championship underway through Saturday (Aug. 17).
Featuring more than 50 teams and some of the best fastpitch players in the world representing 15 countries – including Canada, the United States, Australia and Mexico – B.C. is well-represented with eight teams in the Championship Division (ISC 1), with an additional five teams in the Legends Division (50+).
On Monday, the Richmond, Virginia's NorthEast Drillers found their bats against Chase, B.C.'s STK Fastball, including a home run hit from the Drillers' Cam Schiller, with several fans and spectators watching from the stands from the morning onward.
Drillers won that game 11-0, with several others scheduled throughout the day, including the Denmark, Wisconsin-based Circle Tap Dukes vs. Ensanada, Mexico team Glowworm, who were tied 1-1 at the top of the eighth Monday morning, before Glowworm came away with the win.
New York Gremlins, the top-seeded team heading into the international competition, won 9-0 over the Michigan-based Midland Explorers on Monday as well, with several more games still to be played throughout the week.
Organized by the Canadian Amateur Sport Society, the international event offers both on-field action and a variety of family-friendly activities throughout the week, as the teams battle for top honours in men's fastpitch.
Lining the Legends Tent and other venues throughout Softball City were hundreds of players' jackets and jerseys from fastpitch teams around the world, courtesy of one passionate collector.
In addition to the action on the diamond, Surrey was the site of the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony today. Former commissioner and ISC VP Craig Donaldson was posthumously inducted. The Vancouver native passed away in 2021 at the age of 69.
Donaldson was a fastball stalwart in the Vancouver area for decades. He joined the ISC in 2002 as a Regional Commissioner and, for eight years, he served as VP and Director for the World Tournament, responsible for the scheduling, bracket and oversight for the event.
“Putting together the chronological schedule for the ISC World Tournament, with all of the supporting events, is like putting together a new puzzle every year and no one did it better than Craig,” said ISC Executive Director Larry Fisher.
Donaldson helped usher in computerized scoring for the ISC, starting with the 2015 World Tournament in South Bend, Indiana, helping to teach new scorekeepers each year and overseeing a terrific group of volunteers.
In Vancouver, Craig was heavily involved with the South Hill Sports Association and is credited by many with his efforts to keep the men’s game alive, bringing in the Canadian men’s national team for tournaments to help draw crowds and promote the game in southern BC, where fastball once had a devoted following.
“Craig followed the national team to numerous World Championships,” said longtime friend and Canadian national team manager John Stuart. “He helped me along the way from club ball coach up to and including national team coach as one of my biggest supporters for which I am forever grateful.”
Typically one of the first at the park in the mornings and almost always one of the last to leave the field at night, Donaldson always waited until after the final out of the last game. In addition to his many roles in fastball, Donaldson was also a retired teacher with the Vancouver School Board.
The Hall also honoured Rob Schweyer-Scott, Donny Hale, Jeff Goolagong and Brad Rona during the Sunday ceremony at the Sheraton Guildford hotel.
For more information or to purchase tickets visit: isc24.softballcity.bc.ca/tickets/
