The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

PREPARATIONS are underway as the local governing body for softball gears up for the climax of the Bahamas Softball Federation (BSF) season.

The BSF National Round Robin is scheduled to return to New Providence November 1-4 at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex to decide the best men’s and women’s team from the various member federations throughout the country.

The round robin will be dubbed “The President’s Cup” in celebration of the BSF’s 40th anniversary, and pays homage to the leader of each federation, including Michael Moss, Austin Knowles, Churchill Knowles, Neko Grant, Greg Christie, Romell Knowles and current president Burket Dorsett.

The 2012 edition is expected to have the largest fields ever in the history of the Bahamas Softball Federation National Round Robin.

The BSF is playing host to 14 teams from around the country - seven men and seven women squads.

Associations being represented on the men’s side are Abaco, Andros, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, Spanish Wells, Exuma and New Providence.

On the women’s side, Abaco, Andros, Inagua, Grand Bahama, Spanish Wells, Exuma and New Providence will vie for the title.

All association rosters are required to be submitted on or before September 5.

According to association executives, failure to make the submissions would mean that only the first 18 players listed in a team’s scorebook will be eligible to compete in the National Round Robin.

“The men’s division is going to be extremely tough. Its been a very competitive year throughout in each of the member federation leagues, so it is going to be difficult and tough to predict what is going to happen outright. In fact, you can’t pick a clear cut winner as leagues make a push toward the playoffs now,” Dorsett said.

“The women’s division, I think that is going to be an open one. You have the top teams who people have expected to see in the finals the past few years out of Grand Bahama and New Providence, but anything can happen in these games.”

In 2011, the US Gold Panthers out of Grand Bahama won the men’s title, while the Proper Care Pool Lady Sharks out of New Providence won the women’s crown.

Dorsett noted that the first year of his administration’s term will be an important year for the BSF, featuring the largest National Round Robin to date as a part of the federation’s 40th anniversary.

“The federation this year released a six-point plan for the development of softball throughout the Bahamas. We are responsible for all aspects of softball, fast pitch, slow pitch, and modified pitch and the plan is inclusive of helping administrators and the running of the various associations, proper public relations and communications, technical development of the sport, that is the training of the coaches and athletes, the administration aspect of it, and to maintain and improve a relationship with the ISF,” he said. “And hosting the biggest event of the year, the Round Robin is a very important part of that mandate.”

Men’s and women’s teams are also preparing for international competition on the agenda, and this will give the public a prime opportunity to view the country’s best players before they take the field in international action.

For the first time, ECAS is scheduled to host an inter-confederation event, the ECAS Ladies Championship, November 28 to December 2 in Belize. The winner of the event will qualify for the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia.

The ECAS tournament for men is scheduled for a tentative date in April 2013 hosted by either the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos or the US Virgin Islands.

The VIII Pan Am Championships for men is set for September 15-23 in Medellin, Colombia.

The top five teams will qualify for the 2013 World Championships to be held March 1-10 in New Zealand.