The ball parks in Barriere became a hive of activity last weekend when the Softball BC Provincial Championships for U12, U14, U16 and U19 Boys filled the parks July 9 - 11. Sixteen teams and over 200 families attended the games, with eager and enthusiastic players from four divisions and numerous communities.
Finally being able to come together to play the sport they love after a year-and-a-half dry spell of no competitions due to COVID-19 was eagerly embraced. The sun was scorching hot for the entire weekend with temperatures in the range of 35 C. but that didn’t stop the enthusiasm or the hard efforts put forth by the young ball players.
Area residents were also excited to be able to come out and cheer on their teams. Spectator comments were full of enthusiasm, ‘Wow. What an awesome group of kids to watch at all ages. Looking forward to more ball in Barriere’, ‘It was great to see so many people out cheering’, ‘Kudos to the volunteers and parents who supported the events, and to all those who did extra work to help with getting ready for the weekend’.
The Barriere Cedar Kings dug deep and came out victorious, winning the U12 gold over Terrace, and the Barriere Stamer Logging team taking the bronze.
The U14, U16 and U18 teams from Terrance all went home Sunday with a gold-medal win. The second-place spots went to 100 Mile’s U14 team, the U16 team from Clearwater, and the Barriere Giants U19 division.
The Barriere Bruins U14 team, the Barriere Chiefs in the U16 division and U19’s 100 Mile team all took home bronze.
Thanks to Barriere Minor Ball, the executive, and the parents for bringing the Provincials back to Barriere. The community is looking forward to ‘more ball’ in Barriere.