Sundre Minor Ball's bantam girls team placed (update on Monday) in the home provincial tournament over the weekend.
It could be the first time in history that Sundre has hosted a bantam girls minor ball provincial tournament.
“First time for our division, for bantam girls softball,” confirmed Leah Jensen, coach and manager for the team.
Eleven teams came to Sundre from across the province including Airdrie, Coronation, Delburne, Innisfail, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Czar, Sherwood Park, South Bow River and St. Paul.
The 2013 Softball Alberta Bantam Girls D Provincial tournament involved roughly 150 athletes, ages 15 and 16, participating in 22 round robin games and four playoff games.
It ran from Friday to Sunday and involved a skills competition on Friday afternoon. The Sundre Stealers played twice on Friday and twice on Saturday.
“I think it's a fantastic opportunity to host and bring a lot of business to Sundre,” said Jensen.
“A lot of people that are coming here from out of town have never been to Sundre, so it's a good opportunity to promote our town,” she said.
The team found out about hosting the provincial tournament in May, after submitting a bid in the fall of last year.
“Last year when we went to provincials in St. Paul, we decided as a team that we'd like the opportunity to host. So we put in a bid to host provincials in the fall,” she said.
The Town of Sundre provided Sundre Minor Ball with $1,000 from the Sundre Economic Development Initiative Fund (SEDIF). The donation was presented on Friday at the ball diamonds, because town officials believed this “new” event would bring business to town.
