Fernie athletes have dusted off their gloves for the start of the slow pitch season.
The local mixed league kicked off on Monday and runs until late July when the teams face off in a tournament.
Slow pitch softball is a variation of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field.
In Fernie, the sport remains as popular as ever with the maximum of 16 teams registered this season and more players on a wait list.
“We’d have a lot more teams if we had more fields, we’ve only got two,” said Fernie Mixed Slow Pitch coordinator Kat Robinson.
Robinson has been playing slow pitch for nine years and organizing the Fernie mixed league since 2012.
“It’s low key, some people call it a beer league,” she said.
“We’ve got a mix, we’ve got some really good players and we’ve got people who are new to the sport and have never played it before. It’s just a good fun activity, to be outside at night and to be doing something in a team sport.”
Slow pitch teams play twice a week, alternating between Monday and Wednesday and Tuesday and Thursday, and spectators are invited to watch games, which take place at the Prentice Park diamonds near the hospital.
Robinson said the league would be split into two divisions halfway through the season.
“Usually, half the teams are really good then you’ve got a couple of newer teams, so it’s nice to split it up into an A and B league,” she said.
“It’s quite entertaining.”
