by Harry Somers
Softball in Manchester got off to its now-customary mid-April start with the Manchester Firstball Tournament, held on 12-13 April at Parrs Wood School, which is now attracting more and more out-of-town teams.
The Gold final was an all-Manchester el classico in which the Greensox comfortably beat the Mavericks. The Sheriffs (of Nottingham) beat the Bullfrogs to take the Silver trophy, while Leeds Lightning beat Manchester Thunder II in a (not so) stormy Bronze final.
New league season
The league season starts the day after Easter Monday with a new format in which all four divisions will play two-and-a-half or three round robins, with no mid-season split between Divisions 1 and 2 as in the past.
The change is partly due to two teams folding, one of them a Division 1 team, so the top division will now have eight teams playing two rotations before splitting into top and bottom halves for a third round of placings deciders.
The two folding teams are both a result of multi-team clubs reducing the number of teams they can support, but overall numbers have remained steady with the addition of two new teams in Division 4: a third team for Mossley Mayhem and a full league debut for the Scousers from Sefton Sharks, who played as guests in our Division 3/4 Cup last season.
Two significant rule changes will see 11" balls used when women bat in all four divisions (we made this decision before the ISF decided to follow our lead), and the provision of four batting/running helmets, mandatory for all teams. Wearing them is still optional, but at least they are there if needed.
Steady improvement
Lions are looking to retain the title they won for the first time last year, but will face stiff opposition in a league where standards are improving every year from top to bottom.
Meanwhile, you can be sure that you will see plenty of Manchester teams at tournaments up and down the country, hopefully again carting off your silverware to our well-stocked trophy room oop North!