The Beast from the East did not stop 15 determined slowpitch teams from up and down the country travelling to Manchester for 
the 3rd BSUK Indoor Softball Tournament on Saturday 3 March.
Despite the treacherous road conditions and adverse weather during the days leading up to the tournament, all 15 teams, including teams from as far afield as Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and Bracknell, made it to the venue, Powerleague Trafford, on time and unscathed.
The top prize taken by Blue Steel from London in a very exciting final against Scotland’s Hairy Coos.
BaseballSoftballUK North West Coach Linni Mitchell said, “We were worried that the turbulent weather which had been causing havoc on the roads all week could affect attendance at the tournament, especially with teams travelling from Scotland and London, but we were relieved that every team made it safely.”
Format
The tournament followed a similar format to the two previous indoor events held in Manchester in March and December 2017, with an initial round-robin followed by a secondary round-robin. Teams were then split into Cup, Plate and Spoon competitions based on results to that point.
A staggered lunch allowed teams to get stuck in to the complimentary buffet of chilli, curry, chips and sandwiches over three sittings and have a quick mid-tournament pint before the afternoon games commenced.
All teams played at least 12 games consisting of six minutes batting and six minutes fielding. Finals for the top two teams in each category were played to determine who went away with the silverware.
Teams who were making their Manchester Indoor Tournament debut this weekend enjoyed the ‘simpler’ scoring system used in the Manchester Indoor Softball League, which is more like that used in the outdoor game than the scoring system found in most other indoor leagues around the country.
Standings
The final standings were as follows:
CUP COMPETITION
Winner: Blue Steel (London)
Runner-up: Hairy Coos (Scotland)
Third Place: Mavericks (Manchester)
Fourth Place: Camels (Manchester)
Fifth Place: Honey Badgers (Scotland)
PLATE COMPETITION
Winner: Indoor Bats (Manchester
Runner-up: Latinos (Latin America)
Third Place: Bootle Rats (Liverpool)
Fourth Place: University of York (York)
Fifth Place: Diamond Knights (Leeds)
SPOON COMPETITION
Winner: Scorchers (Bracknell)
Runner-up: Yorkshire Dales (Leeds)
Third Place: Urmston Rippers (Manchester)
Fourth Place: Meteors (Manchester)
Fifth Place: Base Invaders (Manchester)
Comments
Nathan Barratt, who is completing an eight-week work placement with BaseballSoftballUK in the North West, helped out with the running of the tournament andsaid, “It was a great learning curve to see how tournaments are run from an organiser’s perspective. One of my roles was to keep an energetic music playlist pumping to keep everyone in the high spirits. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day and I hope my music choices added to that!”
Bracknell Scorcher captain Paul Vernon said, “We thought the venue was amazing but we wondered if you could make it warmer in Manchester next time! We also thought the atmosphere was really good; lots of people having a good time.”
North West Regional Development Manager Luis Arrevillagas said, “Thanks again to all the team captains -- your support of this event is very much appreciated!”
