As of yesterday, only 26 of a possible 46 teams had signed up for the local adult mixed slo-pitch league this summer.
While tomorrow (May 10) was the original day for teams to pick up their packages, that may be extended to next Monday as co-ordinator Megan Ross hopes the weekend will draw in some new squads.
But she stressed the season won’t fold.
“The league will still run but we’ll just have to make the schedule changes from there,” she noted, though adding any possible changes won’t affect a team’s choice of nights.
There are still seven spots open on Monday, five on Tuesday, seven on Wednesday, and one on Thursday.
Even though the local league sported 38 teams last year, longtime volunteer Paul Bock said he’s noticed a steady decline in turnout over the last three years compared to the league’s heyday in the early to mid-’90s when more than 50 teams hit the diamonds.
The captain of the “North Air Benchwarmers” said people are either playing in different leagues in the area, or different sports such as soccer and golf.
The league had set up pre- and post-season meetings to get input from team captains on how everything was run. Ross, in her third year at the helm, said she did not notice any glaring unhappiness.
She had hoped the addition of lights to one of the diamonds at St. Francis Sportsfield would open up the schedule for night ball.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
