Womens corner

Projections Unveiled for Women's Teams in Tournaments

May 1, 2004 – Pat Lawlis

Teams plan ahead, deciding what tournaments they will play for the year. In the process, they try to decide which tournaments are in good locations and at good times. They would also like to have some idea of how much competition there will be.

One of our goals is to help women's teams with that planning by providing some projections about how much competition to expect at our tournaments. We have been in touch by e-mail with many teams who have shared their plans for this year with us. This helps us to be able to provide some realistic projections about upcoming tournaments.

First a word of caution. We have enough information to be able to estimate the total number of teams that will enter a tournament but not enough to be very specific about age divisions. So we're not going to attempt to give you numbers for age divisions although we will point out some trends that we see.

How did we do with our projection about one tournament that has recently occurred? We estimated 18 ˆ 20 teams would show up for the Tucson Showdown on April 17 ˆ 18. In fact, there were 19 teams that competed in five divisions (40+, 50+, 55+, 60+, and 65+), so we hit that one right on.

For the remainder of the year, it looks like this:

May 22 ˆ 23, Las Cruces, NM ˆ We projected 10 ˆ 15 teams and we ended up with 11. This was a new location for the tournament that used to be in El Paso, and it had the advantage of improved facilities.

June 4 ˆ 6, Akron, OH ˆ We originally said 15 ˆ 20 teams, and now it looks like it will be about 20. This is a good location at a good time of the year with good facilities as well. It also looks like an opportunity for good competition for the older divisions (60+ or 65+).

June 5 ˆ 6, Reno, NV ˆ this one looks like 10 ˆ 15 teams.

June 19 ˆ 20, Camp Pendleton, CA ˆ we're expecting 13 ˆ 18 teams. This is a new women only tournament using some nice facilities at a quiet Marine base where most of the troops are deployed.

July 10 ˆ 11, Glen Burnie, MD ˆ it looks like 10 ˆ 15 teams, with some good competition for the older divisions.

July 24 ˆ 25, Western Nationals, Seattle, WA ˆ we're expecting 12 ˆ 17 teams to be competing in this leg of the Triple Grand Slam.

August 7 ˆ 8, Eastern Nationals, Syracuse, NY ˆ this tournament had no women's teams last year, but we already have a solid 60+ division forming for this year to work on this leg of the Triple Grand Slam. Other divisions are not looking good at this time, but we'll keep our e-mail list informed of developments.

August 14 ˆ 15, California Cup, Fresno, CA ˆ although the men's teams for this tournament are required to be from California, we have opened it to all women's teams, since there are no geographical restrictions for players on women's teams. However, so far we have only seen interest from a few teams based in California, so it does not look good at this time. Again, we'll keep our e-mail list informed of developments.

September 24 ˆ 26, World Championships, Las Vegas, NV ˆ it appears that we will have 15 ˆ 20 teams for this tournament, but we may revise this upward as the time draws nearer. We have recently found out that the women will be playing at some very nice facilities in Henderson, NV. This tournament features the National Championship games between the winners of the Eastern and Western Nationals in each division, as well as the World Championships. Both the National Championship and the World Championship count toward the Triple Grand Slam.

November 13 ˆ 14, Winter Nationals, Fort Myers, FL ˆ last year was the first time we had any women's teams at this tournament, and we had 5. This year the number may be similar, but it should include a solid 60/65+ division. This tournament, the first leg of the Triple Grand Slam for 2005, is popular with the older teams.

November 20 ˆ 21, Winter Worlds, Las Vegas, NV ˆ this will be a big tournament for women. We are currently projecting 16 ˆ 21 teams, but this may also be revised upward as time draws nearer. We expect a good 40+ division and a good 60/65+ division here.

If you have questions on these tournaments or any other issues, please e-mail Pat at women@seniorsoftball.com or call Diana at 602-944-9437. And we are always interested in your feedback.