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f\:PP-1ALK

We said it would be a big
one and sure enough it was.
The Rossland Annual SloPitch Tournament officially
opened Friday and started in
• earnest with four games
Saturday at 8 a.m. and WOWld
up with a fiWTY of excitement
SWlday evening after the
winners bad been determined
and the trophies distributed.
The Rossland Slo-Pitcb
tourney, as it is constituted
today, was first held in 1975
and bas been an unqualified
success ever since. Talking to
co-ordinator Ken Dixon
Tuesday morning, be menti011ed that one of the prime
reasons for the success of this
effort is that everyone connected with it gives unstintingly of their time and
effort to make it go the way it
does.
Kenny Dixon and cam
Jensen are the top guys in the
organization and take
responsibility ~or all that goes
into the tournament and what
comes out of it. The really
outstanding trophies which
are awarded for the winners
were put up · by these two
young men and bear their

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names.
The main one is really
something to behold, standing

almost three feet high overall, it is really a work of art.
Anything attempted of this
scope bas to have a lot of
effort from ~eryone con-

cerned, the people who
prepare the four parks for
play and keep them in shape,
the women who handle the
concessi011 booth, the people

who cooked that marvellous
stew which was the main
_..,........,.._,..... J

" ~ _...., .... 1 -1..:--1.

it were won this year by Merv
Jensen's Kam Kats who
nudged out · Rossland's
RoadrWlners in the final
game. They bad stayed in the
winner's bracket all the way
through the tourney and were
never beaten.
Since 1975, .when Rossland
Beersteiners won out, 'the
trop~y • bas moved arowid
considerably; in '76 a Vancouver team took it home, in
'77 Rossland Super-Scrap
won, to keep it here, '78 saw it
travel to Calgary with the
Animals· and in '79 the B.A.
Rollers took it west to the
Okanagan. '
As stated previously the
Kam Kats are led by a former
Rossland boy, Merv Jensen,
one of four sons of retired
Comincoan, and a member of
our Retirees' Curling Club in
the winter, Gil Jensen.
Mervin put in some time in
the ou~ield for the currently
donnant Capilanos, when .
they were winning championships regularly, and bas
since taken up residence in
Kamloops.
.Another former Rosslafider,
Beres Drake, also performs
for the Kam Kats and Beres
was the Kam Kats pitcher in
the final game which won
them this year's tourney.
An interesting note on the
Jensen boys is the fact that
three of them play on three
different teams. Brian is
playing with the Calgary
Animals, cam for Rossland's
Super-Scrap and this year,
Ross was a member of the
umpiring staff. He formerly
played with cam of the Scrap
team.
!l'hA t ..,u:n

hot

th..

:re..,..,,

will
!wry
Pe,per

Jack Molyneux, who was a
pretty good athlete in bis day,
too.
'
Jack goes along on all the
RoadrWlner trips. Up in
Vernon be bas a pet name.
Wouldn't you know it! They
call him "The Eighth Dwarf."
As I write this we are all
looking forward to the big
lacrosse game tonight,
Wednesday. I hear Babs bas
fowid her record of Waltzing
Matilda, so the Aussies will
have an appropriate greeting
when they trot out on the floor
at the Rossland Arena
tonight.

Soccer, . of the minor
variety, is over for the

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swniner. The kids will swing
back into action when they.
return to school, to play out
the' remainder of the schedule
and the playoffs.
And to finish up, we have
news from the field hockey
world, girls variety. Girls
picked from the RossJand
area to represent Zone I in the
B.C. Summer Games, are
Resa Bourcbier, ·Tanis
Bourcbier, Christine Bour- ·
cbier, Heather Bourcbier,
Dianne Bartsch and Ban
Barry.
Zone I extends from Grand
Forks to the Alberta border,

so wouldn't you say that
Rossland bas a fair
representation.

cerned, the people who
prepare the four parks for
play and keep them in shape,
, the women who handle the
concession booth, the people
who cooked that marvellous
stew which was the main
ingredient of the meal which
t was available Sunday for
anyone
who
required
s ~ .- Then there was
the umpiring corps beaded by
Jim Schuck and game ~
ordinator Sam Keith.
Also taking a pretty important part were four guys
who are no J.oncer able to run
fast enough to reach first base
· unlesa the ball is bit out of the
park. Formed last year, this
group CODlists of Chuck
Harkness, No. 1 Joe, better
known as Joe Thalman, No. 2
Joe, who answers to the game
of Gyte, and one other guy
whole name eludes me for the
mommt. They are the people
·responalble for banding · out
the liquid refreshments in the
arena Saturday and.Sunday.
Each team gets an allot,.
ment after every game they
play, so there are a lot of
arms dipped into the icy tank,
a profession known as "pearl
diving," to service the needs
of tbinty ball' players and
tbeirfaDI.
This yell' the roster of
team,. comisted of four from
Ro11land, Super-Scrap,
Roadrunnen, Payless and the
Miners, a combined TrailRossland-Castlegar team
representing B,C. Tel. The
lone Tnill entry were the
Cominco Firemen, Enderby
sent the Outfitters, from
Calpry CIIDI Brian Jenaen
and bis AnlmlJa, three entries
from Vernon and five from
r.mJoopa, one of wblcb toot.
home the top prize. .
'l'be top trophy and the
penonal tropb1es that go with

playing with the Calgary
Animals, cam for Rossland's
Super-Scrap and this year,
Ross was a member of the
umpiring staff. He formerly
played with Cam of the Scrap
team.
The team that the Kam
Kats beat for the title bas a
long history of near misses,
guys like Jon Holm, John
Habicht and "Skip!' Ferguson
are long-time members of a
team which bas come so close
on many occasions but bas
yet to win the big one.
Who knows, maybe the
Roadrunners will return the
compliment and win in
Kamloops. Don't forget, their
mascot and chief rooter is
none other than 84-year-old