To all of our fastball and fastpitch softball friends everywhere, Merry Christmas!!

Editor’s Note: The ISC has released the initial list of ISC and ISC II qualifiers for 2009. Note that some regions, including US Central and Canada West, have incomplete or no info provided. Look for this list to be updated throughout the winter. Below is an edited version showing what we believe are ISC II qualifiers. For the complete list, see our brother blog the Morning Brief. In the past, an ISC II team playing in an ISC-only qualifier would become eligible to receive an invite to the ToC if one becomes available. For the list of teams already qualified for the 2009 ToC, click here.

Canada East Region – Blair Setford, Vice President blairjs@rogers.com 10 ToC berths
May 29 – 31
Atlantic Canada ISC II Qualifier (Tentative) – Stellarton, Nova Scotia
Berths: 1 ISC II ToC berth to winner, regardless of region
Format: TBD
Entry Fee and Deadline: TBD
Local Contact: Robert Benard – Robert.benard@ns.sympatico.ca
ISC Contact & Rep: Blair Setford – blairjs@rogers.com – 905-826-2697
UIC: TBD

June 19 – 21
Eastern Ontario ISC II Qualifier – Ottawa, ON
Berths: 1 ISC II ToC berth to winner, regardless of region (additional berths may be available)
Format: Double-knockout
Entry Fee & Deadline: $350 CDN – May 15, 2009
Local Contact: Allan Read – aread@lwlaw.com
ISC Contact & Rep: Blair Setford – blairjs@rogers.com – 905-826-2697
UIC: Steve Bedard – sjbgolf@hotmail.com

June 19 – 21
Southwestern Ontario ISC II Qualifier – Innerkip, ON
Berths: 3 ISC II berths to top 3 teams, regardless of region (additional berths may be available)
Format: Double-knockout
Entry Fee & Deadline: $350 CDN – May 15, 2009
Local Contact: Tim Wright – twri7823@rogers.com
ISC Contact & Rep: Blair Setford – blairjs@rogers.com – 905-826-2697
UIC: Peter Kluszczynski – kluzzy@sympatico.ca

July 3 - 5
Oswego CPI ISC II Qualifier – Oswego, NY (Joint Qualifier with US East)
Berths: 1 ISC II to highest finishing Canada East team.
Format: Divisional
Entry Fee: Contact Mike Cutro or Charlie Walseman
Local contact: Charlie Walseman – Charlie_h_walseman@cargill.com
UIC: TBD
ISC Rep: Mike Cutro – cootie0604@yahoo.com
Note: Above tournament is a joint qualifier between US East and Canada East and each region will award 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing teams from their respective regions.

June 30
2009 Travel League of Eastern Canada
Berths: 1 ISC II berth to top ISC II team as of June 30 league standings
Format: League play
Entry fee: TBD as part of league entry fee
League contact: David Bakker – bakkers@teksavvy.com
UIC: Peter Kluszczynski – kluzzy@sympatico.ca
ISC Rep: Blair Setford – blairjs@rogers.com – 905-826-2697

2009 Qualifiers for 2010 Berth
July 24 – 26 (tentative dates)
Travel League of Eastern Ontario Playoff Tournament
Location: TBD
Format: Double-knockout
Entry fee: included in league entry fee
Berths: 1 2010 WT berth to winner; 1 2010 ISC II ToC berth to top finishing ISC II team
League contact: David Bakker – bakkers@teksavvy.com
ISC Rep: Blair Setford – blairjs@rogers.com – 905-826-2697
UIC: Peter Kluszczynski – kluzzy@sympatico.ca

September 18 – 20 – Stratford, ON
2009 Ontario Challenge Cup ISC II Qualifier
Berths: 1 2010 ISC II ToC berth to winner – Canada East teams only
Format: Double-knockout
Entry fee and deadline: $225 CDN – August 31, 2009
Local contact: Murray Patterson – murraypatterson@wightman.ca
ISC Rep: Joe Todd – ftode739@rogers.com
UIC: TBD

September 18 – 20 – McNab/Braeside, ON
2009 Ontario Challenge Cup East ISC II Qualifier
Berths: 1 2010 ISC II ToC berth to winner – Canada East teams only
Format: Double-knockout
Entry fee and deadline: $225 CDN – August 31, 2009
Local contact: Harold MacMillan – jh.mac@gozoom.ca
ISC Rep: Blair Setford – blairjs@rogers.com – 905-826-2697
UIC: Sal Gara – sal.gara@sympatico.ca (tentative)

US East Region – Bill Howell, Vice President bhowell5@yahoo.com 9 ToC berths
April 17 – 18
War Eagle Classic – Auburn, AL
Berths: 1 ISC II ToC berth to highest finishing US East team
Format: TBD
Entry fee: $225
Contact: Robbie Carter – 334-501-2976
UIC: Sam Kelly
ISC Rep: Robert Gray – rgray77271@aol.com – 334-567-9797

May 22 – 24
Metro Fastpitch Invitational – Linden, NJ
Berths: 2 ISC II ToC berths; one to highest finishing US East team and one to highest finishing team from any ISC Region.
Format: Round robin with 3-game guarantee
Entry fee: $400
Contacts: Gregg Leather – 718-673-0188 or 646-610-6088 – nysoftball@aol.com
Pete Quaranta – 917-797-1172 – Quaranta15@aol.com
UIC: TBD
ISC Rep: Bill Hillhouse – 814-392-3369 – houseofpitching@yahoo.com

June 12 – 14
Boulevard Lounge Invitational – Midland, MI
Berths: 1 WT and 2 ISC II berths to highest finishing US East teams. 2nd ISC II berth is for highest finishing team from any region.
Format: Round robin into single elimination – 4-game guarantee
Entry fee: TBD
Contact: Kyle Beane – kbeane8@yahoo.com – 810-813-5178
UIC: TBD
ISC Rep: Kyle Beane

June 12 – 14
Blue & Gray Tournament – Montgomery, AL
Berths: 1 WT berth to champion regardless of region (No ISC II berths but participating teams become eligible to be invited to ISC II ToC)
Format: TBD
Entry fee: $150
Contact: Robert Gray – rgray77271@aol.com – 334-567-9797
UIC: Larry Raines
ISC Rep: Robert Gray

June-July, 2009
Mid-Atlantic Fastpitch Travel League
Berths: 1 ISC II ToC berth to championship team
Contact: Bill Howell – bhowell5@yahoo.com – 301-870-5049

July 3 - 5
Oswego CPI ISC II Qualifier – Oswego, NY (Joint Qualifier with Canada East)
Berths: 1 ISC II to highest finishing US East team.
Format: Divisional
Entry Fee: Contact Mike Cutro or Charlie Walseman
Local contact: Charlie Walseman – Charlie_h_walseman@cargill.com
UIC: TBD
ISC Rep: Mike Cutro – cootie0604@yahoo.com
Note: Above tournament is a joint qualifier between US East and Canada East and each region will award 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing teams from their respective regions.

US Central Region – Dave LeBlanc, Vice President farm32@aol.com 10 ToC berths
May 15 & 16
Villa Grove Invitational – Villa Grove, IL
Contact: John Schweighart – jschwei17@yahoo.com - (217) 649-3387
Format: Round Robin
Entry Fee: TBD
Berth: 1 ISC II ToC berth to highest finishing US Central team
UIC: TBD
ISC Rep: TBD

June 12 – 14 (Tentative)
Sioux Falls Qualifier – Sioux Falls, SD
Contact: Mike Mueller – muellermomike@yahoo.com

June 19 – 27 (two weekends)
Iowa ISC Qualifier – Walcott, IA
Berths: 1 ISC World Tournament and 1 ISC II ToC berth for US Central teams
Format: Double elimination
Entry Fee: $100
Contact: Pat Sullivan 563-583-4381 patsullivanisc@aol.com – 563-583-4381
UIC: Pat Sullivan 563-583-4381 patsullivanisc@aol.com - 563-583-4381
ISC Rep: Pat Sullivan 563-583-4381 patsullivanisc@aol.com – 563-583-4381

US West Region – Chris Santos, Vice President jcsantos25@msn.com 4 ToC berths
May 2 & 3
Red Rock at Carson City – Carson City, NV
Berths: 1 WT berth and 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing US West teams
Format: Round Robin into single elimination – 4-game guarantee
Entry Fee: $425
Contact: Roy Stout – umpire5@verizon.net – 661-724-1551
UIC: Bob Henning – brotherinblue@shaw.ca – 604-790-1166
ISC Rep: Ken Hackmeister – iscken@comcast.net – 801-447-8807

May 22, 23 & 24
Joe Santos Memorial – Pueblo, CO
Berths: 1 WT berth and 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing US West teams
Format: Round Robin into single elimination – 3-game guarantee
Entry Fee: $300
Contacts: Chris Santos – jcsantos25@msn.com – 303-419-7352
Jerry Santos – jerrysantos66@hotmail.com – 719-240-4771
UIC: Benny “Ginger” Rendon – gingerrendon@hotmail.com – 719-250-6608
ISC Rep: Dick Mason – damson@mrwllc.com – 303-734-4800

May 30 & 31
Best of the West – Santa Barbara, CA
Berths: 1 WT berth and 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing US West teams
Format: Round Robin into single elimination – 4-game guarantee
Entry fee and deadline: $400 – May 1, 2009
Contact: Dave Blackburn – daveb@virtvent.com – 310-266-7803
UIC: Clyde Bennett - clydebennett13@yahoo.com – 805-895-9007
ISC Rep: Dave Blackburn – daveb@virtvent.com – 310-266-7803

June 20 & 21
Portland Demarini Rose Cup – Portland, OR
Berths: 1 WT berth and 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing US West teams
Format: Round Robin into single elimination – 4-game guarantee
Entry Fee and Deadline: $400 – May 1, 2009
Contacts: Roger Jones – jonesroger9@earthlink.net 503-887-3200
John Fitzgerald – brjfitzger@cascorp.com
Brian Ree – bree10@comcast.net – 971-253-9030
UIC: Dan Duffy – d2pdx@mindspring.com – 503-520-1319
ISC Rep: Craig Donaldson – cdonalds5@shaw.ca – 778-228-0799

Canada West Region Ferdi Nelissen, Vice President ferdi@mts.net 4 ToC berths
No qualifier information provided

Any and all ISC and ISC II teams in Ontario are invited to attend the ISC Travel League of Eastern Canada meetings.

2009 League Meeting Dates and Locations

Sunday January 4, 2009
Grand Valley Golf and Country Club
1910 Roseville Road
Cambridge ON N1R 5S3
519-623-8811

Sunday February 22, 2009
Conestoga College Residence and Conference Center
99 Conestoga College Boulevard
Kitchener ON N2P 2N5
519-895-2272

Sunday April 12, 2009
Grand Valley Golf and Country Cub

All meetings start at 9:00 am

For more information, please contact one of:

David Bakker
League President
bakkers@teksavvy.com

Blair Setford
blairjs@rogers.com

Joe Todd
ftode739@rogers.com

From our brother blog, the Morning Brief, we offer this last-minute Christmas gift idea for your fastpitch friends - photos from Maddy’s Photos.com! Maddy has taken thousands of photos from the ToC over the past few years, including nearly 500 that were posted just from 2008.

For the Christmas season, (Maddy’s 12 Days of Christmas) she has reduced the standard prices for photos, and also added digital images to the mix. So if you are struggling for gift ideas like most of us, an enlargement might go well with that picture frame you bought. She also added other photo-gift options from SmugMug (stocking stuffer items like T-shirts, keychains, buttons, and such). (I found those items a little pricier, but SmugMug’s pricing dictates most of that).

So for Maddy’s 12 Days of Christmas, enjoy the reduced price of prints ($3, $7 and $12 for the standard sizes), or some of that well deserved year end time off, to just peruse the photos at her gallery. Looking for galleries from prior tournaments? Stay tuned, they will follow soon.

Click logo below to visit MaddysPhotos.com or here to go directly to the fastpitch galleries.

Readers may write to Maddy directly at maddy (at) maddysphotos (dot) com, or by clicking the “Contact” link on the main menu at her site.

From our brother blog, the Morning Brief, we feature this story on Midland, Michigan considering a bid for the 2010 ISC World Tournament and ISC II Tournament of Champions.

Midland Daily News
December 9th, 2008
By Dan Chalk
(reprinted with permission)

[Midland, MI] - With all of its fastpitch softball history, one fastpitch event that Midland has never hosted is the International Softball Congress World Tournament. But now, the Midland Explorers Booster Club hopes to bring the ISC Tournament to Currie Stadium in the second and third weeks of August 2010.

After a presentation by the Explorers Booster Club last Tuesday, the City of Midland’s Parks and Recreation Commission voted unanimously to recommend that city staff work with the booster club in support of a bid for the tournament. If the bid is accepted by the ISC, the 32-team ISC World Tournament would be held at Currie Stadium, and the concurrent 40-team ISC Tournament of Champions would take place at Redcoats Complex.

Read the rest of the story here at the Morning Brief.

Full Color PDF Now Available

Update:

We’ve bumped this post back to the top, as the full color PDF of the Softball Magazine feature is now available, by clicking here.The article entitled “California Dreamin’” was penned by ISC II Commissioner, Blair Setford. Blair assumed the reigns of the ISC II T of C program in 2004, including a streaming audio broadcast program that is headed into its 6th consecutive year. We are pleased to say that Softball Magazine has featured a story on the ISC II T of C every year since 2004.

This most recent feature story includes photos of Most Valuable Pitcher Dave Drotzmann and MVP Marcus Tan , as well as “Big Game Brian” Teeters of the champion California Lumberkings, plus Wayne Wells and Tim Neill, ace veteran pitchers for runner-up Waterdown Hammer of Ontario, Canada. Also featured — on the inside cover is a great shot of Terry Martin of the Elora Brewers hanging on a second for the force out. All photos, of course, by Maddy Flanagan. Don’t miss this one!

You’ll find many more photos of the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions at www.Maddysphotos.com.

This month’s issue of Softball Magazine is out, and includes a feature story on the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions at Appelton, Wisconsin, won by the California Lumberkings. Story by ISC II Commish, Blair Setford, photos by Maddy Flanagan. Among the photos are Most Valuable Player Marcus Tan (still milking his 15 minutes on the cover of Fasptitchwest.com), and Most Valuable Pitcher Dave Drotzmann.

Be sure to pick up a copy at selected newstands, (some Borders, Barnes & Noble, Waldens, Michael’s, and all of the Books-A-Million) or click the logo below to order it online. Back issues available ! Better still, subscribe and have it delivered to you each month !

2008 ISC II MVP Marcus Tan and 2008 ISC II Top Pitcher Dave Drotzmann attended the Team USA camp in September 2008.

Maddy Flanagan was on hand to capture the action as about 30 hopefuls gathered prior to the team being selected that will compete at the 2009 ISF World Championship in Saskatoon.

Marcus 1
Marcus 2
Marcus 3
Dave
Marcus & Dave

Click here for the complete photo set.

While most of us are getting ready for Christmas, the planning for next season never stops at the ISC.

We are pleased to announce that the 2009 ISC II Tournament of Champions will be expanded to 40 teams and will be played at the Campbell Sports Complex in Rock Island, Illinois, part of the Quad Cities on the Iowa-Illinois border.

The ToC will start on Tuesday August 18 with the Championship Game scheduled for Saturday August 22. All teams will be guaranteed a minimum of four games.

In the very near future, we will be announcing the list of qualifiers in each region. You will need to play in a qualifier in order to be eligible to compete in the ToC.

If you have any questions about competing in ISC II or qualifying for the ToC, please don’t hesitate to contact ISC II VP Jim Williamsonm, ISC II Commissioner Blair Setford, or your regional ISC VP. You can also contact an ISC Regional Commissioner in your area.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American readers!

Please be advised that the ISC Canada East Travel League is holding its annual State of the League meeting on Sunday November 2 at 9:00 am at the Grand Valley Golf Club in Cambridge.

See this link for directions. Any team with an interest in playing in the league in 2009 is encouraged to attend.

Available through the league in 2009 will be:
1 berth to the 2009 ISC II Tournament of Champions to highest placing ISC II team as of June 30, 2009.
1 berth to the 2010 ISC World Tournament to the winner of the League Playoff tournament.
1 berth to the 2010 ISC II Tournament of Champions to the highest finishing ISC II team at the League Playoff tournament.

For more information, please contact one of:

David Bakker
bakkers@teksavvy.com

Blair Setford
blairjs@rogers.com

Joe Todd
ftode739@rogers.com

From the ISC, courtesy of:

(click icon to see original post at Al’s Fastball)

The ISC has released its Roster Forms for the 2009 season.

New Roster Forms for ISC II teams have been posted to the ISC website at http://www.iscfastpitch.com select “Rules and Forms” from the side bar. Under “Forms” you will find a 2009 ISC II Roster form and a sample form. Both forms are downloadable Excel spread sheets.

Changes include minor design changes and the full list of email addresses of where rosters are to be sent.

[ST. THOMAS]
by Rob Ross, TIMES-JOURNAL STAFF

It was all the Glencoe Astros needed … four batters and Shaun Winship.

The Astros scored in the top of the first inning and then left it for Winship to silence the Belmont Black Sox 1-0 and win the St. Thomas and District Fastball League championship.

Glencoe took the best-of-five final in four games and knocked off the top three teams from the regular season on way to the title.

Winship delivered the lone run, hitting a two-out single to score Kyle Mitchell who led off with a single.

Mitchell advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Rowan Lamb and moved to third base on a Simon Rogers ground out.

“Shaun pitched a great game,” said Mitchell, the Astros captain. “It’s a no-brainer that Shaun will win the MVP of the playoffs again. Last year we lost in the final and he won MVP. He was even better this year. He’s a huge part of our success.”

Winship tossed a three-hitter in the finale, and issued one base on balls, while striking out 11 batters. He also did it with the bat, having six RBIs in the series.

“It’s a big relief. We’re sure happy. We didn’t want to go to Game 5,” said Mitchell, who had two singles last night. “We were a lot more focused than Game 3 and it showed as we didn’t make any mistakes.”

A Rodgers double and a single for Lam, a single, rounded out the Glencoe offence. The Astros were without Mark Johnson, who is attending camp with Rochester of the American Hockey League.

Glencoe, champions also in 2004, have made four of the past five finals.

Having Simon Rodgers catching added depth to the team and he made a difference, said Mitchell.

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“He was a big boost to the lineup.”

“We made some great plays on defence to keep us tight,” Belmont manager Gary Wren. “We just couldn’t solve Shaun Winship. He was overpowering.”

Two men on in the first and fourth innings was all the noise the Black Sox made.

Todd Winkworth had two hits for Belmont.

“I’m proud of the guys. When we were down 2-0 (in series), we played tough winning Game 3 and played tough (Tuesday). There was no let-up,” said Wren. “Three of the four games were excellent games. It could have gone either way with a hit here or there.”

Belmont’s Nick Goetz allowed one run on five hits while striking out four batters.

“The guys were pleased with their season,” Wren added. “That was the highest we’ve finished (second) and first final.”

Belmont also made the final at the ISC Challenge Cup this season.

The league banquet is Saturday, Nov. 8, in Glencoe.