The weather became the big story at the 8^th Annual Peter DeVries Invitational Tournament this weekend. Heavy rains overnight and a forecast that predicted much of the same for the entire weekend has forced tournament director Dave Shedden to make the disappointing decision. As well, the City of Edmonton closed all sports fields for the day, and if the forecast for more rain holds true, they would be unlikely to open the fields again until the rains have stopped and the weather allows for the fields to dry.

When organizers arrived in the morning, both fields had standing water in the infields, and soggy grass throughout. It became apparent that even if the rain stopped by 9:00 am, it would be unlikely any games would proceed Saturday, which would make it unfeasible to continue with the tournament. This is the first time in the tournaments eight year history that the entire event had to be postponed due to weather. There have been rain delays and rescheduling as a result of odd rainfall in previous years, but no weather issues have forced the cancellation of the entire competition.

Teams and coaches were advised of the change of plans, and the teams from Calgary began their journey home. Organizers wish to thank all the teams who entered the tournament, the umpires who arranged their schedules to cover the games, and all the volunteers who spent countless hours organizing the event, particularly tournament director Dave Shedden. This is Dave’s third year participating in the tourney, and second year as its director. Although Dave is more likely to give all the credit to his army of volunteers, his leadership provided the platform for the tournament to continue to improve upon the successes from previous years.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who took all the time and effort to make the 8^th Annual Peter DeVries Invitational a success despite the unfortunate decision to cancel the tournament. The Edmonton Cardinals will soon begin the process of planning the 9^th Annual tournament in 2012, and look forward to seeing everyone back next year!

The 8th annual Peter DeVries invitational finally got under way Friday evening after being rained out on the opening day on Thursday. The games at John Fry Park (JFP) needed a lot of work to get the diamond ready to play. Many thanks to the players from the Edmonton Cardinals and the tournament volunteers who shovelled and raked the shale to get the diamond into game shape. A special thanks goes to Connor O’Hara, groundskeeper at JFP and former Cardinal player for the leadership and effort he provided in order for diamonds to be ready for play.

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