The Port Moresby Women's Softball Association (POMWSA) successfully completed the second week of its 2023-2024 season with fixtures played at the Bisini Softball Diamonds on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
The weekend's games were thrilling, with participating teams entertaining the spectators with impressive displays of standard softball techniques. The batting, fielding, and player communication skills were exceptional.
Unfortunately, the association did not have a proper season in previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is now reviving its operations without following a set calendar.
"We are allowing the teams to rebuild themselves since softball had been away for two years and we never played the normal competition," said the association's President, Ian Soweni.
With the season in full swing, thirteen teams from eight clubs have registered to participate in the competition.
"We have eight clubs comprised of six B-Grade and seven A-Grade teams. The United Sisters have only A-Grade, and Aviat has only B-Grade. Other clubs such as Chebu, Gazelle, Stingerz, Bears, Saints, and Mariners have both A and B grade teams," said Mr. Soweni.
Soweni explained that the association's executives allowed the clubs to participate without paying any affiliation fees and registration fees so that all the players could participate and revive their skills in the sport.
However, the competition had a slow start due to some clubs not showing up for their matches. They have experienced a few forfeited games in the previous weekends.
"We're just starting to bring back the clubs and the sport of softball for women. This is the second weekend, and we'll see how it goes in the coming weekends. We will play all the way into December. Hopefully, we will come back in the new year, January, and finish the season," said Soweni.
With the increasing interest from clubs, the association hopes to establish a federation and finalize its calendar in the next season to provide player pathways for the participants.
Meanwhile, Gazelle and United Sisters are the top two teams and are a force to be reckoned with. In their preseason grand final, the United Sisters beat Gazelle. Both teams also had consistent performances in the last two weekends of the competition.
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