Alberta teams take CNF championship titles

After several close attempts in recent years, an Alberta-based women’s team has recaptured its national fastball crown.

The Red Nation Jets, based in Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation, won the women’s division at this year’s Canadian Native Fastball Championships, which concluded on Aug. 1. The Whitecap Dakota Nation hosted the three-day tournament, attracting 70 teams.

It was the Jets first national title since 2003. The club had placed second in each of the three previous national tournaments and third four years ago. The Jets were dominant this year, winning all six of their tournament games. The squad thumped Saskatoon-area team AMI Pride 17-0 in its final match. The mercy rule kicked in and the game against the Pride was called after three innings.

“In our six games we scored 65 runs and allowed just six runs,” said Jets’ manager Tony Alexis. “That’s amazing. You don’t usually see numbers like that.”

The Jets’ success at the nationals is somewhat of a surprise considering the team features players from various parts of the country and does not play together during the season.

“We had people from everywhere coming to play,” Alexis said.

The Jets’ 14-player roster this season included just three players from the Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation and six other players from various parts of Alberta. The team’s roster was rounded out by three players from Ontario and one player each from British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

As the team’s success has proven, Alexis said the Jets are more than capable of gelling quickly and playing well together just at the nationals.

“You just put your team together and go out there and compete,” said Alexis, who besides recruiting players for his side also relies on some of his players to find others they deem good enough to play on the talented team.
As it turned out, the Jets’ closest game at this year’s tournament, which featured a double-knockout format, was their first one, when they beat the Pride 4-1.
A total of 22 teams participated in the women’s division at the nationals. Despite their close calls in recent years, the Jets were not the pre-tournament favourites.

“One of the teams we were looking out for was the Northern Lights (from Manitoba),” Alexis said. “They had won four consecutive titles.”

The Jets defeated the Northern Lights 7-1 in their fourth game at the tournament.

As for the men’s division, Alberta’s Siksika Rebels won their third straight national championship. The Rebels downed the KDC Braves, from Invermere, B.C., 3-1 in the final.

The men’s category featured 32 clubs from across the country. Meanwhile, a pair of masters divisions (for those 40 and over) had also been planned for the nationals. Due to a lack of entries, however, the women’s division was not held. But Manitoba’s Sapotawekay won the men’s grouping, which featured eight participating clubs.