Prince George team cleans up in fastball championships

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The Prince George Riverkings were more than a match for all of their rivals at this year's Canadian Native Fastball Association championships.

The Riverkings won all four of their contests and took top honors in the men's A Division of the national tournament, which concluded Aug. 4 in Brandon, Man.

The Prince George team thumped another British Columbia squad, the Invermere Nightmares, 12-5 in their final contest of the double-knockout tourney.

A total of 16 clubs took part in the A Division. An additional 16 teams participated in the men's B Division. There were also 12 entries in the women's category.

This year's tournament featured clubs from five provinces: B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

Manitoba's Valley River Colts captured the B Division, beating Saskatchewan's Canoe Lake Commodores 8-5 in their final. Alberta's Hobbema Challengers edged Field of Dreams, a Merritt-based club, 3-2 in the women's final.

"Everything went very, very well," said tournament co-ordinator Elie Tacan. "The weather was okay, the beer garden went well and everybody had lots of good Native food to eat."

"It's very competitive," Tacan said. "Our (top) prize money was $5,000 (for the men's A champs). And our total payout was $27,000."

The top five finishers in the men's A Division took home some cash. The clubs that placed in the top four in both the men's B and women's divisions also received monetary prizes.