Action commences today with 26 matches

AFTER several months of planning with careful consideration being given to last year’s hiccups, the Competitions Committee within the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) has done it again, bringing to softball-loving fans in Guyana, the ‘Guyana Softball Cup 4’ which bowls off at various venues in Georgetown this morning.

The activities commence with 26 matches today, progressing with 13 more inclusive of four semifinals tomorrow, followed by the playing of the finals on Sunday, which will be preceded by three exhibition matches involving four female teams.
All in all, 45 matches will be contested over the next three days inclusive of today, at the end of which the Open champion will attract a top cash prize of $1M and a trophy while the Masters winners will pocket $600 000 and a trophy.
Several business entities have thrown lucrative support into this tournament over the years and continue to do so this time around, with RUBiS (Guyana) Limited being the latest entity to add its name to the list, with its presentation yesterday morning.
Some of the grounds which will be hosting matches in this tournament which has teams competing for supremacy out of Canada and United States of America are: Police Sports Club, Everest Cricket Club, Georgetown Cricket Club, Gandhi Youth Organisation, Muslim Youth Organisation and Demerara Cricket Club (DCC).
The finals will be hosted at DCC, with whom the GFSCA had partnered early in the year to install six pillion posts with floodlights, while matches will also be contested at the Malteenoes Sports Club and Ogle grounds.
The runners-up in the Open category will receive $150 000 and a trophy, while the player-of-the-match in the final receives one trophy and the man-of-the-series for both the Masters and Open categories will be recipient of a diamond-studded gold bracelet compliments of Steve’s Jewellery.
Spectators attending Sunday’s final will not be left out, as two return tickets to Aruba, with the kind compliments of Survival Travel Agency, along with hampers and other giveaways will be up for grabs, hence patrons are asked to retain their ticket stubs to improve their chances of winning prizes.
Organisers also intimated that monies accrued thus far have been plugged into developmental works at the DCC ground, Queenstown, including the installation of the light towers mentioned before, a project they claim is 90% completed.
The defending champions in the Masters category are New York Better Hope while inaugural Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company nationwide 10/10 champions Trophy Stall are the Open champions, with both teams defeating Industry Super Kings and Wolf Warriors in their respective 2013 finals.

(By Calvin Roberts)