By Eric de Man and Scott Stryboschand
If you have walked by Eastwood Park on any given Sunday this summer, you may have noticed softball players in every colour of the rainbow all over the diamonds. Those would be members of Steel City Inclusive Softball Association. We’ve been playing at Eastwood for the last four summers. On September 8, 20244, we closed out our 2024 season with our End of Season Tournament.
Over this past summer, the Steel City Inclusive Softball Association hosted 18 games every Sunday and 4 games every Thursday most weeks. For those who stopped by to watch a game, we wanted to thank you for helping us build a more inclusive community in the North End. If not, we often have a hotdog vendor on site, and our neighbour Collective Arts is just across from the diamonds. Some weekends we host broader community events like artist/craft fairs and sports try-athalons on the sidelines. We’d love to see more of our North End neighbours stop by.
That said, it’s not too late to register for our last event of the year. On Saturday October 26, 2024, we will host our annual Field of Screams fundraiser to support local community organizations. It is one of our more colorful events. You might even see a T-Rex running to first base or “Weird Barbie” catching a pop fly. People come ready to play in all sorts of costumes. If you’re interested in dressing up and joining us, follow steel.city.softball on Instagram for updates.
While we have worked hard to reinvigorate Eastwood Park, we’re not just a local softball organization that’s open to anyone. We have sent teams across North America to different tournaments including the Gay Softball World Series in Minneapolis last year and Las Vegas this October. Last month, the SCISA Sisters , one of our traveling teams comprised mostly of North End residents, played in the Gotham City Classic in New York City and took second place.
If you haven’t been by Eastwood Park on a Sunday this summer, we’re extending the invitation to join us from late May to September in 2025. If playing softball isn’t your thing, we have plenty of ways to get involved and meet new friends. To find out more information, please join our mailing list by visiting our website: scisa.ca. Better yet, if you see anyone walking around the North End with a Steel City Inclusive Softball Association shirt or jersey on, stop us and say hi.
