Nine members of Sportaculars’ reunited 25 years after capturing gold at the National Association Senior Softball tournament.
“It was really fun getting back together,” Sylvia Mergl, who organized the team in 1989, said.
“Everyone is from across Ontario so it’s often hard to find time to all be together at one spot, so it made for a great evening.”
The team, made up of players above 45 years old, were the first female champions in North America. Mergl, who was playing alongside her daughter in Pelham at the time, spotted an ad asking for teams to compete in the inaugural tournament.
With limited opportunities for her age group, she began contacting ball players from across North America to see if there would be interest in creating a Canadian team.
“I was amazed at the response from players for a tournament we knew nothing about,” Mergl says.
“Yet everyone was on board to give it a shot despite never having played together before.”
Chemistry was never a problem as the team quickly advanced to the finals. They captured gold and set their names in the history books.
“To throw 11 women together like that and to pull off the win was truly amazing,” former Sportacular player Pattie Lenson said.
“We went without a coach or any expectations, so we were flying high when we got home knowing how well we played in our first tournament.”
The team’s creator, however, had her celebration at the local hospital taking care of a player who broke her wrist during the final game.
“As soon as we made the final out, I hoped in the back of the ambulance and we were off. No big celebration for me.”
Mergl would have her chance later as the Sportaculars would continue their success. They have had a first-hand view of the growth of the sport in America.
With tournaments held in Tennessee and Florida, they became road warriors as the only Canadian team on the circuit. Eventually Vancouver produced the Swingers, but the team still cruised to tournament win after tournament win.
Now competing in the 70 and above division, Sportaculars have a few new faces on the field but still have the same passion which began 25 years ago.
Mergl, who has been a huge influence in growing the sport in Niagara, says her teammates are considered family after years of travelling to and from tournaments.
“When I started the team, I thought it would be nice for players to compete against those of the same age. I never envisioned it growing this large.”
What began with just six teams has blossomed into a league of their own, featuring sponsors and trophies.
Although the spread of slo-pitch across America continues to see a boom, Canada has faltered, still only represented by the two female teams from Ontario and British Columbia.
Mergl said when passports became essential for bordering crossings, fewer teams would make the trip north to play.
With many of the tournaments held up to eight hours away by car, teams could not remain self-sufficient because of a lack of sponsors for senior competitors.
“It really is hard to get sponsors for seniors in this sport, as they really underestimate the talent and abilities of these ladies,” Lenson said.
Sportaculars created calenders and held fundraisers over the years to help ease the cost of travel, even holding a silent auction at the reunion to help lower the 2015 registration fees.
All that hard work off the field paid off, with Mergl and fellow teammates Adeline Rosmus and Jean Mills being inducted into the U.S. National Senior Softball Hall of Fame.
“The many trophies won over the years are incidental compared to the friendships and camaraderie with other players that we have met over the years,” Mergl says. “I’m happy we all got to see each other 25 years after that magical day.”
