An Astros batter during league play last season. (PAMSA Facebook)

By paNOW Staff

Play ball

Prince Albert softball season gets underway with two major tournaments

May 23, 2025 | 4:33 PM

The sport of softball has been top of mind in Prince Albert as the city prepares to host the 2025 WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup this July, but it’s the local minor league players that are currently in the spotlight.

The Prince Albert Minor Softball Association (PAMSA) season has begun and it’s getting right into the swing of things with the Astros welcoming about 20 boys teams to the city this weekend for the Rawlings Grand Slam tournament.

“We’ll have teams from across the province here participating both Saturday and Sunday at Prime Minister’s Park,” said PAMSA Commissioner Steve Climenhaga of the event, adding that it will feature U11, U15 and U17 players.

Next weekend, the Aces will host 32 girls teams in the U11, U13, U15 and U17 age groups from across Saskatchewan as part of the Shaye Amundson Memorial Tournament.

Climenhaga said the Aces program has consistently seen strong registration numbers in Prince Albert. This year, there are at least two teams at each level; some have three. On the boys’ side, there are provincial teams in the U11, U15 and U17 categories, and about 150 kids are registered overall for House League.

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“We’ve actually won over 40 provincial medals within our Astros program across all age groups, and our Aces have also won some provincial titles. Last year, our Astro program brought home a national bronze medal, a national fourth-place finish and the Western Canadian Championship,” said Climenhaga. “Several Astros have represented the province and the country, and we’ve had several of our Aces move on to some nice universities down south…some scholarships down south as well.”

The U15 A Aces and U15 Astros kicked off the year with a friendly competition on May 13. (PAMSA Facebook)

The sport will see a burst of popularity this summer when teams from New Zealand, Japan, Argentina, Australia, United States, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Canada compete at Rotary Field as part of the World Cup. Last year, the city hosted the qualifiers and in 2018 Prince Albert welcomed the WBSC World Junior Men’s Softball World Championship. Both events led to significant improvements and investments in the city’s ball diamonds.

“PAMSA has seen the value that those events have brought to both our Aces and Astros programs…being exposed to something such as that. So, the board made a $10,000 donation towards this summer’s event to show our support for the legacy that they have left us with these wonderful diamonds we get to play on.”

Climenhaga added that Prince Albert has always been a great softball community with lots of fans and volunteers who step up to the plate.

“I just want those people to know how much PAMSA appreciates that support and we look forward to seeing them at our events right here this summer.”

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panews@pattisonmedia.com