ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 3, 1996 TAG: 9604030017
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Community Sports
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS
Steadily rising temperatures and the return of many migratory birds to the New River Valley mean spring has sprung, leaving behind the 70-plus inches of snowfall and cabin fever area residents dealt with this winter.
With the arrival of the fairest of seasons comes the start of the most serious of adult recreation leagues - softball.
Area parks and recreation departments are preparing hurriedly for the beginning of their seasons, putting the final touches on field preparation and team registration. The Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Montgomery County, Pulaski and Radford parks and recreation departments are offering male and female leagues ranging in cost from $175 to $235 per team.
Most leagues will use American Softball Association rules and will have the services of veteran umpires who are no strangers to the competitive levels of recreational league softball.
"The officials in the area are pretty good," Blacksburg Parks and Recreation Department Director Larry Lawrence said. "We use umpires that are just local guys, but they've been calling games for 10 to 15 years. A couple of them are certified umpires, but we don't require that in our league. All our officials are experienced."
Interest in the area parks and recreation leagues has been growing over the last few years, as evidenced by the large number of registrations taken in this past season's basketball leagues. Lawrence said he expects a greater than normal number of teams to register for one of his department's eight leagues.
"We normally take somewhere between 70 and 75 teams a year," Lawrence said. "This year we're expecting to get at least 80 teams, maybe even more. I think that part of the draw for our leagues are that we play some games on lighted fields. That means we can play some 8:15 and 9:15 games, as opposed to playing earlier in the evening. For some people, those times work out better."
Montgomery County Parks and Recreation Director Tim Cooney said he too expects a strong turnout for his two open leagues. Montgomery County also offers a modified fast-pitch league, the only league of its kind in the area.
"I would like to get at least four teams to sign up for the fast-pitch league," Cooney said. "In the past we haven't had enough teams, but hopefully this year we can get that league off the ground."
Star Spikers: The New River Valley Neptune 16's Gold squad finished fourth in the third annual Shamrock Festival volleyball tournament, March 16-17 at Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum. The tournament featured 66 teams from seven states.
The Neptune, part of the NRV Juniors volleyball club, finished behind division winner Yadkin Valley Tigger (Yadkin Co., N.C.), runner-up RVC Oaces (Richmond) and Blue Ridge S161 (Harrisonburg). Carolina Mizuno 18 National (Columbia, S.C.), led by 1996-97 Hokie signees Briton and Rachel Julian, captured the 18's Gold division title.
Four area players were named to the All-Tournament team. Tech signee Kristin Wright and Allison Suggs, both of NRV Jupiter, were named to the 18's all-tournament team. The Neptune placed Lindsay Cannon and Kimberly Morris to the 16's all-tournament team.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB