Womens corner

Despite Cold, Winter Worlds Competition Was Hot

March 1, 2004 – Pat Lawlis

The SSWC Winter Worlds in Las Vegas the weekend of November 22-23, 2003 turned out to be a lot more like winter than anyone expected. Despite temperatures in the 30s and 40s, the women's competition was hot.

In the 40+ division, the competitors were the Renegades from California, the Bad Catz and Class Act II from Nevada, and the Firebirds and Senior Saints from Arizona. In single elimination play, the Firebirds were the first eliminated in a close 14-13 game against the Renegades. The Bat Catz then eliminated the Class Act II (18 ˆ 5) and the Renegades (12 ˆ 3) before encountering the first seed Senior Saints. In a game that went right down to the wire, the Bad Catz prevailed 16-15 to take the 40+ championship.

The 50+ division comprised Aches and Pains, California Rockers, California Spirit, and LJ Slammers from California, No Limits from Nevada, and Desert Storm and Senior Moments from Texas. In this highly competitive division, Desert Storm ousted Senior Moments (10-6) only to be eliminated by Aches and Pains (19-5). On the other side of the bracket, No Limits defeated Cal Rockers (19-5) and then they were eliminated by Cal Spirit 15-6. Cal Spirit then went on to beat #1 seed LJ Slammers (11-7) and the Aches and Paints (13-2) to take the 50+ championship.

The 55+ division was very evenly matched, with the California Express, Class Act from Las Vegas, the Golden Girls of Virginia, and the Silver Saints from Phoenix participating. In the first single elimination tournament game, the Silver Saints beat California Express in a thriller (15-14) while the Golden Girls beat Class Act 19-4. In a low scoring championship game that saw all runs scored in pairs, the Silver Saints took the 55+ championship 8 ˆ 6.

The 60+ division saw the California Spirit and New Kids on the Block from California, the Las Vegas Desert Neons, and the Queen Bees and Tucson Rancherettes from Arizona. The Queen Bees began with an impressive win over the New Kids on the Block (23-0) while the Desert Neons eliminated the Rancherettes 10-2. The Queen Bees then beat the Desert Neons (16-7) to move into the championship game against the first seed Cal Spirit. But Cal Spirit prevailed (17-6) to take the 60+ championship.

In all, 21 teams from 5 states participated in the women's Winter Worlds. The competition was great, and four teams went home with rings as the champions of their respective divisions.