MVP Winner
Darleen Horne and the
Golddiggers Girls Softball Association

I started playing softball at the age of 12 as a spare for an all-women's team. There were no girl’s teams in my community at the time. Since I was tall I could easily pass for 16, so I was eligible to play with the women instead of girls my own age. I was called a runner and ran for injured players. They would bat and I would run. That was in 1972. Much has changed since those days. But I never gave up the love for the sport. Over the years I played on several women's teams.

In March of this year, my 9 year old daughter came home with a notice from school that a new girl’s softball team was being formed for girls ages 7 - 10, she was anxious to join. My immediate response was to offer to help in any way and volunteered to coach. We started with indoor practices in the gymnasium of the local Elementary school in East Lawrencetown - which was graciously donated by the principal. Word quickly spread about the new girl’s softball league; players started emerging from 7 other communities within a 50 km radius. We had hoped for enough players for 1 team, and at the first practice 44 girls showed up - enough for 4 teams. The Golddiggers Girls Softball Association was born!

Our league name came from the history of this part of Nova Scotia, which was well known in the 1800's to the early 1900's for gold mining. Our league logo was designed by one of our 10-year old players. A contest for the best logo design was held and the girls made the final choice. Our girls are from different communities, are racially, physically, socially and economically diverse. We have a large number of families with 2 or 3 girls playing in the league.

Our league was founded on fair play principals, safety, skill development and most of all promoting the fun aspects of the sport. Fair play principals include having the players play a different position each inning and the batting order is made in the order the players arrive. For safety, the Easton Incrediball is used. Its soft core reduces the chance of injury.

One of the challenges in our area is the lack of organized sports for girls. We have a large group of enthusiastic girls but until now, had no way to nurture it. We have a great team of volunteers who consist of myself - banker, 2 RCMP officers, principal, salesmen, fireman, tradesmen, and childcare worker, to name a few. We were fortunate to have 2 other women step up to help with practices and coaching. We also have 5 women on the executive.

This is a ball league that will grow - it's already growing. The demand for girl’s softball is growing, however, the actual number of teams is diminishing (especially in the city). We have parents from other areas wanting to sign up their daughters. Good news travels fast. Unfortunately, we cannot keep up with demand. Plans for next year are already underway to expand into another age group so these girls will have somewhere to advance and grow their talent. We are also planning a winter league that will hopefully play indoors at the local school. Local residents have heard about us and are coming to watch our practices and games. The girls are phenomenal. They have caught the fever and are cheering each other on and learning to be good sports. My goal is to bring girls back into the sport that I so loved as a child, and still do to this day.

I realize how important it is for girls to get involved in sports at a young age. I have learned first-hand the value of being a team player. These skills will be carried on throughout their lives. Having come from a small community with no money for equipment or uniforms I can remember how sharp the other teams looked with their bright new uniforms, and how proud they felt to be part of a team. The money from this grant will go a long way to helping our girls feel the same. It will be used to buy desperately needed equipment.