The Rage, Drumheller’s bantam girls softball team, is celebrating after another medal finish at provincials.
    Last weekend, the Rage headed to Leduc to battle for the title of U16 C provincial champions.
    The Rage got off to a tremendous start on Saturday, June 29, with a 19-0 win over McLeod and followed-up with a 16-8 win over a squad from Hyde Park in Edmonton.

The Drumheller Rage with their U16 C girls softball provincial bronze medals. The girls were in Leduc over the Canada Day weekend for provincials then finished off their season on July 3 for the final game of their league championships. The Rage finished with silver in their league.

    The Rage continued to dominate on Sunday with a 12-4 win over the Red Deer Rage and 6-2 win over the Killam Thunder, who defeated the Drumheller Rage two years ago in the gold medal game at provincials.
    “The game was unbelievable, both teams played incredibly well. We took an early lead and never looked back, defeating them by a score of 6-2. We had tremendous pitching, some incredible defence and the intensity of the game was beyond anything we’ve seen this year,” said Shari Fournier, coach of the Rage.
    After the round robin, the Rage were in first place.
    On Monday morning, they lost against their league rivals, the Calgary West Valley Sliders.
    “Both teams are pretty evenly matched, each winning and losing 2 games this year. Unfortunately we just came out very flat and struggled the entire game. I think the girls just got a bit ahead of themselves after the win against Killam,” said Fournier.
    The Rage headed to the bronze medal game against the East Central Kaos, where they won the game, 12-11, and the  bronze medal.
    The Rage had won gold last year at provincials, but are happy with their performance.
    “Although we were hoping for a gold none of us are disappointed with a bronze. We moved up an entire division in provincial play this year which is a big step for the team. We did not have the competition in league that we had hoped for, so our preparation going into provincials wasn’t as strong as we had last season, but we still managed to play extremely well. Our “gold” medal game was the game against Killam and we won.  Unfortunately, that came a day too early,” said Fournier.
    The Rage will had a chance for some redemption on Wednesday, July 3, against the West Valley Sliders in the final game of league championships. The Rage lost and had to settle for silver in their league.
    “We won silver, but it wasn’t our best night. We just couldn’t get our bats going,” said Fournier.
    The season is over for the Rage. They’ll be taking a break over the summer and then taking a look at the next season. At the moment, the number of players is leaving the future of the Rage in doubt.
    “With such a small team, we’re always fighting will having enough players. With the age range of girls we have, we’re going to be in two different divisions. We have five girls who would moved up to a U18 division and the rest would remain in U16. At this point we’re not sure what will happen,” said Fournier. “Hopefully we can keep the team together so the girls always have a place to play.”
    The Rage are encouraging any girls interested in playing to register in the fall.

    Proponents of new tennis courts are hopeful they will be able to break ground before the season is through, pending on its fundraising efforts.
    The Drumheller Tennis Club has been set up for about a year and has made tremendous progress towards realizing a new tennis facility in Drumheller. It has teamed up with the Town of Drumheller, Golden Hills School Division and the Friends of DVSS Society, and is well on their way.
    Barb Travis, president of the Friends of DVSS, a Society set up to fundraise for projects to benefit the school, says they have raised about $84,000.

    This comes from a casino they have worked, as well as donations from the Lions Club, The Kinsmen and Cenovus. The Town of Drumheller has also committed to a donation in kind for equipment and labour to help realize the dream.
    While the project began as  simply tennis courts, it has grown to include two full-sized tennis courts that could be used for pickle ball, a tennis rebound wall and an adjacent basketball court.
    They have selected a site on the grounds of DVSS where the former basketball hoops are located, have a working design and a contractor who has given them an estimate.
    Travis said they are about $100,000 off but are working on a number of fronts to raise the needed funds, including grants, and donations from individuals or companies. If they are successful, they could begin construction this fall.
    For more information, to donate or get involved in the club contact Travis at 403-820-7422 or 403-820-0048.
    Travis has also learned the Friends of DVSS are able to issue a receipt for tax purposes through Golden Hills School Division.

A sketch of the proposed tennis courts at DVSS. The Drumheller Tennis Club is hoping to raise the funds needed to start construction this season.