The 2026 Women’s Day Tournament final was abandoned due unavailability of floodlights at Mahwelereng stadium.
Municipal strike had the final say to stop the grand finale of the Women’s Month Tournament organised by the Waterberg Softball Association on August 09.
Organisers have bemoaned the unavailability of floodlights at Mahwelereng stadium due to the ongoing municipal strike.
Notwithstanding the eventual hiccups that forced the match officials to stop the finals due to bad lighting, the tournament was hailed as a resounding success for the women who honoured the event en masse.
Waterberg Softball Association chairman, Thabo Molaudzi said they were pleased with the response they received from the participating teams and fans who also came in droves.
“The tournament was very successful. All the 12 teams from Limpopo and Gauteng responded positively and their active roles on the field of play was marvel to watch. The support was impressive, as were blessed by the presence of leadership Limpopo Softball Association, Softball South Africa and Gauteng Softball Association.”
The tournament was organised to celebrate the women’s game.
I was stage as a preparatory event ahead of thr much-anticipated National Club Championships to be held in Polokwane this month.
“Ladies softball is still alive, and we need tournaments like this to improve the standard of the game. It was a good build up towards the NCC,” says Molaudzi.
The one-day tournament featured the home side,Mahwelereng Spikes, University of Limpopo, Moletjie Cheetahs,
From the 3 groups, spikes, Cheetahs, Palmridge advanced as the group leaders and UL, Palmridge was the best number 2.. They played semifinal
After an action-packed day of exciting ballgame in the group stages,
Palmridge and the University of Limpopo met in the finals, only to play for one inning before the umpire recommended that the game be called off due to bad ball visibility.
“The plate umpire stopped the game because of poor lights. It was a struggle to get the lights on since the municipal workers are on strike.This was very disappointing and we hope not to see a repeat of this situation,” Molaudzi decried.
Aftwr the final game was abandoned, both teams shared the spolis and were awarded gold medals and shared the first price money of R10 000.