The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Sports Oakville Beaver By Daniel Perry SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2010 35 For 25 years, Glen Abbey women have enjoyed... A league of their own Two good friends started it all 25 years ago. Sue Robertson and Charlene MacKenzie played slo-pitch baseball together in the tiny town of Kirkland, Quebec, which had a population of about 5,000 in the early 1980s. The eight-team women-only league was a great way to meet new friends and get some fresh air at the same time. The two friends moved to Ontario around the same time with their families in 1985. Both for their own personal reasons -- families getting bigger, new work opportunities and just a fresh start in a new place. They lost touch for a brief period, but were amazed to bump into each other a few months later. Both of their families had made Oakville their new home. It was truly an unbelievable coincidence. "One of the first things we talked about was how much we missed the other girls from the ball league back home," Mackenzie said of her reunion with her good friend. "The biggest thing we missed about the league was the friendships and camaraderie that all the ladies had. The social group we all formed was amazing." Started with a game of catch So, one warm, sunny day that same summer, the pair decided to meet with two other new friends and walk down to Abbey Lane Public School. The four women, dressed in their sweatpants and tshirts, were just planning to throw the ball around and have some laughs. The ladies playing catch at the park quickly gained interest from the community. Ladies from all over Oakville started getting interested as well, especially after ads for the league started going in the local paper. By the following winter, Mackenzie was assigned as the Glen Abbey Ladies Slo-Pitch (GALS) league's first president. Four different teams were immediately organized. The league hasn't stopped growing since. Currently ladies from West Oakville, West Oak Trails, Glen Abbey and the rest of Oakville make up eight teams. Each team has a full roster and there is a long list of players waiting to get involved. Mackenzie still does scorekeeping and stats for the teams because of the growing demand and her love for being involved. Rosanna Standidge is the league's current president. Husbands also involved Many of the husbands have even gotten involved. They aren't allowed to compete, but they can cheer from the sidelines and offer encouragement. Some also coach the teams. "There have been a lot of improvements in the league since I joined," said outfielder Cheryl Coombs, who joined the GALS league in 2002. "Not so much in the way things are run, but with the quality of the ball played. Players have improved so much. We have volunteer coaches and since we have drafts every year, teams are never the same. The ladies get exposed to many different coaching styles. Everyone See League page 36 ERIC RIEHL / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A REAL HIT: Julie Wallace of the Centurians follows through on a swing during a Glen Abbey Ladies SloPitch (GALS) game earlier this spring at Sixteen Hollow Park. The GALS league is celebrating its 25th anniversary season.