By Adam Donnelly

Slow start to spring keeping users off Kamloops city fields

Mar 26, 2018 | 5:08 PM

KAMLOOPS — With April just days away, many Kamloops residents continue to wait patiently for the warm spring weather to arrive. That slow spring has stalled many local user groups from taking to playing fields throughout the city and is affecting events that bring in thousands of tourism dollars to local businesses and could also cost the city thousands in costly repairs.

It feels like the winter that just won’t end. And for a local slow pitch tournament organizer, it’s caused the cancellation of a signature event.

“This is actually the first tournament I’ve had to cancel,” Michael Kemp of KamloopsSoftball.com told CFJC Today. “I’ve been doing the Easter Icebreaker for five years. This was going to be my fifth anniversary.”

Kemp has worked hard to establish his two tournaments, the Easter Madness Icebreaker, and the Octoberfest Tournament over the Thanksgiving long weekend. There were 32 teams signed up for his Easter event, many of whom were from out of town.

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“I would say the revenue loss is over $100,000 easy,” Kemp said. “

The issue is the moisture the fields around town continue to hold. Without warmer temperatures, the city is worried users could to permanent damage to the turf.

According to Kemp, he discussed his options with the city but was told by Parks and Recreation staff there was no way the fields at the Tournament Capital Ranch would be ready for this coming weekend.

“We’re inexperienced here,” Kemp said. “The city needs to improve. Need to make sure these diamonds are ready for events like mine so these things don’t happen.”

CFJC news has put in multiple calls to the City’s Parks supervisor Shawn Cook for a comment on when the city’s fields will be ready for use, but he’s been unavailable.

For now, all the slowpitch, fastpitch, and soccer players in town just have to wait and hope for sunnier skies ahead.