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Making a pitch for a world record

Ball players ready to forgo sleep to help land a spot in the Guinness World Book of Records
CHARLES REID
The Guardian

Think softball is only for weekend warriors or fair weather athletes? Well think again, especially if you’re pitching for a page in the Guinness World Book of Records.

The definitive text for the best (or worst) human oddities and activities, which includes gems like the oldest male stripper (he’s 66) and fastest time to eat a 12-inch pizza (19.9 seconds), also contains the world longest softball game — 95 hours, 23 minutes set June 29-July 3, 2005, in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que.

And long-time Island softball players turned organizers Rick Thistle, Mark Johnston and Scott Chandler (along with 37 other male and female players), intend to break it over 41/2 days in late June.

“Oh, it’s very possible. The guys in Quebec that did it, a lot of them were semi-pro athletes. We want to do it with basically a beer league,” said Thistle, a Charlottetown softball community mainstay, of the June 26-30 attempt.

So far, the trio has a ball diamond (Central Field in Charlottetown) and just a touch over 20 people have committed with under six weeks to go.

It’s a good thing because the Guinness folks have strict rules.

“Wow,” Thistle said with a laugh. “Well, let’s see. Just to get 40 people. Try and schedule them so that they have sleep. Each person has to play 12 hours per day. We did it in shifts of two hours, four hours and six hours with a two-hour, four-hour and six-hour break. Then you have to cut it up so the whole isn’t leaving at one time. So you have three people on one shift and four on another. Logistics are crazy.”

No alcohol is allowed and because the attempt is also a fundraiser for cancer research, players have to raise $100 in pledges.

Thistle, head coach of Charlottetown Cover All Construction Cannons in the Kings County Baseball League, hopes to raise $10,000. It’s a ramped-up version of an event he and Chandler were involved in last September.

“Chandler and I had done a retirement match last year, one of us had to retire from the (A&S Scrap Metal Slo-Pitch) league, and we raised about $1,400 for cancer (research). It was a big skit thing and it got to the point of ‘OK, what are we going to do to beat that this year? How are we going to knock this out of the park?’

Johnston came up with the idea. He just kind of threw it out there as a joke. We started joking back and forth so then we started looking at it and saying ‘well, you know what? this is half possible’.”

Wendy Hillier from the Canadian Cancer Society P.E.I. Division, is thinking the same way.

“These guys helped us out last year with a softball retirement match and when they say they’re going to do something they mean it. All of the money raised from this event will stay directly on Prince Edward Island, helping Island families with their courageous battles with cancer,” said Hillier in a release.

The organizers still need a major sponsor for each team. There is a meeting for volunteers today at 7 p.m. at Razzy’s Roadhouse in Charlottetown.

While much still remains to be done, Thistle believes Charlottetown will be the second straight Canadian city to hold the record.

“I do, yeah. That’s why we’re very particular (about) who comes because you’re going to have to be in shape of some kind. It’s going to be a real toll on the body not to mention just trying to be awake for that length of time. The most you’re going to sleep at a time is maybe four hours,” he said. “If you play a full tournament on a weekend, you will play six hours in two to three days and people are sore. Well, now you’re playing 12 hours everyday for four days. Come Canada Day I think most of us will be sleeping. We might catch the fireworks.”

The game is co-ed, played under slow pitch rules. Teams are accepting players Islandwide. A website is under construction, but if interested, contact Thistle at 566-3704 or ricco40ca@yahoo.ca.

Source: The Guardian : View Article