2025 Spring Season

REGISTRATION OPEN!

Note: If you are looking for information for our Learn to Play U7 Program (born 2018 & 2019),
please visit our Learn to Play U7 Page (Deadline is March 15!)

Recent Updates

FOR KEY COMMUNICATIONS, PLEASE SEE OUR NEWS PAGE.

New / Key Changes for 2025 Season

Evaluations will start earlier this year
- U17-U19 Evals start Nov 30, 2024 (Late fees start Jan 1, 2025)
- U13-U15 Evals start Jan 5, 2025 (Late fees start Jan 1, 2025)
- U11 Evals start Jan 25, 2025 (Late fees start Jan 20, 2025)
Volunteer & Jersey Bonds
- Volunteer Bond fee will be paid upon registration $300 WHS Bond Policy
- Jersey Bond fee remains $50.

Age Categories

Softball programs differ based on the Year of Birth of each player. For example, U9 will be all players that are under 9 years old as of the end of 2024 calendar year (Dec 31). Age groups align with Softball Canada's alignment.

AGE GROUP	BIRTH YEAR	GAMES	LENGTH (HRS)	PRACTICES	EVALS	RULES
U7 Learn to Play	2018 & 2019 (2020)	Tue& Thu	01:15	None	No	Fun activities
U9	2016 & 2017	Mon & Wed	01:30	Weekends	Yes	Modified Rules
Ull	2014 & 2015	Tue& Thu	01:30	Weekends	Yes	Full Games
Ul3	2012 & 2013	Mon & Wed	01:45	Weekends	Yes	Full Games
UlS	2010 & 2011	Tue & Thu	01:45	Weekends	Yes	Full Games
U17 & Ul9	2006-2009	Mon & Wed	01:45	Weekends	Yes	Full Games

(Table best viewed on desktop version of site; please scroll left/right to see all columns)

Requests for Age Category Exceptions: Can be made via your registration form, and must be followed with an email to info@westhillsoftball.ca. Exceptions will only be granted to players within 1 year of the desired age category. Determination will be considered based on team sizes, skill level (through WHS Evaluation Process), and safety of all participants. Reasons for exceptions can include but not limited to: preference to play in a more competitive age group, desire to play with a sibling, new players with birthdays late in year (young for age group), or safety concerns. Additional paperwork will be required.

Season Dates - 2025 DATES COMING SOON

For the 2024 season, Calgary Minor Softball (CMS) will continue with the extended season for Division 1 & Division 2 tier players for age categories U13 to U19. Here are the approximate dates for our 2025 Spring Season *U11 will end at the end of June for ALL Division levels.

Age Category	Preseason	Season Practices	First Game	Playoffs***
U7 Timbits	n/a	n/a	Apr-23	n/a
U9/U11 - All Divs.	Apr 10+	1 per weekend	Apr-26	Jun 10 - Jun 23
U13-U19: Div. 3	Apr 10+	1 per weekend	Apr-26	Jun 10 - Jun 23
U13-U19: Div. 2	Mar/Apr*	1-2 per week **	Apr-26	Jun 24 - Jul 7
U13-U19: Div. 1	Mar/Apr*	1-2 per week **	Apr-26	Jul 8 - Jul 18

(Table best viewed on desktop version of site; please scroll left/right to see all columns)

* Pre-season Indoor practices can start as early as JANUARY at the conclusion of evaluations.
** Higher division teams will attempt to have more than one practice per week, based on availability.

SEASON FEES

For reference, please see our 2025 Fees Page

LEARN TO PLAY PROGRAM

Our Learn to Play program is run locally within West Hill Softball and does not participate in a Calgary Minor Softball League. For more information about the program, please visit our Learn to Play Program link.

PRE-SEASON SCHEDULES & KEY DATES

For all our Key Dates Before & During the Season, please see our Key Dates page

All New Families to West Hill Softball MUST attend our Preseason Parent Meeting. Communication will be sent to all those registered.

PLAYER EVALUATIONS (Mandatory)

Evaluations are run for all programs U9 to U19, and is mandatory for all players. Evaluations are necessary to ensure placement of players on teams at appropriate levels (Division 1, 2, & 3) and specific teams. For more information and dates, please see our Evaluation Page.

u9 will again be split into TWO Divisions, "Senior" and "Junior" and all players will go through an evaluation session.

MODIFIED U9 GAME RULES

The Modified game (6 players on field, Home Run line, Coach pitch) will be used for the U9 group (for both Junior & Senior Divisions). You can read about the Modified rules on the Calgary Minor Softball Modified Rules page

GAME TIMES

Game nights start at 6:45pm across all CMS Games. (u7 Learn to Play start at 6:15pm)
Players (u9+) are asked to arrive 30 to 60 minutes prior for warm-up & preparation, based on their age category & level

PRACTICES

In addition to the game schedule, coaches will schedule practices on a weekly basis, typically on weekends (Saturday or Sunday mornings, or Sunday late afternoon / evenings). Practices will typically be scheduled for the same time each weekend.

Practices will start either indoors or outdoors in early April. Additional fees may be collected for some team-based indoor practices (to offset the gym costs).

Division 1 & 2 teams may have additional practices during the week or weekend. They may also have indoor practices as early as March.

CALGARY MINOR SOFTBALL OPENING WEEKEND - April 25-27 2025

All teams will participate in opening weekend, which will consist of 4 games across any of Friday, Saturday & Sunday. This is a great way to get into the season quickly! Game play is the best way for players to be introduced to the game quickly.

TOURNAMENTS

Each team has the opportunity to participate in various weekend tournaments within the city and across the province or beyond (including our own WHS Tournament on June 14-16 weekend)

Teams/coaches are encouraged to participate when/where they can for great team development. SIGN-UP EARLY, spots go quickly in many tournaments.

Updated tournament listings can be found at https://www.softballalberta.ca/tournaments/listings/.
Once teams are finalized for the season, teams can determine if they would like to play in tournaments during the season.

Typically, Division 1 and 2 teams would aim to play in 2-4 tournaments. Division 3 teams aim to play in 1 or 2 tournaments, if possible.

CITY CHAMPIONSHIPS / PLAYOFFS

For all age categories & divisions, each team will qualify for a city-wide league playoffs referred to as "City Championships". You can find the general Calgary Minor Schedule on their website (use "Schedules" menu).

SOFTBALL ALBERTA PROVINCIALS

Note, provincial participation is considered part of the program for all Division 1 teams ("B" or "C" Level), Division 2 teams ("C" or "D" level), and some strong Division 3 teams ("D" level). WHS Teams & players are encouraged to register and compete at Provincials.

REGIONAL QUALIFIERS: In many age categories and divisions, teams will be required to qualify to attend provincials weekend. These qualifiers are TBD.

PROVINCIAL DATES: (2025 Dates TBD) Please keep these dates in mind when planning your summer vacations, but visit the Softball Alberta Provincial site for the most up-to-date and official dates and locations for Provincial Championships.

Softball Alberta 2024 details for reference listed below: