The inaugural Tayler Bennett Girls' Softball Memorial Tournament will be held June 14th to 16th at West Fraser Timber Park in Quesnel.
The tournament is to honour and remember local teen Tayler Bennett, who was an avid softball player and dirt biker. She lost her life in a single vehicle crash along with her friend Lane Wiggins on Nov. 26, 2023. Bennett was passionate about softball. Her jersey number was 15.
Stephanie Service is the president of Quesnel Softball said the annual tournament hosted in the city is being renamed to honour Bennett.
"She played in Quesnel for years, she also played on a rep team in Prince George. Tayler's passion was softball," Service said. "We decided to name (the tournament) after her to keep her ball legacy alive."
The tournament will have U13, U15 and U17 teams from Quesnel, Smithers, Prince George, Terrace and Kamloops. It will kick off Friday June 14th with Quesnel Teal vs Quesnel Yellow at diamond one for U13, Quesnel Blue vs Quesnel Red at diamond two for U15 and Quesnel Red vs Quesnel Blue at diamond three for U17.
Games will start at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. The medal games will be at 10:30 a.m. for U17's bronze, noon will be packed with the bronze medal games for U13 and U15 as well as U17's gold medal game and 2 p.m. for the U13 and U15 gold.
On Saturday at noon there will be a showcase game from the girls in the learn to play program. Service said the program is made for new players under U11 to learn the fundamentals of the sport.
"We're going to show their family and friends what they've learned so far in a little bit of a game," Service said.
Service said the tournament will dedicate time to remember Bennett while honouring her throughout the tournament.
"Around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon is when we're going to honour Tayler," Service said. "We've made banners, No. 15 will be all over the backstops, we have special sportsmanship trophies for each division in her name."
Service said there will be draws for prizes at the tournament and the funds raised will go towards a scholarship or bursary in Bennett's name.