SASKATOON -- At its core, the Prairie Blitzball League is about getting together with friends and staying active.
Four teams: the Tigers, Hornets, Gators, and Wolfpack, with two players per team, in a sport similar to wiffleball.
The extras that come along with it are what makes the league, founded in 2018 in Saskatoon, a little different.
“We try to play once every week to every two weeks to keep the content up and to keep the viewers interested,” said league co-founder Tayvin Larmer, referring to the league’s dozens of YouTube subscribers and hundreds of followers on Instagram.
They built their own scoreboard. They use a fence to mark the outfield. They have specially made jerseys. And they even post and read their own game highlights.
“We thought the play-by-play and kind of condensed highlight format would be good for watching,” said Alex Shaw, who started the league with Larmer.
“When I’m filming when the game’s playing I have to commentate and do pre-game interviews,” said Deklin Larmer, Tayvin’s younger brother.
Stats are kept from every game, culminating with a tournament to decide a league champion at the end of August.
“That makes our league special,” said Larmer.
The PBL tells CTV News that blitzball and wiffleball leagues are more common in the United States than Canada, but they’re hoping popularity will grow north of the border.
“I want people in Saskatoon to know what blitzball is,” said Larmer, who added that their league is in the process of setting up a “provincial championship” game against a league in Warman.
“There’s a little bit of trashtalk,” said Shaw. “They think they’re better than us, but I think we’re going to win.”
