The qualifying tournament for the national slo-pitch championships will take place earlier than previously thought.

As announced last week, Softball Yukon will be hosting the 2016 Senior Men’s and Women’s Canadian Slo-Pitch Championships.

A local qualifying tournament will take place June 19 to 21 this year.

That tournament was originally scheduled for June 26 to 28 in Whitehorse, but Softball Yukon determined that date provided a conflict for many of the members who wished to take part.

“After hearing from our membership, there were a number of people who couldn’t participate that weekend, but they didn’t want to miss out on what they felt was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Softball Yukon executive director George Arcand.

“Softball Yukon felt we would not be allowing for maximum membership participation if we went forward with the original dates, so we made the change.”

The winning team from each qualifier will be guaranteed entry in the 2016 national championship.

All other teams will be ranked by finish and will gain entry if the territory is allowed more than one representative.

Teams winning the qualifying tournament in June will also be eligible to attend the 2015 Senior Men’s and Women’s Slo-Pitch Canadian Championships, which will be held in Dorchester, Ont., Aug. 9 to 15.

Qualifying teams will receive financial assistance from Softball Yukon in order to attend this year’s slo-pitch championships.

Meanwhile, the Whitehorse Co-Ed Slo-Pitch League is expected to field 60 teams this season, with play getting underway May 11.