As the Whitehorse slo-pitch season is primed to start, the city’s ball diamonds will be getting a little TLC.

“The fields look good,” said Softball Yukon executive director George Arcand.

Work is currently being done on the dirt fields at Takhini and Robert Service, but Arcand said everything looks good.

The Pepsi Softball Centre’s grass fields are looking good as well.

What will be new for the diamonds this year are plastic fence toppers, which are designed to help prevent player injury when reaching over the chain-link fences.

With about 6,000 feet to install, Arcand is optimistic the work will start tomorrow and estimates it will take one to two weeks to complete.

A new addition to the Pepsi complex on Range Road will be a playground, which is expected to be completed before the Men’s World Softball Championships start in July. It will be installed behind the batting cages, said Arcand.

This year the local co-ed league has grown from 52 teams to 60 teams. There are also 350 youth taking part in minor ball, which started Monday. A U17 division has been added to include youth who might otherwise have aged out.

The Co-Ed League Opening Tournaments are scheduled for the end of May/ beginning of June, while the Minor Softball Territorial Championships are slated for June 9-11. The widely attended Dustball Championships are slated for June 15-18 and the complex will close shortly thereafter to prepare the diamonds for fastball play ahead of the world championships.

Said Arcand, “It looks like it’s going to be a great season.”