The men’s Canadian slo-pitch championships kick off this weekend at the Pepsi Softball Centre. The P & M Recycling Guns face off against the BC Rockies at 10 a.m. Sunday at Diamond 2.

The Guns, which won the territory trials last year will compete as Team Yukon, while Dave’s Cleaning Crew will play as the host team.

The Crew also has their first game on Sunday, playing Northwest Territories’ Inuvik Native Yankees at 6 p.m. at Diamond 1.

Eighteen men’s teams will play 72 round-robin games before playoffs start next Friday.

The Guns will start in the red group, which also features defending champions, Alberta Oilmen, while the Crew plays in the black group.

The women’s side of the competition starts on Aug. 9, with the Yukon Titans (Team Yukon) playing the Manitoba Wild at 10:45 a.m. on Diamond 3. The Sistas (host) play their first game against B.C.’s Adrenaline at 2:30 p.m. on Diamond 3.

The nine ladies teams will play a combined 36 round-robin games. Their playoffs also begin next Friday.

“I hope there’s a lot of fans out to support Yukon,” said the Crew’s James Semaschuk.

Admission is free and the Yukon teams are hoping for a strong hometown crowd.