East Van Queer Fastpitch League
Welcome!
The Mabel League has been creating an empowering sport atmosphere for lesbians, bisexual women, non-binary / trans folks, and women allies since 1990.
About the ball
We are a 24-team adult fastpitch softball league based in East Vancouver. Seasons include 18 games from late April to late July each year, and two local weekend tournaments. There are league-wide social events throughout the season.
Divisions range from recreational (learning to play) to competitive (pitching full windmill).
Wanna be an umpire?
The city is currently seeing a shortage of umps! This impacts our ability to schedule, our tournament capacity, and more.
So Mabel is sweetening the pot: we will reimburse the cost of testing after you’ve umpired 5 games in the season for Mabel.
- You get paid per game
- Ultimate flexibility: pick the days you work and leagues you work with
Frequently Asked Questions
You must be at least 19 years of age to play in Mabel.
Membership in the league is for lesbians, bisexual women, non-binary / trans folks, and women allies.
We play fastpitch softball, where the pitches come straight across the plate and strikes must go through the batter’s strike zone. This is different from slow-pitch, where the pitches are “lobbed” and strikes must land on home plate.
Pitchers must use “modified orthodox” style pitching, rather than windmill, in Recreational and Intermediate divisions.
In the Competitive division, teams have the option at the beginning of each game to opt for windmill pitching.
The Mabel League is not like other leagues you may be familiar with that accept applications and fees and then assign you to a team. Our league is team based.
That means teams submit rosters and registration fees to the League each season, and so it is up to teams to find their own players.
More information is available here.
The highest level is Division A, where ball is played at approximately a “Women’s D” level. Typically pitching at these games is windmill, balls are hit hard, and the defensive goal is minimal errors. Bunting and slap bunting are part of the game.
Intermediate levels are Division B and C. Typically pitching in these games is underhand in a “modified orthodox” style where the ball travels through the batter’s strike zone. There is a focus on good play and good hitting, but there is room for errors as players improve and have fun.
The recreational level is Division D. Typically pitching in these games is underhand in a “modified orthodox” style but the batters strike zone is expanded to allow for new pitchers and improve pace of game. There is a focus on learning the game.