Softball skills will be on show in Orange this weekend for the NSW Regional Academies of Sport Softball Inter Academy Games. The Western Region Academy of Sport is hosting this year’s event and teams will come from Academies all over the state to compete. Athletes from Hunter Academy, Southern Sports Academy, North Coast Academy and Western Region Academy of Sport will converge at Orange High School for the two day tournament on 3 and 4 May. The Inter Academy Games event is based on a philosophy of opportunity and participation rather than purely on competition. Athletes will play five games in their Academy side on Saturday before being split into lottery league teams for games on Sunday. This structure provides a great development opportunity for the players, allowing them to play with athletes from their own squad and also learn from and interact with softballers from other Academies. One of the major highlights of the weekend is always the Red Faces entertainment night for the athletes and families of all Academies. Many athletes have been preparing and rehearsing their performances for weeks and this year’s Red Faces is shaping up to be a great night. WRAS softballers participating in the games are Emily Bennett (Orange), Matthew Death (Blayney), Simon Ewin (Blayney), Rachel Gentles (Orange), Andre Jewell (Mudgee), Alex Little (Orange), Chloe Lowry (Orange), Ashlee Lowry (Orange), Jane Partridge (Orange), Hanna Rath (Orange), Jayden Smith (Blayney) and Stephanie Wilson (Orange). The benefits of the Academy Games extend beyond the softball pitch. According to Nancy Haslop, Executive Officer of the Western Region Academy of Sport, “these games are an excellent chance for WRAS softballers to put into practice the skills they have been developing over the past 6 months. All athletes have worked extremely hard at improving their game skills at Academy training sessions and this weekend will allow players and their families to see just how much they have developed.”