As it turns out, The Bahamas' men's national softball team will compete in the 2023 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in San Salvador, El Salvador.

The 24th version of the games is set for June 23 to July 8 in San Salvador, featuring thousands of athletes competing in various sporting disciplines from 37 nations across the CAC region.

Tommy Velázquez, of Puerto Rico, president of WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) Softball Americas which is the Pan American regional governing body for the sport of softball, confirmed this week that The Bahamas has indeed qualified for the prestigious event by means of winning the English-speaking Amateur Softball Confederation (ECASC) title at the inaugural championship in The Bahamas in 2015. The winner from this year's ECASC men's championship was set to be the automatic qualifier for the CAC Games, but the tournament has been postponed due to the absence of a host country.

Founding president of ECASC and former Bahamas Softball Federation (BSF) President Burkett Dorsett, who now sits as a commissioner on WBSC Technical Commission, is currently in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), serving as the tournament director of the WBSC Qualifier/ECASC Women's Championship.

Accompanying Dorsett in the USVI are former BSF President Ted Miller, a long-time director of ECASC, and ECASC Deputy Director of Umpires Thomas Sears. Also among the dignitaries are ECASC President Godfrey Been, of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

WBSC Softball Americas Director of Umpires Santos Vazquez, of Puerto Rico, praised the work of ECASC. Dorsett said the development of softball in the region is directly linked to the progression and advancement of the sport in ECASC. He said one of the next items on the agenda is to certify umpires regionally.

"Coming out of discussions here, ECASC has formed an alliance with umpires in terms of having an umpires group known as WBSC and ECASC certified umpires," said Dorsett. "Under the auspices of the director in chief of umpires for the WBSC Softball Americas Santos Vazquez, umpires will be regionally certified under the WBSC and ECASC. They will be known as WBSC and ECASC certified umpires and will be qualified to umpire any softball game in this region. They will travel to various countries where there are tournaments. Vazquez will appoint deputies for each confederation."

Dorsett said Sears, who is regarded as one of the best umpires in the Caribbean, will serve under Vazquez, with jurisdiction over The Bahamas. He said that a team of officials will eventually come to The Bahamas to train other umpires, so that they, too, can become WBSC and ECASC certified umpires. Furthermore, he said they will do the same for scorers at a later date.

As mentioned, The Bahamas has qualified for the 2023 CAC Games in softball, but Dorsett said the ECASC men's championship will still be held and they are currently in the process of identifying a host country.

As for the CAC Games, that event is set for June 23 to July 8 in Panama City, Panama.

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