INNISFAIL – Spring may have arrived but ball players aren’t hitting the fields just yet.
With winter hanging around well past the first day of spring, ball season may see a late start this year.
"There is lots of snow on (the fields) still,” said Murray Reay, president of Innisfail Minor Ball Association (IMBA). “We may have a delay for sure.
"It’s all weather dependent,” he added. “We’re working with the town to get the diamonds ready.”
The baseball and softball seasons should be underway by May 7, noted Reay, adding pre-season training began indoors at the Innisfail Arena in early April.
Practices are every Monday and Wednesday evening.
“We have nets set up for batting practice and we’re doing lots of throwing and ground ball work,” said Reay, noting work on other skills such as pitching and catching.
The IMBA has four divisions at both A and AA levels, including mosquito, peewee, bantam and midget. Girls' softball also has several divisions including U-10, U-12, U-14 and U-16.
This year, the association followed the example of the Innisfail Trappers and changed their name from the Innisfail Indians to the Innisfail Hawks.
“We made the decision this year to change our name. We’re now the Innisfail Hawks,” said Reay, noting the name applies to all baseball and softball teams. “We’ve had a lot of pressure over the last few years to change from the Indians name so we felt it was time to do it.”
In addition to the name change, the association also received some grants, one a matching grant from the province.
“We’ve been working closely with the town over the last few years to improve the ball facilities,” he said. “Last year the town came to us and offered us some funds to help with that. We applied for and received a Community Facility Enhancement grant, a matching grant (from the province) to what the town has offered,” added Reay.
Together the money totals close to $200,000 and will go towards upgrading and improving such areas as ball fields and fencing.
They also received a community services grant from the Town of Innisfail that will help with hosting provincial tournaments this summer.
Reay said they have high hopes for another successful season.
“Our (baseball) registrations are high. We’ve got more than we’ve ever had,” said Reay. “We’ve got a competitive softball team this year too. They’re going to be in the Girls Prairie League Softball (GPLS). It’s a little more competitive league for the softball girls, and we’ve got our regular softball league.”
The IMBA plays in two leagues, the Baseball Alberta League (AA level) and the Central Alberta Baseball League (A level). The season runs until the end of June, with the provincial AA league finishing in early August.
