Town Of Shellbrook

Shellbrook Minor Ball

Shellbrook Minor Sports has undergone a few changes this past year and we wanted to send you an update regarding the opportunities your children have to play ball in our community.

Shellbrook Minor Sports used to be an umbrella organization that ran both minor hockey and minor ball. At the AGM in the fall of 2022, it was decided that this board would split into two separate boards, one for ball and one for hockey.

The Shellbrook Minor Ball Association was formed in the fall of 2022 and is the governing organization for the grassroots baseball and softball teams in the Shellbrook community. The current minor ball board consists of the following members:

Registration

Registration for the 2023 ball season opened in March. The deadline for registering is April 15, after which time you can still register your child, but a late fee will be applied.

Registration fees for baseball and softball differ somewhat due to the league costs associated with each sport. The baseball teams play in the Prince Albert Minor Baseball league while the softball teams play in the Parkland league.

To register your child for the upcoming season, please use the following links:

·       Baseball Registration: http://shellbrookball.rampregistrations.com/participant

·       Softball Registration: Http://shellbrookMSA.rampregistrations.com

Payment:

·       Cheques can be made out to Shellbrook Minor Ball Association 

OR

·       E-transfer shellbrookminorball@gmail.com

Co-ed Softball Update

With fewer kids registered for softball in each community, the Parkland Minor Ball Board recently decided that it will run as a co-ed league this year, with boys and girls playing together at each age group. They will re-evaluate at the end of the season to determine if co-ed will be how this league moves forward in the future. Because of the Parkland Minor Ball Board’s decision, SMBA will follow suit and open softball registration for boys ages U9 – U18 for this season. This is for Parkland softball league play only; U11-U15 boys interested in playing provincial ball should register for baseball (the only provincial softball team in our area is for U15s and is not based in Shellbrook).

Please note that Shellbrook Minor Sports made the decision two years ago to switch to boy’s baseball due to the rapidly decreasing number of boys playing softball in the province and the increasing number of boys playing baseball. These numbers have not changed. Just to put things in perspective, in 2022 there were 27 male teams in total registered for softball provincials in Saskatchewan, from U11 to senior age categories. Last year, in the baseball U11 age category alone, there were 87 teams registered for provincials.  

So although SMBA will open up softball registration for boys who are interested in playing in the Parkland co-ed league this season, we encourage baseball registration as it is the vital and growing sport in the province.

League Information

League season typically begins the first week of May, depending on the weather, and goes until the end of June. Coaches will be contacting their teams with more details closer to the start of the season.

Parkland Softball League:

Depending on which communities have teams at each age level, games could be played in the following communities: Shellbrook, Canwood, Debden, Mistiwasis, Big River, Spiritwood and Leoville.

The Parkland Co-ed League schedule is as follows:

·       U11 and U15 teams play on Mondays and Wednesdays.

·       U9, U13, and U18 teams play on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

·       The year end Parkland tournament is scheduled for June 17 & 18.

Prince Albert Baseball League:

The P.A. Baseball league for U11 – U15 teams has practices in Shellbrook and games in both Shellbrook and Prince Albert. The P.A. Baseball League schedule is as follows:

·       U11 and U15 teams play on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

·       U13 teams play on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Umpire Clinics

We have scheduled umpire clinics in April and encourage any youth who will be turning 12 or older this year to register. It costs $35 to register for the softball clinic and $30 for the baseball clinic, but these fees will be reimbursed at the end of the season if umpires commit to umping at least one game. We encourage youth interested in umping to take both the baseball and softball clinics so they are able to ump either sport during the season.

If umpires were certified last season, they do not have to recertify to ump this season, but we ask that you reply to this email with a cell number and email address to let us know if you are interested in umping again this year so we can add you to our contact list.

·       Softball Umpire Clinic

o   April 15, 2023 9:00 – 4:00

o   Shellbrook Elementary School

o   Register on the Softball Sask website at www.softball.sk.ca

o   Fee: $35

·       Baseball Umpire Clinic

o   April 16, 2023 9:00 – 4:00

o   Shellbrook High School

o   Register on the Baseball Sask website at https://www.baseballsask.ca/umpires/clinics (Scroll down to find the Shellbrook location)

o   Fee: $30

Ballapalooza

Mark your calendars! The 2^nd annual Ballapalooza event is scheduled for June 10, 2023. This is an exciting community event and we look forward to hosting it again this year. Putting on an event like this requires the help of many volunteers. Details about how you can get involved will be coming out later this spring so please consider signing up.

Thanks for registering your child in ball and for supporting this minor sports organization. We look forward to working with parents and community members to provide a great season for our youth. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our board: shellbrookminorball@gmail.com.