softball-baseballChanges involving the North Bay Minor Girls Softball Association have the Callander Girls Softball Association branching out on their own.

They’re looking to have teams from outlying areas play their own house league teams.

In a release, the North Bay Minor Girls Softball Association says team or community rivalry should not be a part of house league, pointing out there are rep and competitive programs available.

They say all individual players from any community are welcome to register for their house league, but not teams.

Callander Association President Jennifer Dedrick says they were disappointed to learn of the changes. “It left us with about 40-plus girls with no one to play. We’re just reaching out to other communities to try to bring softball back and find some teams for our girls to play.”

She says there’s strong support from Powassan and they’ll be holding a registration event April 23rd at the Maple Syrup Festival.

 

Here is the full release from the North Bay Minor Girls Softball Association:

The Objectives of the North Bay Minor Girls’ Softball Association (NBMGSA) are :
a. To foster and improve the game of softball in the North Bay area and district.
b. To foster friendly feelings among its members and secure honorable conduct of all parties in contact with or participating in softball within the North Bay and area district.
c. To sponsor, develop and encourage the sport of softball.
d. To preserve the traditions of the game of softball.

The NBMGSA is committed to providing an environment in which all individuals are treated with respect. Further, NBMGSA supports equal opportunity and prohibits discriminatory practices. Members of NBMGSA, parents/guardians of NBMGSA members, and spectators at NBMGSA events are expected to conduct themselves at all times in a manner consistent with the values of the NBMGSA.
At our Annual General Meeting in March 2016, the NBMGSA Executive and Directors made the decision to only allow players registered with our association to play in house league. This decision was made to ensure that all players and coaches are subject to our code of conduct and rules, and most importantly that the spirit and reason for house league is preserved.
House League for any sport is where the members of all teams belong to the same organization. The purpose for house league is non-competitive play where each player’s development is important and the foundation is fun and sportsmanship. The number one reason kids quit sports is when it is no longer fun. When house league teams are not balanced in skill and when there is competition and rivalry between teams in a house league environment, the kids lose out.
Team or community rivalry is not and should not be part of house league. Rep and competitive programs are designed to play at an elite level and includes competition and rivalry between associations. We are fortunate to have both a house league and competitive “Select” program.
All individual players from any community are welcome to register for our house league. We have always included players from communities all around North Bay. We have never turned a player away for any reason including the number of registrant or community of origin. We also invite players from other association to try out for our Select competition program. We also invite any team from another association to play in our annual Fun Tournament in July. We will not allow teams from another association to play as a team within our house league season. To be eligible to play in house league, the player must be a NBMGSA registered player.
For additional information about registration, tryouts or contact information please refer to our website at www.nbmgsa.ca.