Practices have causally started for Battlefords Minor Baseball players. Finalizing the teams and schedules will be done in the next few days and the regular seasons will begin.
At the midget level, the local team will play in the Northwest Midget League, which includes Loon Lake, Turtleford, Edam, Lloydminster, Kindersley and Macklin. That league is set to start next week and most of the Midget Beavers home games will be played at Beaver Lions Stadium.
Other midget aged players who are interested in playing provincials will join the Unity Midget team, which will play in the North Saskatchewan River Baseball League with their home games and practices in Wilkie.
At the bantam level, only eight players registered and it appears they won't have a team this season.
At the peewee level, there will be one team for sure, which will play tournaments and enter provincials and a second team may be formed for exhibition action.
The Mosquito level dropped from six teams last year to five teams this year. Evaluation practices took place this week and the teams should be set and the schedule started next week. The five local teams will make up their own league and in nearly a month, a provincial team will be selected and begin working together to enter AA provincials.
The rookie ball level had 32 kids registered making three teams. Two teams will play a game while the other practices and the youngsters will be in action twice a week.
Minor baseball numbers are down nearly 30 players this year, but president Ron Balfour said that happened in 2007 and the next year the numbers shot up to nearly 180 kids again from 120.
Another new sporting option always seems to draw interest and take some players away, but the players often return to baseball and Battlefords Minor Baseball is hopeful that will be the trend again.
