Every summer, over 1200 adult players in Greater Moncton, flock to the fields to play ball.
The Hub City Slo-Pitch league helped made sure COVID-19 didn’t stop them.
President Bernie Melanson says they are entering their second season, “Last year, we didn’t start until July 5th, because of the pandemic, so it was a late start. We typically start in late May. Our league committee worked together to make it all happen. We had 68 teams, and once we got going, we got really lucky. The weather was great and we didn’t have a lot of cases in Moncton last summer. We only went into orange at the end of the season, so the last two weeks, we got shut down.”
This year they put a cap on the number of teams registering, because they were unsure of how many fields they would have access to.
“We have 80 teams and we do have a waiting list of teams trying to get in, so it could be up to 90 teams total. There are new people to the sport and we also have quite a few people who are just trying to get on a spare list. Right now, the teams are already established and they’ve already registered,” Melanson says.
It is an adult recreational league, with a men’s division, coed, over 35 division and a ladies division.
Melanson adds, that the Slo-pitch community likes to give back as well, “In 2020 we donated to The Humanity Project/Youth Impact Jeunesse/Crossroads for Women. We are also have two league Tournaments, and we will donate money to minor baseball for the kids”
Melanson credits some of the growth to the pandemic, “We have a lot of new teams joining the league that are forming from people who work together or hang out together. This gives people a chance to get out and exercise and be in the fresh air. It is a huge thing in the community. Slo-pitch has really grown and we now have the largest league east of Quebec, I believe.”
Hal Betts is the main complex where the teams play, but Melanson says this year the city has given them the option of a few more diamonds, which will make scheduling a little bit easier.
Melanson stressed that the league has an operational plan, and follows all of the COVID-19 protocols, “We are sanitizing the balls, and we have milk crates, so the balls are being separated. We have a home and away bucket. Even when players show up at the field, they have to answer questions and fill out a log sheet so we know who is there and which teams are playing when. It’s a little bit of record keeping, but the team captains did a really good job last year and followed the guidelines and helped keep everyone safe. So, hopefully nothing will stop us from playing this season.”
He says they are going to get clarification from the city over the next few weeks over whether the rules for masks have changed.
The Hub City Slo-pitch League hopes to get their season started in mid-May.
(Photo: Facebook)
