Three baseball organizations will benefit from a fund established by the Thunder Bay International Baseball Association (TBIBA) after the very successful 2010 World Junior Baseball Championships. District 3 Little League, the Lakehead University Baseball program and the Thunder Bay Umpires Association will share $5,000 which represents the awards for baseball programming and development in 2013.
“While event hosting continues to be a primary focus of the Thunder Bay International Baseball Association, the success of the World Juniors has allowed us to support baseball development in the community,” stated Larry Hebert, President of the TBIBA. “All three groups receiving funds this year are to be commended for their efforts to sustain and grow the game of baseball in our community,” added Hebert.
The three groups receiving funds this year from the TBIBA include District 3 Little League for their hosting of the 2013 Canadian Senior Little League Championships ($2,000), Lakehead University Baseball Program for their assistance with the baseball component of the Partners in Sport program that exposes students aged 9-12 to various sports ($2,000). The Thunder Bay District Catholic School Board and Lakehead University have spearheaded that program. Finally, the Thunder Bay Umpires Association will receive funds for umpire development as they work to sustain and develop the important function of umpiring to support baseball at all levels in Thunder Bay ($1,000). Every year, a new candidate will be chosen and presented with funds to assist local baseball development programs in Thunder Bay. The candidates are chosen based on an application process. The application deadline is in the fall of each year.
Representatives of all three recipient groups will be in attendance at the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame to receive cheques from the TBIBA. Norm Randle, President of District 3 Little League and Dave Mack, Co-Chair of the Canadian Senior Little League Host Committee along with Jason Hart from Lakehead University Varsity Baseball and Ron Kowalchuk, President of the Thunder Bay Umpires Association will be on hand to answer questions from the media.
The TBIBA will also outline their recent efforts to host the 2013 IBAF 18U Baseball World Cup, recently awarded to Taiwan. For more information on the TBIBA, go to www.tbibaseball.ca.