2012 Canadian Little League Championships

Edmonton, Alberta

August 4-11, 2012

 

Little League Baseball Canada 

 Alberta District 2 / Edmonton 

 “Over 55 Years of Little League in Edmonton”

 

 

 

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Little League Alberta District 2 / Edmonton is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the 2012 Canadian Little League Championships.

Tournament Bid

The Championship Tournament was awarded to the successful Edmonton bid over competing bids from Calgary and Medicine Hat. In the end, the Edmonton contingent, with the expertise and assistance of Edmonton Tourism, put in the stronger proposal, and was declared the recipient of the 2012 Canadian Championships.

Tournament Schedule & Teams

The Championship Tournament will begin on Saturday August 4^th and will conclude with the Championship Final on Saturday August 11^th. The tournament will consist of six (6) teams from the five Little League regions in Canada along with a host team to come from one of the four Edmonton leagues. The five regions are from British Columbia, the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Region. Players from the five Little League regions will arrive in Edmonton on Thursday August 2^nd, and in keeping with Little League tradition, the plan is to have the players billeted with families throughout the four leagues (Community Park, Confederation Park, East Park and Mill Woods) that currently make up the Edmonton District. Edmonton last hosted its only other Canadian Championship in a very successful tournament held in 1989. In that tournament, a team from Edmonton, Confederation Park, made it all the way to the Championship final.

Venue

The Canadian Little League Championships will be held at a refurbished John Fry Park. The park will have the outfield fences moved to the correct Little League dimensions, and the infield will be rebuilt to accommodate a grass infield and pitchers mound. Additional seating is being planned to accommodate the expected fans and spectators. Current estimates by the committee are approximating attendance figures for the Championship Final to be between 3,000 to 5,000 people. There are typically three (3) games per day as part of the round robin schedule, with one day being held open in case of games that may have to be re-scheduled due to inclement weather.

Tournament Initiatives

Preparations are already underway to secure volunteers to assist in putting on the tournament, and the job of funding the event through initiatives that will include approaching the business community in Edmonton for sponsorship opportunities, as well as other partners interested in being a part of this memorable experience. The committee will also be seeking media partners who are interested in covering the event in print, electronically and on the internet. A Press Conference was held at Telus Field on Saturday May 7, 2011 in conjunction with the Edmonton Capitals Open House and Open Tryouts to formally announce this event and introduce capitals manager Orv Franchuk as the Honourary Tournament Chairman. A formal “Championship Launch” event and silent auction was held on Saturday September 12, 2011 to begin the countdown to the Championships. It was an opportunity to introduce the executive, sponsors, and dignitaries as well as to honour past members and players.

Challenger Exhibition Game

In conjunction with the Canadian Little League Championships, Edmonton District 2 will also be holding a game for its Challenger Division, which is designed for special needs youth to be able to play and enjoy the game of baseball. By having the game on the same stage as the national tournament, it is hoped that more special needs players will be exposed to the game, and to give these athletes an opportunity to enjoy the excitement of participating in an event at the Canadian Championships.

Little League in Edmonton

With over 55 years of Little League Baseball in Edmonton, there are four current leagues that continue to provide baseball programs for players from the age of 5 to 18 years, with recent enrolment in the Edmonton District at approximately 1,000 players. The four leagues are comprised of Confederation Park, Community Park, East Park and Mill Woods. With exposure to these Canadian Little League Championships, Edmonton District 2 along with the Edmonton Capitals hopes that more young athletes will consider playing a game with deep roots in the community and lasting memories of fun and excitement on the diamond playing the game of baseball. 

This is an excellent opportunity for the public to watch the highest calibre of baseball at this level played by excellent young athletes. Millions have played Little League baseball worldwide for over 50 years, and many of today's major leaguers began their careers in Little League. One such player is former Confederation Park Little Leaguer Steven Inch who was the Philadelphia Phillies sixth round pick in the 2009 MLB draft. Please take this opportunity to lend your support for all the teams that will come to Edmonton for the chance to represent Canada at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA in 2012.

To obtain further information, please get in touch with the following contacts, or access the Championship web page;

 

Gerry Dawidowski – Media & Public Relations Director

780-461-1230 h.                   780-938-1127 c.                   gsbd@telusplanet.net 

Wendy Berdahl – Tournament President

780-461-6621 h.                   780-916-3740 c.                   wendy@2012champions.ca 

  

2012 Canadian Little League Championships Board of Directors

  

President                                          Wendy Berdahl                     wendy@2012champions.ca 

 Vice-President                                Vanessa French                   vanessa@2012champions.ca 

 Vice-President                                Wayne Sperling                    wayne@2012champions.ca 

 & District Administrator

 Secretary                                          Neil Riley                               neil@2012champions.ca 

 Treasurer                                          Bert Harrison                        bert@2012champions.ca 

 Director Of Fundraising                Lesley Truman                      lesley@2012champions.ca 

 Director of Sponsorship              Glen Gregory                         glen@2012champions.ca 

Volunteer Coordinator                  Susanne Desranleau            volunteer@2012champions.ca

 Billeting Coordinator                     Leanne Brouwer                  leannebilleting@2012champions.ca

 Umpire in Chief                               John Mitchell                         john@2012champions.ca 

 Media & Public Relations             Gerry Dawidowski                gerry@2012champions.ca 

Social Media Director                    Cindy Young                           cindy@2012champions.ca 

 

Complete 2012 Canadian Little League Championship information available at

http://www.2012champions.ca/

 

A printable copy of this information is available in the “Handouts” section of the web page and is shown as Press Packet May 2012