This year will be a big one for Elkford Minor Ball. They will be hosting many events, including provincials for under 16 (U16) girls fastball and fundraising for shale upgrades for the fields.
“This is a huge year for Elkford Minor Ball, from fundraising for shale upgrades, preparing to host Alberta U16 Girls C Fastball Provincials, which we are associated with, and also representing Zone 1 in this year’s Summer Games hosted in Leduc Alberta,” said Jodi Borys, a representative for Elkford Minor Ball.
The shale upgrade will be for the four baseball fields in Elkford. There is a shale shortage in B.C. and Alberta, so the group has to order the shale from Saskatchewan.
“We fundraised by hosting a very successful adult Halloween dance which was previously posted in the Elk Valley Herald. We also received $5,000 from The Elk Valley Thrift Shop and another $5,000 grant from Western Financial. The District of Elkford has agreed to help as well,” she said.
The U16 C Fastball Provincials will bring a dozen teams to Elkford on the second weekend of July. The Elkford team is comprised of nine locals, one from Sparwood and two from Lethbridge. Unfortunately, there is no local league for the team, so they play a weekly game against Borys and the ‘older fastball girls’.
“There isn’t much for fastball around this area as far as game play so us ‘older fastball girls’ have been playing a game against these girls every Wednesday night at 6 p.m at the Elks Diamond. We plan on continuing this until provincials in order to prepare them as best as possible,” she said. “The majority of the ‘older fastball girls’ grew up in Elkford and were also coached by my dad Blaine Borys who is coaching this team as well. He has been coaching Fastball for 25 plus years. Our ages range from 29-37 years old. We haven’t come up with a team name yet but will do soon.”
Jodi, along with her father Blaine, is also coaching a girls fastball team for the Summer Games.
The team is made up of eight Elkford girls, one from Sparwood, three from Lethbridge, and two from Medicine Hat.
“My dad and myself are coaching Zone 1 Girls Fastball for the upcoming Summer Games hosted in Leduc Alberta on July the 14 to 17 weekend. We also have Terry Vandale as our team manager,” said Borys. “She has done so much work, we honestly couldn’t do this without her. She is amazing. We just completed our third tryout in Lehtbridge Alberta and have finalized our team of 14. We started out with over 20 girls trying out from Elkford to Medicine Hat.”
