Bonnyville Minor Baseball getting ready to play ball

Bonnyville Minor Baseball is excited to utter the phrase once again — play ball.

Registrations are now open for the 2022 season, through the association’s website, and the group is hopeful for a return to normal this summer with the Lakeland area league firing back up again.

“There’ll be ball here and starting hopefully, we’re hoping for May 1st, because that’s typically when the season starts,” said Minor Ball president Travis Farrer. “But it’s going to be 100 per cent dependent on the snow and how wet the diamonds are. So we’re kind of planning to start the following week. So the teams in the Lakeland that can practice that first week, they’ll still practice weather permitting, and then the season will star the second weekend.” 

Tryouts for the competitive teams have been underway and are almost finalized, said Farrer, and their competitive softball teams will fire up again as well.

The minor ball base has struggled a bit during the past two years, while still doing what they could for the players.

“Two years ago, pre-COVID, we peaked at 338 kids [for registrants]. I think minor hockey is about 380-390, so that kind of puts it in perspective,” said Farrer. 

“The last two years we’ve tried to make some something available for the kids in the community. We did what we could, but you’re limited and the numbers are down, of course, because of the restrictions and whatnot.” 

The competitive team in the area is based in Bonnyville as a central location for the Lakeland area.

Also, umpire clinics will be happening soon for kids looking to pick up the officiating side of the game. Follow their website and their Facebook page for more details as they come out.

The registration deadline is April 15 and is done through http://bonnyvilleminorball.com/.