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Little League decision reversed |
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Written by
JASON PETERS, Citizen staff
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Tuesday, 15 July 2008 |
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WHITE ROCKLITTLE LEAGUE
Belanger, manager of the Prince George 11- and 12-year-old all-star baseball team, was able to tell his players on Tuesday they would get to swing their bats in the Little League provincial championship tournament after all.
On Sunday, the all-stars were ruled ineligible for the event, which starts Friday morning at Joe Martin Field. But, by Tuesday afternoon, they had been reinstated by Little League Canada, which got approval from officials in Williamsport, Pa., the international home of Little League Baseball.
“It’s fantastic,” Belanger said.
“I’m glad they changed their mind.”
The all-stars were originally told by Brian Kelly, Little League B.C.’s District 4 administrator, they could participate in provincials as the District 4 representative. A stronger local team, Prince George Cap-Abilities, was already in the tournament as the host club.
Kelly later found out that, as per Little League rules, the all-stars actually needed to qualify for provincials. With another Prince George team already in the tournament, they could not just be given a free pass. For the all-stars, winning their way in posed a problem because no other city in District 4 had a team they could have played off against.
So, on Monday, Belanger was forced to tell his troops they would not be allowed to participate in the B.C. championship.
Late Monday night, Kelly initiated a chain of phone calls to try to get the decision reversed. Meanwhile, parents of the all-stars flooded Little League Canada with e-mails. One parent also sent stories from Monday’s Prince George Citizen to Little League’s national headquarters in Ottawa.
In Belanger’s view, Kelly’s efforts -- plus the power of the parent and media pen -- got the all-stars back into the provincial tournament.
“It was fantastic for (Kelly) to step up to the plate and try to correct a wrong, as far as we were concerned,” said Belanger, who was at Joe Martin Field all day Tuesday, helping to prepare the park for provincials. He was there well before his team was reinstated in the tournament.
“I hope that some of the (written) comments, even from myself -- to say that, ‘You know what? It makes us want to pull out of Little League and if you can afford to lose 450 kids out of Little League, so be it’ -- hopefully that changed their minds.”
Kelly’s first phone call late Monday night was to North Vancouver’s Wayne Hobson, Little League’s western Canadian vice president. Hobson then contacted Surrey’s Roy Bergerman, the president of Little League Canada. Bergerman got in touch with the head office in Ottawa and sent an appeal to Williamsport on Tuesday morning. Discussions between Williamsport officials and Ottawa’s Marthe Dubroy, Little League Canada’s secretary, ensued. And, in the end, the decision from Williamsport came back as a positive one.
“This is not a precedent-setting decision,” Kelly said.
“But without the support of Wayne Hobson, Roy Bergerman and Marthe Dubroy, this would not have happened. They realized the situation, took it to Williamsport. After the Williamsport decision came back, Wayne Hobson polled the remaining six (district administrators) in British Columbia and got their approval for a second team. So everyone’s on board.”
Kelly praised Williamsport officials -- who are swamped with organizational duties this time of year -- for taking the time to deal with the issue.
“I think what they recognized was, we weren’t trying to do anything wrong,” Kelly said. “It was an error on my part that was made in good faith.”
The all-stars -- who have nine 11-year-olds and just four 12-year-olds on their roster -- will play in the first game of the eight-team tournament, at 9:30 a.m. Friday against White Rock. The White Rock club won nationals last year and played in the Little League World Series in Williamsport.
Nothing like starting off against a powerhouse.
But, to Belanger, that doesn’t matter in the least.
“For us, it’s just to get out there and participate -- to have fun and learn,” said Belanger, whose team has a practice scheduled for this morning. “They’re first-year, they’re 11-year-old players, kind of developmental players. It’s about next year, not about this year -- gaining that experience and seeing what you’ve got to do for the future. They’re going to see top-level baseball.”
Other teams are Dunbar, Mount Seymour, Hastings, Layritz and Trail. Round-robin games will conclude on July 24. The tournament final is scheduled for July 27.
The winner will qualify for nationals, Aug. 2-9 in Sydney Mines, N.S. The Canadian champion will head to Williamsport for the World Series, Aug. 15-24.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 September 2008 )
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