ORILLIA LEGION MINOR BASEBALL
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We love baseball.
We miss the sound of kids laughing and having fun together on the field and in the dugout. We miss seeing friends and family at the field, cheering on their players.
We miss the opportunity for players to develop friendships and experience memories that will last a lifetime, and the important life lessons they can learn from playing baseball.
And we know our baseball community misses it too.
It is therefore with profound and heartfelt disappointment, that the OLMB Board of Directors has made an incredibly difficult decision to cancel all organized team events for the 2020 baseball season.
Please know this decision was not made lightly.
We know that for many of you, like us, a summer without baseball is almost unthinkable. We know that our Rep players and coaches have been working hard all winter to get ready for the 2020 season, and we know that our coaches and umpires have been busy taking courses and acquiring necessary certifications to serve our baseball community.
We know they will all be as disappointed as we are.
But after carefully considering all of our options, including the guidelines and protocols that will be necessary to protect the health and safety of our players, coaches, volunteers, umpires, and their families, there is simply no reasonable course of action that will permit us to deliver a safe and enjoyable 2020 baseball season.
So now what?
First of all, in lieu of a refund of their basic registration fee, players who have registered for 2020 may request OLMB to simply register them for the 2021 season.
OLMB will do so at no further expense to them even if registration fees are higher in 2021. And as an additional “thank you” for supporting the league, all players requesting a 2021 registration in lieu of a refund will be entitled to a discount for small group bookings at The Fieldhouse (our indoor sports facility), and they will be entered into a draw for a prize yet to be determined – but sure to be awesome!
In the alternative, if you are a house league player and you require a refund, please send your request by email to our Registrar at [email protected]. We ask you for your patience as it may take some time to process your request.
If you are a Rep player, you will hear shortly from your Head Coach or Team Manager. You will have the same choice as house league players to apply your 2020 basic registration fee to your 2021 registration, or to have it refunded, as described above. Your Head Coach/Team Manager will also advise you about refunds for Rep Fees and Team Fees.
While we are all heartbroken over the loss of our season, we would ask our baseball community to continue supporting the many community-minded businesses in our city and surrounding area.
These are the same businesses and small business owners who sponsor our league and make it affordable for children to play. We simply can’t do what we do without them, and they deserve our support during the difficult and uncertain financial times many of them are currently facing.
Please keep an eye on our Facebook page where we will regularly recognize and show our appreciation for our sponsors.
Once it is appropriate and safe to do so later this summer, we will be back on the field for our Rep/Select Tryouts for the 2021 season. We can’t wait to see you there!
Follow us on Facebook and keep your eyes and ears open for further announcements regarding coaching applications and tryout dates. Info will also be posted on our website at www.orilliaminorbaseball.ca.
Finally, we are not without hope that we may still be able to get back on the field at some point before the summer is over.
Clinics, skills competitions, informal pick-up games – all may be possible if/when it is deemed safe to do so. In the coming days and weeks we will continue to closely monitor communications from the Province of Ontario, as well as the guidelines being developed by Baseball Ontario and the facility use restrictions imposed by our local municipalities.
Even though our house league and rep programs will not exist in 2020 as we have come to know them, we will continue to look for opportunities to offer some form of baseball to the players in our community. Please stay tuned!
Thank you for your ongoing support, patience and understanding as we work together through this difficult situation.
Wes Winkel
President, Orillia Legion Minor Baseball
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