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2010 Men's National ChampionshipsDates TBA   Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

National Championships: Week 3 Preview
August 25, 2010

OTTAWA- Yet another three National Championships will take place this week as championship season is fully upon us. The Bantam Girls championship will take place in Richmond, BC and will see an 7 team field participate, which is an increase of 1 team from 2009. In Vaughan, Ontario the Bantam Boys championship will be busy as all provinces will be represented as well as the host Vaughn club. Finally, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia the Senior Men’s championship will return for a second straight year and will feature a 10 team field that includes the defending champs from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.

Québec will be back at the Bantam Girl’s championship to defend their title in Richmond, BC, and will be joined by the host Richmond club, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Québec and Nova Scotia. According to tournament organizer Patrick Weatherill, the week will be one to remember for everyone involved.

“We have some great events planned including a welcome BBQ and tour at the Richmond Olympic Oval.”

The fun continues at the ballpark with events and activities that everyone can enjoy.

“At the park (Brighouse) we’ll have vintage cars, bands and demonstrations,” continued Weatherill. “We’ll run 50/50 draws and raffles for some great prizes.

In Dartmouth, the Senior Men’s championship will return to the maritime city for the second consecutive year. Ontario (Windsor and Ilderton), Alberta (Red Deer and Fort Saskatchewan) and Nova Scotia (host Dartmouth and Halifax) will all send two clubs to the event. They will be joined by BC (Burnaby), Manitoba (Brandon), New Brunswick (Fredericton) and Newfoundland (St. John’s).

A popular event that will be returning this year will be the homerun derby to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness which will take place the evening of August 25th. Returning champ from last year, Darren Doucette (Dartmouth, NS), whose wife Alana is a breast cancer survivor, will again be participating to defend his title. All participants will be wearing pink t-shirts and all fans in attendance are encouraged to wear pink to the derby as well. A great twist to the event will see a pink ball thrown to each batter and if that ball is hit out of the park a lucky fan will win a great prize.

“We’re trying to have some fun with that,” said tournament organizer Paul Arsenault. “At the same time (as the homerun derby) will be the team social, where all the teams will have a chance to mingle in the beer garden area, which was a popular event from last year.”

Fans, players and staff can expect a great week at the ballpark and also count on some good old fashioned east coast hospitality.

“We`ve got a food court set-up where you can enjoy our famous fish and chip from down east, “said Arsenault. “We`ll also be serving a lot of other types of food so that fans can have a variety to choose from.”

Vaughan will also again host the Bantam Boys championship. All of the games will be played at the beautiful Vaughn Grove Sports Park on two different diamonds. Although it is a different team representing Ontario (Whitby) this year, they do come into the tournament as the defending champions. Other teams joining Ontario will be the host Vaughan club, BC (Vancouver), Alberta (Calgary), Saskatchewan (Regina), Manitoba (Winnipeg), Québec, New Brunswick (Moncton), Nova Scotia (Dartmouth), PEI (Summerside) and Newfoundland (Corner Brook).

The baseball will provide fans an opportunity to see the country’s best 15 and under players battle it out to determine a national champion.  Tournament organizer Dirk Drieberg is really hoping that the event will leave lasting memories for all participants.

“We’re really trying to create an experience for the players, coaches and officials,” explained Drieberg. “We want everyone to look back on the event and know that they truly had an experience aside from (playing) baseball.

The organizing committee has some great events planned including taking advantage of a great partnership with the Blue Jays in nearby Toronto.

“The Jays will be sending a player (to the event) to sign autographs and the “Jays on the road” vehicle will also be at the ballpark,” continued Drieberg.

The event will also feature many showcase booths at different times throughout the week where businesses will be able to display their products for everyone to see. Among those included will be sponsors such as Mizuno and Rawlings.

“We’ve really tried to create an atmosphere of a championship where there are more than just the ball games going on,” re-iterated Drieberg. “We have things for people of all ages to do.”

Notes: All of the action from each championship can be followed live courtesy of Pointstreak! Please click on following link: http://baseballcanada.bbstats.pointstreak.com/scoreboard.html?leagueid=110&seasonid=377&date=08/26/2010