OTTAWA- The Antigonish Baseball Association has made history becoming the first minor baseball association from Nova Scotia to achieve all required elements for Baseball Canada’s Reaching Baseball Ideals (RBI) program and are thus, RBI Approved.
In doing so, Antigonish Baseball becomes the 38th association across Canada to achieve the RBI Approved designation since the program’s inception in 2008.
Baseball Canada’s RBI program (Reaching Baseball Ideals) gives associations the opportunity to apply common core criteria (Development programs, Membership with Baseball Canada, Coach Training, Accessibility and Pitching Safety) to ensure that consistent good practice is in place when running a minor baseball organization.
For the Antigonish Baseball Association, the decision to move forward with becoming RBI Approved was attributed to the fact that registration numbers were on a decline says association President, Randy Crouse.
“Antigonish is a sports town and many kids stopped playing baseball because they had so many options to participate in other activities,” he said. “Our association fully supports children getting a well rounded sports background, but in order to have baseball included in that background, we needed to make changes.”
Soon, the association was on its way to fulfilling the criteria of the RBI program which meant having more coaches and umpires certified, implementing the Rally Cap program, developing a Challenger Baseball program to provide opportunities for children with special needs and improving communication between all members of the baseball community and improving our practice plans.
A move was also made to re-brand the organization from Antigonish Kinsmen Town and County Minor Baseball Association to its present name of Antigonish Baseball Association.
“It was our association's responsibility to keep kids active and engaged when they came to the ball field. We wanted kids to have a positive experience when they participated, and by implementing the RBI Program criteria, we increased our chances of that happening,” explained Crouse.
A small, but dedicated group of volunteers formulates the Antigonish Baseball Association’s executive including Glenna Ingraham (Manager), Patricia MacKenzie (Secretary), Laura Crouse (Treasurer) and Randy Crouse as President.
Their hard work is already beginning to pay off as not only was the association RBI Approved recently, but in early March the association’s Challenger Baseball program was named the winner of the ‘Win 4 Kids’ $37,000 National Grant through the GoodLife Kids Foundation. This money will be used to develop and sustain Antigonish Challenger Baseball for years to come and also help grow Challenger Baseball across Nova Scotia.
With 120 registrants in 2013 and a newfound commitment to growth and development, bright days are sure to shine down on Antigonish Baseball for the near and distant future.
For Crouse, the RBI Approved status shows the community that the association intends on providing positive and quality baseball experiences for all participants.
“By becoming RBI Approved, our association is showing players, parents and the community that we are dedicated to constantly improving baseball activities in Antigonish.”
To find out more about the Antigonish Baseball Association, please visit their website antigonishbaseball.com
To find out more about the RBI program and how your association can become certified, please click HERE
