KidSport is dusting off the plates and lining up the bats in preparation for next weekend's premier charity sporting event. The fourth annual Tyler Bunz Charity Slo Pitch Tournament is all geared up for its Friday evening start. While the round robin tourney is a tremendous good time for all, co-organizer Colin McGuinness said that it isn't all for fun and games. KidSport has some serious business banking on its success.
KidSport is dusting off the plates and lining up the bats in preparation for next weekend's premier charity sporting event.
The fourth annual Tyler Bunz Charity Slo Pitch Tournament is all geared up for its Friday evening start. While the round robin tourney is a tremendous good time for all, co-organizer Colin McGuinness said that it isn't all for fun and games. KidSport has some serious business banking on its success.
“This has been the main fundraiser event for KidSport St. Albert. It's our signature event,” he explained.
The local chapter of the national organization spent a few years trying to get itself established, finally marking the occasion at the beginning of last year. Its objective is to make sports programs more accessible to children by providing financial assistance to offset the cost of registration fees, even covering some equipment costs, youth leadership opportunities, sport camps and travel.
Nationwide, it has distributed more than $10 million since 1993 to help 55,000 kids get into sports and stay there.
Here in this city, KidSport put down more than $18,000 in its inaugural year to benefit 96 kids, each getting up to a maximum of $300 in support.
“So far this year, we're at 48 kids who have been funded to just under $10,000,” McGuinness continued, noting that the most popular sport is soccer. “Whether you're just a little kid or 16, 17 years old, if you want to participate in community non-rep soccer, KidSport will be able to cover at least one full season for that child's full costs.”
KidSport also benefits from a winter pond hockey tournament and the Canadian Progress Club's River City Street Classic, a 24-Hour Street Hockey Challenge that was held last summer.
The slo pitch tournament usually nets around $10,000 for the chapter, helping organizers to sleep a little easier knowing the group will stay in the black. McGuinness said that reaching that figure would cover their funding for about half a year and keep them pretty stable funding-wise.
They're always trying to reach more kids though. That would naturally mean they would have to step up their fundraising game.
“We're at that threshold but as we gain exposure and traction in the community, we just expect demand to increase. As long as we've still got some solid funding models then we should be able to sustain and stick around for the long haul.”
That's why it's so important that this weekend's sporting event bring in as much money as it does homers.
The co-ed recreational round robin tournament runs Friday and Saturday and will have a ‘seven and three format' (meaning a minimum of seven men and three women per team and a maximum of 14 per batting order). A full schedule would have 16 teams in competition but there were still a few empty spots as of last Thursday.
The event will be officiated by umpires from SPN Slo Pitch National, the organization that has sanctioned it. Each team gets four games guaranteed: one on the opening evening and three the next day.
Saturday will be a big day as there will be other activities to thrill the fans, not the least of which is the ever-popular home run derby.
“After the morning games, we do a home run derby on one of the diamonds. Each team gets to put in one participant and they get a certain amount of swings. The person that gets the most home runs out of their allocated amount of swings wins and we give them a prize. It's a nice way to get all of the participants around to watch.”
There will also be a silent auction and raffle items to be won, plus on site entertainment courtesy of DJ Aron Joshi. Colour commentary will be provided by a local radio show personality. Admission is free and there will be a concession and beer tent for food and refreshments.
McGuinness ended by noting that they do have a few returning sponsors but could always use another one or two to help cover things. More volunteers couldn't hurt either, he said.
The tournament takes place July 24 and 25 at the Meadowview Ball Diamonds, 1 Meadowview Dr. Registration is $440 per team and all net proceeds go to support KidSport St. Albert. People can register online at getkidsplaying.eventbrite.com.
Call 780-994-6482 or email [email protected] for details. Visit www.kidsportcanada.ca/alberta/st-albert or check out the chapter's Facebook page for more information.
