Youth in Rankin Inlet will be getting a taste of what professional baseball is all about when the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association of Professional Baseball arrive in the community to conduct a special baseball skills camp on June 13.
Rankin recreation co-ordinator A.J. Curley said the Goldeyes visit to the community be a very special day for local youth.
He said the visit came about when Calm Air president Gary Bell reached out to the Goldeyes about doing a camp in Rankin Inlet after holding similar events in Flin Flon and The Pas, Man.
The Goldeyes then reached out to the hamlet about making an appearance, he added, and it all took off from there.
“When it comes to direction, the Goldeyes told me they had great turnouts in both Flin Flon and the Pas and they'd love to come to Rankin,” said Curley. “They said start registering youth for their camps and the number of kids who signed-up would determine if they came for one or two different camps.
“Right now, as we speak, it's only for that one day on June 13. As of (May 28), there were 19 kids registered, so I decided to place a poster in each of our stores and around the community that people could scan if they were interested in attending the camp.
“So, I'm waiting until the middle of the week to find out if I have more kids registered and we'll go from there.”
Curley said baseball has grown bigger in Rankin now than it ever used to be in he past.
He said the hamlet still has years where it's always the same tournaments being hosted, but a lot of kids have started joining baseball and that could change things significantly.
“We get, I believe, more than 60 kids join now throughout our summer camps, so I'm hoping getting more information out to keep the public more informed about these opportunities will lead to even more kids registering.
“The Blue Jays have had a definite impact on the kids in Rankin, in my opinion. We order a lot of stuff throughout the year for these tournaments and camps that we run.
“Last year, we got a bunch of different T-shirts with various logos for local tournaments and the kids seemed to love wearing them, even after the camp and throughout the year.
“Having logos that represent something bigger kind of encourages the kids to see it all as something cool and want to keep doing it.”
Curley said everyone will see what happens with the June 13 camp and, after that, the hamlet will know what to expect for, hopefully, future camps.
He said Little League Baseball will definitely be run this summer, but there's been a bit of a delay in getting the artificial turf laid at the ball diamond.
“During the next couple of weeks, I'll have more of a grasp on the programs I'll be offering this summer for Rankin, such as soccer, baseball, and day camps throughout the summer.
“With my whole situation, someone is going to have to fill in as rec co-ordinator for awhile. David (Clark) is, apparently, coming back early this month and that will be a sigh of relief for me. We'll see what happens from there.
“I actually have no idea if David is moving back to Rankin to stay. All he told me is that he'd be back on the job here on June 9. Last year he only stayed here for about a month before taking off around again.
“I'll have a better grasp on everything after he arrives and we've had the chance to talk about things.”
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