OHMBA Update: Registrations, Opening Week, and More...
Hey Bengals Family,
With registrations set to close soon, we wanted to take a moment to provide you with an update on the 2021 season...
As announced today, Ontario's Stay-at-Home Order has been extended until June 2. It is currently our plan to begin our House League season around the week of June 14th, or when we enter Stage 1 of the reopening, with weekly play ending before Labour Day Weekend. We will continue to work with Town Operations and other key stakeholders to return-to-play as soon as possible. Any changes to our proposed timeline will be communicated to our members.
When we do get the green light to play ball, it should come as no surprise that we will be operating a little differently than in years past. For those that have not yet done so, we highly encourage you to review the
Baseball Ontario Return-to-Sport Covid-19 Guidelines - updated March 18, 2021. As required by the Town, the OHMBA is finalizing our own Return-to-Sport document that will include information specific for the diamonds that we utilize. This information will be communicated to our members as soon as available, however please be sure to review the governing document from Baseball Ontario in the meantime.
Some key changes to our league operations this year will include:
- No Opening / Closing Day events, due to limits on social gathering. Teams will begin play on their regularly scheduled night(s) in week 1, and the season will end with a game played on the regularly scheduled night in late August.
- Divisions within age brackets that limit players/coaches to a bubble of 50 maximum. In some instances there may be multiple divisions/bubbles within an age bracket. Teams will play within their bubble for the entirety of the season.
- Teams limited to 10 players, to help maintain 'bubbles of 50'. There may be some exceptions to this based on final registration numbers, however the bubbles of 50 must be upheld.
There has been a number of people, throughout the registration process, that have indicated a willingness to volunteer/coach this year. It will take all of us working together to deliver baseball operations in a safe manner for the 2021 house league season. We are extremely grateful for the support from the Bengals Family, and as the registration process comes to a close, we will soon begin team building exercises and reaching out to coaches/volunteers with more information.
As we all continue to navigate this public health situation, the OHMBA remains committed to offering baseball activities for the 2021 season. Your patience and understanding during this time is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of the
OHMBA Executive.
Stay safe!
Yours in baseball,
The OHMBA Executive