Whitecourt Royals play host for the first time

The Whitecourt Royals 13U AA baseball team got to do something this past weekend that they had never had the opportunity to do before. In the four years since they set up shop in town, the team has never been a host, inviting other groups to play in Whitecourt. “There was so much to learn, and we were new, so we didn’t apply to be a host team in our first year. The second-year was COVID, so we didn’t really have anything that year, and last year we weren’t too sure what was happening, but we did apply to be a host team; we just weren’t selected. This is the first year that we have been selected,” explained Jenny Dickson, off-field manager for the team.

The team comprises eleven and twelve-year-old players, and though it is a co-ed capable team, this year’s crew is all boys. “Most of them are in their second year of 13U baseball, and most players have been together since the first year of 11U. So, it’s our fourth year together for the most part,” she said. Their season began in March with practicing and tryouts, and their first weekend of action was at the beginning of May.

“Each month, we are placed in a bracket of teams suited together, either division one or two. As a smaller centre, we usually start with division two, and we are typically lumped together with teams from Barrhead, Stoney Plain and St. Albert. In previous years, we’re gone as far as Oyen to play, down south, near Stettler. We played provincials there one year. We’ve played in Bonnyville too.”

Since the league is province-wide, it takes a lot of road time as the team hits up a new community to play. Rather than play through the week, which would likely be impossible given the stretch of the league, there are host communities where groupings get together to play each weekend. During Whitecourt’s weekend, other teams were also playing in Grande Prairie.

Each month, the teams are re-tiered based on their standings and performance during the month. “If we go up in the standings, then we go up with other teams similar to us, and that could be anywhere in the province of Alberta,” explained Dickson.

Dickson said the team was really excited to be a host team and play within the community. “We are excited to have hometown fans watching us because we’ve never had that before. Everywhere we’ve gone, we’re always the visitor, so our fans come because they follow us and not because they live there. It’ll be nice to see local fans this time.” The three away teams taking part in the Whitecourt scramble are the South Jasper Place Jays from Edmonton, St. Albert Cardinals White, and the Parkland Twins Red.

The Whitecourt Royals 13U AA team will play until the end of July until their league’s end-of-season tournament, which decides if they move onto the provincials. The team practices at home during the week and would love to have local fans come down and watch. Training happens at Graham Acres every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30 pm until 8 pm.

Once the weekend wraps up, the Royals will find out where they stand amongst the league and might play a new bunch of teams in June, depending on where they land numbers-wise. The league’s setup keeps things interesting for players. “For sports like hockey, once you’re in a division, you stay in it for the entire year, so you could end up getting beat or beating the same team twenty times in a year. With baseball, they are really trying to have it so that you are in a tier where you are matched quite evenly with your competitors by the end of the season,” explained Dickson.

Heading into the weekend, Dickson said she knows that the team will do fantastic. “I know that everybody’s positive attitude and fair play will shine through. That’s what our group is known for in every town that we visit, is how positive and polite and good sports we are. I do not doubt at all that that will shine through as we host and welcome other teams into our community.”