Update 2021--06-08: Baseball Ontario has added a bit of clarity to the re-opening situation."Baseball Ontario will lift the suspension of in-person baseball activities as of 12:01am on Friday, June 11, 2021. NOTE: only outdoor activities are permitted under government regulations. No indoor practices." More information can be found in the Baseball Ontario newletter here. Note we are still bound by decisions by the city of Hamilton, but things are looking on track for our plan below..

To Our Valued Members,

We know many of you are patiently waiting on an update regarding our plans for baseball going forward. Below is a note from our president Chris Simpson and our tentative plans to proceed with the upcoming season.

The board of Waterdown Minor Baseball Association are working diligently behind the scenes creating a plan that will see baseball return to our community this summer.  As it is already May and we are usually into the season by now, we have had to push things back again due to the COVID–19 pandemic and the reopening of Ontario. What we have learned so far is that things can begin on a small scale June 14th while opening up July 5th and July 26th.  These dates are estimated and based on the Ontario Government and what stage of reopening we are on those dates.  This year will see the season go into August and even September if the City of Hamilton allows the use of fields past Labor Day weekend.  Our goal is to have a safe and meaningful baseball season for the players and the families. We will be holding a parent information night in June prior to the start of the season to get everyone prepared for this season.

Timeline

June 8th 2021 – HL Coaches Meeting (Zoom)

June 14th 2021 – Training Clinics can begin. 10 person limits in place. 11U & 13U Pitching clinics

June 16th 2021 - HL parents information night (Zoom)

July 5th 2021 – HL teams to start full practices

July 26th 2021 – HL Games to begin

All dates are subject to change based on guidance from the Provincial and Municipal Government, Baseball Ontario and COBA (for our rep division).We will update the website for any further details we may uncover and should have more information closer to the June 14th date.

As mentioned above, for anyone with questions, we will be holding an online Zoom meeting for our members. In order to participate in this meeting, we ask that you email for details on how to join. For the zoom meeting for coaches, you will be contacted directly with the information to join.

With regard to the pitching clinics, more information will follow shortly once we have more firm details in place.

Thank you again for your patience in all of this. Our primary goal to is get the kids out and playing as safely as possible while enjoying a little outdoor activity.

Regards,

The WMBA Needs You!

Looking to umpire this season for WMBA? Wait no further, Waterdown baseball needs you! To get us prepared, due to the restrictions imposed by Baseball Ontario, this course will now be held online instead of in-person and will be based on a series of self paced modules to complete. Level 1 reduced to $15 and level 2 reduced to $25. Registration and administration is all done through the Umpire section on the Baseball Ontario website (https://www.baseballontario.com/Umpires). To find our more about becoming an umpire, umpire certification information is here.

To register, please follow the following:

Step 1. If you are new to umpiring, you must create a profile at the below website to get your card number. Otherwise, go to step 2.

www.baseballontario.com/Umpires/ClubForm/forms.aspx?TopMenuID=100010

Step 2. Once you have your card number, you can register at the below website and select the "go to register for clinic" button to register with the following credentials:

Affiliate: Central Ontario Baseball Association

Club: Waterdown Minor Baseball

Clinic #: U21-58 for May 31st

www.baseballontario.com/Umpires/Club/UmpireClinicMM.aspx?TopMenuID=10006&menuID=392

Fill out the form and you should receive confirmation in 24-48 hrs. Once you have registered, please contact  our Umpire in Chief (details below) for e-transfer of registration fee.

Note:  we are limiting the minimum age for new umpires to 13 years old. Previous year's umpires will be accepted if under the minimum.  If you should have any questions, please contact - Umpire in Chief @ or (905) 630-9625. We look forward to having many umpires on staff this season!

Baseball Ontario has issued an update on various current topics in the minor baseball world including changes with regard to Return to Sport Protocols, information on upcoming NCCP Clinics and Level 3 Superclinics, as well as the Change the Game Research Project. All updates can be viewed here: Baseball Ontario Updates.

We have recently switched suppliers for our uniforms and would like to welcome Baseball 365 to the WMBA family! Baseball 365 has been a local provider for baseball related products for a number of years now and we are excited for them to join the WMBA fold. Feel free to support them as much as you can by shopping online and, when restictions are eased, visiting their store in Burlington!

Also of note, in lieu of our new supplier, we have a bit of leftover Waterdown Wolves apparel from out last supplier that we would like to offer to our WMBA community at a reduced price. For those interested, please go to our Forms page to browse what we have. Purchases can be made straight from the form using Paypal.and local distanced pickup will be arranged.

The start of the season is approaching. Do you need a way to keep track of your little (or big) slugger's schedule? Want to keep up to date on happenings in the league? Need a quick way to email your coach? Need directions to a diamond? All this and much more is available in the mobile app for our league. You can get the LeagueAthletics Mobile app at the Google Play store for Android and at the iTunes store for Apple. All you need to connect is your WMBA login and password. Download now for free!