Members of the Altona Angels softball club are eagerly awaiting the spring thaw so they can keep going with major diamond improvements.
Last fall, the club fully rounded out the clay diamond and repaired the dugout roofs at the Ecole Parkside School diamond and relocated another diamond to Ecole West Park School. The goal - to have four full-clay diamonds and other features by the end of the 2026 season.
A lot of the work was done thanks, in part, to a wildly successful 50/50 draw this past summer. In the end, the pot hit nearly $15,000, with the winner donating $2,000 of their own winnings back to the club. As well, the Altona Community Foundation chipped in a $4,500 grant.
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The money also continues to come in through the club's corporate fund-raising campaign, Dollars for Diamonds, launched in the fall.
So far, Friesens Corporation and Pattern Energy - St. Joseph Wind Farm have signed on as Grand Slam sponsors ($10,000+). At the Home Run sponsor level ($5,000-$9,999) so far is Altona Farm Service and GJ Chemical. Bunge has signed on as a Double sponsor, and Altona Hotel and Rhineland Car as Single sponsors.
After crunching the numbers, past-president, Rachel Wahl, says they've raised about $50,000 of their $200,000 goal.
"Which I think is fabulous for the first few months of giving it a go," she noted.
According to Wahl, the club is making improvements as the money comes in, either before or after the playing season.
"The completion of the northwest diamond (at Ecole West Park School), involving roof installation, should be happening in spring. They are already being built. Then we'd have to wait until the season was over and then we could see what kind of funding we have to proceed with the next thing."
That next thing hasn't been decided on, but it could see another diamond converted to full clay.
Also being considered are bleachers, accessible washrooms and other facilities for the fans.
Club President, Derek Sawatzky, noted, these improvements are about more than just aesthetics.
"I think, for one, when we have a quality field to play on, there's a piece of pride that comes in. There's a piece for our girls that says, 'I'm worthy of playing this game. This is a place that I belong'. They are skilled and they should be proud of the hard work that they put in all year."
Click here to learn how you can support the Altona Angels' softball revitalization project.