The community of Winkler is buzzing as the U11 AA provincials are this weekend, and the organizing committee is ready to welcome players, fans, and parents to town.
Getting the provincials to Winkler is a big deal, and Heather DiFrancesco details what went into it. "Through Winkler Minor Ball, we put in a bid for hosting provincials, and we were awarded the U11 AA tier 1 provincials. On the way, we were also given tier 2. It's a big deal. We have 20 teams coming from all over the province. It's a big endeavor, but it's very exciting."
Preparing for the event has been interesting, says DiFrancesco, who says there were a lot of moving pieces to make the diamonds playable. "The city of Winkler, they are really great to work with, they're doing an awesome job. We're actually going to be playing our provincials in the fourplex, which isn't necessarily a diamond for 11U hardball, but they're doing a great job, they're installing mounds, putting in outfield fencing, just making things more applicable to that age group. We've even gotten help, Lowe Farm Minor Ball borrowed us a mound, and so we're set to go there."
DiFrancesco is excited for what this means to the community and the positive impact the tournament will have. "It's been really awesome, we've had so many businesses sponsor, and gift things to make it fun for the players. There will definitely be a lot of people in town, so we've had to rely on the community for that. It'll be fun to see a lot of people in town, especially at that age group, because they tend to have more spectators in the younger ages, so it'll be really fun. With only one Winkler team, that means there's a lot of out of town teams, and we're excited to show off Winkler. We want to show people how awesome it is here in the summer and especially around the diamonds, it's really exciting."
Many people put in a lot of time to make this all possible, and DiFrancesco can't say enough good things about them. "Myself, along with two others, Crystal Loewen and Tamara Friesen, we've been busy getting ready for this. Winkler Minor Ball has been awesome, they've sort of just let me run with it, as it's my third provincials hosting here in Winkler. The Winkler team, the parents have been great, they're volunteering. It takes a village to kind of put something like this on. Access Credit Union is the main sponsor of provincials this year for all of baseball Manitoba, and so they have been fantastic, too. They've offered local support and it's been so good to see how many people are excited about all of this."
For DiFrancesco, she hopes that Winkler and the community leave a great, lasting impression on the visitors coming through, and she knows the community will do just that. "I feel like our city showcases itself really well. People are so friendly. I guess I hope that people this weekend just come down to the ball diamonds, even if they don't know someone playing, maybe you'd had kids come through minor ball in the past, or grand kids. I think just coming down and cheering these kids on, 11U is a pretty special spot, because these kids are really excited about baseball, and if we can get them really engaged and excited at this age, it'll just make all of our programs stronger going forward. I'd love to see everyone come on down, there is a gate fee this weekend, so keep that in mind, but we welcome everyone. I just can't wait for people to see how awesome this community is."
The U11 AA tier 1 and 2 provincials start on Friday.
*Team Photo:
Left to right
Back row: Asst Coach Garrett Dyck, Ethan Thiessen, Ezra Fehr, Aiden Harder, Beckett Fehr, head coach Josh Krahn
Middle Row: Carter Dyck, Carter Friesen, Easton Driedger, Seth Rempel, Judah Loewen
Front row: Lincoln Krahn, Tyson Friesen
Missing: asst coach Conrad Rempel