With a swing of the bat and a nod from B.C. health officials, it’s officially baseball season at Ambassador Park in Victoria.
Following the lifting of some COVID-19 restrictions last week, team sports are allowed to resume playing games, meaning diamonds will be seeing lots of action on the weekends.
“That first day where they could come out and play, even though it was socially distanced and there were no parents watching, the smiles on their faces, it was phenomenal,” said Vince Greco, president of Lakehill Baseball and Softball.
Players can now go head-to-head and resume competing against other teams for the first time in months.
“There is something to be said about that gameplay, that little bit of competition,” added Greco. “While we don’t preach it at the very young level, there is that point where the kids say hey, I want to beat those guys.”
The games are a lead-off to the next base, where fans will be able to stay and watch.
However, right now the organization is making sure the safety and health of its athletes is the top priority.
“We’re not back to the quote-on-quote old days where none of this happened. You can still catch COVID, this can still get serious, people can still die,” said Greco. “Let’s mitigate the risk as much as possible and do this safely as possible.”
Not being able to cheer on your child can be hard, but parents are still thrilled their kids are back on the diamond.
“The sun is shining, the boys love being at the ball diamond every Saturday coming to play, it’s good to be back,” said Jake, a parent of a Lakehill player.
The fans will be making a return soon, as early as June 15.
If all goes according to plan, up to 50 people will then be able to come and support the next generation of athletes.
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Hannah Lepine
