Sarah Elliott wants to reorganize the women’s softball league and is planning an organizational meeting at the public library on Saturday, April 8 at 3 p.m.
The women’s league has been inactive for about a decade. Teams formerly played in softball tournaments in Haines and across the region.
“Back in the day, when I was in high school and in my 20s, we had the Parts Place Die Hards and the Bamboo Babes and the Harbor Bar Hoboes,” Elliott said.
A coed league has been running during the summers, but Elliott said she hopes a structured women’s league will encourage greater participation. Younger players who are too old for Little League can also join, she said.
“Some of those players, like Gracie Stickler, can roll into the women’s league. There are players that have graduated out of little league that want to keep playing.”
They’ll discuss registration fees, sponsorships and how the league will be organized.
In other baseball news, Haines Little League will open registration on the same day as the women’s league meeting. Registration will occur on April 8 in the Haines School cafeteria at 11 a.m. Organizer Sherri Loomis said this year the league is offering $50 sponsorships to families who can’t afford the entry fee. The league is also capping fees for families with three or more children at $125.
“We don’t want kids to not play because they can’t pay the fee,” she said. “We want kids to play.”
Loomis said people can donate to Little League to fund sponsorships and to contact her at 907-766-2854 or 907-314-0854 for more information.
Little League practice will begin around the time the snow melts, Loomis said.
“Registration first, then we draft the teams,” Loomis said. “By then maybe the snow will have melted. For T-Ball, the fair is going to help with the field and cut down the alders.”