Sports Shorts
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Originally published 01:27 p.m., April 17, 2008
Updated 01:27 p.m., April 17, 2008
Emporia Rec Center Youth
Baseball & Softball
The following is information for the Emporia Recreation Center’s youth baseball and softball leagues:
Baseball
Bluestem League - Cal Ripken Major
11 & 12 Year Olds, Prior to April 30, 2008
The Bluestem League will be part of the traveling Neosho Valley League. Games will be played on Mondays and Thursdays both home and away. Some of the teams that have been in this league in the past are Hartford, Lebo, Waverly, Yates Center, Leroy, and Gridley.
Deadline to Register: Friday, April 25
Fees: $25 Resident & $28 Non-Resident
Players Assigned: Week of May 5
Practice Begins: Week of May 5
Games Begin: Week of May 19
Game Days: Mondays/ Thursdays
Location: Flint Hills Optimist Diamonds
Junior League - Babe Ruth
13, 14 & 15 Year Olds Prior to
April 30, 2008
The Junior League will be a part of the traveling Neosho Valley League. Games will be played on Mondays and Fridays both home and away. Teams that have been in this league in the past are Hartford, Lebo, Waverly, Yates Center, Leroy, Gridley, Hamilton and Madison.
Deadline to Register: Friday, April 25
Fees: $30 Resident & $33 Non-Resident
Game Days: Mondays and Fridays
Players Assigned: Week of May 5
Practice Begins: Week of May 5
Games Begin: Week of May 19
Location: Soden’s Grove and Glennen Field
Softball
Rainbow League –
11 & 12 Year Olds, Prior to Jan. 1, 2008
Rainbow League will play in the Neosho Valley traveling league. Teams that have been in this league in the past have been Hartford, Lebo, Waverly, Yates Center, Leroy, Gridley, Hamilton and Madison. League games will be on Tuesdays and Fridays both home and away.
Deadline to Register: Friday, April 25
Fees: $25 Resident & $28 Non-Resident
Players Assigned: Week of May 5
Practice Begins: Week of May 5
Games Begin: Week of May 19
Game Days: Tuesday & Fridays
Location: Whittier Park Diamonds (9th & Whittier)
Sunflower League –
13, 14, 15, & 16 Year Olds, Prior to
Jan. 1, 2008
Sunflower League will play in the Neosho Valley traveling league. Teams that have been in this league in the past have been Hartford, Lebo, Waverly, Yates Center, Leroy, Gridley, Hamilton and Madison. League games will be on Tuesdays and Fridays both home and away.
Deadline to Register: Friday, April 25
Fees: $25 Resident & $28 Non-Resident
Players Assigned: Week of May 5
Practice Begins: Week of May 5
Games Begin: Week of May 19
Game Days: Tuesday & Fridays
Location: Whittier Park Diamonds (9th & Whittier)
Emporia Summer
Basketball League
Registration is now being taken for the Emporia Summer Basketball League, which will take place on Mondays through Thursdays during the month of July at Emporia High School.
The league is for boys and girls from Kindergarten through eighth grade. Organized area teams are encouraged to attend.
Teams will be set according to age group with a 10-game guarantee. Players might play two games in one night. The first meeting is July 3 for team organization.
Cost is $60, with a family rate of $20 for additional children. Deadline to enter is June 27.
For more information or for a registration form, contact EHS coach Rick Bloomquist at 343-5102 (cell) or 341- 2365 (school).
Parents also can register online at www.emporiabasketball.net.
Co-Ed Softball Tournament
Northern Heights FBLA is sponsoring a co-ed softball tournament on Saturday, April 26, at the Allen and Admire Ball Fields. Cost is $100.
For more information, contact Kim Dhority at (620) 528-3521, (620) 699-3318 or by e-mail at dhorityk@usd251.org.
Duck Soup Softball Tourney
to be held April 26
The first-ever Duck Soup Softball Tournament and Home Run Derby will take place on Saturday, April 26, at the South Avenue Softball Fields in Emporia.
The tournament is a fundraiser to benefit the Dom and Kilee Debita family. Dom’s mother, Cyndy, needs a liver transplant, and funds received with help the family with travel and medical expenses.
Cost for the tournament is $120 per co-ed team, and there is a three-game guarantee. In the “Duck Soup” format, each inning will have its own quirk, such as batters hitting with the opposite hand or running the bases in reverse order.
For the home run derby, cost is $10 per person, with participants needing to provide their own pitcher.
Hamburgers and hot dogs will be available at the site for lunch.
For more information, contact Joel at 340-7628. Deadline is Wednesday, April 23.
TRYSA Soccer
Summer Camp
TRYSA will be conducting a week-long summer soccer camp from June 9 through June 13. The camp will be run by Challenger British Soccer, with coaches coming from Britain to work with the kids.
The camp is open to boys and girls ages 3 through 14. Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. for 3- to 4-year-olds, 10:30 a.m. to noon for 5- to 6-year-olds and 9 a.m. to noon or 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for 7- to 14-year-olds.
All campers receive a camp T-shirt and soccer ball. Those who register by April 25 also will receive a British soccer jersey.
TRYSA also is looking for host families for the coaches. Host families receive a discount on their registration fee.
Register at www.challengersports.com, or contact Amy Ranalli at (620) 340-0228 for more information.
North Lyon County Baseball Tournament
The North Lyon County recreation committee will host a baseball tournament on May 3.
Age 9-10 teams will play at Allen; 11-12 will play at Admire. The cost per team is $100.
Registration is limited to five teams in each division with a three-game guarantee.
To register, contact Amy Phillips at (785) 589-2451 or e-mail to tapfarms@yahoo.com.
USD 253 Spring Scramble
Golf Tourney
The second annual USD 253 Spring Scramble golf tournament has been scheduled for April 26 at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course. Proceeds go to the EHS Scholarship Fund, which benefits scholar athletes and academic camps and trips.
The event will be a four-person scramble with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. An entry fee of $260 per team or $65 per person includes green fee, cart and lunch provided by Olpe Chicken House.
Cash prizes ranging from $25 to $75 per person and polo shirts will be given to the top three teams in each flight. There also will be hole prizes, putting and chipping contests and door prizes. The tournament is limited to the first 36 teams.
Entry forms can be obtained on the USD 253 Web site, at the golf course or from Matt Irby at (316) 841-9392 or by e-mail at mirby@usd253.org.
Fastpitch Softball Skills Clinics
Two fastpitch softball skills clinics for girls will be held April 26 and May 3 at Whittier Park in Emporia. The clinics are for all girls in grades fourth through eighth.
The clinics will focus on fundamentals of hitting and fielding, with video review and analysis of hitting and competitive games to help improve skills.
The clinics will be split into two groups on both days. Grades 4-6 will meet from 1-3 p.m. both days, while grades 7-8 will meet from 3:30-5:30 p.m. both days.
The cost is $15 for both days. Register at the Emporia Recreation Center. For more information, call 340-6300.
Fastpitch Softball
Pitching Clinics
Emporia Energy softball will be holding a fastpitch softball pitching clinic on Saturday in Emporia.
The clinic is for all girls in grades third through eighth and will focus on windmill pitching instruction and drills, techniques for basic and advanced pitches and video analysis and review, with the featured instructors being Emporia High head softball coach Ray Owens and Energy U-18 coach Jeff Lynch.
The clinic will be held at the Whittier Park fields from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
The cost is $30 per pitcher to be paid at the clinic. Please call 343-3639 in advance to register.
All pitchers need to bring their own catcher.
Emporia Track Club Youth Meets
Two Emporia Track Club youth track and field meets are scheduled to be held at Emporia State’s Welch Stadium this spring.
The first meet will be on Tuesday, May 27, and the second will be on Tuesday, June 10.
The meets begin at 6 p.m., and no pre-registration is needed. Anyone can enter.
The meets are low-key and perfect for beginning track and field athletes.
For more information on the meets, contact Mark Stanbrough at 341-5399 or mstanbro@emporia.edu. Both meets are USATF sanctioned.
Spring Migration Triathlon
Registration is now open for those interested in competing in the Spring Migration Triathlon that will be held in Emporia on Sunday.
The triathlon will begin at 9 a.m. and features a 400-meter swim, which begins in the HPER building pool at Emporia State, followed by a 20-kilometer bike course and a 5K run.
All participants must be 15 years old or older by April 20. Participants must submit an accurate 400-meter swim time for seeding purposes. The individual entry fee is $60, and because the event is USAT sanctioned, participants that are not members of USA Triathlon are required to purchase a one-day USAT membership for $10.
There are male and female divisions in each age category, which are: 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59 and 60+. The top three male and female finishers will receive awards, and awards also will be given to the top male and female Emporia finisher.
Registration is available online at http://www.active.com. There will be no race day registration because of the seeding process. Race day check-in will be at the HPER building from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m.
For questions or for more information, contact Mark Stanbrough at mstanbro@emporia.edu.
Women’s National Softball
Exhibition
The Topeka Shawnee County Sports Council and Visit Topeka Inc., announce that tickets are available for the USA/ASA Women’s National Softball Exhibition game at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka on June 10.
The Women’s National Softball team will represent the United States at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
General admission tickets are $15, and are can be ordered online at www.kasasoftball.org/b4b_Home.htm, or by calling the Hummer Sports Park Office at (785) 295-3750. Mastercard and Visa are accepted.