September Issue 107
www.thenewsyneighbour.com
Provided by Avery Bec and Lisa Baker, Langdon Community Collaborative
If you stopped by the LCC booth during Langdon Days, you would
have noticed the proposed plans for the Langdon joint use site south of
Buy-Low. This site will be home to our future high school, and through the hard
work of Langdon residents, recreation facilities. You may have also noticed
that the LCC is working towards new ball diamonds as the first phase of
recreation facility construction on the joint use site.
Given the high number of adult and youth ball players that
utilize Langdon space, the potential for Little League expansion and the
possibility for large revenue-generating adult tournaments, members of the
collaborative have chosen to focus efforts on the quad ball diamonds as the
initial phase. This aligns with past recreation studies of the Langdon area,
which can be accessed on the Community Links page at www.northbowrec.ca.
Members of both the Langdon Softball Association (LSA) and
Langdon Little League (LLL) are keen to work with other organizations in our
community to make these new ball diamonds a reality. LSA and LLL would like to
share with the community a little more about their organizations and why they
are excited about the possibilities of new facilities in Langdon.
Langdon Softball Association has about 220 active adult players
on 18 teams. The league welcomes all skill levels and is focused on the fun of
the sport. Wins and loses are not recorded to maintain a friendly, community atmosphere.
Despite the wet weather for much of July, teams are still having a successful 2016
season. Tony Baker, Vice President of the Langdon Softball Association, says
“Softball has been a big part of Langdon for many years. I started playing out
here about 10 years ago and it remains a wonderfully attended summer sport.” To
get involved with the Langdon Softball Association, post your interest in
playing on their Facebook page and a team may pick you up from there.
Langdon Little League has t-ball and baseball programs for ages
4 to 18. This past season was truly successful, with the league boasting the
highest number of teams in the organization’s history. Brendan Connolly, LLL
President, says their success is a result of hard work and dedication from
their volunteer coaches, board members, umpires, organizers of the end of year
coach pitch tournament, Langdon Days parade float volunteers, and the
Chestermere Umpire-in-Chief Dawn Tessemaker.
There were 21 Little League teams with about 200 players this
year, but Brendan expects those numbers to grow. “We believe that we will have
2 or 3 additional teams next season and it is our goal to enter our first
All-Star teams for our Minor, Major, and Junior divisions for the 2017 season,”
he stated. He acknowledges there are challenges with our current diamonds and
looks forward to the build of new diamonds, “The two fields currently in
Langdon do not meet Little League specifications, which means our most advanced
players have to travel to other communities to play their home games for
baseball. We lose many young players due to the lack of proper playing fields
in our community and we know that with the construction of new regulation size
diamonds, we will be able to support our local talent and keep them in our
community.”
Representatives from LSA and LLL, along with reps from North Bow
Community Facility Board and Langdon Recreation Centre, are working with Rocky
View County and Rocky View School Board to begin development of the quad ball
diamonds on the joint use site. Construction on the site will begin once
necessary approvals and permits are granted through provincial and local
governments, with no confirmed start date as of yet. In the meantime, LCC
organizations are gearing up for a major fundraising campaign so that when final
approvals are granted, construction can begin.
To get involved with organizations mentioned above, be sure to
visit any of the following websites: www.langdonsoftballassociation.com , www.strikersbaseball.ca., www.northbowrec.ca, or www.langdonrecreationcentre.com.
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