Sports registration day connects players to local leagues

Written By Brian Lockhart

Local sports organizations were available to answer questions and sign up players for the 2023 season during a registration day event held at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex on Sunday, Apr. 2.

Several clubs were represented, including Shelburne Soccer, Shelburne Minor Baseball, Shelburne Cricket Club, Shelburne Vets Lacrosse, Minor Ball Hockey, the Shelburne Golf & Country Club, and the Shelburne Public Library.

“Today we're doing registration for all the minor sports in Shelburne,” explained Alex Carter, a member of Shelburne Minor Soccer. “In minor soccer we're looking at around 300 to 400 kids signing up for soccer this season. We have 40 teams including two travel teams. We have everything from U4 up to 17. The U4's is Timbits soccer and that's sponsored by Tim Horton's. U6 is sponsored by No Frills. We have McDonalds with us and they are sponsoring. All the companies, businesses, and restaurants in Shelburne – we're very grateful for their help and we managed to get support for all our teams this year.”

While a lot of people turned out to register at the event, most clubs also have online registration.

Registration is still open and will continue once the season has started if there are teams that still require players and have openings.

“I would say we have around a third, maybe more, that came out and registered today,” Alex said.

Most summer leagues start playing in the last week of May.

“We start on May 30, and we have four divisions,” explained Shelburne Minor Baseball president Amanda Philip. “Usually T-Ball and Beginner mix get filled up. We'll have 14 to 16 teams this year. We start with three to four year-olds in T-ball, and we go up to 15 years old. We play at Hyland Park, that's where all of the diamonds are. Our season starts in May and goes to the end of August.”

The event was a good opportunity to explore different sports in the area and see which one gained interest from different kids.