The North Central Alberta Baseball League signed an historic agreement with the Goodfish Lake First Nation last Saturday in St. Albert, Alberta.  The agreement will see the NCABL participate in a Baseball Showcase Event in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the signing of  Treaty 6.  Baseball has largely replaced the sport of lacrosse among indigenous youth since the signing of Treaty 6, which is why the game of summer has established strong roots among our first nation people.  The NCABL has long partnered with our friends from Alexander and Alexis and that friendship has only strengthened the ongoing desire to share the diamond with yet another group seeking ways to better understand and appreciate one another. Having received an invitation to participate in the festivities commemorating the Treaty 6 signing, the NCABL did not hesitate to extend its hand in friendship.  The Baseball Showcase will feature five NCABL clubs along with local indigenous clubs from the St. Paul and Lac la Biche area with a focus on athletes from Goodfish Lake.  The Baseball Showcase will run on Saturday and Sunday, July 4th and 5th.

The NCABL has for decades administered to its own umpiring needs.  As such, the League values its core of umpires and appreciates its casual umpires.  Our umpires have shared the League’s vision of providing the highest possible level of officiating while continually promoting the viability and sustainability of the game of baseball.  Every effort has been made to retain fair compensation for our umpires while allowing for the growth of the game in rural regions where the game has suffered its greatest losses.  The North Central Alberta region was in many respects the cradle of baseball growth and development in the early 20th century.  Unfortunately, development today exists primarily under the auspices of academy programs which cater to the advantaged primarily in urban centres.  This has not deterred the NCABL from presenting a brave and independent program of baseball which has included strong support for the outgrowth of the game in rural Alberta.

The NCABL offers its umpires opportunities to serve on various judicial bodies and committees engaged in the League’s governance.  The LCS Appeals Committee, for example, is tasked with resolving any contentious issue arising during Series’ play.  It also annually selects a post-season MVP. Our most senior umpires are also involved in mentoring younger umpires in the 16 -24 age group under a long standing program known as the “Umpire Mentorship Program”.  As an umpire in the NCABL, we welcome your broad support in promoting the League as a sign of appreciation for belonging to it. The NCABL continues to provide service awards to its long standing core umpires who have reached five, ten, and fifteen years of distinguished service. Umpiring should extend beyond working games for a stipend.  There are opportunities for giving back to the game that go well beyond the satisfaction of earning a few dollars.  Ken Schultz certainly exemplified the spirit of giving back when the love of the game carried him through an extremely difficult period in his life which he spent battling severe diabetes.  Ken eventually succumbed to that disease at age 34, but not before advancing the game by serving it rather than being served by it.  The NCABL continues to honour what Ken meant to the game in this region by annually awarding the “Ken Schultz Memorial Award” for long and unselfish service to the growth and development of baseball.  From the menu bar on our home page, scroll down to awards/KenSchultz for a complete list of the recipients of that award.