FAQ

BC Baseball sets standardized divisions across all baseball associations in BC. There are eight divisions, with Mosquito 11U*, Pee Wee 13U, Bantam 15U and Midget 18U levels offering three levels based on player tryouts:

· A (also known as Single A or listed with no “A” in the name)

· AA (also known as Double A), and

· AAA (also known as Triple A)

* Note: Mosquito 11U only has “house” for Spring baseball (i.e. AA and AAA not available)

**Players must tryout to make the AA or AAA teams.

The division you register your child for depends on your child’s birth year. Please see Divisions Page for more information.

All divisions have a spring season, which typically runs from April to June. Fall and Summer baseball seasons are also available provided there are enough players registered. Fall ball is from September to early October – approx. 1-month long. Summer ball is from mid June until the end of July with Provincials (if the teams(s) qualify) played on the August long weekend. In order to play Summer ball, players must have played in the Spring season.

A or Single A: Our house baseball league for anyone who wants to play ball regardless of skill level or experience; all teams for Tadpole division and higher are evaluated and drafted equally

AA or Double A and AAA or Triple A: Players must tryout to make the team; requires a higher commitment level; teams are selected by skill level of individual players

Our catchment is for families who live North of Colebrook Road and South of 86th Avenue, and between 120th and 152nd Streets in Surrey.

At the Tadpole 9U level, live pitching is introduced. A tee is still used from time to time as players get accustomed to live pitching. A pitching machine is also introduced at this stage.

Registration and the volunteer bond are due upon registration. The uniform deposit cheque must be provided to your coach at uniform pickup. Please put the cheque in an envelope with your child’s name and division on it. For the Spring season, cheques should be post-dated for June 30.

Note that if the cheques are not submitted, the player is ineligible to play with their team until the cheques are received.

NCBA

For the Spring season, please post-date your cheques for June 30 of the same year.

REFUND POLICY: If you have registered and for any reason you need to cancel, a request must be submitted in writing to the NCBA registrar. A full refund less the non-refundable early bird discount and a $30 administration fee will be issued if received by the registrar prior to March 1st. A 50% refund will be issued if received
between March 2nd and April 15th less the non-refundable early bird discount and $30 administration fee. No refunds after April 15th. Please allow 30 days processing time.

Players receive and keep socks and a baseball hat. Players at Mosquito and above also receive jerseys that they keep. All other uniform items must be returned at the end of the season.

A Uniform coordinator will email you the date to pick up your uniform. Uniform pick-up is held beside the concession stand at Unwin park.

You can drop off your child’s uniform – ideally in a labelled bag – at the closing ceremonies, at the room beside the concession stand at Unwin park.

Unfortunately, we cannot support specific team or coach requests.

Yes, you can request for your child to play up one age division (ex. a second year Tadpole player is eligible to potentially play in the Mosquito division). To start the process, parents should have a conversation with their coach (or vice versa). The coach will then put in a request to the President and VP for that division who will then observe a practice (without the player knowing) to determine if the player is physically and emotionally ready to be moved up. If both the President and VP agree that the player should be moved up, a motion to BC Baseball for approval is made. Approval must be received prior to the player moving up.

Parents are encouraged to ensure their child attends all practices and games.

Blastball: 1 practice/game per week on a weekday; actual day of week is determined by the coach and division coordinator; 1 game on weekends

T-Ball: 2 practices per week on weekdays at 6pm for 60-75 minutes; 1 game per week on the weekend for approx. 45-60 minutes at either 10am, 12pm or 2pm – the game time varies each week.

Tadpole: 1 practice per week; 1 game on a weekday (5:30pm or 6:00pm start; arrive 30 min early), 1 game on the weekend, typically at 10am, 1pm or 3pm, on Saturdays or Sundays – the game time and day varies each week

Mosquito A, Pee Wee A, and higher: typically 1 or 2 practices per week based on coaches’ discretion and 3 games per week (2 weekday games, 1 weekend game) – the game time and day varies each wee.

Double A (AA) teams: play 2-3 times per week and practice 1 to 2 time per week

The full games schedule cannot be set until all the teams have been created as scheduling is done based on the number of teams. For the Spring season, the schedule is typically published one week prior to opening ceremonies.

Your coach may have specific requests, but generally speaking, the guidelines are:

Practices: arrive 15 minutes before a practice

Games: arrive 60 minutes before a game

For the younger divisions (tadpole and younger), the coach may change the arrival time.

The Rally Cap Program is an initiative to enhance players’ and coaches’ first experience with the game of baseball! The program helps teach players the five FUNdamentals of baseball (Fundamental movement skills, throwing, receiving, hitting, base running) in a fun and safe environment. Players have the opportunity to learn, acquire and perform different baseball skills in order to progress through the different levels of the program. 

Goals

1. Create a fun environment in which children and adults are actively engaged together in the game of baseball.
2. Develop fundamental motor skills, teach baseball skills, and basic rules to our athletes.
3. Experience success with an emphasis on respect and fair play.
4. Promote increased self-esteem among Rally Cap participants.
5. Recruit new coaches, parent helpers and volunteers.

For Tadpole and up teams, there are typically two tournaments: May long weekend (Ross Tournament) and July long weekend (Cook Tournament). Most teams play in one tournament per season. Some teams also play in additional tournament of their choice and in August (Provincial Playdown), which teams have to qualify for.

Blastball and T-ball level teams do not participate in tournaments.

The entire Newtown Canadians Baseball association gets together twice a year at Unwin Park – at opening and closing ceremonies. Parents and players for all levels are highly encouraged to attend. The ceremonies typically include a pancake breakfast, a visit from a local MLA, coach/team introductions or recognition, etc. There is also a vendor on site selling fanware or team swag. The raffle prize draw also takes place at the closing ceremonies.

The Summer Sizzler is our annual event where we show our appreciation to coaches and volunteers. The event includes a live band, dinner, dance, and a silent auction. Parents are invited and encouraged to attend and if possible, to donate items for the silent auction. This is not a fundraising event and the funds raised are used to offset the costs of the event.

One time per year, BC Baseball brings together a team of ex-pro, USA/Canada coaches to visit each of the Associations to run coach and player clinics. All divisions are encouraged to participate. The Coaches Caravan is typically held near the beginning of the Spring season.

The opening ceremonies usually take place the first Saturday in April. The closing ceremonies will take place Father’s day weekend.

Although attendance is optional, parents and coaches are highly encouraged to attend and learn more about all the things happening with our Association. This meeting also provides a platform for you to express any concerns or to share ideas. The AGM is generally held in September as the year end of the association is August 31.

Yes. At the start of the season, you will be required pay $150. Once the requirement has been confirmed filled you will receive a code for a discount of $150 for the following season. Refunds will be considered by written request only.

You will also have the option to pay $250 at the time of registration to opt out of volunteering all together. This will help cover cost to fill vacant positions.

The most common volunteer opportunities available are:

· Concession Staffing Sessions (training provided on site at the beginning for your session)

· Team support, like coaching, assistant coaching, coordinating, team management, tournament directing, etc.

We welcome your creative suggestions on ways to volunteer. For example, this FAQ was built by a parent volunteer. If you identify a new volunteer project you would like to tackle, please contact the volunteer coordinator and see if your project is eligible to put towards your volunteer requirement.

Visit our Parent resource page: https://newtonbaseball.com/club-resources/parent-resources/.

ABSOLUTELY! Our tournament weekends are our busiest weekends and require a lot of volunteers to make it run smoothly.

You do not need any experience to coach. We have resources for you to refer to on the Newton Canadians Baseball website and we run coaching development clinics during the winter, as well as, provide continuous support throughout the season.

At the older divisions, there are NCCP requirements to coach. The association will reimburse you the costs that you incur to take these courses. Please visit https://nccp.baseball.ca/ to learn more about requirements for coaching.

No, children are not allowed in the concession at any time.

You must be 16 years of age or older to sign up to work in the concession. There are NO substitutions or volunteers allowed younger than 16 without prior approval from the Concession Manager. You will be required to follow all food safety guidelines set out by the association.

Yes. To help with tracking, please bring a completed photo order form for each player, even if you are not ordering any extra photos.

Yes. Teams may choose to do additional fundraising. Ideas (what you would like to do and how you will use the funding) must first be proposed to the Newton Canadians Baseball Executive.