This team from Sucker River will travel to Toronto in 2020. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

League Champions

Young Sucker River athletes win trip to Toronto

Aug 24, 2019 | 4:05 PM

Sucker River was declared the champions of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band’s (LLRIB) 2019 Rookie League sponsored by the Jays Care Foundation.

“The Rookie League began in the last week of June and basically communities held local practices and then starting in July they had games against other communities,” Program Specialist Alex Mohamed said. “Basically how the program works is winning means nothing in terms of the program. It was about bringing communities together and using some of these diamonds in different communities that hadn’t been used in years.”

Planning for the Rookie League began last September with the assistance of LLRIB Director of Education Simon Bird and Director of Sport and Recreation Kevin Roberts. Mohamed made two other trips to the region again in January and April to visit each community participating, as well as to train coaches and volunteers. All six LLRIB communities participated including Grandmother’s Bay, Hall Lake, La Ronge, Little Red River, Stanley Mission and Sucker River.

In order to be declared the winner of the Rookie League, Mohamed explained there was a point system developed that each team followed. Teams were awarded points for the number of practices they held, the number of fans who came out to watch, preparing food for the visiting team and more. Sucker River was announced as the winners Saturday at the league’s closing tournament and they will now travel to Toronto some time next year to watch a Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre.

“Those going will be all the players on the team, coaches and volunteers who helped out, and if there is room some of the parents,” Mohamed said, adding between 30 to 35 people will be invited to go.

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Four players from each of the communities were also selected to represent the LLRIB at a baseball tournament next month in Winnipeg. Mohamed mentioned they will compete with two other communities where the Jays Care Foundation also hosts rookie leagues including Kenora Chiefs Advisory in northern Ontario and the File Hills Qu-Appelle Tribal Council in Saskatchewan.

Approximately 120 people attended the Rookie League closing tournament Saturday in the tri-communities. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

“At the end of the day, we’re trying to bring these kids and communities together with something they all love which is sports and baseball,” Mohamed said. “It’s been an amazing opportunity for us. When we came and started to plan, we didn’t really know what the program could be.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno