Reports of the Chemainus & District Baseball Association’s demise the last couple of years are purely exaggerated.
There’s been some hard times, particularly in the COVID era, but it’s the same for associations everywhere. Now, Jon Aaron Hop Wo has taken the ball and is running with it as the successor to his uncle Larry as president after a tenure of more than 50 years.
Related story: Volunteering goes way beyond the norm for Hopwo
The younger Hop Wo, who only turns 40 in September, is keen on making the organization a mainstay for kids in the community after the limited opportunities since 2020.
“We’re always looking for help,” said Hop Wo. “If we’re trying to build this back up to a 50-team association, we’re going to need the help.
“The goal is to fill every division and hopefully have four teams in each division. That would mean Chemainus needs to be bigger.”
It won’t happen overnight, but some positive steps have already been taken in the lead-up to the 2023 season.
The annual general meeting last September got the ball rolling, with monthly meetings for the executive to put plans in place.
“The board members I have, they are amazing,” praised Hop Wo, who chooses to spell his last name slightly different than uncle Larry who had it as all one word.
Hop Wo cited vice-president Vanessa Wright and fields manager Victoria Mahon, in particular, for their great work and he’s happy to have the umpire situation developing under acting umpire-in-chief Benoit Marien.
“Coming into it, I had zero umpires, now I have eight,” Hop Wo indicated. “That’s part of building the association up is building your umpire-in-chief and crew.”
There is currently one team at the Under 18 level that Hop Wo is also coaching plus single teams at the U11 and U9 levels, with a bunch of kids in U7 and U5 who aren’t necessarily on teams but are directed to various stations to learn the game.
“I’m definitely excited about this year,” said Hop Wo. “We’ve been doing a lot of fundraising getting donations from the community.
“This year has definitely been a lot better going with sponsorship. It helps having an active board that wants to be involved, not just being on the board to fill a spot.“
There aren’t enough players in U15 or U13 from Chemainus to form teams so they’ll be joining forces with either Ladysmith or Duncan. It’s hoped the gap at those levels most impacted by COVID will be filled again in due course.
“We’re trying to build it up from the U11,” reasoned Hop Wo. “We’re trying to retain the players from U11 down at all times.”
The association has a fundraising hot dog sale taking place this Saturday, April 15 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Chemainus 49th Parallel Grocery store, soon to become Country Grocer.
The season also officially begins Saturday for many teams.
The Chemainus U18s have a bunch of games at the Chemainus Ball Park’s Larry Irving Field to start the season, including a doubleheader Saturday, April 15 at noon against Oceanside and 3:30 p.m. against one of the two Duncan teams in the league. Other home games follow rapidly next Tuesday, April 18 against Ladysmith at 6 p.m. and two against Nanaimo at noon and 3 p.m. Saturday, April 22.
Hop Wo can’t say enough about his uncle’s dedication to baseball and how he picked up the slack when there wasn’t enough people to handle all the necessary tasks.
“I can only imagine what kind of effort and energy he put into that job and as long as he did,” he said.
Hop Wo has fond memories of his own years growing up and playing baseball that he’s happy to pass onto the next generation.
“I played baseball all my life in Chemainus,” he indicated.
Hop Wo is grateful to Lorne LaFleur, who coached him throughout those years.
“I’ve been coaching for seven years now,” he noted. “I think that’s what brought me back into the role, me realizing how important baseball is for everybody and just to inform people that baseball is still a thing. Kids aren’t told about sports. That’s a problem I’m trying to nick in the butt right now that baseball is alive and well and still in Chemainus.
“I’m super passionate about providing baseball to a kid because it made such an impact on my life,” he added.
@chemainusnews
don.bodger@chemainusvalleycourier.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
