Little League Alberta District #1 has been meeting over the last month to set a broad course of action for youth baseball in Lethbridge and area for 2019. We would like to share the key objectives that we will be working with our leagues with this winter so the youth have the best competitive and developmental experience we and other partners can provide.

The Key Objectives for 2019 are as follows:

1) Much effort will be placed into the Intermediate age group for 13 year old players born on or after September 1, 2005. We fully intend on having one or more of our leagues form a tournament team and compete for an opportunity to advance to the Canadian Championship and the Intermediate World Series. We will be looking at collaborating with other Districts in Alberta as well to develop competitive opportunities.

2) Feedback from the Bantam/Junior program in 2018 generally was positive. Little League District through Southwest Little League will once again register all players in this age group (basically 2004 and 2005 birth years). Some of the changes that we will be looking at:]

1. We need to ensure the partner organization (suggested to be “Lethbridge & District Baseball” has a valid governance structure and non-profit status requirement. Our organizations will assist in this regard moving forward.

2. The Bantam AAA team when formed will be pulled from LL registration and participate fully in the Bantam AAA league and provincial championships.

3. Bantam AA and Junior Little League will work together to give the youth great experiences in competitive play during regular season, summer, and tournament play.

4. Little League District 1 will communicate to the Junior Little League Canadian Championship Association that our leagues will have a host team for the 2019 tournament. Our working partnership with the Lethbridge & District Baseball organization will assist in this regard.

3) We anticipate once again allowing schedule breaks during the spring to allow the Junior Academy programs for the 10u, 11u, 12u, 13u teams to operate, which we hope to also see operate under the Lethbridge & District Baseball organization.

Further details will be available at registration time in January.

In conclusion, Little League District 1 has provided a successful and long standing baseball program in Lethbridge and Southern Alberta based leagues since 1953. With any organization, we need to constantly evolve and improve our programs to impact the youth in a positive fashion. We are confident that the tweaks to our programs and operations will meet this standard.

Please do not hesitate to contact your league should you have any questions, or feel free to contact Kevin Kvame, District Administrator for Little League District #1 at kkvame@littleleague.ca.