What's New
Updated August 27, 2008

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Bantam AAA Vipers Crowned NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
Two years after watching Quebec steal the gold medal away from them at the 2006 Pee Wee Nationals here in Victoria, the same core group of players turned the tables and gained a measure of revenge by sweeping  through the 2008 Bantam AAA Nationals in Quebec and capturing the Gold Medal! The Vipers went a perfect 5-0 in the round robin portion of the tournament including an astounding 36-1 win over Newfoundland that saw Victoria score 29 runs in the first inning and that was called by Baseball Canada after three innings. The Vipers then played against host Lanaudière (who eliminated Team Quebec in a quarter final match up) in the semi-finals where they coasted to a 7-2 win. In the finals, against undefeated Ontario, the Vipers jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the middle innings and then held on for an exciting 4-3 win!  MORE

Victoria Baseball Players Enjoy Success at Nationals and Westerns at Every Level in 2008
In addition to the success of our Bantam AAA Vipers at Nationals, many other Victoria players participated in 2008 Baseball Canada Nationals, Western Canadians and other high profile tournaments this summer. Ryan Kennedy (Pee Wee AAA Mustangs) was picked up by host North Delta to participate in the 2008 Pee Wee AAA Tier 1 Western Canadians and came away with a Silver Medal.  Vinny Martin (Pee Wee AAA Wildcats) was picked up by Provincial Silver Medalists PoCo for the Westerns and helped them secure a Gold Medal with a win over North Delta. Matt Bryan, Brendan Miller, Nathan Donaldson and Jesse Long (Bantam Bears) played for Team BC at the Pacific Northwest Championship Tournament in Oregon and have been invited to play with Team BC at the Arizona Fall Classic in Phoenix in October (see news item below). Jeremy Roberts (Midget AA Wolves) was picked up by Midget AA Provincial Champion North Delta and participated in the Midget AAA Tier II Western Canadians. Mike Turcotte, Alex Condon, Matt Phillips, Ryan Reine, David Hull, Greg Dealy and Coach Bo Boxhall (all Midget AAA Mariners) played on Team BC at the 2008 National Midget Championships in Halifax and captured a Bronze Medal. Dealy, Hull, Reine and Turcotte also joined Newton (the Midget AAA Provincial Champs) at the Tier I Western Canadians where they came away with a Silver Medal. Jeremy Campbell and Kelly Norris-Jones (Jr. Premier Mariners) and Max Valle, Kyle Long and Austin Russell (Premier Mariners) participated in the Pacific Northwest Championship for Team BC 2009 and 2010 in Oregon.  Jason Gibson (Premier Mariners) participated in the Baseball Canada Cup for U17 players with Team BC and won a Silver Medal. Jason was also selected to the Canada Cup All Star team and asked to participate in the Junior National Team Fall Instructional League Camp in Orlando in October. Victoria Junior players Louie Blanchette, Russell Taylor, Leighton Marshall and coach Duane Bertrand played on Team BC at the 2008 Junior Nationals in PEI and came away with a Silver Medal.  Finally, the Victoria Mavericks Senior Men’s Team, with 13 Victoria players on it, represented British Columbia and earned a National Championship Gold Medal at the Senior Men’s Nationals in Brandon, Manitoba.

Bantam AAA Vipers are Provincial Champions!
After capturing the 2008 Bantam AAA League title, the Bantam AAA Vipers continued their success by grabbing the 2008 Provincial Championship. The Vipers won their pool with a 3-1 record and then went on to play Richmond in the semi-finals where they escaped with a close 6-5 victory. That put them into the finals against their season rival Vancouver, and the Vipers dominated, coming away with a 6-0 win and earning a trip to the Nationals in Quebec.

Pee Wee A Tigers Add Provincial Silver to their Island Title
The Victoria Tigers capped off a successful season of Pee Wee A ball by capturing the Silver Medal at the 2008 Provincials in Campbell River.  The Tigers breezed through the round robin with a perfect 4-0 record, winning all their games by mercy rule. In a rematch of last year's Provincial Championship game, they then faced their rival Victoria Cougars in the semi-finals and needed a walk off home run by Derek Littler in the bottom of the 8th inning to put them into the finals against undefeated Gibsons.  This game was equally as close and Gibsons escaped with an exciting 8-7 victory.

Midget AAA Mariners and Junior Mariners Grab Provincial Silver!
Both the Midget AAA Mariners and the Junior Mariners had successful Provincial Tournaments and Playoffs, emerging with Silver Medals for their efforts. In Midget AAA action, the Mariners won their pool with a perfect 4-0 record and then defeated Kamloops in the semi-finals before losing the Championship game 3-1 to Newton.  In Junior Action. the Mariners finished on top of their pool with a 2-1 record and then defeated North Shore 5-4 in an exciting semi-final, before losing the Championship game 5-2 to the Coquitlam Reds. 

Midget AA Wolves Host Successful Provincials, Lose in Semis to North Delta
The Victoria Wolves Midget AA team hosted a successful Provincial Tournament at Lambrick Park on the August Long Weekend and finished on top of their pool with a 4-0 record.  They then went on to the semis where they lost a heartbreaker to North Delta 7-4.  North Delta then defeated Campbell River 6-5 in an exciting game.  Game action photos of all 23 games of the tournament can be found HERE.  

Team BC Selects Bears Players for Pacific Northwest Championship
Victoria Bantam Bears players (l to r) Nathan Donaldson, Jesse Long, Matt Bryan and Brendan Miller were named to Team BC and participated in the 2008 Pacific Northwest Championship Tournament held in Portland, Oregon August 16th-20th. Both Team BC's faced top calibre teams from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Montana/Wyoming and finished with 1-3 records in some very close games. Subsequent to the tournament, all four players were  invited to attend the Arizona Fall Classic with Team BC which will be held in Peoria, Arizona from October 30 - November 2, 2008.

Victoria Teams Start Punching Tickets to Provincials!
Congratulations are in order to a number of our 2008 All-Star teams that have played their way into the Provincial Championships by being crowned Island Champs or being the runner's up. Teams

Spring Champions Crowned!
The week of June 23-27th was Championship Week for all the GVMBA Spring teams and lots of exciting baseball action could be found all over the city, including an extra inning Mosquito Championship and a come from behind, bottom of the 7th walk off victory in the Midget AA Championship. Congratulations to the following 2008 GVMBA Champions:

Mosquito: Triangle Rona
Pee Wee: Triangle Pennzoil
Bantam A: Duncan 1
Bantam AA: Carnarvon Cannons
Midget AA: Peninsula 1

Details and photos of the winning teams can be found HERE. Game action photos of all Championship games were also provided courtesy of Christian J. Stewart Photography and can be found HERE!

2008 Pitch Count Initiative
For the 2008 season BC Minor and GVMBA will continue to follow pitching rules that are based on limits for the number of innings pitched. However, BC Minor is recommending that associations also follow pitch counts as well, as these may be a better indicator of how long a pitcher should pitch and how much rest they require after doing so. These pitch counts are simply recommendations and are not binding rules for 2008. However, Baseball Canada will likely adopt a pitch count for the 2008 Pee Wee Nationals so BC Minor recommends that all teams get used to tracking and following pitch counts in 2008 as it will likely change from a recommendation to a rule in 2009. GVMBA Division Coordinators will be setting pitch count and night's rest guidelines for their Divisions based on the BC Minor suggestions for each division and asking all coaches and managers to track this accordingly. Please cooperate with this initiative and provide feedback as needed to your Division Coordinators.

New NCCP Certifications and Migration Policy - IMPORTANT!
Any coaches that have obtained previous Level 1, 2 or 3 certifications under the "old" 3-Part NCCP Program (Practical, Technical, Theory), need to be aware that the NCCP program has changed and that there are certain additional requirements that need to be met to keep your coaching certifications valid and to migrate them to the new standards of "Initiation Coach" (essentially former Level 1) and "Regional and Provincial Coach" (essentially former Level 2).  Details on the changes can be found HERE.  For information on how to MIGRATE from the old NCCP to the new NCCP, please read the 2008 MIGRATION POLICY. IMPORTANT! - To ensure you retain your status with NCCP, you may be required to complete additional course components (on-line) by December 31, 2008.

2007 GVMBA News Archive
Please visit our archives for 2007 news items as well as information on some of our 2006 All-Star teams.

Who We Are
The Greater Victoria Minor Baseball Association (GVMBA) provides direction and support for the BC Minor Baseball program in Greater Victoria, playing under the auspices of the Canadian Federation of Amateur Baseball (CFAB).  We are the only association in Victoria to offer a comprehensive baseball program for players from 4 to 21 years old. This includes player, coach and umpire development, cross-park promotion, communication and coordination, and integration and coordination of the various age divisions and competitive levels to provide a balanced, competitive and enjoyable baseball experience.

Our program has three distinct playing seasons:

The baseball coordination and planning as well as conditioning programs continue through the non-playing months of November to March.

Where to Play:

►  4 to 12  year old players – Gordon Head, Carnarvon-Allenby, Peninsula and Triangle
► 13 and 14 year olds – Peninsula, Carnarvon-Allenby, Lambrick Park, West Shore  and Layritz
► 15 to 17 years Midget AA – Peninsula, Carnarvon-Allenby, Lambrick Park, West Shore  and Layritz
► 15 to 17 years Midget AAA and Premier – LVI Mariners
► 18 to 21  years Junior - Lambrick, Layritz, Carnarvon-Allenby, Peninsula and West Shore

Note: ages as of December 31 of the year prior to the playing season

2008 GVMBA INFORMATION BROCHURE

We Support Kidsport!

GVMBA would like to encourage Leagues and Coaches to notify their parents about The KidSport™ Fund. The KidSport™ Fund is the charitable arm of Sport BC that is designed to remove the financial obstacles that prevent some children from playing sport. Grants to INDIVIDUAL ATHLETES are given to children whose families cannot afford sport registration fees and would otherwise not be able to participate in a season of sport. For details on this event, click on the yellow banner to the left or CLICK HERE.

GVMBA acknowledges the financial assistance of the Province of British Columbia that is provided through the Direct Access Program.

Sports Traders is a proud sponsor of the South Island Junior Baseball League