Trail city council will provide a grant to let kids in Rossland and Area B of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary play baseball in its facilities at the same rates as kids from the rest of Greater Trail.
It follows a request from Trail Little League asking for an exemption for players from those areas from the Trail sports pass program, which has been in place since 2009. Although recreation agreements exist with Warfield and the Beaver Valley allowing their residents to use Trail facilities at the same rates as city residents, no such agreement exists with Rossland or Area B (Oasis, Rivervale, and Genelle).
Passes are about $250 per player for the season. Council was told that in 2019 and 2021, 16 passes were purchased for players to participate in Trail Little League, for a total of about $4,000 per year.
Although city staff recommended denying the request to preserve the integrity of the non-resident sports pass program, city council was more sympathetic.
“The problem is we’re punishing our own youth in Trail,” councillor Sandy Santori said. “For baseball to be popular and use our facilities, the more players the better. Our own kids and our own community suffer because if we don’t let in the outlying areas, our numbers will continue to dwindle.”
Santori said it’s possible the resident program has been a deterrent to other kids who want to play but don’t qualify for the lower rate.
“I don’t think our kids or the youth in general in the region should suffer because of political differences that us adults can’t seem to come to terms with,” he said.
“If Trail has to be the leader and show we care not only for the youth in Trail but the youth of the entire region then let’s buck up the $4,000 and open it up.”
The rest of council agreed. The actual amount of the grant will be based on the number of players from Rossland and Area B who enroll this year.
Exemptions are already in place for Rossland players taking part in Greater Trail Minor Hockey and the Kootenay South Youth Soccer Association.
