Buy your peanuts and Cracker Jack, Prince George.
The Northern Capital will be the host city for the 2019 BC Minor U-15 AA Provincial Championships from August 1-5 at Nechako Park.
Opening ceremonies will take place on the opening night of the tournament following the Prince George Knights first game, which is scheduled for 3 p.m that night.
This will mark the first time the tournament will be held in Prince George in decades. The event will draw 12 teams and over 200 players, coaches, officials along with numerous spectators and volunteers.
“We’ve told the kids from Day 1, you’ve got an opportunity that not many of us had when we grew up,” said Knights head coach Curtis Sawchuk in an interview with MyPGNow. “We (the coaches) wished we had a tournament like this coming to Prince George to play in front of our friends and family. We’ve been harping that down pretty early in the year. It’s just understanding the importance of the opportunity they have in front of them and just not let it slip away, soak it all in and enjoy it as much as you can. These are going to be memories that’ll last a lifetime.”
Heading into the tournament, Prince George is looking to be a top competitor following a season that saw the AA-squad compete in many AAA tournaments across the province. Sawchuk mentioned how the team participated in the Valley of Champions tournament in Kelowna, which Prince George ended up winning.
This week’s championship will see AA-leading Ladner come to town, which Prince George lost to in the round-robin of the Valley of Champions tournament. That loss would be the only blemish to their record while in Kelowna.
“We’re honestly a front-runner in this division coming into this year,” said Sawchuk. “Last year, we actually won the West Provincials in BC Minor. We’re probably up there in the top-3 teams to win this tournament.”
At the end of the day, however, the Knights coach is wanting to ensure his team has fun during this week’s experience.
“We’ve been harping at them to take every outside distraction out of it and just play the game that you love and we’ll be fine. Take care of what we need to take care of and we’ll be okay. Play the game for yourself and the guy beside you.”
Both the Acting Mayor and Prince George-Cariboo MLA Todd Doherty will be in attendance for the August 1 opening ceremony following the Knights first game and will be followed by a home run derby.