In keeping with a summer tradition in the Okanagan, teams came from far and wide to play baseball and soak up the sun last weekend at the annual tournament.
Sixty-six teams, including 51 from out of town, converged on Âé¶čAV and West Âé¶čAV to compete in the 11U to 18U divisions.
Now 16 years after its inception, tournament director Todd Russell said the VOC is proving as popular as ever.
âThe trend weâre seeing is that after we open up registration on January 1, usually by mid-February weâre 75 to 80 per cent booked, some divisions are right full,â said Russell. âA lot of out-of-town teams feel itâs a great opportunity to bond and play some good baseball. There arenât a lot tournaments in the summer that run from the 11U to 18U age groups, so thatâs another reason itâs a popular draw.â
In past years, the tournament was just too far away for some teams to justify making the trip but that, too, is changing. Itâs no longer out of the ordinary to see clubs making the journey from Vancouver Island.
âWe now get teams from Victoria, they come because theyâve heard the tournament is great and they canât wait to get here,â Russell added. âWe treat the teams well, itâs a great weekend for them and their families. It comes two weeks before provincials, so itâs a great opportunity for teams to work on things and tune up.â
As always some of the proceeds from entrance fees to VOC go back into minor baseball in the Central Okanagan, including for coaching development and umpire training.
There are currently more than 1,200 playersâincluding 840 in Âé¶čAVâregistered in minor baseball in the Central Okanagan.
Meanwhile, the West Âé¶čAV Dbacks were the lone local team to win their division at VOC, capturing the 18U (midget) for the fourth straight year.
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