As the snow continues to melt and the Caribou Little League prepares for its 47th season, changes to the league’s boundary map will allow eligible residents of Fort Fairfield, Limestone, Washburn and other nearby communities to try out and play in the Caribou Little League for the first time.
Previously, the league’s charter included the communities of Caribou, North Caribou, Woodland, New Sweden and Stockholm, and the number of new players each year has been on a slow but steady decline. In 2010, the league dropped from 12 teams to 11, and was on track to drop down to 10 teams. With the new communities eligible for the league, there may now be an increase in the number of teams.
Caribou Little League President Brian Massey explained that the new boundary map required formal approval from Little League International.
“Since our charter is under their jurisdiction, there was a process to expand our boundary lines. Every year we have parents and their children from these communities who ask to play in our league, but until we officially changed our boundary, we couldn’t let them join,” Massey said. “This now opens the league up to a broader pool of players, and we expect this to create even more excitement around our league.”
There will be a meeting for parents of all children interested in playing in this year’s season, including new and returning players, on Wednesday, April 3 in the Caribou Middle School cafeteria starting at 6 p.m. Parents will be able to register their children for tryouts. Players must be between the ages of nine and 12 on May 1, 2013 to be eligible for the upcoming season. Parents should bring a birth certificate for age verification for new players.
Tryouts are scheduled based on the residence of the player, and all new players must try out to be selected for a team. The primary tryout for new players will be held on Saturday, April 3 in the Caribou Recreation Center starting at 9 a.m. Additional tryouts are also expected to be held for the community-based teams, but the dates and times were not finalized as of presstime.
A make-up tryout will be held on Wednesday, April 10 for new players who can not attend their scheduled tryout. The make-up tryout will be in the Caribou Middle School gymnasium beginning at 6 p.m., and will be the final opportunity for a new player to try out for the 2013 season.
Caribou Little League is also looking for people interested in umpiring this season. Training will be provided. Contact Massey at AYBLMaine@gmail.com if interested in umpiring for the league.
For more information, visit www.CaribouLittleLeague.org.
