Baseball-playing girls are in a league of their own in Surrey this summer

Baseball BC is bringing an all-girls league to a park in Surrey to promote the game among female players in that province.

Games will be played in June, July and August at Lionel Courchene Park (9900 154 St.), home of the Surrey Canadian Baseball Association.

Guildford is also home to Baseball BC, where Scott MacKenzie serves as operations manager and coordinator of the new all-girls league along with Team Canada player Liz Gilder.

Both believe it's time for girls baseball in BC to form their own league

“It’s the first of its kind in B.C.,” MacKenzie noted. “It’s something we’ve wanted to do for many, many years and it’s finally come to fruition.”

Last February, young girls (aged seven to twelve) were invited to play in the new league. Registration for the two divisions (U9 and U12) remains open. Details will be posted on the baseball.bc.ca/girls website.

“From June 22nd, all games will be played on Saturdays for eight weeks,” MacKenzie said. “Girls teams from all over the Lower Mainland can come to one location weekly to start.”

CLICK HERE to watch a promotional video posted four months ago.

Before the league begins, Baseball BC is planning another Amanda Asay Girls Jamboree & Festival on May 11 in Burnaby in honor of the former international player. “Amanda was a true pioneer of girls’ sports who unfortunately tragically died (in a skiing accident) two years ago,” MacKenzie said.

Like Asay, Gilder wore a Team Canada jersey on the baseball diamond. She is a pitcher and, at age 23, wants to play in the 2024 Women's Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, Ontario this August. Right now she's also focused on getting BC's all-girls league off the ground.

“I think this league is really an opportunity for girls to play baseball with other girls, and for me personally it's really important that that happens,” Gilder said in a phone call.

“I grew up playing baseball with boys (in Coquitlam). While playing baseball with them has really helped me from a competitive standpoint, influenced me in many ways and is one of the reasons for my success in other areas of my life, there were aspects that weren't always super fantastic,” adds Gilder, who now lives in Maple Ridge.

“I had a very supportive group of men around me, but I always felt like I had to prove myself because I was always the only girl. Any mistakes I made were magnified tenfold in my mind because I felt like I wasn't just playing for myself, but to prove that girls belong in baseball.

“So I think this league gives these girls an opportunity to see other girls playing baseball and realize that they're not the only ones doing it and really spread the word about the game among girls.”

Baseball remains a male-dominated sport, MacKenzie confirmed.

“As a provincial sports organization, we encourage associations in BC – Little League is one and BC Minor is another – to have all-girls leagues as well,” he said. “Right now this new league is run by Baseball BC, but the goal is to establish it and then have Little League and BC Minor take it over in the future.”

Registration is open to girls' teams and players who already belong to a club, MacKenzie noted.

“I don’t know how many girls’ teams there are right now, but most of them are in the younger divisions and play against boys,” he said. “The truth is that girls are sometimes better than boys at this younger age, and that changes quickly at the age of six, seven, eight.

“With the new league,” he added, “we hope it will be a place where young girls develop confidence, leadership skills and, you know, a love of sports and baseball.” Our goal is to provide a supportive and to provide a safe space that promotes growth on and off the field, as well as a sense of belonging and community where girls feel safe to try new things, learn and grow.”

Gilder sees girls baseball in a place where women's hockey existed ten years ago, “where the sport is growing and there is a lot of potential for professional women's baseball leagues.” But we're not quite there yet, and with In this all-girls league, it starts at the grassroots level.”

Surrey is a good central location for the league, she added. “The Surrey Canadian Baseball Association was kind enough to make their park available to support the league, so we thank them for that.”