By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
RM of Corman Park councillors voted unanimously at their April 29 meeting to provide $4,000 to the Sask Central River Pirates Baseball Association, which will allow the group to avoid raising registration fees for 2025.
The $4,000 will be taken out of the $33,798 that the RM anticipates receiving for the 2025-2026 funding year through the Saskatchewan Lotteries Community Grant Program, which assists in the development of sport, culture and recreation programs by providing funds to non-profit community organizations.
While the RM has not been dispersed its allocation under the program yet, executive assistant to the CAO Benjamin Sipple indicated that administration does not anticipate any issues with receiving the funding, which is why this request was coming to council now.
Sipple said this was the first request from the association for 2025-2026, though they did receive $3,000 last year.
If approved, the money would be used for competition fees, facility rentals and to purchase new equipment such as portable mounds, umpire equipment and pitching machines, all with the aim of allowing children between the ages of five to 13 to play baseball.
As of April 29, 144 children were registered with the association to play during the 2025 season, Sipple indicated.
“If this application is approved, the association will be able to maintain its current registration fees,” he said. “Otherwise, fees will most likely have to increase.”
He added that this funding request is especially significant since Baseball Saskatoon implemented a policy in 2024 stating that people residing outside city limits cannot register with teams in city zones.
As such, this is the only option for young children in the RM of Corman Park to play baseball other than going to Martensville, Warman or another community.
Sipple added that this request does fit with the RM’s strategy of assisting local non-profit volunteer-based organizations.
“In addition, 30 per cent of the funding from Sask Lotteries has to be spent on an under-represented group,” he said. “This application, based on the current information provided, does meet that criteria.”
With this allocation, the RM of Corman Park still has to distribute $29,798 in funding prior to a deadline of March 31, 2026.