Canadian summer sport registration

[argh1]

Yes, I have the attention span of a gerbil!

I've been kinda following for no real reason Softball Canada's appeal of the exclusion of men's softball from the 2005 Canada Games as it's not an olympic sport (but neither is men's rugby, but it's in). Which lead me player registration.

Softball Canada 300,000+ registered (no breakdown in gender)

Baseball Canada 500,000+ registered (no breakdown in gender)

CSA 820,00+ registered (340,000+ females & 480,000+ males)

As much as we love soccer......and love to use hockey registration as our benchmark. Are we really that far ahead of team sports played in the same season.

Anyway it probably means nothing but soccer is about even with the diamond sports.The growth in team sports seems to be on the female side.

Please don't ask why I find this interesting.

[DoyleG]

I like to see how the various Assoc. compile their numbers.

[argh1]

quote:Originally posted by DoyleG

I like to see how the various Assoc. compile their numbers.

If (for example) you played in a registered slo-pitch league; you'd be on a registered slo-pitch team and you paid your $$ (whatever it is). Then you'd be a registerd player. So Softball NB (for example) would forward those number of reciepts to Softball Canada and a figure would be compiled.

But maybe that would make too much sense,for national sports bodies

What bothers me the most about summer sports is when was the last time you saw a bunch of kids playing anything as a pick-up game and not in their uni's with coaches and umpires/refs . Maybe we adults have taken the fun out of games instead of allowing kids to be kids and sorting things out themselves. We've become way too structured when it involves kids playing games.

But then again I'm from the baby boomer generation and we were pretty much left on our own.

"Get out of doors" my mom used to say in the summer and don't come home 'till 12:30 when lunch will be ready and then supper at 6 and home by 10 pm in the summer. "I'll not have you and your friends hanging around the house all day". Well unless it was raining. But I don't remember wanting to be in the house all day either.

[Cheeta]

Maybe you're looking in the wrong areas or something. I don't know. Lots of kids playing all sorts of stuff out my way summer, winter, and fall. On pretty much any stretch of flat grass they can find.

Guess there is a difference from neighbourhood to neighbourhood. Some blocks might only have a few kids on them and others are overwhelmed with the wee nippers. We moved a couple of years ago and for sure the number of kids (of all ages) in our immediate area is a lot lower. Nice neighbourhood, but a lot of older couples and pensioners when compared to East Elmwood. But still on any given summer evening, you can't pass two parks or greenspaces without seeing some sort of un-orginized sport going on.

But you might be right in that the adults have taken over the sports grounds though. And that the kids are no longer required to show the initiative to get a pick up game going to just prick about. They know they'll play once every few days and have a practice in-between.

Lot more adults playing sports too. Can't have the kids and the old folks using the same field at the same time. Dosen't mean much for the footie players (at least out this way) as they seem to gravitate to the mini-fields anyway, but it's a bit harder for the baseball, hockey and volleyball players. May as well head over to Johnny's or Suzie's and play some PS2.

I though the CSA used their numbers to highlight their argument that football had grown as a mainstream Canadian rec. sport. And I think your numbers justify it.

I grew up in a neighbourhood with lots of kids and we were constantly playing some sort of sport or another all year long (organized or not). Not much baseball or basketball though. Only realy played it because the girls could play along as well and you know there isn't a boy over the age of 11 who dosen't want to play nice with the girls.

Yup. Remember being out at the rink too late for our own good many nights. Turn the lights off. No good. There were just enough yard lights about that we could still work on our "charging". Tired neighbours of the rink yelling. No good either. A barage of f-words and implied threats of window repairs in -30 weather usualy shut them up. Until the cops or Park Super. Leahy showed up to chase us off we were good to go.

Hell to pay when you did get home though. Feet would start to thaw. Ouch.

[The Ref]

quote:Originally posted by argh1

Yes, I have the attention span of a gerbil!

I've been kinda following for no real reason Softball Canada's appeal of the exclusion of men's softball from the 2005 Canada Games as it's not an olympic sport (but neither is men's rugby, but it's in). Which lead me player registration.

Softball Canada 300,000+ registered (no breakdown in gender)

Baseball Canada 500,000+ registered (no breakdown in gender)

CSA 820,00+ registered (340,000+ females & 480,000+ males)

As much as we love soccer......and love to use hockey registration as our benchmark. Are we really that far ahead of team sports played in the same season.

Anyway it probably means nothing but soccer is about even with the diamond sports.The growth in team sports seems to be on the female side.

Please don't ask why I find this interesting.

Nothing personal Argh1, but it seems that whoever gave you them numbers they added an extra zero to softball and baseball. I like baseball as my second sport after soccer (I know am weird) and there is no way that for every 3 kids playing soccer there is 1.8 kids playing baseball.

[BC supporter]

I am a huge baseball fan. And I know that Baseball Canada, on their website, claim to repesent more than 500,000 players. I wish it was true but I simply, absolutely, do not believe it.

I agree with The Ref: common sense says the ratio of registered soccer players to baseball players IS NOT 8:5. The baseball fields I grew up playing on in London, Ontario are soccer fields now. Baseball Canada would have to offer a province-by-province breakdown of registered players, over a period of years, to prove their claim to me. I don't see that information provided on their site.

[Daniel]

I know there are plenty of unregistered leagues in Montréal, which account for many players. Especially once you get out of the youth ranks (and neighbourhood team) and start organising teams with your buddies in leagues that couldn't give a crap about the CSA and registration fees.

[argh1]

quote:Originally posted by The Ref

Nothing personal Argh1, but it seems that whoever gave you them numbers they added an extra zero to softball and baseball. I like baseball as my second sport after soccer (I know am weird) and there is no way that for every 3 kids playing soccer there is 1.8 kids playing baseball.

Taking things personally on a Bulletin Board....ah try not too.

I'm truthfully always surprised when someone responds to one of my posts.

Anyway just thought I'd post the links to the sites I got the figures from. Also does it really matter what the figures are as long you enjoy the game you play?

I also maybe making the wrong assumption that softball leans more towards female/mixed leagues especially in the slo-pitch and baseball more towards the male.

Hey imagine what the bowling figures would be if there was a Bowling Canada.....wait would that be candlepin bowling, 5 pin bowling , or big ball bowling? Gawd imagine doing a count of how many bowling alleys there are in Canada [}]

Softball Canada blurb Baseball Canada blurb

[argh1]

quote:Originally posted by The Ref

Nothing personal Argh1, but it seems that whoever gave you them numbers they added an extra zero to softball and baseball. I like baseball as my second sport after soccer (I know am weird) and there is no way that for every 3 kids playing soccer there is 1.8 kids playing baseball.

Taking things personally on a Bulletin Board....ah try not too.

I'm truthfully always surprised when someone responds to one of my posts.

Anyway just thought I'd post the links to the sites I got the figures from. Also does it really matter what the figures are as long you enjoy the game you play?

I also maybe making the wrong assumption that softball leans more towards female/mixed leagues especially in the slo-pitch and baseball more towards the male.

Hey imagine what the bowling figures would be if there was a Bowling Canada.....wait would that be candlepin bowling, 5 pin bowling , or big ball bowling? Gawd imagine doing a count of how many bowling alleys there are in Canada [}]

Softball Canada blurb Baseball Canada blurb

[Andrew W]

I too doubt the baseball figures in particular because of three reasons:

1. Year-round hockey. It is my experience that more hockey players played baseball than soccer as their summer pursuit. With summer hockey camps and elite rep teams it has helped erode baseball's player base.

2. Minor Lacrosse. This is something I have seen here in Alberta. Minor Lacrosse numbers have jumped exponentially while soccer also continues to grow. The only numbers going down is baseball, ergo Lacrosse is drawing baseball's players.

3. The obvious "because I can see it". Even in our rural town up to seven soccer fields are going full blast four nights a week and every other weekend (tourneys) while the diamonds are mostly occupied by guys with mullets in replica uniforms with the #69 on the back with the name "Hollywood" emblazened above it.

[argh1]

Maybe in small towns like mine the soccer revolution hasn't happened yet? But we still have more diamonds than pitches.

I also haven't seen crowds like this for senior soccer in my backwoods town. But we're always behind national trends. I don't buy into the competition of numbers. I happen to enjoy a few different sports. I enjoy live and televised soccer, hockey, football but for some reason I like live baseball but unless it's the playoffs/World Series I can't get into TV baseball. I also can enjoy CIS,international basketball but NBA holds absolutly no interest for me.... yeah I know I'm strange.

I'm sure Sports Canada must have some auditing procedure if national funding is based on participation numbers. But as I said before whatever game you enjoy so be it...if that's what you enjoy.

EDIT: Whatever the numbers really are there must one sh......ah boat load of Canadians playing in various beer leagues Maybe softball & baseball are better at collecting money from them [)]