With the 2013 baseball season right around the corner Baseball.ca will visit with each of the 10 Provincial organizations during a 10 week period. This week we meet with Baseball Québec’s Gilles Taillon.
The popularity of baseball in Québec is experiencing growth throughout the province yet again as the 2013 season approaches. Look no further than the registration numbers for proof.
“(Our registration), as of April 22nd, is 12,560 players and compared to last year at this time it is a 19% increase,” said Baseball Québec Executive Director Gilles Taillon. “While we cannot pretend that this percentage will result in an actual increase of the same size as last year, we are quite confident that it indicates that we will be experiencing (growth) once again in 2013.”
A contributing factor to this increase is a marketing campaign designed by Baseball Québec to increase baseball registration throughout the province. The campaign is operating under the catchphrase ‘Catch the best of summer’.
“For the second year, we have run a registration drive at the provincial level,” explained Taillon. “We have provided our local associations with a tool kit developed by us free of charge to them.”
The tool kit includes three different types of posters that can be displayed around a community to advertise registration dates. Local associations are also supplied with a newsletter that is customizable based on their specific needs.
Baseball Québec also produced a ‘Catch the fever’ video that can be accessed through their social media channels.
“Our overall strategy is to ensure that twelve months a year amateur baseball is in the news and that people talk about us,” added Taillon. “We have been extremely successful in accomplishing this during the off-season.
“This strategy (has) created a buzz in the media, showing that baseball is well and growing in our province.”
When it comes time for a parent or guardian to decide what sport to enroll their child in they are looking for the type of experience and benefits that their child will receive.
Taillon explains that children new to baseball will not be disappointed by what the sport can offer overall.
“A boy or girl, that joins Baseball Quebec for the first time, will experience a sport that is adapted to their needs, where the emphasis is on having fun while learning the game,” he said. “They will find an environment that will nurture their own development.”
First-time players (children aged 4-8) will be enrolled in the Rally Cap program which Baseball Québec made mandatory for local associations to implement into their development systems.
Taillon says that the program is so effective across local associations in Québec that coaches at higher levels are able to determine if a player has graduated through the Rally Cap program.
“The feedback we are receiving is from a skills perspective, a Rally Cap player is more advanced.”
Taillon also says that the increase in membership that Baseball Québec has received over the past five years is a direct correlation to the success of the Rally Cap program.
“In 2012, we had our fifth consecutive year of growth in Quebec (which) represented nearly a 25% increase in membership,” he said. “Looking at our numbers by age division, we can clearly see that we have grown at the grassroots level.”
Québec will play host to Baseball Canada’s 18U (Midget) National Championship in Trois-Riviéres August 15-19 and the Senior Women Invitational in Granby July 11-14.
An exciting day to look forward to is planned for June 1st when Baseball Québec, in partnership with the Québec Capitales, will host the first ever Provincial Girls Day in Québec City.
For more information and to find out how you can register, please click HERE.
The Toronto Blue Jays will be conducting a Honda Super Camp in Beloeil (outside of Montréal) July 8-10 where former Jays Sandy Alomar Sr., Denis Boucher, Homer Bush, Lloyd Moseby, Tim Raines, Duane Ward and Devon White will be on hand as guest instructors.
To register, please click HERE.
For more information on Baseball Québec, please visit www.baseballquebec.com
