Three Woodstock minor sports organizations launch monthly raffle to lower costs for young athletes and their families
Three prominent Woodstock area minor sports associations hope they found a winning formula to reduce costs for kids to play minor sports.
Social Media and Promotions Coordinator Mandy Boone McCartney of Woodstock Minor Basketball (WMB), V.P. Daniel Wishart of Western Valley Minor Baseball (WVMB), and V.P. Jordan Currie of Woodstock Minor Hockey (WMH) have combined efforts to initiate a monthly 50/50 raffle, with proceeds split between the three organizations.
“Mandy Boone gave me a call with this idea,” said Currie.
Currie said the draw will follow the weekly Woodstock Fireman’s draw model, with a few prominent differences. The minor sports draw will be monthly, and the number of tickets a buyer can purchase is unlimited.
Raffle tickets are available: one ticket for $5, five for $10, 20 for $20, and 100 tickets for $50.
Launched on Sept. 6, the winning ticket will be drawn at the end of each month.
“We plan on having posters up and out and about in the area. Each will have a QR code which can be scanned for purchase,” Currie continues. “We also plan to make it possible to purchase online.”
Boone McCartney and Currie felt it important to bring Western Valley Baseball into the mix.
“Our goal is to help as many area families as possible. We’ll split up proceeds based on registration numbers for each association. For example, if WMH has 400 kids registered, WMB has 300 and WVMB has 300, 40% will go to hockey and 30% to basketball and baseball,” Currie explained.
Plans on how to best utilize the funds remain under review.
“It’s early in the process to say where money will go exactly, but savings could be applied to purchasing equipment and lowering registration costs,” said Currie. “If the raffle is as successful as we hope it is, it makes sense to consider adding more sports into the proceeds.”
The annual Woodstock Recreation Information and Registration Night for all area recreational groups was held on Sept. 11.
Currie was optimistic about their WMH Early Ice participation.
“We were up about 40 kids, from 140 to 180. We also had nine register for the “new to hockey” program, which is an encouraging number,” he said.
Currie recently completed a successful baseball season as a public address announcer and a sponsor of the new Woodstock Shiretowners Intermediate baseball team.
“I never played baseball myself but I had a blast helping out. As a team, they had a great summer of ball!”
That may be putting it mildly. The Shiretowners, a first-year squad, walked away with the Fredericton Intermediate Baseball League championship, defeating the perennial champion Expos in the league final in two straight games. Both teams had already qualified for the New Brunswick Provincial Intermediate Baseball Championships held in Saint John from September 6 to 8.
The six-team field is also made up of Dieppe, Newcastle, Tracadie and Kennebecasis Valley.
The River Valley Sun has a complete wrap-up of the provincial championship tournament and insight as to what the future may hold for the Intermediate Shiretowners on its website at www.rivervalleysun.ca
