The 20th Annual Challenger Baseball World Series (CBWS) will be conducted Saturday morning, June 23 at Frontier Field with over 280 players representing squads from Fairport, Greece, Penfield, Pittsford, Sweden-Clarkson, Webster, Batavia and the Finger Lakes (combined team from Canandaigua and Geneva).
Challenger Baseball, which began in the Rochester area in 1990 in conjunction with Fairport Baseball’s Little League program, brings together boys and girls ages 6-18 who are physically and/or mentally challenged. Each player is accompanied on the field by a “buddy” to assist in the execution of hitting, running the bases, and fielding activities.
The June 23 CBWS quadruple-header schedule calls for Frontier’s gates to open at 8 a.m. with Fairport vs. Greece at 8:30 a.m. Pittsford vs. Penfield at 9:30 a.m. and Webster Minor League vs. Sweden-Clarkson at 10:30 a.m. At 11:15 a.m., Webster Major League will play the combined squads from Batavia and the Finger Lakes. After all players have had a time at bat and an inning in the field, the teams will gather for a picnic lunch. Admission to the CBWS and picnic is free of charge for all team members, volunteers and fans.
Rochester Red Wings Manager Gene Glynn will serve as the CBWS’s goodwill ambassador. He will be joined on the field by several of his Red Wing players and mascots Spikes and Mittsy, along with hundreds of volunteers from local schools, service groups, sports teams, and businesses.
Red Wings General Manager Dan Mason is in his 20th year as host of the CBWS, which began in 1993 at Silver Stadium with 62 players from Fairport and Greece. As the result of the Finger Lakes (1997), Webster (2001), Batavia (2007), Penfield and Pittsford (2010), and Sweden-Clarkson (2011) joining the event, the 20-year total number of players that will have participated in the CBWS will clear the 3,300 mark on June 23.
Besides the Red Wings, corporate support for the 2012 CBWS is provided by The Hot Stove League, Eddie Meath Penny Fund, Rochester Coca-Cola Refreshments, Zweigle’s, Spinergy, Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, Fairport Rotary Club, Frozen Ropes, Mass Mutual Financial Architects, U.S. Committee Sports for Israel, Rochester Press-Radio Club, The Last Man Standing Club, and the Eastern College Athletic Conference-Sports Information Directors Association Charity Fund.
