Summer isn鈥檛 complete without a game of soccer baseball.
What鈥檚 that? Never heard of it?
Played on a baseball diamond, a 鈥減itcher鈥� rolls the ball on the ground to a 鈥渂atter鈥� who kicks it runs the bases. One team tries to score by reaching home while the other team prevents this by getting outs and hitting batters with the ball.
Soccer baseball. You probably know it as kickball, and one group of civic organizers is making the most of the summer sport. On Sunday, municipal political party OneCity hosts a 鈥渃onversations about the future of kickball in Vancouver, and also about our dreams for this incredible city.鈥�
OneCity invites people young and old from across the city to play kickball and join in an annual barbeque at Slocan Park. People of all political stripes are welcome. There will be no stumping, only hot dogging.
鈥淲e wanted to do something that will bring a little activity to the event,鈥� said Anna Chudnovsky who sits on the party鈥檚 organizing committee. 鈥淲e figured there is just not enough kickball happening. It may not look like politics but is more about bringing people together in the city we share.鈥�
OneCity co-founder RJ Aquino ran for city council in 2014. In 2011, he ran with COPE.
There is no organized kickball league in 麻豆传媒映画though they do exists in California, Oregon, Washington State and elsewhere. In this city, casual games go down once a week in the summer each Monday courtesy of Junktion Kickball, which plays at Dude Chilling Park (). The organizers are tied to the Toast Collective, and the kickball appealingly as 鈥渢he only sports league where you can watch someone run the bases while they eat a burrito.鈥�
Kickball entertains all generations, said Chudnovsky.
鈥淧art of what we want to do is have a political party that is about more than just the politics in the city. This is a community event and our hope is that we are really a place for people to come to, enjoy company, make connections and meet neighbours.鈥�
The plan is for all that to happen over kickball. Teams will form and be tasked to . 鈥淢y favourite is Bunt Cake,鈥� said Chudnovsky who culled a list of names from leagues around North America.
Some of her suggestions:
- It鈥檚 Not Going to Kick Itself
- Too Legit to Kick
- Kicktastic
- Dream Crushers
- Kickin鈥� Grass and Taken鈥� Names
- Life's a Pitch
- One-kick Wonders
The names are decidedly family-friendly, said the elementary school teacher who plays the game with her students. 鈥淲hen you start looking, there are, as you might imagine, lots of puns. Balls plays a significant role, but we will keep it above board.鈥�
The OneCity barbecue runs Sunday, Aug. 23 from 3 to 7 p.m. at . Food, snacks and drinks are provided. Kickball begins at 4 p.m. .
