Newton Aycliffe Spartans, the newly-formed baseball team based in the town, are busy preparing for their inaugural season in the British Baseball Federation (BBF).
The club, formed last summer, will be playing in the BBF Northern AA Division, taking on teams from Manchester, Sheffield, Oldham, Hull and Harrogate.
Training started in the snow of late January and the team is getting down to serious preparation ahead of a pre-season tournament when Spartans will face Nottingham Rebels, Leicester Blue Sox, Sheffield Bladerunners, Hull Scorpions and Stourbridge Titans, with the games taking place at Western Park Leicester, on March 25, April 1 and April 8.
The Spartans open their BBF league campaign on the April 15 when they host Manchester Torrent a Horndale Field.
Team manager John Johnston (pictured) said: “Our hard work to establish baseball in Newton Aycliffe is starting to pay off, both on and off the field.
“Training sessions have been great fun and things are really starting to click.
“And off the field we have been working closely with both Great Aycliffe Town Council and Durham County Council and their help to date in establishing baseball in Newton Aycliffe has been fantastic.”
As well as backing from the local councils, The Spartans have started to get support from local companies and thanks to SCH Site Services Ltd, the Spartans will have a backstop at their ground.
The Spartans train every Sunday at 10am at Horndale Field, opposite Greenfield Community College.
Baseball is a community sport, irrespective of age or gender and anyone interested in learning more about the sport is invited along with training sessions running each Sunday from 10am until 1pm. First training session is always free with all future sessions charged at £2.
For further details, contact John Johnston [email protected]
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