Sandy Lake First Nation Promotes Responsible Gambling Through Baseball

Saturday, September 8, 2007 - Residents of Sandy Lake First Nation caught baseball fever complete with a bbq, home-run derby and live radio commentary throughout the day. The Mental Health, Diabetes Prevention and Brighter Futures Programs coordinated a local co-ed adult baseball tournament to promote Responsible Gambling.

The tournament which began earlier in the week finished up on Saturday with the Band Office Team facing off against the Teachers Team to win the championship game for a final score of 12-9. The Diabetes Prevention Program's Little League championship also took place after it had been postponed in July. Centre-side Team took home the championship trophy after scoring the winning run in the last inning to beat the River-side Team for a final score of 9-8.

Jeff Meekis, Mental Health Worker, says he wanted to have an family-oriented event for people of Sandy Lake to enjoy outside of their homes. He says gambling has become a big problem in the community especially with the growing number of private homes operating loonie bingos and poker games on a nightly basis.

Joe Harper and Espit Crowe provided live commentary on the local 101.1fm radio station for both championship games.