2024 Season Registration

We are excited to finally open registration to new players for the 2024 season! 

The Field of Dreamers Cooperative Softball Association was formed in 2017 with the intention of creating a recreational softball space based on the principles of mutual aid, body liberation, and radical re-imagining of sport. We invite you to be part of this history! 

ABOUT FIELD OF DREAMERS COOPERATIVE SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION

Field of Dreamers began as a political project that not only seeks to create a space of play that affirms non-binary, trans* and other gender non-conforming identities but also that emphasizes the participations of Black, Indigenous, people of colour, and people with body types/skills that are typically not given respect in organized sport.  

What makes our league different?

  • We see our league as a political project, and many of the players in the league are connected to grassroots movements in the city
  • We are a relational league – all of our captains, organizers, umps, mentors, and cheerleaders are also players in the league. This means we run the league through each of us taking responsibility for participation, safety, coordination, and field prep. We also see ourselves as part of the Trinity Bellwoods community and seek to create positive and supportive relationships with other park users
  • We organize our league into 5 houses (Credit, Humber, Don, Rouge, Garrison) that represent the waterways that give life to this city
  • We prioritize mutual aid and mentorship – all skilled/experienced players have a role in teaching, coaching, and sharing skills with beginner/intermediate players
  • We refuse the ‘co-ed’ sport model, instead constructing rosters through self-identified experience/skill and emphasizing that all players should be valued, respected, and given opportunity to learn, succeed, and fail!

2024 REGISTRATION:

  • The 2024 season will be played from Sunday, May 5, 2024 to Sunday, October 6, 2024
  • Games will be played, as usual, at Diamond #1 (SkyDome), Trinity Bellwoods Park. 
  • Game #1 will begin at 8PM and Game #2 will begin at 9:30PM
  • Registration fees will range on a sliding scale, depending on your ability to pay from $0-$130 this season, with an option to contribute to a solidarity fund that will help pay for another player’s registration 
  • Registration will be open from Thursday Feb 29th, 8:00AM – Monday, March 5th 11:59pm ET
  • We will be registering substitute players following open registration; this is a great way to participate if you can’t commit to a whole season and/or just want to try things out! Stay tuned for details.

TO REGISTER, CLICK HERE

PAYMENTS

Once the registration period is over, you’ll hear back from us if your registration has been processed. Please note, registration is not first-come, first-served, but occurs in tiered priority.

KEY QUESTIONS

Q: How does registration work? 

A: Field of Dreamers does not operate on a first-come, first-serve basis.  We instead use a progressive registration process that emphasizes communities we seek to centralize in our league. Our league prioritizes the registrations of BIPOC queer/trans* folks, BIPOC folks in general, and other trans*/non-binary folks.  

We register new players in batches using a progressive system of registration that prioritizes folks who identify as part of the above communities. All other players who wish to register are then added to rosters thereafter and/or are invited to play as subs for the season (which gives you priority registration in subsequent seasons) if we run out of spots!

Q: What happens if roster spots fill and I don’t get into the league? 

A: While we wish we could accommodate all players who want to play in the league or spots are limited by our permit and capacity. We offer folks an opportunity to sign up as substitute players in the season, and those players are given priority to register in the following season. 

Q: How are teams decided? 

A: Teams are organized through our yearly draft. We draw on the self-represented skills you fill out in your registration form to divide each team evenly with players of a similar skill set. Once registered, you’ll be contacted to let you know about jerseys, draft day, and the opening week skillshare! 

Q: Can I register as a team or play with a friend? 

A: You cannot register a team in Field of Dreamers. Players are instead sorted into teams based on the draft. However, you may list one friend to be your “buddy.” Be sure that this same friend chooses you as their “buddy” too! When you are registered, you will be linked together in the draft and will be placed on the same team.

Let’s Make Baseball!!!

Giibwanisi’s Anishinaabemowin Interpretation of Our 2023 Spirit Statement

Whether you are a new player or a seasoned one,

Giishpin endogwen weshki-bakitejii’igewanen gemaa gaye netaa-bakitejii’igewanen,

Whether if you are a new baseball player or a seasoned ball player, the principles of care – cooperation –

Gidaa-debweyendamomin i’iw bami’idiwin – wiidookodaadiwin

We should believe that the helping of one another, caring of one another mutual respect – accountability – and

Manaandenidiwin – apenindiwin miinawaa

Respecting of one another, trust in one another competition are weaved into in the league!

bakinodaadiwin ge-izhi-bakitejii’igeyang and 

Competition should be how we (inclusively) play baseball. Like any radical project, we are a work in process

Dibishko eta gegoo niigaani-anokaajigan, gigagwe-aabiji-anji-bimaadizimin

Just like any leading project, we continuously strive to change our lives and we need to recognize how the heightened intensity

Gaye nanda-gikendamang dash ge-ani-ozaamendamang eniwek

And seek to recognize  how we can become too impassioned of playoffs might shift our behaviours

Gagwejikanidiwin daa-anji-izhiwebiziwangwen

Competition (race) might change our behaviours and emotions.

gaye gidinendamowininaanin

It’s okay to be LOUD, BOISTEROUS,

minwendaagwad ji-gizhiiwewidamang,

It is good, (for us) to be be loud COURAGEOUS, SNEAKY but remember that

Ji-zoongide’eyang, ji-gimoodiziyang, aanawi ji-noonde-mikwendamang iw

For us to be brave, for us to be sneaky, however we must remember that  before all else we’re here to be PALS AND

Abaamashi kina gegoo aapideg bagami-ayaayang ji-wiijikiwendiyang miinawaa

Before all else, we assuredly arrive (here) to be in friendship with one another and COMMUNITY.

Wenji-oodenawi’idiyang

Because we are a community (place of many hearts)

HUNGRY HIPPOS ARE CHAMPIONS

HUMBER RIVER DEFEATS ROUGE RIVER IN BATTLE OF TITANS

How could we know back in 2018 that the matchup between the Humber River Humdingers and Rouge River Blush would be the start of a steamy Field of Dreamers rivalry? When the Humdingers won their first ever Discus Cup and had their name etched into the mantel, it began an era of Rouge and Humber staking claim to the championship – eclipsed only last year when Garrison Creek broke through the Red/Yellow ceiling. In 2019, the Rouge River Raccoons fleeced victory from the Humber River Haze. And last night, with beautiful weather, a boisterous crowd, and charismatic commentators, the Humber River Hungry Hippos won their team’s second championship thanks to elite fielding and potent hitting!

FIELD OF DREAMER CHAMPIONSHIP RING TREE UPDATED

Twenty players from Humber River teams have one 1 championship (2018, 2023). Twenty players from Rouge River teams have one 1 championship (2017, 2019, 2021). Six players from Garrison Creek teams (2022) have one 1 championship. These are represented by the gold, red, and green rings in the first graphic below and the names of those players are written below.

Kirsten Dick, Chris Yates, Victoria Barnett, and Terrance Luscombe joined a prestigious group of Field of Dreamers players who have won 2 championships in the league. The other players on this list include: Andy Smith (2017, 2022); Jo Jefferson (2018, 2022); Kate Uffelman (2017, 2019); Lainie Basman (2017, 2022); LJ Robinson (2019, 2022); Ness Dixon (2017, 2019); Rachel Small (2018, 2022); Ryan Hayes (2018, 2021); Sena Hussein (2019, 2021); Shelagh Pizey-Allen (2017, 2019); Stuart Schussler (2017, 2019).

Only one player in Field of Dreamers history has won more than 2 championships, and their streak finally came to an end this season. Nat Saavedra won championships with the Humber River Humdingers (2018), Rouge River Raccoons (2019), Rouge River Rainbow Rebellion (2021), and Garrison Creek Gamma Rays (2022).

Will Credit River or Don River break through for their first championships in 2024? Will Humber River defend its title? Will Garrison Creek return to form? Will Rouge River continue to expand its early dynasty? Will your name finally make it onto the hallowed RINGS page? Only time will tell.

Don River Celine D’On (5th Place)

Do not grieve the last place finish for the Celine D’Ons. For if you’ve been a longtime follower of the Field of Dreamers you’ll know that the purple of Don has proved to be a cursed colour. But if you look beyond the record, a season of magic happened for Don. It’s all coming back to me now. There were nights when the wind was so cold, but Rachele Clemente, RT Titus and Dao Le were causing havoc on the base paths. And if I just listened to it just outside my window, I could hear the voices of Seb Higgins and Rob Jackson calmly steering their team to victory. There were days when the sun was so cruel, and yet Nat Saavedra and Janice Lee would not simply withstand the heat but turn it up with clutch hits! And I just knew my eyes were drying up forever when I witnessed the beautiful split seasons of new parents Annelies Cooper & Devin Clancy and Rachel Small & Jo Jefferson. Don: I finished crying in the instant that you left, because I knew that rookies Kai Somerville and Paul Pritchard were now core players. And I can’t remember when or where or how Finn MacLeod became one of the breakout hitters in the league. I banished every memory of the game Garrison Creek lost 23-4 against Don River. Because….when you touched the league like you did, Don River Celine D’ons, when you held us like that, we just had to admit that it’s all coming back, it’s all coming back to us noooooowwwwwwwwwwwww.

Garrison Creek Good Griefers (4th Place)

For a team that seemed to be created out of Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory, the Garrison Creek squad brought a lot of joy to each game they played. The team rallied around their Garden Song. And someday their gonna live in your house up on a hill, that’s where you’ll find Darren Puscas tracking down fly balls that don’t appear catchable or where you’ll find Lainie Basman pulling the team together with so many positive vibes. Meanwhile Stu Schussler, Mercedes Lee, Travis Silverman, and Ness Dixon are planting gardens in the yard as they created a solid core of hitters in the middle of the Garrison lineup. Gluing roses on a flatbed in the thousands, Jenny Chan, Krysta Williams, and Kira Kastner provided both the style and substance needed for the GGs of GC to excel. And despite it going all up in flames, Syd Gilchrist turned in an elite rookie season, Laura Windhorst returned from a mid-season injury to give the team a needed boost. Michelle Kidd, Robyn Letson, and Craig Fortier saw their reflection in the water of a team that played wacky shifts, communicated well, and played with the most joyful sadness, the most bittersweet success, that is a 4th place finish.

Credit River Riot (3rd Place)

A riotous season came to an end for the Credit River Riot with a thrilling victory against the Garrison Creek Good Griefers in the Consolation Game. And for a moment, I was brought back to April 29 1992, while you were sitting home watching your tv, the Credit River team was participating in some “small a” anarchy! The final game saw Claire Heese-Boutin, Yosnai Mena Mora, and Colin Hastings all do their best Phill Morgan impressions with extra base hits galore. On defence Jill Aoki, Sam Ponting, and Manjeet Bedi played solid throughout the game. Shannon Dunham and Claudia Calabro paired up to buttress the team core and Brianna Greaves and Peter Demakos sped around the bases for old time’s sake. Camie Koo and Paula John continued to play like the heart and soul of the team. While the team missed Carianne Leung and Nate Kulasinghe in the final game, the team as a whole found their stride mis-season and were a fierce challenger for every team that they faced.

Continue reading “HUNGRY HIPPOS ARE CHAMPIONS”

Red Moon in Bougee

Field of Dreamers News

On August 16th 1933, close to 10,000 people took to the streets of Toronto in what is known as the Christie Pits riot. The riot was a response to the violence of the Nazi-supporting fascist ‘Pit Gang,’ who showed up at Christie Pits to terrorize a group of mostly working class Jewish and Italian baseball players. The players and their supporters defended themselves against the far-right attacks for 6 hours that night. The police did not stop the violence and in some accounts, actively supported the fascists.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of these riots. Please join the Field of Dreamers Cooperative Softball Association for a discussion on the intersections of sport, politics, anti-Blackness, xenophobia, anti-queer/trans* hate, and anti-Semitism today.

Free Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-christie-pits-riots-looking-back-looking-forward-no-ticket-required-tickets-696135659497

Credit River Riot (1-1-0)

If the “Riot is the Language of the Unheard,” Credit River has been “calm like a bomb” over the past three weeks. A convincing win against Garrison Creek in Week 11 was followed by a hard fought loss to Rouge River in Week 12. With the week off during Week 13, Credit will be re-energized for their final game of the regular season, before looking to takeover the airwaves with their guerilla radio in the playoffs.

Humber River Hungry Hippos (2-1-0)

Some teams might take a pause to rest for the playoffs when they have been so successful during the regular season, but the Hungry Hungry Hippos are chomping at the bit to maintain that high energy! The Hippos have been playing so many nail-biter games edging Rouge in Week 11, narrowly defeating Don in Week 12, and then coming up one run short of Garrison in Week 13. With an average weight of two tons, it’s going to take significant effort to move the Hippos from the Championship Game.

Rouge River Bad N Rougee (2-1-0)

Spurred by the return of some of their key stars, the Bad and Rougee have been on fire over the last three weeks. A narrow loss to Humber in Week 11 was followed by solid wins against Credit River and Don River in Weeks 12 and 13 respectively. The Rougee can finish no lower than the third seed for the playoffs and will prepare during their off week for the first round of the playoffs – where a win will send them straight into the Championship game!

Continue reading “Red Moon in Bougee”

A New Don is on the Horizon

Field of Dreamers News

Field of Dreamers has been invited to give a talk to mark the 90th Anniversary of the Christie Pits Riots at the Gladstone Library. The talk will feature Don River’s Rachel Small, Credit River’s Phill Morgan, and Garrison Creek’s Craig Fortier! Keep up to date by checking the Field of Dreamers socials.

Credit River Riot (0-2-0)

In her famous graphic, Rebecca Solnit explains that social movements can be compared to mushrooms. While we might marvel at the fruiting bodies as they emerge in all their glorious colours and shapes and forms above ground, the real work happens below. Despite two losses in the last three weeks, the Credit River Riot are starting to put together some cohesion and chemistry. Drawing on the speed of Brianna Greaves, the thump of Manjeet Bedi and Claire Heese-Boutin, the steady play of Paula John, the sweet swing of Camie Koo, the plucky pluckiness of Peter Demakos, the soulful style of Jill Aoki, the wonderous woo of Carianne Leung, the daunting presence of Phill Morgan, the sleek fielding of Sam Ponting, el correr fantastico de Yosnai Mena Mora, the circle A effort of Claudia Calabro, the talltop hits of Shannon Dunham, and the chip-ins from Nate Kulasinghe, the Riot is poised to be sprouting revolution come late summer.

Humber River Hungry Hippos (2-0-0)

The hypothalamus is a structure deep within your brain. It’s the main link between your endocrine system and your nervous system. Your hypothalamus keeps your body balanced in a stable state called homeostasis. Well, friends, the “hippo”thalamus of Field of Dreamers is the steady and stable state of winning produced by the balanced roster of the Hungry Humber team. Led by the early favourites for captains of the year, Victoria Barnett and Terrance Luscombe, the Hippos have been chomping up wins like it’s a mild day in a fertile marsh. Where the sweet swings of Lucky Visvanathan and Oskar Eliashevsky meet the power pop of Marisa Tran and Fianna Dirks meet the bubbly belts of Marty Fink and Matías Contreras meet the silly slashes of Chris Yates and Kirsten Dick meet the sporty style of Claudia Vergara and Kaela Sanborn-Hum meet the cute couture of Carly Boyce and Amanda Hollingworth meet the hard nose grind of Jasper Walton and Beth Austerberry – is that deep part of the brain called the hippothalamus.

Rouge River Bad N Rougee (0-2-0)

Where were you when the beat dropped on Rouge River’s new chant? Because it’s fire! The two losses recorded here don’t tell the story of the Bad N Rougee’s fierce play. Down 17-3 in their final at-bat against the Good Griefers of Garrison, the trap queens dropped banger after banger for 12 runs and almost completed the most miraculous of come-from-behind victories in Dreamers history! Revved to elation by Huan Nguyen’s new chant, we saw Sarah Peek poke one through the whole, Jenni Klonteig blast a line drive, Nell Khayutin explode for their 4th hit, Kat Kleine speed around the bases, Emma Cuddy lace a sweet hit, Sabrina Benoit put a charge into a ball, Qui Alexander stay back and belt a base hit, LJ Robinson plate a couple with a sweet stroke, Rhiannon Cobb chop one up the baseline, Yazi Peer plunk a perfect pop up, and Johann Juarez slice a centre field cut against his arch nemesis….we wish sweet Andy Smith and Soren D’Alimonte could have been there to witness such perfect rhythm. <3

Continue reading “A New Don is on the Horizon”