TITLE:Miracle Field for disabled planned

TITLE:Miracle Field for disabled planned

SECTION:Local

PUBDATE:March 6, 2007

HEADLINE:Miracle Field for disabled planned

BYLINE:By Donna Vavala

CONTACT:News Herald Writer 747-5045 / dvavala@pcnh.com

TEXT:PANAMA CITY BEACH

Baseball is often called “America’s favorite pastime,” but for about 5,000 kids and young adults with mental and physical disabilities in Bay County, it’s only a spectator sport.

The Panama City Beach Rotary Club plans to change that by raising $300,000 in three months to build a Miracle League field at Frank Brown Park on land designated by the Panama City Beach City Council. The special field will allow many people, who have only dreamed of playing baseball, to actually participate.

Last week, the Rotary Club threw a campaign party at Edgewater Beach Resort and Conference Center to introduce the Miracle Field concept and to launch fund-raising.

“We certainly accomplished our mission. The response was phenomenal,” said Jim Barr, president of the board of directors of Miracle League of the Emerald Coast. “We got several pledges and the Miracle Strip Junior Women’s Club presented us with a check for $2,000; they had already given us a check for $3,000.”

The club will be contacting corporations, Bay County businesses and applying for state and federal grants. It also will seek donations from “compassionate individuals and individuals, who have experienced the joy of playing baseball, or from seeing their child play baseball,” Barr said, adding that in-kind donations of uniforms, equipment, fencing and building supplies will be gladly accepted.

The first Miracle League opened in Conyers, Ga., in 2000. By 2002, there were fields in South Carolina, Alabama, West Virginia, Illinois and California. By April of last year, there were 154 Miracle League organizations across the country reaching more than 25,000 disabled children.

The Miracle League serves people ages 3 to 19, who suffer from any physical or mental disabilities that cause them to be excluded from conventional baseball leagues. To help these athletes, the Miracle League uses a buddy system, pairing players with an able-bodied peer who can help them hit the ball and navigate the bases.

Miracle League mandates that every player bat every inning, all base runners are safe, every player scores a run before the inning is over (last one up automatically gets a home run) and each team and each player wins every game.

“A major portion of the $300,000 cost is the rubberized field,” said Barr, adding that grass fields provide a safety hazard for wheelchairs and walkers. There also will be wheelchair accessible dugouts.

Panama City Beach has agreed to handle scheduling, maintaining and operating the field. In return, the Rotary Club will organize the new league and raise the funds to construct the field. It will be located on the southwest corner of Frank Brown Park, in an area that was a T-ball field.

“We could never have undertaken this project if Panama City Beach had not designated this land for us,” said Barr.

For more information, call Barr at 814-8586.

To make a tax-deductible donation, make checks payable to Rotary District 6940 Foundation and mail to Rotary, P.O. Box 9279, Panama City Beach, FL 32417.