Let’s play ball!
From August 4-12, 2022 Calgary will be home to the 2022 Canadian Little League Championship. This prestigious sporting event will take place at Rose Diamond at Stanley Park and will welcome over 300 players, coaches, umpires and family members for the nine-day tournament.
Over the summer months, Little League Canada has held tournaments at the district and divisional level to field six champions who qualify for the national tournament: Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Atlantic Provinces. As the host team, Calgary’s own Rocky Mountain Little League gets an automatic berth as the seventh team. The winner of the national tournament earns the right to represent Canada at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
A special moment in history
Not only is this the first time Calgary hosting this event, but 2022 is also the 75th Anniversary of the very first Little League World Series held in 1947. In Canada, Little League was first chartered in 1951 and was the first International Little League charter ever granted. Right across Canada, volunteers give their time to provide a healthy and wholesome, family-oriented activity for the children of their community.
Rose Diamond is located in beautiful Stanley Park, an iconic setting in the heart of Calgary located along the banks of the Elbow River. It was the Elbow River that burst its banks in 2013, causing the devastating flood that destroyed the original diamond constructed in 1962.
As the flood waters receded, a vision for a new Little League diamond took shape. Rose Diamond at Stanley Park would be a signature facility to fuel the dreams of future generations of young baseball players in Calgary.
Rose Diamond at Stanley Park
The new diamond was completed at a cost of $2.4 million in August 2017. Just as the Rotary Club had funded the original diamond 55 years earlier, the new diamond was funded entirely by private donations. Rose Diamond at Stanley Park officially opened in September 2017, and ever since the diamond at this historic location has served its intended purpose. In the past four years, hundreds of Little League games have been held at the diamond, with players, coaches, families, and umpires all soaking in the magic in the air at our beautiful ballpark.
The vision is that Rose Diamond will be used to develop superior citizens – a place where young players will learn the values of citizenship, discipline, teamwork, and well-being. It is a place to pursue the Little League virtues of Character, Courage and Loyalty while emphasizing the application of Effort and Learning to overcome Mistakes and adversity. Players, Coaches, and Spectators are asked to respect the Rules, Officials, Opponents, Teammates, and Self.
Here, we honour the game.