Five area Challenger baseball teams (East Lycoming, Jersey Shore, Mifflinburg, Montoursville, and Original Little Leagues) recently participated in their 2nd Annual – Challengers Skills & Fun Day, at the Liberty Arena on Saturday, March 7th.
The Little League Challenger Division was founded in 1989 and is an adaptive baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges. There are divisions for ages 4 – 18, or up to age 22 if still enrolled in school, plus a Senior division for players 15 and over.
Over 40 Challenger players participated in Saturday’s event, rotating through 10 different skill and fun stations. Special thanks to the Montoursville Area High School baseball and softball team players and coaches who volunteered as “Buddies” for the event. Buddies assisted players at the stations and traveled with their respective small groups of 4-5 players during the rotation from station to station.
Our area Challenger teams typically have an 8-10 game regular season schedule. Our core Challenger coaches from all five leagues also find it important to keep the players bonded in the off-season. Other Challenger events include a Summer Jamboree at Original LL, a Crosscutter game, attending the Challenger game at the annual LLWS, a special Fall Chris Downs Challenger Classic, typically in September, and some teams have also scheduled special bowling nights and other activities for their teams.
It was obvious by the smiles and laughter of the players, buddies, coaches, and family members in attendance that the Challenger Skills & Fun event was a definite success!
We’d like to encourage local community members to attend a Challenger game in 2026 and also recommend that any families with a child or youth who meets the Challenger criteria consider signing them up to play in the Challenger Division. Many of the Challenger players also participate in an annual “Penguin Project” play at CTL, plus some are involved with the Special Olympics, Drums Alive, Music from the Heart, and other various organizations in the area.
Special thanks to Bingaman & Son Lumber for sponsoring this year’s event, and to Liberty Arena and staff for always being very accommodating during our special event.
Spring is just around the corner. PLAY BALL!
Submitted by Jamie Foster
