With the pandemic always making things so complicated, Frontière FM in Edmundston has no other choice but to extend a vacation for another season in Bas-Saint-Laurent Puribec.
On Sunday, it was President Jean Lebel who made the announcement on the organization’s Facebook page.
“There are many uncontrollable factors that contribute to this decision,” wrote Leble. First, the extended US border closure continues to prevent players from the US from coming to play in New Brunswick. At the moment, nothing allows us to know when the borders will reopen. “
“In addition, we remain restricted by restrictions that allow gatherings, and we very much want public health instructions to be respected,” added Frontière FM president.
In a phone interview, Jean Lebel wished the team’s fans to console.
“It’s just a break,” he says. Let’s give ourselves a chance to get through this epidemic and then we can start playing again. Even though we have been on hiatus since the end of the 2019 season, the fans are still attached to the club. I hear about it regularly. In 2019, we had nearly 1,000 spectators for our local matches during the qualifiers. ”
The Edmundston team clearly risks losing some of its older players. This is the case of Frederick Jocelyn, for example.
“The chances of seeing a guy like Frederick again definitely diminish. He was already a guy in his 40s in 2019, so we’ll see. We also have some local players of a certain age. Hopefully they’ll be there when we start over,” says Jan Leibel.
“Fortunately, our other players are relatively young, whether they live in American Medawaska, which is part of our territory, or our imports. They are all very young.”
We have a good youth group with great potential. We had a very good season in 2019 and we are optimistic that the team will return to the same level in 2022, as Frontière FM president specifies.
Jan Leibel also hopes local players can access the facilities on the baseball field this summer. It was not possible last year.
“For example, we would like to offer youth baseball training courses. We are concerned about the effects the pandemic might have on our local relief. In 2019, there was a buzz here for little baseball and it has unfortunately faded since then. So we want to help them because it is because of it. If young people stop playing, then the next generation won’t be there either, ” Jan Leibel explains.
On the one hand, Puribec announced that another New Brunswick team, Cataractes of Grand Falls, had requested more time before making a final decision on the next campaign.
Currently, only six teams have confirmed their comeback, namely Chaker Rimouski, Le Construction Michaël Bérubé from Trois-Pistoles, CIEL-FM from Rivière-du-Loup, CHOX-FM from La Pocatière, and Toumes Lemieux – Promotuel Assurances de Montmagny and Braves Batitech de Témiscouata. For its part, Bar La Mansarde de Matane has decided to permanently close the books.
Puribec Circuit president Denis Bérubé has also indicated that Edmundston players will be eligible for a special draft. However, players will need to return to their Edmundston squad once Frontière FM resumes operations.
“Evil thinker. Music scholar. Hipster-friendly communicator. Bacon geek. Amateur internet enthusiast. Introvert.”