What is Rep Baseball?
The Guelph Royals rep program is a travel baseball program that allows our membership the opportunity to play at our most competitive level by representing the city in league play with neighbouring centres including Brantford, Cambridge, Kitchener, Stratford, Waterloo and Woodstock. From time to time, other centres will also participate in the Inter County loop. Such centres may include, but are not limited to, London, Hamilton, Ancaster, Simcoe, Tilsonburg, Port Dover, Caledonia, Mitchell and Listowel. In addition to league play, teams will participate in tournament play throughout Ontario, or out of province/county should the team choose.
Our Teams
Guelph Minor Baseball (GMBA) is thrilled to be able to field 20 rep teams with a minimum of two teams at each age division from 8U through to 18U. Each team is led by a coach who has been selected by our GMBA selection committee for their baseball knowledge, leadership and dedication to helping our youth grow not only as skilled baseball players but as strong citizens within our community. All coaches are provided access to the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) and are screened per the GMBA Police Record Check Policy. For a complete list of teams and coaches, please visit Current Coaches.
Our Coaches
Our coaches for rep are selected by our rep selection committee and announced prior to the September tryouts.
On occasion, the selection of a coach at a level below Tier 1 may be marked as "To Be Confirmed" in order to allows the successful coaching candidates child an opportunity to make a higher level team. In the event that the child makes the higher level team, the rep committee will select a new coach for that team.
Who is Able to Join the Royals?
Players residing within the City of Guelph are automatically eligible to attend tryouts. Anyone who played on a rep roster with GMBA in the previous season is also able to attend tryouts. Players who did not play on a GMBA rep team and live outside of the city limits will require a release prior to attending tryouts. Players residing in the areas of Fergus, Elora, Ariss will require a release from Western Ontario Baseball Association (WOBA) while players in the areas of Puslinch, Aberfoyle, Rockwood will require a release from Central Ontario Baseball Association (COBA). Players residing in such areas will be treated as regional players and as such treated equal to a Guelph resident during player selection. Players residing in other centres where baseball programs do exist will need to obtain the appropriate releases and will be subject to import rules.
The Rep Season
The rep season kicks off with tryouts shortly after Labor Day each year. Dates and times will vary by age group. Details will be posted on the website and social media as the current playing season winds down. Some teams choose to participate in fall ball leagues and/or exhibition games following tryouts but that is up to each individual team at this time. Majority of teams will start off-season training in January using some of our indoor training partners like Peak Hithouse, Marden’s Royal Distributing Athletic Centre, University of Guelph, Play Ball Academy, etc. The regular season begins in May and runs until early August. Each team can expect 18-30 games depending on the age level and number of teams in the loop. On average, this works out to one home and one away game per week on top of one to two practices (at the discretion of the team’s coach and diamond availability). The season wraps up with league playoffs, provincial qualifiers and provincial playoffs (if the team qualifies) taking place from mid-August to Labour Day weekend.
What Does the Fee Structure Look Like?
Rep players are charged through various means.
- Registration Fee - Each player will pay an initial registration fee directly to GMBA. This is usually done in the late fall.
For a rep player, this fee secures their spot on the team and is used as a downpayment that goes towards the cost of running their rep team. ($200/player in 2023)
- Team Fee - Each team is then charged a rep team fee in the spring. This is the difference between the total cost to GMBA of fielding that rep team and the amount collected through the registration fees mentioned above of all the team members. ($2000-$4200/team in 2023)
- Player Fees – These are the fees charged to each team member that are payable directly to the team and cover expenses that are unique to that particular team – ie. tournaments, team building, indoor training, etc. They have nothing to do with GMBA and are approved at the team level. These funds are usually collected in installments during the off-season. (Averages around $2000-$2500/player without considering sponsorship and fundraising)
Click here for more information about Rep Registration & Fees
On top of this, consideration should be given to equipment, uniform and travel expenses which are typically individual expenses.
Any general questions can be directed to the GMBA Rep Committee at [email protected].