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Explore a region full of nature history and family fun

Explore a region full of nature history and family fun

CTV News21-05-2025
Ottawa Watch
As part of our Summer Travel Week we head over to the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.
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‘Heartbreaking': Air Canada workers' strike throws curveball into Sask. baseball team's championship hopes
‘Heartbreaking': Air Canada workers' strike throws curveball into Sask. baseball team's championship hopes

CTV News

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  • CTV News

‘Heartbreaking': Air Canada workers' strike throws curveball into Sask. baseball team's championship hopes

The Team Saskatchewan U15 boys baseball team is facing uncertainty, after the team's flights to the national championship in PEI were cancelled due to the Air Canada workers' strike The Air Canada workers' strike has the Team Saskatchewan U15 boys baseball team scrambling to get to the national championship. 'We were supposed to fly out 11 a.m. [Tuesday] and get to P.E.I. about midnight,' head coach Blair Beck told CTV News. 'We're on plan B for sure.' The airline said Monday all flights scheduled up until 4 p.m. on Tuesday through Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge have been suspended as the airline and the union representing flight attendants have not been able to reach a new deal. The cancellations included Team Sask.'s travel plans to the Ray Carter Cup Championships in Summerside, P.E.I. – flights which had been booked in March. 'Air Canada had the best options in terms of time getting into Charlottetown. So that's the ones we went with,' Baseball Sask Executive Director Mike Ramage said. 'Now all our flights have been canceled and there's nothing else out there coming from Regina to the Maritimes.' Ramage says the 16 players have been working all season for a chance to win a national championship. 'It would be absolute heartbreaking if they weren't allowed to go there and bring home a medal,' he said. 'I think we got a good team and we can compete with anyone there,' first baseman and outfielder Jaxon Weir said. 'It's just whether we put it together and get down there.' The tournament begins Thursday in Summerside, with Saskatchewan taking on Quebec in their first game that morning. 'We knew there was going to be some issues [due to the strike],' Beck said. 'We were pretty down for a bit, but it sounds like we're going to maybe find a solution.' A parent's sacrifice While the team practiced for the final time in Regina Monday evening before their scheduled flights, parents were in the bleachers on hold with various airlines. Some for the majority of the time players were on the diamond. Kirby Inverarity's family had seven flights booked with Air Canada Tuesday out of either Regina or Saskatoon to go watch his son, Aivan. All of them were cancelled. 'We were just hoping the later flight for the boys stayed intact,' he said. 'The disappointment is more for the kids.' Other parents who had flights with other airlines – like WestJet – are attempting to swap their seats with the players to get the team to P.E.I. '[We] just want to see the boys get to play,' Inverarity said. 'It's a big stage, they're excited and there's still a good chance they're going to get there.' 'You couldn't ask for anything more.' Beck said. 'To get to this point [in their careers], kids need great parents who are willing to sacrifice things for them. And then to step up and give up flights and do whatever they can do to get their kids there is super impressive.' Despite the tumultuous travel situation, players were optimistic of their chances to take the field. 'It just shows how much they care about us and want to see us play at that level,' Weir said. 'That they would put us before themselves.' According to the team, even with parents giving up their seats, it was possible there would not be enough to get everyone to Summerside. 'Hopefully it works out and they get to play,' Inverarity added. 'We'll be watching from home online now.' Pre-tournament adversity Beck said he'd rather have been talking about his squad's chances of winning the tournament, instead of arriving in the first place. 'We've been working to get here since the day we left last year, honestly,' he said. 'We have a lot of really good ballplayers and we're real happy with the great group of guys.' Beck hoped overcoming adversity before the tournament can propel the team to a national championship. 'It's been chaos. I forgot my luggage because I was so rattled,' he joked. 'But I like it. It'll definitely be something we'll use throughout the whole tournament. We play some big-time teams we think we can compete with.' 'We're going to play for [our families],' Weir said. 'We'll play for our province and hopefully bring back a medal.'

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