Miracle League ceremony tonight

Published 12:03 am Thursday, May 23, 2013

After its official dedication today, the Miracle League playground will be open to any and all, seven days a week, city officials said Wednesday.

“The playground will be open to the public during daylight hours – that’s dawn to dusk – weekdays and weekends,” said ML committee member and city employee Barbara Tyler.

The handicap-accessible playground is outfitted with a special surface and scores of play components.

Today, a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony of the PowerSouth Miracle League Park will be held at 5:30 p.m.

Tyler said there will be guest speakers from local governmental agencies and project supporters, as well as a proclamation dedicated from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, a joint initiative of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, and a supporter of the project.

The evening will conclude with a baseball game between the Angels and the Braves on the Miracle League field.

Miracle League removes the barriers that keep children with mental and physical disabilities off the baseball field and lets them experience America’s favorite pastime. Children play on custom-designed, rubberized turf fields that accommodate wheelchairs and other assertive devices. The local field is finished, and many youth league baseball teams are already using it as a practice field.

The league uses a “buddy” system, pairing each player with an able-bodied peer. More than 500 potential Miracle League players have been identified in Covington County. Player registration is currently ongoing, and board members will soon announce when play will begin.

Play has been ongoing for weeks, with some 40-plus children taking the field.