2023 Annual Appeal
Woodstock Area Youth Baseball and Sports (WAYBS) was formed to help celebrate youth sports in our community here in Woodstock - with a particular emphasis on baseball.
Baseball has been played in the Woodstock area for over 120 years. In 1900 an integrated baseball team including an African American manager known as the "Woodstock Invicibles" played baseball at Vail Field. For much of 2022 WAYBS has worked in conjunction with the Woodstock Recreation Department to restore the home of the Invicibles (Vail Field).
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1/3 of the improvements completed thus far have been funded by the Town of Woodstock (via the Woodstock Rec), and another 1/3 from a grant WAYBS received from the Woodstock Economic Development Council. This includes:
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Completely re-do landscaping of Vail baseball field and replace infield material
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Re-route walking path away from baseball field for safety reasons
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Replace/re-position backstop and fencing around field
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Purchase a portable mound, and home-run fencing
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To read more about the work done in 2022 in addition to our season of play please visit our 2022 Accomplishments page.
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We are seeking support from our community for the other 1/3 amount - $40,000 to complete the remaining projects (see below for a breakdown).
Chris English and the Vermont Lake Monsters have pledged to match donations up to $20,000!
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If you would prefer to make your donation via a check, make payable to:
Woodstock Area Youth Baseball and Sports. Our mailing address is: PO Box 152, Woodstock, VT 05091
$10,000
Materials for Dugouts
To put our dugouts in we've needed to re-route the walking path @ Vail, have a design, excavate/level the site, and pour concrete slabs. All the work thus far has been in-kind or at a very discounted rate from local tradespeople. We now need raise an additional $10,000 to pay for the materials of the dugouts that will be built by skilled volunteers.
$13,000
Storage Shed/Concession Stand
We are in need of additional storage specifically for baseball equipment. We'd like to use the additional storage multi-purpose of having a concession window that can sell refreshments/snacks during larger events and raise additional funds for W.A.Y.B.S.
Note: Actual storage shed not pictured - TBD by Woodstock Rec.
$7,000
Scoreboard
A scoreboard is instrumental in supporting high quality play. It also increases the level of engagement from the players and fans.
Note: actual scoreboard and location are still TBD.
$3,000
Annual Field Maintenance
Now that Vail field has been laser-graded and re-landscaped with proper material, we realize we need professional help in maintaining our field year after year.
$7,000
Infield Groomer
Regular "dragging" of the infield will result in a better playable surface and keep weeds down. In our 2022 season we relied on coaches to drag the field by hand which would take roughly 1-2 hours to complete. Even doing this once a week was not enough to keep weeds down. Utilizing a machine purpose-built for this will ensure our field can easily be kept looking pristine in a matter of minutes. We are looking to purchase a used machine at this price.