Playing for Community Integration in Columbus, Georgia

On Saturday afternoon, September 2nd, 2023, at 1 pm EST, Alternative Baseball will be returning to Historical Golden Park in Columbus, Georgia for the next stop on the Playing for Community Integration Tour. Alternative Baseball is more than ecstatic to partner with Ignite Sports, proud owners of the Columbus River Dragons professional ice hockey team, Columbus Chatt-A-Hoots summer collegiate baseball team, and Chattahoochee Monsters summer collegiate baseball team. Alternative Baseball players from the Columbus Cobras program will play against a collaboration of athletes from the Auburn Pilots (Auburn, Alabama), Cobb County Blue Devils (Powder Springs, Georgia), and the new Rome Alternative Baseball (Rome, Georgia) in a special 7-inning exhibition match with traditional rules to promote awareness and acceptance for societal integration of teens and adults with disabilities. The event will celebrate the long-term success of the Columbus Cobras Alternative Baseball program and the proclamation of Alternative Baseball and Disability Sports Empowerment Day in the City of Columbus.

In a commonly added twist to the Playing for Community Integration events, a group of excited local community leaders and ‘celebrities’ will be split amongst both teams for the purpose of providing an experience that involves collaboration with people with disabilities through sports. Local celebrity participants committed as of this writing include WTVM-TV sports anchor Tony Reese, Columbus Chatt-a-Hoots pitcher Brian Trepainer, Columbus-Muscogee County Superior Court Clerk Danielle Forte, and athletes Alex Jmaeff, Ryan Gil, Alex Storjohann, Jake Cox, Kyle Moore, and head coach “Boom Boom” Jerome Bechard from the Columbus River Dragons professional ice hockey team. Mayor Skip Henderson of Columbus-Muscogee County is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Representatives from Ignite Sports stated the following, “Ignite Sports and Entertainment looks forward to partnering with Alternative Baseball to create excitement, empowerment, and enrichment through the authentic baseball experience for teens and adults with Autism and other disabilities. Historic Golden Park has hosted many groundbreaking players and events in its storied history, and this will certainly be another impactful event for the Chattahoochee Valley and beyond.”

Now home to the Columbus Chatt-a-Hoots and Chattahoochee Monsters, Golden Park Baseball Stadium has hosted a Savannah Bananas’ Banana Ball Tour exhibition, the softball tournament at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and multiple minor league baseball franchises since its original opening in 1926. The stadium was rebuilt in 1956 and renovated in 1996 in preparation for the Olympic competitions. The general public is invited to spectate for free at the historical stadium on Saturday. The gates will open to the public at 12 o’clock noon. Future stops on the Southeastern Playing for Community Integration Tour include Carrollton High School in Carrollton, Georgia on September 16, 2023, Luther Williams Field in Macon, Georgia on October 7, and the biggest event of the year, ABO AND PROS, at Paulding County High School in Dallas, Georgia with former professional baseball players on October 21. Please contact the Organization if you would like to see a Playing for Community Integration event played in your area!