With baseball season just around the corner, excitement has been replaced by uncertainty for the West Kelowna Minor Baseball Association.
Kim Duces opened the team’s storage locker Sunday morning to find critical equipment was gone.
“They took an assortment of things. They were able to break into our lock box, and once they got into the lock box they had one key that opened up the storage and once they were inside, I’m assuming they closed the door and went to town,” said Duces.
According to staff, the thieves made off with about $10,000 worth of equipment, including a quad that grooms the fields.
“It’s going to impact how we plan our seasons. We rely heavily on our equipment to run successful practices; without having that equipment it puts more effort on our coaches to develop practices without that equipment,” said Jenny Kerslake, West Kelowna Minor Baseball Association vice-president.
Duces says to make matters worse, this theft isn’t the first.
“It happened quite a few times — anything where they think something is hidden, they will go with the big bolt cutters,” said Duces.
With the season one month away, staff are left stuck.
“We keep our registration fees lower because we just want the kids to play, so we don’t know how we’ll pay for this equipment,” said Kerslake.