The playing fields and waterways of South Baltimore sprang to life this week as athletes of all ages kicked off the spring sports season. From Little League in Locust Point to volleyball at Rash Field and sailing from the Key Highway waterfront, the peninsula was hopping after a long COVID winter.
Saturday, April 24, was opening day for South Baltimore Little League at their ball fields on E. Fort Ave. at Woodall St. No parade or opening ceremony this year due to COVID, but a full roster of games was played, including T-ball and machine pitch for the youngest players.
Volleyball returned to the sand at Rash Field in the Inner Harbor on Sunday, April 25, with the start of Baltimore Beach Volleyball’s spring season. The spring leagues continue through June, and summer leagues begin in July and run through September.
Softball and kickball were the initial peninsula offerings of Volo Sports, with April leagues starting play on April 20 at McHenry Row and Swann Park. In May, Volo adds soccer, flag football, beach volleyball, bocce, yoga, and cornhole and expands to fields at Latrobe Park and South Point in Port Covington.
Although sailing is a year-round activity at the Downtown Sailing Center from docks at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, April brought the start of classes, evening races, and other programs that continue through fall. Kayaks are a new addition this year to the Center’s fleet of about 50 boats available to members. On April 25, over a dozen sailors set out on a “member sail” to Fort McHenry and back.
Just days away from joining the spring sports scene, the Canton Kayak Club’s Ray Scurr and Elizabeth Wilson were prepping paddles and boats at Under Armour’s Tide Point dock this past Sunday in anticipation of a May 1 season start. (Warm water temperature is the key factor in setting the date when club members can safely take to the water, says Ray.) Two of the club’s 10 central Maryland docks are on the peninsula: Tide Point and Nick’s Fish House next to the Hanover Street bridge. The kayak-sharing club offers training and unlimited seasonal use of the equipment May through October. – Steve Cole
South Baltimore Peninsula Post 