Fitzpatrick: Expense, logistics reasons some programs not on Road to Okotoks

The Fieldhouse Pirates, who won the 17U CPBL championship in 2025, opted not to enter a team in Baseball Canada’s Road to Okotoks national championship tournament this year. Photo: CPBL

July 10, 2026

By Trevor Fitzpatrick

Canadian Baseball Network

As the inaugural Road to Okotoks tournament nears its first pitch on Tuesday, some of the nation’s top programs are missing from the schedule.

That list includes two CPBL powerhouses: the Fieldhouse Pirates and Academie Baseball Canada (ABC).

Asking rhetorically, perhaps this was because of a rough qualifying round? A lack of spots available? The answer is, in fact, much simpler than that – it all came down to time and money.

As a great example of this, both teams were participating in the Perfect Game 18U Canadian National Championship with their 17U teams. The Pirates won it all, and ABC was right behind them as the runner ups.

That championship landed on June 3 to June 7, just days after the Road to Okotoks qualifiers which took place May 28 to May 31. With both being so close (and expensive for ABC… there were no Quebec qualifying sites), the two teams chose to take part in the already established Perfect Game tournament.

Bob Hooper, the president of Fieldhouse explained it like so:

“This tournament (the Road to Okotoks) is a big commitment of time and money (should they have qualified and had to go to Okotoks), and we would need some time to figure out how to make it work for the players who would go, and then create a plan for the players not going on the trip since there’s only one team made from each program. We couldn’t make it work in time this year but we are watching closely, and will revisit this again in the future.”

Marc-Antoine Bérubé, the president of ABC, shared a similar sentiment:

“After reviewing the event, we ultimately decided that it was not the best fit for our schedule and overall program plan this year. We appreciate the work that goes into organizing events like this and wish the event and all participating programs a great experience.”

Some other notable teams that chose not to attend include the Toronto Mets and Great Lake Canadians, who are both also CPBL members. Both teams did not respond to a request for a comment regarding their decision to sit out.

With an already established competitive circuit that has minimal travel, the cost consideration to play on the national stage becomes an even larger concern.

The competition in the CPBL is already fierce, and while the western teams are just as competitive, it doesn’t make much sense to play outside of the CPBL if the cost isn’t right, as Hooper explains,

“As a founding member of the CPBL, we can find good games every weekend in a fairly local geography. The CPBL continues to be the top league in Canada in terms of helping players achieve their dreams of playing college and professional baseball, and we view the best teams out West as peers to the CPBL.”

He continued, “Although fun to play against them, we have to factor the time and cost to get out to do that type of event versus other tournaments with age categories so more players get chances on the field to get better and show what they can do.”

One final concern that Fieldhouse raised was an age categories issue. As the Road to Okotoks is only a 19U tournament, and teams will be looking to field their best rosters, a lot of players in competitive programs will miss the chance to play.

While the tournament has said on their website that scouts will be present, a concern arises that if each team is only bringing their best players, most of them will have already been in front of scouts. The players who are more in need of those eyes won’t be able to get them.

“Most of the older kids in this event are already committed to college programs,” Hooper said, “so the potential benefits for the younger talent is limited by the older, committed players who would take up most of the gameplay.”

It is yet to be seen how the first Road to Okotoks will play out, but even before the first pitch, it’s become clear that there is a definitive path ahead to improvement.

How the tournament improves in future years will determine whether it can truly rival the old National Championships or the Perfect Game events.