The 17 Cuban teenaged baseball players who left home for the first time to visit Vancouver Island last week had one dream: to see and maybe even touch snow.
That wish came true at the top of Mount Washington where the youth packed the white stuff and tossed a few four-seamers at each other.
“The kids have really changed and adapted well and had an absolutely fabulous experience,” head coach Saul Basallo told the Chronicle with the help of a translator. “They’ve gained and shared experiences along the way and been candid about answering people’s questions.”
The Chemainus and District Baseball Association raised $34,000 to bring the players and coaches from Union de Reyes, about an hour outside of Havana (or 1.5 hours from Varadero), to the Island.
Vice president Rick Shay, who helped organize the exchange with wife April, said the Jays players put all their energy into fundraising over the past year.
“They can’t do enough for these Cubans - they’re just all over it,” he said. “We had a crew of ball players out splitting and stacking wood for a fundraiser.”
The bond between Union de Reyes and Chemainus started when local resident Rob Dyke took down a couple bags of gear in 2007.
The Cuban team was so appreciative of the equipment and eventually last year the Chemainus Jays visited the Caribbean island.
“When they got there and saw how the Cubans live and were so hospitable even though they had next to nothing, it really touched them,” Dyke said.
In addition to a trip up to Courtenay to play baseball and be treated to a salmon dinner by the local association, the Cubans also went to Victoria for a day and saw Chinatown.
“It’s been an incredible dream for them an something they couldn’t really even fathom,” Basallo said, adding that the equipment is “an invaluable teaching, learning and humanitarian tool.”