The Nakina Dixie Youth Baseball League will celebrate its 30th anniversary during the league’s 2006 Opening Ceremonies on Friday, May 31 at the Nakina Dixie Youth field (adjacent to Nakina Alternative School) on N.C. 905.

All players and coaches of the 15 T-Ball, coach-pitch, minor league and major league teams will be introduced during the opening ceremonies, which will begin at 7 p.m.

League play will open on Saturday, April 1, with all teams stepping into play.

Ricky Ward, league president and longtime Nakina DY coach, said that the opening ceremonies will also include recognition of coaches and players from the league’s inaugural 1976 season.

“The league started out in 1976 with four teams,” said Ward, who was an original Nakina DY player at the age of 11 and whose father, the late Thurman Ward, was instrumental in the founding and development of the league. “We’ve grown steadily through the years and now utilize three fields ... two at Nakina and one at Old Dock.”

Ward is requesting that all players and coaches from the 1976 Nakina Dixie Youth League who plan to be at the opening ceremonies contact him at 910-642-6512.
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