By By Adam Robinson
sports editor
For the first time, the Brewton Area YMCA will be offering 15-year-old girls in the Brewton area the chance to play organized softball locally during the spring and early summer.
Registration is now under way for all YMCA spring youth sports programs that include Girls Softball, Co-Ed T-Ball and Co-Ed Coach Pitch Baseball.
The YMCA will be offering softball for girls in the following age divisions:  9-10; 11-12; and 13-15. Registration for 9-12 year olds ends Friday, March 5.  Registration for 13-15 year olds will run through March 19.
Evaluations for the 9- to 12-year-old girls will be this Saturday, March 6, at the YMCA Sports Park beginning at 9 a.m. 
The girls will compete with teams from East Brewton and Flomaton.  Age determination for girl’s softball is age as of Dec. 31, 2009.
The softball league will be under the Little League Girls Softball organization thanks to funding approved last week by the Brewton City Council.
Roger Chapman, a member of the Brewton Recreation Board, asked the council to support the effort to the tune of $5,000.
Chapman said the funding requested would help offset costs associated with startup of the League.
The league formed will also be able to participate with other Little League softball teams in interleague play, including teams in Flomaton and East Brewton.
Funding for $5,000 for the upcoming season was approved by the council with a re-evaluation of the success of the program to be made prior to budgeting for the 2011 fiscal year.
Dickey said the YMCA financial assistance policy states “that no one is turned away because of an inability to pay.”
The Brewton Area YMCA is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization, and does not receive federal dollars.  Therefore, the facility relies on donations, membership dollars, and program fees that help offset the major costs of operating a 70,000 square foot facility, administer quality programs, as well as maintain a sports complex that is certainly one of, if not the best in the area.
The YMCA, who incorporate the values of Caring, Honesty, Respect, Responsibility, and Faith into all of its youth sports programs has a policy that every player plays at least one half of every game, where other programs may have limited participation.
In addition, the YMCA will be offering T-Ball for 4 year-olds and two separate ‘Coach Pitch’ leagues.  One league will be for 5-6 year-olds and the other for 7-8 year-olds.
Registration will run through March 19 for these age groups.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to call the YMCA at 867-9622.