RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX 18) — Last week, Gov. Andy Beshear announced new guidelines for youth sports in Kentucky. Part of those guidelines include teams only playing in their city or county, but does not address out of state play.
Mark Chaney spends a few months planning youth baseball teams in Kentucky and surrounding states have tournaments to play in on summer weekends. Chaney noted that it is a source of income that many towns rely on.
"Elizabethtown, I've never been over there, but I feel bad for them. They put a lot of money in on the turf and now they're not even getting to use it," Chaney said.
As the state starts to open back up, Gov. Beshear announced some guidelines for youth sports, one of them being that teams can only play within their city or county. But the guidelines do not address out of state games. So, travel teams are now playing in Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio.
"If you're going to travel, why not travel in the state. Let's keep the money here, teams come here. I mean, people are going to find a way to play. so if they're going to do that, let's just keep them here," Chaney said.
The youth baseball community hopes that Gov. Beshear re-evaluates the guidelines to let their teams play within the state. Chaney says most parks are spread out enough to allow for social distancing.
"A lot of parents, this is their life. This is their kids' life. and that's what they like to do," Chaney said.
