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Challenger League

2023 Season Photos

WMLL is proud to offer baseball for boys & girls with physical & mental disabilities through our Challenger League program.  Launched in 2009, our Challenger League offers an authentic Little League experience in an athletic environment structured to the ability of each player.

Eligibility: Any disabled boy or girl aged 7 to 18 years old living in Dane County is eligible to play.

Rules:

  • Games run for 1.5 hours & usually allow for three complete innings of play.
  • No score is kept.
  • Each player takes a position on the field & bats every inning.
  • A half-inning is over when all the players on a team have batted.
  • Batters can choose to be pitched to by a coach or hit off a tee.  There are no strikeouts.
  • Players in the field attempt to make outs, but even if they do, the batter stays on base as a baserunner.

“Buddies”: Every Challenger League player is paired with an able-bodied buddy, usually WMLL baseball & softball players.  Buddies provide encouragement & assistance as needed on the field, at bat & in the dugout.  The use of volunteer buddies allows the parents of Challenger League players to sit in the stands, watch the game and cheer on the players.
Click Here for information about being a Challenger League buddy.

Games: The 2024 season will tentatively begin the first Saturday in September and end late September or early October.  It will run for five weeks.  All games are on Saturday mornings at the WMLL Battista Field (the field closest to Forward Drive) – except for one special game under the lights (date TBD)

Practice Game: There will probably be one practice game in August.  Before the game, players will meet their buddies & coaches and receive their uniforms.

Fees & Discounts: The standard registration fee is $15 for this year.

Sponsor: The Challenger League Sponsor for 2024 is Exact Sciences, located right across Forward Drive from our ballpark complex. 

Register: To register for 2024 Challenger League (CLICK HERE)

Questions?: If you have questions about WMLL’s Challenger League, please contact Challenger League Coordinator Randy Norton at randaln@charter.net.

Please share information about WMLL’s Challenger League!

Challenger League in the News!
– Click HERE for a WISC-TV News 3 feature on the Challenger League
– Click HERE for an Isthmus feature on Jaden Weiss, a former Challenger League buddy