(Washington, Pennsylvania – October 9, 2022) – The PONY Baseball and Softball International Board of Directors has voted today to change the age determination date for baseball to April 30 effective for the 2023 baseball season. After considerable discussion and careful deliberation, it was determined that this was the best course of action for our membership.
Over the past couple of years, there has been a lot of discussion about the PONY age determination date. This is an important topic to everyone involved in PONY, and PONY has sought input from volunteers, parents, and coaches that has helped guide the PONY International Board of Directors to ultimately change the current age determination date for all divisions of PONY baseball to April 30.
“This has been an ongoing topic of discussion and debated since we changed the date back to August several years ago,” stated PONY President Abraham Key. “By changing the date, we will now align with a large majority of youth baseball organizations. Many PONY member organizations did not make the change years ago and this will help us realign our membership and ensure them additional opportunities in the PONY organization.”
There will be no loss of eligibility for any participants in the 2023 season, essentially the PONY program will be four (4) months older starting in 2023. Players born in the months of May, June, July, and August will have a choice of whether to stay in their respective age groups or move up into an older age group with their former teammates.