BALLSTON SPA — Ballston Spa was one of six schools that launched unified bowling 14 years ago. Back then, the school struggled to find enough participants. Nowadays, not only is the team the largest in school history, but it also captured the Division 6 Championship earlier this month.

“We did have a successful year,” said Coach Rob Immel when his team was being celebrated by the district at the March 30 Board of Education meeting. “With unified bowling, one of my favorite aspects of it is the small celebrations, whether you get a strike, whether you win, get a spare, maybe even hit a pin, eat as many fries as you can; we celebrate all the successes.”

Unified bowling teams include a mix of people with and without disabilities. Students with limitations in adaptive areas (players) are paired with other students (partners). According to Special Olympics New York, bowling is a particularly beneficial sport to people with intellectual disabilities because it includes physical exercise, participation, and social integration.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Baseball might be a spring sport, but it sure didn’t feel like spring during the Skidmore College baseball team’s home opener last Friday afternoon against Bard College. A gray sky and near-freezing temperatures not-so-subtly hinted at the winter storm that would begin pummeling the region later that night. Flurries fell intermittently throughout the game, causing occasional white dustings across the infield. But despite the cold, Skidmore starting pitcher Ameer Hasan was on fire.

Hasan announced his presence by striking out all three batters in the first inning. In six total innings, he threw 87 pitches, allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk. The single run scored against him in the fifth was the result of throwing error.

While Hasan commanded the mound, the Thoroughbreds went to work driving in runs. In the third inning, the team tallied nine of them. Nate Vandersea and Sam Kornet both drove in 2 RBI each. Ewen Donald worked a walk with the bases loaded. Zachary Leiderman got hit by a pitch, also with the bases loaded. Eddie Galvao hit a single to left-center that drove in yet another run. By the time the third inning was over, Skidmore was in the lead, 11-0.

Bard starting pitcher Kane Morgan was a bit unruly, walking several batters and hitting another within the first couple innings. He left the game in the bottom of the third after allowing 4 earned runs.

After Hasan departed the game, Skidmore’s relievers struggled, allowing 7 runs in the 7th inning. But Skidmore’s third-inning performance was too much for Bard to overcome. The Thoroughbreds won with a final score of 16-9.

After the home opener on Friday, Skidmore played two more games against Bard on Sunday, winning both in shutout victories. After taking all three games of their series against Bard, the Thoroughbreds improved to 8-6 on the season. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — New uniforms. A new coach. New players. A new team culture. It seems like the Saratoga Central Catholic varsity softball team has hit the refresh button and is prepared to enter its next era.

“We want to try to change the culture until we expect to win,” said Coach Abby Arceneaux. “We’re trying to set expectations that we can compete with anybody.”

This season will be Arceneaux’s first as coach of the Saints, but she’s been developing the team since last summer. During more than a dozen open gyms, Arceneaux worked on the fundamentals with her more inexperienced players. Thanks to these sessions, Arceneaux said her girls already knew what to expect coming into the season. “We were kind of all on the same page right away,” she said.

Saratoga Catholic has six returning players this year. “They’re all very good softball players even though some of them are young,” Arceneaux said. But it was a struggle to fill in the team’s holes. This year’s roster includes four freshmen with no recent competitive softball experience, as well as an 8th grader and two 7th graders. 

In a meeting at the start of the season, Arceneaux went over all of the team’s games from last year. Arceneaux said she wanted to change the team’s mindset to believe they can compete with anybody. “These girls, we’ve heard them say, ‘Oh God, that team is so good.’ And we’re like, so should we not show up? You want me to take that day off?” 

Arceneaux has been drilling the message into her team that they have what it takes to win. It seems that strategy is paying off. Arceneaux said morale is high, and she hasn’t “noticed any kind of negativity.”

Unfortunately, the team did suffer one setback. During a batting practice, Arceneaux tore her Achilles. Thankfully, she had an experienced veteran on her coaching bench ready to help out: her dad, John. Arceneaux said she was lucky to have her father’s support. “There’s no better coach in this area that can develop kids and knows the game, in my opinion,” she said. 

The Saints will also undoubtedly have help from Ryan McDonald, their standout senior catcher who hit over .450 last year. “She’s 100% the leader of our team,” Arceneaux said. “She’s a player to watch. I don’t know how she’s flown under the radar so much because she’s impressive.”

Fans can get their first look at the revamped, McDonald-led team when the Saints kick off the season on Monday, April at 1 p.m. against Tamarac High School.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus told attendees of an Industry Influencers event on Wednesday morning that Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran’s proposed short-term rental regulations, which have been the source of controversy, will be “dramatically changed.”

“The fee is coming way down,” Shimkus said, referring to the $1,000 biennial registration fee. “The rules are going to be different for folks that rent for three weeks over the summer or a couple days versus somebody that is an absentee landlord investing from outside the area.”

Shimkus said he had spoken to Moran on “multiple occasions” about the proposed regulations. “The impact that it likely has going forward is going to be, I think, dramatically different from what the original proposal was looking at,” Shimkus said. 

In response to Shimkus’ remarks, the Saratoga Springs Rental Rights Alliance, an advocacy group formed in opposition to the proposed regulations, said via spokesperson Anna Smith that “though Moran has hinted at substantial revisions in the upcoming draft, we eagerly anticipate reviewing the new proposal and remain eager to voice any additional concerns.” 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Joinery, a community woodworking shop on Caroline Street, had its grand opening last weekend. Visitors toured the new facilities to explore membership options (rates start at $89 per month or $918 per year), get a glimpse of the machinery, and chat with employees. A small display area up front showed off an elegant chair and nightstand. A lumber room in the back was filled with birch, cherry, maple, poplar, walnut, and other woods available for purchase.

Joinery members are given access to the space, their own area for storage, class discounts, and opportunities to sell or showcase their creations. Non-members can also take woodworking classes. “A big part of our mission is to bring people in who otherwise would have no touchpoint for woodworking,” said Executive Director Tori Colarusso in a statement. “There is definitely a need in this region. We have a lot of people who are members who live in an apartment, but have no space to engage in woodworking, despite having an interest in it.” 

“The idea is to create a safe, welcoming place for people to learn and develop skills,” said Founder John Haller. “There is a barrier to getting into woodworking, whether it’s not having the space, tools, or ability. The Saratoga Joinery’s goal is to meet people where they are at, while building a community at the same time.” 

To learn more about Saratoga Joinery, stop by their location at 69 Caroline Street, or visit www.saratogajoinery.org.

SCHUYLERVILLE — The Schuylerville Central School District (SCSD) is encouraging community members to send letters to local representatives in protest of Governor Kathy Hochul’s executive budget proposal. The district projects it will lose 17.23% of its foundation aid, leading to a 5.71% overall loss in revenue from the previous school year.

A letter template, posted to the SCSD website, states that the district is “frustrated and disappointed that the executive budget proposal reverses years of progress towards full funding of the Foundation Aid formula by eliminating the hold harmless provision for hundreds of school districts and lowering the inflationary factor.” 

The hold harmless provision would ensure that school districts receive at least the same amount of funding next year as they did the previous year. Hochul intends to get rid of the provision. 

“Now, more than ever, school districts are responsible for providing a variety of supports, services, and opportunities, in addition to academics, grades K-12,” the letter states. “We hope you will see that the proposed foundation cuts come at a time when the state should be supporting schools instead of cutting their funding.” 

Acting Superintendent James Ducharme participated in a roundtable discussion last month about the loss of foundation aid that included members of the New York State United Teachers union, Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, and State Senator James Tedisco. 

“What we’re hearing is, we need different pathways, we need different options,” Ducharme told the roundtable attendees. “The only way for a school district, especially a small school district like us, to create those options is through being properly funded through the state.”

Governor Hochul has argued that large foundation aid increases in recent years were an attempt to compensate for past “disinvestments” in education. “You may have gotten $5 million in one year to make up for the past, and if I don’t give you $5 million again, you think it’s a cut?” Hochul said in her budget address earlier this month. “I’m still thinking that’s pretty good. That’s still a lot of money.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — New York Racing Association (NYRA) President & CEO David O’Rourke heaped praise on Saratoga Springs at an Industry Influencers event on Wednesday morning hosted by the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.

O’Rourke said it was a “literal no-brainer” to host the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at the Saratoga Racecourse. “Saratoga has been an amazing partner for NYRA and horse racing period,” O’Rourke said. “In terms of Saratoga, since the 16 years I’ve been there, the growth has been phenomenal.” When asked how people outside New York are reacting to Belmont at Saratoga, O’Rourke replied that “everybody wants to be here.”

O’Rourke said that ticket sales for Belmont have “obviously gone well” and have attracted people from all over the country. He confirmed that Belmont would only be in Saratoga for two years: 2024 and 2025. In 2026, the new Belmont Park facilities on Long Island, which are currently under construction, should be ready to host racing events.

O’Rourke touched on a few other topics in his conversation with Chamber President Todd Shimkus, including NYRA’s partnership with television broadcaster Fox Sports. O’Rourke said that national coverage of horse racing at Saratoga would likely increase its emphasis on “the lifestyle aspect of Saratoga,” akin to coverage of Churchill Downs and Louisville during Kentucky Derby broadcasts. “That kind of allows us to really sell the whole package of Saratoga,” O’Rourke said. 

In terms of safety issues for the upcoming summer meet, O’Rourke said that NYRA was confident in the track surface last year and is still confident this year. He said the tracks are tested multiple times per day, and that there will be no change in their composition. “They are, every which way you could look at them, some of the best surfaces in the country,” he said. 

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be held at the Saratoga Racecourse from June 6 through June 9.  Belmont Stakes Day, on June 8, is sold out but some tickets are still available for the remaining three days. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Saratoga County’s Congressman is determined to rein in the sports betting industry.

Rep. Paul Tonko unveiled new legislation called the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every (S.A.F.E.) Bet Act in a virtual press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “The sports book industry has been operating in a Wild West, largely unregulated environment,” Tonko said. “I don’t get into issues lightly; this industry needs to change and change quickly.”

According to documents provided by Tonko’s office, the SAFE Bet Act would require states that offer sports betting to ensure that operators comply with federal standards in three different categories: advertising, affordability, and artificial intelligence.

The bill would prohibit sportsbook advertising during live sporting events, broadcast advertising between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., advertising that shows its audience how to gamble, and promotions that induce gambling with various types of bonus bets. Operators would no longer be able to accept more than five deposits from one customer in a 24-hour period. Operators would also be required to conduct “affordability checks” before accepting large wagers. The use of artificial intelligence to track gambling habits, offer individualized promotions, and create gambling products would be prohibited.

The SAFE Bet Act would also establish a general nationwide ban on sports betting, but create exceptions for states that acquire an approved application from the Department of Justice. States that already have sports betting programs would have one year to comply. Betting on amateur sports, with some exceptions for the Olympics, Paralympics, and college sports, would also be banned. 

Last year, Tonko introduced the Betting on Our Futures Act, which would have prohibited online and electronic advertising of sportsbooks. Since then, Tonko said he’s come to believe that the issue of gambling addiction “goes much deeper than just advertising.”

Tonko cited data showing that around 7 million people nationwide either have a problem with gambling or a full-blown addiction. An estimated 20%, or 1.4 million, of those individuals will attempt or have attempted suicide.

In the wake of the 2018 Supreme Court decision to strike down a federal ban on sports betting, Tonko has made several efforts to combat gambling addiction. In addition to the Betting on Our Futures Act, he also wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services advocating that gambling addiction be covered under the Affordable Care Act. 

In 2013, sports betting became legal in New York State, but mobile sports betting didn’t begin until early 2022. Earlier this year, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the state had collected more than $1.55 billion in taxes on sports wagers. “I look forward to this third year of our successful gaming policies that deliver top tier mobile sports wagering experiences,” Governor Hochul said in a statement. “We will continue to generate revenue that will enrich the lives of New Yorkers, all with important safeguards in place to help those who need it.”

NYRA Bets, the official betting partner of the New York Racing Association (which operates the Saratoga Racecourse), states on its website that it is “committed to promoting responsible wagering.” NYRA Bets has partnered with the National Council on Problem Gambling and the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services “to address issues of compulsive and pathological gambling and have developed a comprehensive program to ensure account holders wager responsibly.”