Community Poker Run

In partnership with area snowmobile clubs, Community Credit Union is hosting its  third annual Community Poker Run on Feb. 27 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Reggie Kawasaki Ski-Doo in Leeds to raise funds for Maine Credit Union’s Campaign for Ending Hunger.

Participants can get full details and register online through www.communitycreditunion.com. The cost is $25 for non-snowmobile club members and $20 for club members and includes a poker hand, a beans-and-franks dinner and a fireworks show.

A Poker Run requires participants to travel (typically by snowmobile but for this event any mode of transportation is allowed) to local businesses that are noted as “Poker Stops” to get their card stamped, then based on the number of stops visited, the participant is dealt a poker hand at the event site in Leeds. A cash prize of $500 will go to the first-place winner, $350 to the second-place winner, $250 to the third-place winner and $250 for the worst hand.

For those that want to support the cause by just attending the dinner and fireworks show, there will be a cost of $5 per person.

Youth indoor soccer in Auburn

Androscoggin Youth Indoor Soccer (AYIS) is now accepting registrations for the second session, beginning in March.

AYIS leagues are a mixture of weekly practices and games, all hosted at the brand new Ingersoll Turf Facility in Auburn. AYIS leagues are run by National Soccer Club, a local non-profit organization based out of Leeds.

The upcoming session of AYIS will meet on eight Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., March 5 through April 30, with no session March 19. This session will be for 9- and 11-year-old boys and girls (specific date of birth range indicated on the registration form). The registration form can be  picked up at the Auburn Rec Department, at Ingersoll Turf Facility or downloaded under the “clinics” link at ingersollturffacility.com.

Families are encouraged to stop in and watch a practice session on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. For more information, or to be added to an email list for up to date AYIS information, please email androyouthindoorsoccer@gmail.com. The deadline for registration is Feb. 28.

High school baseball exhibition series

The Blue Jays Baseball Club is sponsoring a high school exhibition series in Cooperstown in the spring for varsity and junior varsity teams.

The Jays are also sponsoring three-game summer tournaments for 13U, 14U, 16U and 18U clubs. Night games can be scheduled. Torphis award. For additional information, contact Harvey Sandid at 6-7-652-7740 with your open dates. You can also email him at www.cooperstown314@aol.com.

Bridgton Academy to play hockey game in Auburn

Bridgton Academy’s Junior Hockey team will call Auburn’s Norway Savings Bank Arena home for one night Feb, 12 at 7 p.m, when the Wolverines take on the Middlesex Black Bears Junior team.

The game will be the centerpiece of the inaugural “Bridgton Academy Auburn Classic”, where Bridgton Academy faculty, students and admissions staff will be on hand to not only watch the game, but also interact with Maine high school hockey players and coaches, shedding light on what it means to take a postgraduate year at Bridgton.

Bridgton Academy has held home games at satellite locations in the past, but this is the first time that Bridgton is hosting an entire evening’s worth of events along with the Wolverines taking the ice.

Director of Admissions Chris Webb, along with other Admissions representatives, will hold a Q&A session before the game at 6 p.m. to answer questions about Bridgton Academy’s unique postgraduate program. There will be an alumni meet-and-greet where current players and parents can meet with Bridgton Academy graduates postgame, as well as potential students and those interested in learning more about the Academy.

To learn more about the event and to register, visit http://goo.gl/Sv1gqf. Admission to the event is free.

Mt. Washington bicycle hill climb

Registration for the 44th annual Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb will open on Tuesday, Feb.1, at 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Any cyclist wishing to ride in this grueling all-uphill race, which will take place this year on Aug. 20, may register at http://www.bikereg.com/mwarhc.

Sponsored by Polartec, with additional support from international corporations as well as local businesses in the Mt. Washington Valley, the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb is the primary annual fundraiser for the Tin Mountain Conservation Center in Albany, N.H. To pedal 7.6 miles up the Auto Road while battling Mt. Washington’s famously high winds, elite and amateur cyclists pay an entry fee of $350, from which all proceeds serve the environmental and educational mission of the conservation center.

Cyclists who register for the Hillclimb may also apply for the annual Practice Ride, which will take place on July 17. There is no additional fee for the practice ride, but the number of riders is limited to 300, and the ride is open only to riders who have registered for the Hillclimb. Registered participants will receive Practice Ride registration instructions via email. Information about the race and practice ride are available at http://www.mwarbh.org/.

Thomas College tennis clinics

The third annual Youth and High School Tennis Tune-up clinics will be held at Thomas College’s Harold Alfond Recreation Center (indoors) on Saturday, Feb, 27,  from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Saturday, March 5 from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Cost is $60 per clinic or $110 if you sign up for both Saturdays. The clinics are open to all boys and girls from grades 5 through 12. Instruction be provided by men’s tennis team coaches and top players.

Contact coach Jeff Fowler at (207) 649-4852 or at tenniscoach@thomas.edu More information is available at thomasathletics.com. Click on Inside Athletics and then camps and clinics. There will be a maximum of 16 players per session. Please contact by text or voice mail. Make checks payable to Thomas College Men’s Tennis or pay at the door. If you must text or voice mail or email to hold your spot please, please state child’s name and age.

Want to be an ASA umpire?

 Every spring across Maine, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) conducts clinics and provides other important training opportunities to individuals who can respond affirmatively to the following questions: Do you enjoy working outdoors? Do you enjoy staying active and alert? Have you ever wanted to be an umpire? Perhaps you said to yourself, “I can do a better job umpiring than that umpire.”

ASA runs competitions in every state through a network of 76 state and metro associations. It has a membership of over 230,000 teams, with more than 3 million players and 35,000 umpires.

Maine ASA Softball District Umpire and Chiefs statewide stand ready to prepare this year’s veteran and prospective umpires to officiate the great sport of softball. Attendees will be taught everything there is to know: including calling strikes and balls, fair and foul balls, safes and outs, the proper position on the field to make the best call and how to properly handle players and coaches.

All levels of softball ranging from Junior Olympics, modified and fast pitch, coed, men’s, women’s and senior division slow-pitch in numerous leagues throughout Maine need umpires to work their games. Anyone is invited to attend clinics at a location near them. Upon successful completion of the training, umpires will join ASA and receive benefits including $5,000,000 of liability insurance coverage, accident insurance up to $100,000, dental insurance, a Balls and Strikes newsletter, hotel and car rental discounts and best of all get you on the field where you will be paid to have fun.

ASA umpires are nationally recognized as some of the best trained and proficient in the sport and are involved in competitions, including league play, city, state and national championships. ASA umpires can officiate events such as the world championship, Pan American and Olympic competitions.

If you would like sign up, need more information or just have questions, call Maine ASA UIC Scott Tilton at 207-807-3504 or by email him at uicmeasa@gmail.com. Clinics start soon.