Paul Clermont left the red suit, white beard and glasses behind in Canada, but for one day in Cuba he felt just like Santa Claus.
He and his Prince George delegation visited Havana two weeks ago as part of a mission to convince the Cuban national baseball team to come to Prince George in July to play in the 2011 World Baseball Challenge.
As a goodwill gesture, the group of four brought a bag full of unwrapped gifts to a Little League ballpark in Havana. Inside the bags were boxes of baseballs, ball gloves, catcher's equipment and 45 brand new batting helmets. It proved an unforgettable experience for all involved.
"Our translator/tour guide told us to be very specific as to we gave it out because we'd get swamped, and we did swamped a couple of times giving out (thousands of) baseball cards," said Clermont.
A kids' game was stopped in the seventh inning and the delegation gave the players a brand-new ball to replace the dirty, scuffed-up ball being used, which brought an incredible response from the parents of both teams.
"Balls were a hot commodity, everybody wanted one," said Clermont. "We went to a Little League field and one kid, who was pitching, showed us his glove and it had no pocket in it, just a couple of strands holding it together and we traded that for one of our gloves and gave his old glove to another kid.
"The kid, who was nine or 10, goes back on the mound and starts throwing wild because he was so focused on his glove. It was a pretty rough field. They had the poles there, but the fencing was missing."
The WBC contingent included Clermont, the logistics and transportation director for the WBC; tournament co-chairs Shawn Rice and Jim Swanson; and Andre Lachance, Baseball Canada's manager of baseball operations and women's national team coach.
They made instant friends giving out baseball cards during a tour of the Hot Corner, a part of Havana Central Park, where people gather to discuss baseball.
Another trip highlight was the opening game of the Cuban national series pro league in Havana, which brought out such sports celebrities as Olympic gold-medalist boxer Tefilo Stevenson.
Clermont said the Cuban baseball players and national team staff want to come to Prince George, but the decision is not up to them. Politics being what they are in what is still a communist country, and with the history of Cuban athletes defecting while on North American tours, it will likely require the consent of Cuban president Tony Castro for Cuba to get the green light to come to Prince George as a marquee team in the WBC.
"We'll know sooner or later," said Clermont. "We were supposed to know sometime (last) week but there's still no news.
"The package we offered them and all the incentives (all travel costs, including flights, meals and accommodations), came across really positive. They liked us and they really want to come. They're not worried about security, and they said they aren't worried about (defections), but the politicians might be worried about it."
Canada, the U.S., the Bahamas, and the host team are confirmed for the eight-team tournament July 8-19, 2011. If Cuba does come, it will be that much easier to convince the national teams of countries like Japan, China, and Taiwan to put the WBC on their tournament list.
"Everybody wants to play Cuba," said Clermont.
"If we get Cuba, you're going to see people flying in from all over to watch this tournament. Once you get team like that, all the major league scouts will be here and there will be a fanbase from all over North America. With the Asian teams coming, we could see people from those countries coming to witness some of those games."
