Welcome to the Bloomington Athletic Association (BAA) website. BAA is focused on making youth sports available to all children in the community, with one of the longest-standing volunteer athletic organizations in the country, established in 1954. We are a 501(c)3, which relies upon the donations of individuals, companies, and organizations that provide the critical funds to ensure all children can participate. BAA provides financial assistance, athletic equipment, referees (substitute umpires, scorekeepers, judges), fields and facilities, and community engagement activities.
BAA is one of the largest volunteer sports organizations in the United States, serving over 3,000 youth in 13 sports annually. Here, you’ll get news, information, schedules, game results, directions, and much more.
VISION | MISSION | VALUES
Vision: Bloomington Athletic Association aspires to provide every child with the opportunity to be active and build life skills through sports participation.
Mission: Bloomington Athletic Association delivers fun, affordable, and safe youth sports experiences fueled by our passionate volunteers and partnerships with the City of Bloomington and Bloomington School District.
Values: Fun, Community Centric, Fair Play, Cost Conscious, Safety
BAA HISTORY
The Bloomington Athletic Association was organized in 1953 by Arnie Johnson after once again cutting youth from a baseball team. He resolved to find a way to allow ALL kids to participate in organized sports.
In 1954, Arnie presented a plan for forming an athletic program based on the tenet that if young boys wanted to play a sport, they should play without regard to ability and at an affordable cost. In the early 1960s, through the efforts of Betty Lokken, girls’ sports were added. The outcome of these efforts was the formation of the Bloomington Athletic Association (BAA).
Through the years, BAA’s philosophy has remained the same for over 7 decades: offer youth organized sports programs to participate in without tryouts, without regard to ability, and at a cost affordable to all. If the fees are an issue, BAA offers financial assistance, based on ability to pay, to provide equal opportunity to play for all youth. Parents, guardians, relatives, and friends are strongly encouraged to volunteer to help their child’s team as a Coach, Assistant Coach, Co-Coach, Timekeeper, Scorekeeper, or in some other way assist the Coach and Team.
