A Trinity Beach baseball game at noon today will go a long way towards bridging the generation gap in sport.
There will be five father/son/daughter combinations taking part in a "B" grade club competition match.

But family ties will be quickly forgotten when the first pitch is delivered in a match which is sure to bring out the best in both teams.

Cairns Heat, the veterans' team, will start hot favorites to topple their younger, less experienced opponents, the Cubs, in a "B" grade fixture full of interest.
For Cubs, the game will be a chance to avenge a 15-3 thrashing dished out by the Veterans last time they met.

It will also provide plenty of "home" entertainment for the related combatants - Kevin Schramm and son Gavin, Kel Luscombe and Travis, Brian Parsons and daughter Cathy, Trevor Graham and Clinton, and Mark Birdsall and Kerry Munro.

The veterans and the youngsters are among six teams in a rapidly expanding "B" grade competition which has bolstered the strength of the baseball premiership as a whole.

Instigator of the Cairns Heat veterans side, Geoff Roneberg, said the team contained a lot of valuable experience which was able to be passed on to younger players.

One of the Cairns Heat's most experienced is former Claxton Shield player Barry Foxover who joins his predominantly over 35-year-old teammates for one training session a week.

Most of the veterans players have either come to the end of their "A" grade careers or have switched from more physically demanding sports and enjoy the exercise of a "B" grade baseball match, according to Roneberg.
"Most of us are a little bit long in the tooth but we still want to play."
"It also encourages new older players to join in a sport."

Since its inception this season the veterans have been swamped with players keen to join the ranks.
Already there are 21 players on the books.
And with only 12-13 to be used each week, there is a ready surplus.
But this is not a major problem, according to Roneberg, with most of the older players having family and work commitments.
"A lot of players can't play every Sunday," he said.

The oldest Cairns Heat player is 47 and the youngest is 22.
Veteran player Kevin Schramm said his team's players enjoy the competition from their younger opposition.
"We break down a little more often and take a bit longer to heal," said Schramm who was nursing a twisted ankle last week.