Catawba County championships on Tuesday night

The Catawba County girls’ and boys’ high school swimming championship meets are scheduled Tuesday at the Hickory YMCA.

Six of the seven county schools – all except Bunker Hill, which does not field a team – will compete for titles starting at 6 p.m.

Admission is $5.

BASKETBALL

Bandys home games against Bears changed

Bandys High’s conference games at home against Bunker Hill, originally scheduled Jan. 17, will be played on Wednesday night.

Trojans girls’ head coach Beth Queen said the Catawba Valley Athletic 2A doubleheader was moved because Jan. 17 falls during exams.

Queen’s team (11-0), the last unbeaten one in the Greater Hickory area (girls or boys) this season, plays at West Caldwell on Tuesday night and will continue to be without senior guard Jesse Story.

Story could be out for another two weeks while she receives treatment for a sore back, Queen said.

LRU at home Wednesday for 2 conference games

Lenoir-Rhyne University’s teams resume South Atlantic Conference (SAC) play on Wednesday night with home games against Anderson, S.C.

The Bears’ women (9-2, 1-1) tip off at 6 p.m. against an Anderson team (5-5, 2-0) that shares the SAC lead with Newberry.

LRU’s men (4-7, 0-2) face Anderson (7-3, 2-0), who share the league lead with Lincoln Memorial and Tusculum, at 8 p.m.

Express sets tryouts for Lenoir-Rhyne gym

The Carolina Express has scheduled basketball tryouts for boys and girls for third- through sixth-graders and seventh- and eighth-graders.

All tryouts will be at Lenoir-Rhyne University’s gym.

The schedule for Saturday and on Jan. 28: third-graders from 1-2 p.m.; fourth-graders from 2-3 p.m.; fifth-graders from 3-4 p.m.; sixth-graders from 4-5 p.m..

The schedule for Sunday and on Jan. 29: seventh-graders from 1-3 p.m.; eight-graders from 3-5 p.m.

Participants for all four dates need to arrive 15 minutes early to check in and a parent or guardian must be present.

For additional information, visit www.carolina express.org.

BASEBALL

Baseball instruction from pros available in Hickory

The Heat Baseball Academy has scheduled clinics for pitching and hitting on Jan. 28-29 and Feb. 4-5 at 249 19^th Avenue SE in Hickory.

The clinics are for ages 9 and up and will focus on pitching and hitting fundamentals as taught by former college or current professional baseball players.

Clinic times will be 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. for hitting and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for pitching on all camp dates.

There’s a 30-player maximum for each camp and each one – hitting or pitching – costs $100.

All camp participants are asked to bring their own baseball equipment (gloves, bats and helmets) and turf shoes (no cleats allowed).

A registration form and parental consent form must be completed to participate in the clinics.

Instructors will include former Clemson player Jason Harris, the owner of Heat Baseball Academy, and these pro players: major league infielder Eric Sogard of the Oakland A’s and minor leaguers Alex Sogard (Astros), Jason McEachern (Rays), Dustin Harrington (Cubs) and Brian Dice (Marlins).

Memberships for the Heat Baseball Academy are also available.

For more information about the academy, visit www.heatshowcasebaseball.com or call 358-7472.

SIGN-UPS

Newton Parks and Rec registration begins soon

The Newton Parks and Recreation Department will begin sign-ups for youth programs in baseball, soccer and softball on Monday.

In all three programs, registration for returning players and city residents will continue through Feb. 3, while non-residents and late city registrants can sign up from Feb. 6 to March 9.

All new participants must have a birth certificate on file and/or visit the Recreation Department for a registration packet. There is a $30 non-resident fee (non-refundable) for each player who is not a resident of the City of Newton.

Registration is limited in each league. Once a league is full, registrants will be put on a waiting list.

Other program details:

-- Baseball: Players must be at least 4 before the last day of registration and can’t turn age 18 before May 1, 2012.

The program will have six divisions: Tee-Ball (boys and girls 4-6); Bantam League (boys 7-8); Midget League (boys 9-10); Little League (boys 11-12; Junior League (boys 13-14) and Senior League (boys 15-17).

-- Soccer: Players must be at least 4 before the last day of registration and can’t turn 16 before Aug. 31.

Youth soccer leagues include: Mighty Mites Co-ed Soccer, 4-6; Bantam Boys (7-8); Bantam girls (7-9); Midget boys (9-10); Midget girls (10-12); Little boys (11-12); Junior boys (13-15) and Junior girls (13-15).

-- Softball: The program will have three divisions: Pee-Wee (7-9), Midget (10-12), and Junior (13-16).

Players must be at least 7 before the last day of registration and can’t turn 17 before Jan. 31, 2012.

For more information on any of the three programs, contact the recreation department at 695-4317.