2004 State Tournament Results:

Congratulations to Alexandria -- with championships at both live-arm levels of the Town & Country State tournament.  And to Delphi, who followed-up a runner-up finish in the 2003 Minor league tourney with it’s first-ever baseball state championship at any level in ’04.

Looking ahead to CHANGES IN 2005:

EXPANDED TOURNEY FORMAT

This format has gone over very well and appears here to stay.  In summary, it is an effort to better balance the brackets and eliminate bye-rounds at both the Semi-State & State levels of the tournament with each level having a total of eight teams (4 each from the prior District or Semi) advancing instead of six, then seeded accordingly.

RULES
We learned last year that the prevailing opinion was not to change tourney rules at the summer meeting leading up to the tournament, so that makes this meeting an important one in terms of rules discussions & changes.  We encourage your thoughts.

TOURNAMENT HOST SITES
We very much appreciate those who have hosted in the past, but would also like to encourage those who have not, to consider doing so.  This can be accomplished at either the District, Semi-State or State levels by request. 

TOWN & COUNTRY GROWTH
We have been very fortunate to experience growth in our league, both in terms of the number of leagues sanctioned under Town & Country, and in the number of teams that participate in our tournament at each level.  Adding the State-sanctioned Minor League (8-&-under) tournament was a huge success & can become a solid foundation that can lead to future growth in the upper divisions.  We would like to see this trend continue as we move forward.

TOURNEY HISTORY
Our league actually has a very significant tournament history, with tournament champions dating to 1969!  Some of this history can be found on our new website!

FORMATION OF A BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Although with growth, comes growing pains and opportunity.  With the growth of the league, it has almost become more than what two people have any business handling.  Therefore, we have begun the process of forming a Board of Directors to help govern the leadership of the league.  We envision an 11 person board, with a Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Chief Umpire, a rep from each league (Sr., Jr. & Minor), a rep from each of the four Districts, and a web coordinator to help keep our new website updated!  We are actively seeking any interest so that a Board can be formed to better govern the direction of the organization moving forward, as well as providing for a smoother transition, as we prepare to pass the torch of leadership.

WEBSITE IS UP & RUNNING!
Speaking of our website, it is now available at www.townandcountrybaseball.com.  We intend on this becoming a primary site to help answer basic questions about the league, our tournaments, rules and a source for league forms such as sanctioning, tourney entry, etc.  However, we would like to have a person on the Board that can assist with keeping our website up to date.  Again, if you have interest in this, please let us know!

PASSING OF THE TORCH
Yes, as we have hinted, we are looking at passing on the leadership of the league at the conclusion of this season.  It has been a fun three years, but it is time to bring in some new folks with some fresh ideas.  We are willing to help make the transition as smooth as possible, as we only want to see continued success moving forward!