HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE TOWN & COUNTRY LEAGUE!  We hope you are doing well this New Year as we begin to plan for another season! We appreciate everyone’s involvement that helped make last year a huge success & look forward to more support in ‘07!

We want to announce in advance some of the key dates for 2007 so that everyone can make their plans as early as possible, as well as review some of the results & changes that took place in 2006.

IMPORTANT DATES & TIDBITS

·      Spring Rules meeting – Mon. March 12^th at the traditional Restaurant in Denver, IN – 6:30 PM

·      League sanctioning fees to be paid by May 1^st, or Tournament fees will be at non-sanctioned team levels

·      Tournament entry fees are to be paid before you play – they will be due at league office by July 1st

·      Summer Tourney meeting & bracket distribution – Mon. June 25^th – Time & location TBA

·      District-level (1^st round) of State tourney will start on Thurs. July 5^th, & to end by Tues. July 10^th (weather permitting)

·      Semi-State level (2^nd round) will start on Thurs. July 12^th, thru the weekend & to end by Mon. July 16th

·      State level (Finals) then on following weekend, starting on Friday July 20^th, thru the weekend & to end on Mon. July 23rd, as always, weather permitting

HELP UPDATING LEAGUE CONTACT INFO

This is a very important step in order for us to get the necessary information out to the correct people.  Updating our contact information can only be done with your help. If you have new info, please let us know ASAP – thanks!

BATTING HELMETS WITH FACEMASKS

The Town & Country League wants to be at the forefront when it comes to safety and is excited to announce a program which over the next two years will require facemasks to be used on all batting helmets.  In an effort to avoid strain on budgets, only the Minor League (8-&-under) will be required to do so in 2007.  All remaining age groups will do so in 2008.

WEBSITE AVAILABLE FOR MORE UPDATED INFO!

Our website is available at www.townandcountrybaseball.com. This is a primary site to help answer basic questions about the league, our tournaments, rules & a source for league forms such as sanctioning, tourney entry, etc.  It also has our league’s lengthy & distinguished tournament history dating to 1969!  Last year, the website received over 7,500 hits!

TOWN & COUNTRY LEAGUE GROWTH

We have experienced significant growth, both in terms of the number of leagues sanctioned & the number of teams participating in our tournament at each level.  Adding the State-sanctioned Minor (8u) League tourney was a huge success in 2003 & has become a foundation for growth in upper divisions.  Over 125 teams participated in our 2006 tournament and we embarked upon a first-ever State-sanctioned Girls’ softball open tournament at two age levels!  Please help spread the word of what we offer to other towns & leagues, there’s no better referral source than a good ambassador!

SOFTBALL DATES & TIDBITS FOR 2007

With a year behind us, our goal is to get the word out to the correct contacts earlier this year with the hope of increasing team participation.  If the softball contact for your area is someone different, please provide us with that info ASAP – e-mail works well for this.  We are committed to sanctioning softball tournaments & making it work, but we will only continue to do so in future years if the interest is there.  Depending on participation, the dates for the tournaments will be the same as those for baseball, starting Thurs. July 5^th.  However, if the total number of entries is not as strong as anticipated, the tournament will be scooted back a week to July 12^th & played over just two weekends instead of three.

A REVIEW OF 2006:

FIRST SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT w/ JENNIE FINCH

Town & Country sanctioned its first-ever softball tournaments in 2006 at both the 10u & 12u age levels. Thanks to the efforts of some folks in Upland, IN – site of our 12u State Finals – softball superstar Jennie Finch was present to speak to all teams & sign autographs for over 3 hours.  It was quite a special day with a huge fan turnout & a radio station on hand.  Pictures of the event & results from the inaugural softball tournament can be found on our website.

2006 State Baseball Tournament Results:

AGE CUT-OFF DATE CHANGED
Town & Country joined other youth baseball organizations in moving its age cut-off date up to April 30^th in 2006. 

TOURNEY HOST SITE ASSISTANCE OFFERED
For the first time, we offered an additional incentive to each semi-state & state-level host site by adding an ‘advancement fee’ of $65 from each team earning the right to advance.  The new fee is paid directly to the host site (instead of to league) & can be used to offset umpire costs, etc.  It is to be paid prior to a team taking the field & is consistent with other youth leagues’ major tournament structure. This step should increase the number of sites willing & able to host, as well as offset some of the costs.  All host sites will also receive a supply of baseballs from Town & Country to assist their hosting efforts. We encourage sites to consider hosting by requesting to do so.  Loyalty to previous host sites will be strongly considered.

MORE ‘PATCHED’ UMPIRES WANTED
Each year around tournament time, we run into a shortage of ‘patched’ umpire’s dilemma. We are again encouraging folks to take the Town & Country umpire test in order to receive an official certification patch & license card.  While other leagues require annual re-certification fees, we only require a one-time fee of $25 in order to take the open-book test (additional $10 charge to those who do not pass & wish to re-take it).  We have a database of certified umpires, but need your help in order to complete.  If already certified, we will not require test to be re-taken and will provide an official TCBB license & include your name in database for a $5 administrative fee.  We approve use of umpires who have earned patches from other organizations. 

RULES
We have learned to not change tourney rules at the summer meeting prior to the tournament. That makes the spring meeting more important in terms of any rules discussion & changes.  We encourage your thoughts, participation & attendance at this meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, March 12^th at the Denver Restaurant at 6:30 PM.

FORMATION OF A LEAGUE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
We have gotten closer to our vision of establishing a Board of Directors to help govern the league. A 7-person board is desired, & we are actively seeking more interested parties to share the leadership responsibilities, as well as providing for a smooth transition to eventually pass the torch to folks with fresh ideas in order to better ensure the league’s continued success!  Please let us know if interested.