Clackamas County Junior Baseball Minutes
Area Heads Meeting
January 9, 2006

 Meeting called to order: 7:43 p.m.

Areas Present: Canby, Clackamas, Colton, Gervais, Gladstone, Jackson, Lake Oswego, Lakeridge, Milwaukie, Molalla, North Marion, Oregon City, Putnam, Redland, Tualatin, West Linn-Seniors, Whiskey Hill, Wilsonville, and Woodburn.
Absent: Country Christian, Sellwood, South Clackamas, and West Linn-Juniors.

 

Treasurers Report: $1,549.61 remains in the account.

State Meeting: 

·        The State Tournament for Midget National will be expanded to 12 teams (an increase from the current 8 teams). This change will expand the tournament to four days like all other levels.

·        State is asking all Areas to contact local sporting goods stores to encourage that they carry the Wilson JBO baseball.

·        State approved a modified version of the CCJBA rule proposal regarding steals at the Midget National level. The new rule prohibits steals to home at the Midget National level. Runners can only advance to home on a fair hit, when forced by a walk, or due to a dead ball penalty (e.g. balk, ball thrown out of play, etc.). Areas should refer to the State website for actual rule language and specific details.

·        State modified the minimum 9 defensive outs rule at the Senior level for teams with 18 players or more. The 9 defensive outs rule will be waived for these large teams and a minimum 6 of defensive outs will be applied.

County Tournament Bids:  The County Tournament dates for each level have been set based on the new State calendar. The tournaments will be as follows: July 14-16-- all Midget levels, Junior National and Senior National; July 21-23-- Junior American, Junior Federal, Senior American, and Senior Federal. Bids to host County Tournaments are due at the February meeting.  When submitting bids, Areas should anticipate that Federal tournaments may be double-elimination requiring a three day tournament with a full contingent of games on Friday.

Federal Double-Elimination: The Board solicited input from the Areas concerning adopting a double-elimination format for all Federal level County Tournaments. Last year all County Federal tournaments were double-elimination and it seemed to be popular. Areas supported the double-elimination format. This support included positive comments by all Areas that hosted these tournaments in 2005. Milwaukie noted that the double-elimination format is a good fundraiser. The Board will make a final decision soon based on this input.

State Application/Proof of Insurance: The State “Application for Membership in JBO” and Proof of Insurance are due to CCJBA at the next meeting. The application form can be downloaded from the State JBO website. Areas are reminded that the Proof of Insurance must include the specific language stating “Junior Baseball of Oregon, Inc.” as an additional insured.

League Statistician/Scheduler: The Board announced that Bonnie Petty has been selected as the CCJBA League Statistician/Scheduler for 2006.

Area Bylaws: The CCJBA Board reminded Areas that member Areas needed to provide a copy of their bylaws to the Board by tonight’s meeting.

2006 CCJBA Calendar: The 2006 CCJBA calendar will be finalized now that State has finalized their calendar. The calendar will be e-mailed soon. The next two meetings will be held February 13, and March 6 (both at 7:30p.m.).

Invitational Tournaments: State has set the State Invitational Tournament meeting for April 5, at 7:30 pm at Oregon City High School. Areas that will be hosting invitational tournaments will need to provide tournament information (dates, levels, etc.) to State by March 5. Additional information will be coming from State; this information is usually also posted on the State website.

League Game Schedules: The Board posed several questions to the Areas last month regarding potential changes to the scheduling of league games. Input was provided by Areas tonight as follows:

1) Shift to a 6:30 p.m. starting time for league games in June (June 1 in 2005). This was tested last year with the intent of easing conflicts for parents getting to games after work recognizing that metro area “rush hour” travel is getting more difficult. Areas were largely split in opinions on this issue. Concerns were expressed that some games (particularly on cloudy/rainy days) were shortened by darkness when the 6:30 start time was active. Others expressed concern with the late start time when school was still in session and suggested a delay to at least June 15. Some stated support for the delayed start as it made it easier for coaches and parents to get to games on time. The predominant opinion appeared to be  that the normal 6 p.m. start time should be maintained for the entire season. It was noted that coaches can agree to delay individual game to 6:15 or 6:30 when traffic concerns are anticipated. The Board will maintain a 6 p.m. game start time for the entire season in 2006.

2) Mid-season break in League games. It has been suggested that League schedules be developed with a one week break (no league games allowed) at the mid-point of the season. This would allow the Board to more easily implement team moves and allow Areas time to reschedule games in response to team moves. Areas were largely in favor of  the schedule break . The Board noted that the intent would be to start all games of a given level (e.g. all Midget levels) at the same time and have a consistent break for each level (Midget, Junior and Senior). The Board will work with Bonnie to build a break in league schedules in 2006.

3) Earlier start to League games. Adding the one week break in game schedules would require that League schedules start 1-2 weeks earlier (potentially mid-April for Seniors). Areas expressed some concerns with an earlier start if this created a significant need for make-up games from rainouts. Starting one week early is acceptable, but not several weeks early. The Board will consider starting league schedules one week early to accommodate the break in league schedules.

 

Meeting Adjourned:  8:20 p.m.

NEXT MEETING:            Monday, February 13, 2006, 7:30 p.m.

DUE NEXT MEETING:            1) State Application for Membership and Proof of Insurance