There is a combination lock for all bins, and this combination is to keep these bins and contents exclusive to Men’s and coed teams. It is NOT for public knowledge!

All teams will be held responsible for the contents being replaced after their game.  As stated in the Constitution, the Home team is responsible for putting away all equipment and closing & locking these bins. If items are left out from the night before when you arrive, please send an email to gtcspl@slopitchcentral.ca or rcmspl@slopitchcentral.ca. Note the diamond and date and we will track back as to who is responsible.

Thanks,
Bruce

 

Sports field	First Booking
Softball and Baseball Diamonds	Monday May 7
Non-Irrigated Soccer and Multi-Purpose Fields	Monday May 7
Centennial Soccer Enclosure	Tuesday May 22
Franchetto Multi Purpose	Tuesday May 22
O’Connor Lane Soccer Fields	Tuesday May 22
Hanlon Creek Soccer Field	Tuesday May 22
OMAFRA Softball Diamond	Tuesday May 22
Guelph Lake Soccer Fields	Friday June 1

Our goal is to keep the City’s sports fields in optimal condition. This requires staff to manage the amount of play on a field during both the regular season and pre and post-season. In order to meet the demand for quality and safe sports turf, staff monitors both weather and field conditions on a daily basis. This procedure ensures that continued play in inferior conditions does not compromise personal safety of league players, cause unreasonable wear to the field surface or jeopardize further scheduled use of fields.
Saturated soil conditions are the most common reason for field closures and can be potentially dangerous for participants. Turf quickly deteriorates when used under such soil conditions and can result in extended periods of closure during the season. We may not be able to provide groups with an alternate facility to compensate for field closure. So it is in everyone’s best interest to ensure that fields are not used if play will damage the turf.
Protecting Our Fields – Rainout Closures We want to ensure that we are providing high quality fields and minimizing long-term closures. To meet this goal, we will close sports fields when they are deemed to be saturated. Should you notice ponding water on the field or if water migrates around your feet while standing afterhours, please do not use the field.

• Staff will make the decision by 2:00 pm if fields are to be closed for the duration of the day and evening.
• Notification of field closures will be posted on the City’s website at guelph.ca. Look for the new “Sports Field Status” webpage under “Seasonal Information”
• During off-hours, i.e., weekends, permitted groups are encouraged to exercise restraint in the event of saturated field conditions, as damaged fields will result in extended closures.

We greatly appreciate your support and assistance in protecting our sports fields for everyone. Thank you!

With the (slightly) less competitive slo-pitch seasons not kicking off until May, there is still plenty of time to incorporate some “spring training” tips into your planning for the coming season. With that in mind, here are some tips to get you started on your way to a healthy and successful ball season:

Part 1 – Five Tips for Working Out

You probably already know that a lot of your power comes from the hips, a strong core improves everything, and you don’t have to make a lot of drastic changes to improve some areas of your game. The following five tips are workout-related tips to improve your bat speed and batting power without sacrificing speed or flexibility.

1. The first thing to remember is that you want to do a good full-body workout. Most baseball skills use compound movements and it’s therefore better to just be in good shape than to focus on any particular body part. Recommendation number one, then, is just to workout with some regularity to ensure that overall you’re a pretty athletic and healthy person.
2. Most people already know that a good deal of your power comes from your hips and, therefore, your legs. It should go without saying then that explosiveness in the hips and legs is a desirable trait for a smooth power swing. The best way to create this explosiveness is through working the legs pretty regularly. People hate leg workouts, so to maximize improvement without ruining your enjoyment of a workout, try doing two leg exercises three times a week, rotating squats, jump squats, hack squats, deadlift, standing calf raise, and leg press. It isn’t necessary to get ‘jacked’ legs, but doing 2-3 sets of these will definitely improve your leg strength. Be careful not to overdo it on weight, because you want to maintain range of motion.
3. Don’t use weighted bats or multiple bats. Seriously. It’s okay to use them in the on-deck circle or as a warm-up, but using objects 10% heavier than your bat will alter your swing movement in the long term, potentially messing with your swing. If you want to alter the weight, do an overload-underload-regular load circuit where you only use a weighted bat for 5-10 swings, then switch to an underweight bat, then swing normally, and repeat.
4. Your abs are key. Not only do sick abs help at the beach or by the pool post-game, they are also vital for bat speed. I mentioned core strength in the introduction, and this definitely starts with the abs. Luckily, I think abs is the body part easiest to get motivated for, so don’t be afraid to work them hard and often. 8-minute abs provides a quick and grueling daily tool, but you can also create any ab program you like, so long as you’re working them hard.
5. Stretching and warming up. Ew, I know, disgusting and boring. But guess what? It’s really freakin’ important. Not only does warming up limit your risk of injury, it also increases the flexibility and range of motion of your muscles by warming them up and getting blood flowing to the muscles. There are a ton of good baseball exercises, but I would start every workout with leg swings, ins and outs, and hip flexion/extensions. I’d also incorporate these in your pre-game warm-up, as part of a 5-10 minute warm-up package.

Obviously, this list is not exhaustive. The important thing to remember is that baseball is a full-body sport that requires flexibility and range of motion just as much as it does raw power and strength. Technique is also key, so don’t worry a great deal about your time at the gym. The key to using workouts to improve baseball skill is to focus on the entire body and don’t shy away from the abs and legs, while remembering you don’t want to get jacked. Chicks may dig muscles, but they also dig the longball, batting average, and turning a single into a double.

Shamelessly lifted from The On Deck Cirle.

Today, the City of Guelph will release the proposed 2012 Operating Budget. As part of the budget, there is a proposed rate increase that will affect most of our facility and sports field users. For most ice and sport field users this would mean a 3% increase over the 2011 rates.

City Council will consider the budget submission over the next few weeks, and final deliberations will take place on December 7, 2011.

As part of that process, there is a Council meeting scheduled on November 23, 2011 at which Council will hear public delegations related to the proposed Budget. If you wish to be a delegation for that meeting, please send an e-mail to clerks@guelph.ca.

If you have further questions about the 2012 Proposed Operating Budget and the impact on rates, please contact Bob Burchett. Bob is the General Manager, Parks and Recreation Programming & Facilities and can be reached at (519) 822-1260 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (519) 822-1260      end_of_the_skype_highlighting ext 2664 or Bob.Burchett@guelph.ca.

Sincerely,

Kelley McAlpine
Supervisor I Facility Booking & Program Registration
Administration & Customer Service I Community and Social Services
City of Guelph I “The City that makes a difference”
T 519-822-1260 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              519-822-1260      end_of_the_skype_highlighting x 2667 F 519-763-9240
E kelley.mcalpine@guelph.ca