This will be a very quick meeting as it is simply meant to be a drop in meeting where you will:

• Pay your remaining league fees.
• Pickup your books.
• Keys.
• Balls.

For payment on Tuesday, cash is fine – but cheques are preferred. All cheques should be made payable to GTCSPL. If you require the amount that your team owes, contact Brandi.

The keys carry a $200 fine if they are not returned at the end of the year, so guard them closely as this is the entire amount of your performance bond.

Please ensure that your rosters are completed prior to May 4th start date. We will print them and only those names contained on the rosters will be permitted to play for insurance reasons.

Here is the link to go in and adjust or enter your roster:

http://www.nsacanada.ca/leagues/roster-login.php

Existing teams need only make adjustments. New teams, follow the instructions to find the league, etc. (Guelph Township Coed Slopitch League is on page 4.)

REMEMBER, YOU ARE ONLY ALLOWED 20 PLAYERS ON YOUR ROSTER and a player can NOT play on more than one team even if they are in different divisions. If teams have more than 20 players when I check the rosters, I will remove any players beyond the 20 so make sure you have double checked before submitting.

Thanks,
Bruce

When: Thursday April 1st, 2010
Where: Knights of Columbus

League Affiliation

Staying with NSA Canada “best for the league”.

The cost is comparable and they include a good prize package.

Proposed Budget & League Fees

Fees will remain the same for the 2010 season.

League fees will be $1,800.00 plus $200.00 bond for new teams.

Equipment

Everything will be purchased for the beginning of the season (new bases, pegs, hammers and boards – Please take care of the equipment.

There will be an extra set of straps.

There will be a box for storage at every diamond.

Keys will be handed out at the next meeting.

For Marden there is a code – we will notify teams if the code is changed.

Banquet

Banquet for 2009 was successful.

Voted in favour 23-3.

We will return to the same facility as last year for this season’s banquet.

Free tickets will be provided to each team – it will be decided at the end of the season whether there will be 4 or 6 per team.

Rosters

MUST be submitted by May 31st.

Players will not be insured if the roster is not submitted.

The League will freeze all rosters July 1st – NSA Canada freezes them 2 weeks later.

Any changes made after the closing date need approval from both the League Executive and NSA Canada.

Diamonds

This year we will be using the following diamonds:

• University of Guelph
• St.James School
• Marden Park
• Guelph Lake Sports Fields

All “A” Division games will be played at Guelph Lake.

All other teams will play at all fields.

Most games will be held at Guelph Lakes.

Fencing will be going up at the University diamond. No date has been set, but it will not affect our schedule.

Asked Marden to make sure the lights are working.

The City has imposed a 2 hour minimum on diamonds and a 20% increase in costs (Guelph Lake diamonds).

New Teams / Divisional Alignment

We will operate with 4 Divisions this season – A, B, C and D.

5 new teams have been added – 22 remain on the waiting list.

There have been no league fee changes since we were able to add the 5 new teams.

SEASON STARTS THE WEEK OF MAY 4th!

Opening & Closing Tournaments

There will be no beer tent for the opening tournament – a Rugby Tournament is being held that same weekend and they will be running a beer tent.

It would cost the league $3000.00 to $5000.00 for the opening tournament having the beer tent.

A waiver MUST be signed by all teams – GTCSPL will not be held responsible for any alcohol issues that may arise as WE ARE NOT LICENSED.

We will have a tent set up at Diamond 6 for scores, etc.

Opening and Closing tournaments will be held on Fridays and Saturdays.

There will be 3 games at the University diamond on Friday night.

Opening Tournament is set for June 4th and 5th.

Closing Tournament is scheduled October 1st and 2nd.

Everything will be back to normal for the closing tournament (beer tent by the League, etc.).

Other Business

Team Awesome wants to move from C to B, Scared Hitless wants to move from B to C – so they did (the 2 teams switched divisions).

All League Fees are due April 27th, 2010.

All equipment, schedules, etc. will be handed out on April 27th at the meeting.

Maximum 20 players on a Roster.

• Pay your remaining league fees.
• Pick up your books.
• Pick up your Keys.
• Pick up your Balls.
• Pick up your Tournament schedule and rules.

If you require the amount that your team owes, contact Bob and inquire. Although the schedules have been checked and re-checked, you are expected to review the schedule prior to leaving the meeting to ensure that you have the proper amount of games and no conflicts. Note that the keys carry a $200 fine if they are not returned at the end of the year, so guard them closely as this is the entire amount of your performance bond.

Please ensure that your rosters are completed prior to the tournament. We will print them for the tournament, and only those names contained on the rosters will be permitted to play for insurance reasons. If you have yet to submit your roster online, please do so at:

http://www.nsacanada.ca/leagues/Roster_List.php?id=800

Manager’s of existing team rosters can simply log in as normal.

If you have any questions regarding the meeting or what is expected of your team, please e-mail me at hebz@rogers.com.

Thanks,

Jon Hebden
RCMSPL – President

When: March 24, 2010
Where: Knights of Columbus

Constitutional Proposal – Playoff Format

This item was deferred from the February meeting until Divisional Alignment was determined.
The Playoff format was changed to allow all teams in a division to play in the same series. The highest seeded team will play the lowest seed in best-of-3 Quarter-Final, best-of-3 Semi-Final and best-of-5 Finals Series.

Bat Protest Policy

This topic was a continuation of the “Ban Rolled Bats” discussion at the last meeting and required a lengthy discussion at this meeting. Ultimately, we required more feedback from NSA Canada and the Executive is finalizing the Protest Procedure.

In general, this is the process a team must go through in order to protest a bat:

• The bat is brought to the attention of the umpire.
• The umpire inspects the bat with both team captains.
• If the bat is considered “questionable”, it will be pulled from the game and given to the umpire-in-chief (by the umpire).
• Upon receipt of the protest fee, the bat will then be sent to NSA Canada by the League Executive.
• The League will hold a portion of the protest fee “in trust” and NSA Canada will require a non-refundable fee to cover their costs.
• Should the bat in question be ruled by NSA Canada to be “illegal or altered” for any reason:
  • The “in trust” monies held by the league will be returned to the protesting team.
  • The non-refundable portion will be applied to the offending team’s Performance Bond and returned to the protesting team as a credit.
• If the bat is deemed “illegal or altered” for any reason, RCMSPL supports all sanctions enforced by NSA Canada.
• Should the bat in question be deemed “legal”:
  • The bat will be returned to the owner along with a portion of the money held in trust.
  • The remaining money will be returned to the protesting team.
  • If the bat is damaged in anyway as a result of the testing, or for any other reason while the bat is held away from the owner, the entire amount held in trust by the Executive will be awarded to the owner of the bat.

This is our second meeting of the 2010 season where you are required to submit half of your league fees. If you have any questions as to what you are expected to submit this Wednesday, e-mail Bob Nelson (statsman@slopitchcentral.ca) and ask him.

This submission will solidify your spot for the 2010 season and allow us enough time to begin the creation of the books and schedule. We are going to have the books and balls ready for handing out at the April 21st meeting – when the balance of your league fees are due. If you are expecting to have an issue submitting your league fees at this March meeting, e-mail me ASAP to discuss it. We will be creating the schedule and books based on the number of teams that submit the required fees on Wednesday.

We have two issues left to vote on that were deferred to this meeting:

Playoff Format:

Proposal was made to change the playoff format from what we had last year (see Scheduling Guideline) to one big division where highest seed plays lowest seed in best of 3 series, best of 5 for the finals (broken down by seasonal divisions A/B/C/Masters).

Remove Roster Limitations in Masters:

Proposal was made to Open Masters up to anyone, but players must play 8 full games to qualify for playoff eligibility.

Please ensure that your team is represented. Failure to do so will result in a $50 fine.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me(hebz@rogers.com).

Thanks,

Jon Hebden
RCMSPL President