So you think you can play softball?

Friday, August 17, 2007

For the Local Buckos of the Greater New Bedford Area
Sandlot Softball and RubberSuit Studios is presenting a slow pitch softball tournament fundraiser to benefit MA Special Olympics.

WHEN: Saturday September 22nd and Sunday September 23rd, and possibly September 29th and 30th as well. Rain Dates: 29th and 30th.

WHO: Any group of men (18+) that consider themselves a softball team.

WHERE: Cushman Park in Fairhaven (parking via Main St. and Green St.)

HOW TO ENTER: Mail completed registration form along with the entry fee to Darren Fleurent @ 1030 Shelburne St. New Bedford, MA. 02745 (Registration forms are located here)

• Registration is due Friday Sept. 14th. Tentative Schedules will then be mailed to the team captain on Monday Sept. 17th.
• Entry Fee is $20.00 per player. As team captain please collect this money from your team and get a money order or make out a check payable to SOMA – Greater New Bedford. Please do not mail cash in case of the mail getting lost. (if you risk mailing money we are not responsible if it is lost in the mail)
• Teams can register day of tournament, however, entry fee for teams day of will be $25.00 per player.
• Teams must have 10 players registered via preregistration. Teams that preregister may register additional players (up to 5 additional) on the day of the tournament @ $20.00 per player.
• You may also register as a individual player and we will put you on a team.

AWARDS: TBD. Remember that this tournament is all about having fun, pride, and raising money for Special Olympics. But we’ll see what we can do for awards.

TOURNAMENT RULES

1. Wooden SOFTBALL bats will be used, if you are in need of wooden softball bats for this tournament please order them. They can be found at http://www.directsports.com/, click on the “slow pitch bat” link on the left and scroll all the way down. Bats are VERY reasonably priced at $19.95 per bat. Order them at least one week in advance to ensure they arrive in time. We recommend ordering at least 2 bats of different sizes to give your team options. ($5.00 per player will buy 2 or 3 bats).
2. There will be no umpires. The catcher calls balls and strikes. Any pitch that hits the mat or plate is a strike. The 1st base coach makes the safe/out calls at 1st base and homeplate. The 3rd base coach makes the safe/out calls at 2nd and 3rd base.
3. There is a 6 – 12 foot arch rule. This will be monitored by the scorekeepers.
4. Steel cleats will not be allowed.
5. There will be no infield or batting practice prior to games.
6. Teams can start with 9 players. Catchers WILL NOT be provided by the opposing team if there are only 9 players to start.
7. The home team shall be determined by a pregame coin flip.
8. A volunteer will be the official scorekeeper for each game.
9. Each game will run 7 innings. There MAY be a time limit in forced to ensure all games are played. If so, games will not last any longer than 1 hour and 15 minutes. No inning shall start after the 1 hour mark unless the game is tied.
10. A 10 run mercy rule after 5 innings and a 15 run mercy rule after 4 innings will be in effect for all games.
11. All batters will start with a 1 ball and 1 strike count (no extra foul balls).
12. Absolutely no refunds shall be made under any circumstances – unless the tournament is cancelled completely. In that event, checks will be mailed to the team captain with 10 days of cancellation.

Rules are a combination of Special Olympics Unified rules and Sandlot Softball Rules

ABOUT GREATER NEW BEDFORD SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Thank you so much for your participation in this softball tournament fundraiser. The Greater New Bedford Special Olympics Program is always grateful for community involvement in fundraising. The Greater New Bedford Special Olympics Program has been in existence for over 20 years. The approximately 175 athletes and coaches compete in a variety of sports activities all year round.

Athletes in the Greater New Bedford area currently participates in 5 different sports including: Ten Pin Bowling, Basketball, Track & Field, Swimming, and Softball. This year we look forward to possibly adding two more sports to the mix: Volleyball and Soccer. Each year it costs over $10,000.00 just to provide the bare minimum of transportation and tournament fees to our athletes. All of which we as a local program are responsible for raising. Extras such as uniforms and sports equipment are often not purchased due to lack of funds.

The program primarily consists of adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. Most of the athletes live either independently or in a group home situation with little to no family involvement. Fund raising can be a difficult and daunting prospect; and for most of our athletes, asking them to pay their own fees or for their own uniforms is an impossibility. That is why this tournament is so important. Hopefully it will be a fun way to raise funds for a very worthwhile cause. Thank you again for your participation!

Malach and two of Malach's teams will be there, The Kombucha Mushroom People, and my SO Unfied Team, The New Beford Rangers. Hope to see you there.

Additionally, since many of you don't live in the area, or don't want to participate in a Softball tournament, I have set up a KMP Team donation button for you, all proceed will go to Special Olympics from the KMP team, click button in side bar.

EDIT: There is a page on my site with all the information including contact info. It is located here.

I am Malach and be a good neighbor