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2006 National Senior Softball Summit -- Meeting Minutes
Jan. 14-15, 2006Arizona Charlies East, Las Vegas, Nevada
NOTE: To avoid confusion, the minutes are placed in the order in which they appeared on the agenda (not their actual order of discussion in the Summit) and the action on items (ie the border restriction issue) were placed with the items as they appear on the agenda (again not when they actually took place).
1. Gary Tryhorn, Summit Chairman, welcomed the 21 Summit delegates, 19 Men's National Advisors and 10 National Women's Advisors to the eighth Annual National Senior Softball Summit.
2. of SSUSA was selected as Recording Secretary.
In a Special Presentation, incoming Softball Summit Chairman Gary Tryhorn presented an Appreciation Award to RB Thomas for his outstanding service as Chairman of the Summit in 2004-2005.
In another Special Presentation, Steve Simmons awarded Carlos Becerra, co-chairman of the Men's National Advisory Board, the "Ken Maas Spirit Award" for his personal dedication to Senior Softball and the positive force he has been on the National Advisory Board.
3. Terry Hennessy introduced the Minutes of the 2005 Summit, which were approved without discussion. Hennessy explained that the minutes of the 2006 Summit would be distributed by e-mail to all delegates and the delegates would have two weeks to notify Hennessy of changes. After the 2-week deadline, the minutes would be posted on the Summit website (www.softballrating.com).
4. Gary Tryhorn reviewed the Summit Agenda and gave Carlos Becerra a list of issues that had been sent to Summit delegates by players and teams during the year for discussion.
5. The Men's National Advisory Board was directed to be ready with their recommendations by the end of the day.
6. Women's Advisory Council Chairperson Sylvia Mergl (through a spokesperson) said the biggest discussion would be on getting rules closer. She said much progress has been made, especially in age groupings, mercy rules and the use of a 47 COR, 525 Compression optic yellow ball for all association play for women.
7. Old Business:
A. Geographic Restrictions Committee: Committee Chairman Steve Simmons reported that the committee unanimously recommended that all associations "adopt the bordering-states rule for all states, including California and Florida, starting with the 2006 season. The committee also recommended that this be done on a two-year probationary basis at which time the committee would reconvene to assess the effect the rule has had on the senior game." Members of the committee include Terry Hennessy, Gary Tryhorn, Al Vera, Fred Turnier, Bruce Fisher and Lou Giovanini.
SUMMIT RESOLUTION:
Bill Ruth of ISA made a motion that the Report be accepted with the qualification that the Committee reconvene before Sept. 8, 2006, to review the border restrictions, especially looking at whether California and Florida teams should be allowed to draw players from other states. The Committee was directed to recommend by Sept. 8 whether to add any qualifications to the bordering-states rule so that associations have enough time to enact changes for the 2007 season. Seconded by Terry Hennessy of SSUSA. Unanimously passed. (See Rule Comparison Chart for the associations adopting the new "states and bordering state" rule).
B. Altered Bat Committee: Committee Chairman Gary Tryhorn reported that the committee has come up with a catalogue with information to help associations identify bats that have been altered. He said the catalogues have been distributed to all national associations and he urged the associations to tightly control distribution of the information. Jerry Jackson displayed a bat ring that would not fit over bats that had been re-painted, and Bill Ruth explained a new high-tech internal ring that is being developed by Anaconda Sports that carries information about the bat. The ring is installed inside the bat when it is manufactured and the information can be read by an external hand-held reader. Ruth said the rings are expected to go into production in 2007 or 2008. Tryhorn said that his committee would continue to update the Altered Bat Catalogue and would send the updates to all Summit delegates as they became available. Members of the committee included Bill Given, Steve Simmons, Dick Kuyath, Gary Russell and Gary Wallich.
C. Central ID Card: Terry Hennessy reported that the company that had been approved for trials on the Central ID Cards had backed out of the project and that now only three associations require cards: SSUSA, SPA and SSWS. He said that until another neutral company could be found to produce the cards, the project was at a standstill.
SUMMIT RESOLUTION:
Jerry Jackson of ISA made a motion that the Central ID Card be taken off future agendas because it is not feasible. Charlie LaRouche of USSSA seconded. Passed by acclamation.
D. Umpire Committee Report: Charles Moss, Chair of the Umpire Committee, reported that he was very encouraged by the umpiring at the senior tournaments he attended. He said there was a potential problem with the pitching box, for an umpire's point of view, because pitchers were not coming to a stop before pitching and most of them were pitching from the orginal rubber (at 50 feet). There was general discussion and no consensus among delegates. Most associations offer some form of the pitching box, which allows the pitcher to pitch from behind the rubber (See Rule Comparison Chart for pitching box rules for individual associations.)
E. ASA "Tournament of Champions" Proposal: Steve Simmons reported that there were a lot of obstacles to get the idea to work. Delegates agreed that it was a dead issue. No vote taken.
8. Dan Needy of the Huntsmen Games presented a Summary of Participation in Senior Softball to delegates. The report listed each team that participated in any of the national championships, the associations in which they participated and several other interesting facts, including:
∑ 66.5 percent of the teams only competed in one national championship.
∑ California teams tend to stay in the West.
∑ Florida sent more teams to Utah (Huntsmen Games) and Texas (SPA) than anywhere else.
∑ SSUSA had the most teams from different states (36 states).
∑ Maine, Mississippi, South Dakota, Alaska and Wyoming had no teams represented.
Steve Simmons commented that his survey, done 5 years ago, gathered the same information. Simmons offered to combine the two surveys to determine growth of the sport and changes in the sport. He promised to make his report available to delegates.
9. National Senior Softball Hall of Fame: Ridge Hooks announced that the Hall of Fame Website had been delayed, but was expected to be up and running within the next few months. The website will be linked to the Summit website and will have downloadable forms. In addition Hooks distributed Hall of Fame packets to each delegate, which also included the necessary forms for nomination. Hooks urged organizations to send All Tournament team lists to the Hall of Fame representatives so that players could be accorded the proper number of points necessary for nomination.
Item 10: National Tournament Dates
SSUSA: Seattle, Washington
Men's 50-55: Sept. 7-10
Men's 65, 70, 75, 80: Sept. 11-14
Men's 60: Sept. 14-17
Women's Divisions/ Men's 40 Masters: Sept. 15-17
SPA: Plano, Texas
Men's Major & Major-Plus (50,55,60,65): July 14-16
Men's 50-55 AAA-AA, 70: Aug. 10-13
Men's 60, 65 AA & AAA: Aug. 24-27
Men's 75-80: Aug. 24-27
Huntsman Games: St. George, Utah
Men's 60, 65: Oct. 9-14
Women's Divisions: Oct. 13-15
Men's 50, 55, 70, 74: Oct. 16-20
ISA: St. Louis, Missouri
Men's 50,55,60,65: Aug. 4-6
ISSA/ISF: Manassas, Virginia:
ISF: June 23-25
ISSA: Aug. 18-20
ASA: Burlington, North Carolina
Men's 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75: Sept. 1-4
NSA: East (Rock Hill, South Carolina)
All, July 27-30
NSA: West (Las Vegas, NV)
Men's 60: June 3-4
Men's 65,70,75: June 5-8
Men's 50, 55: June 9-11
SSWS: Palm Springs, California
Men's 65, 70, 75, 80: Sept. 16-19
Men's 50, 55, 60: Sept. 21-24
Women's 50, 55, 60, 65: Sept. 21-24
LVSSA: Las Vegas:
Men's 65, 70: Sept. 25-27
Men's 50, 60: Sept. 29- Oct. 1
Men's 70-80: Oct. 2-4
Men's 55: Oct. 6-8
Women's: Oct. 7-8
Item 11: Rule Review
Here are the rule changes announced by National Associations for the "Comparison of Rules and Procedures" Chart that will be posted on the National Summit website (www.softballrating.com) for 2006. (Please note that all other information remains the same on the chart; these are only the changes):
Home State (of teams):
SSWS change to "Majority of Players" / USSSA change to Manager's Address
Geographic Restrictions:
SSUSA, ISSA, SPA, ASA, ISA, SSWS, LVSSA: States + Bordering States
USSSA: AAA= State Only, Major=States + Bordering States +1, Major-Plus=Open
NSA: States + Bordering States / Major+, Major= States + Bordering States +1
70+ Geographic Restrictions:
ASA= None
SSWS = States + Bordering States
75+ Age Restrictions:
SSWS: 3 players 74+
80+ Age Restrictions:
SPA: 3 players 78+, 3 Players 79+
Women Geographic Restrictions:
SSUSA, NSA, ISA: None
Women's Age Divisions:
SSUSA, SPA, LVSSA: 40, 50, 55,60, 65 (50s: 5 players 49
USSSA: 40,45, 50,55,60,65 (In 40 no more than 4 active Class A Players)
SSWS: 50s: 5 players 47-49 / 55,60
Players playing in multiple AGE divisions:
SSUSA, Hunts, NSA, ISA, LVSSA: 2 Divisions (within 1 skill level)
ISSA, ASA: Open
Penalties for teams not playing scheduled games:
SSUSA, Huntsman, ISSA/ISF, SPA, NSA, SSWS, LVSSA: Change "finals" to "Brackets" : Must play in round robin to play in brackets.
ASA: Could go to losers bracket or be disqualified
Pitch Count:
NO change
Arc in feet:
LVSSA: 6-12
Strike Mat:
No Change
Ball Specifications:
Hunts: 44COR/ 375 COMP
SPA, LVSSA: 44 COR, 375 COMP
USSSA: 375-525 COMP
NSA: 44 COR, 525 COMP or less
Bat Specifications (New category):
Huntsman Games: Modified 1.20 bpf (profiling standard): see NSA website for bat list)
SPA, LVSSA: 1.20 bpf: Miken II allowed
Scoring Commitment Line:
No Change
Games Scheduled at Nationals:
SPA: AAA/AA: 2+2, Major+/Major: 2+2
ISA: 2+3
LVSSA: 2+2
Mercy Rule:
Huntsman, NSA: 10/5
LVSSA: AA, AAA = 12/5. M= 20/4. M+ = 25/3
Time limits:
NSA: 55 + 1 inn in pool play.
ISA: 60 min + 1 inn in pool play
SSWS: 60 min + 1 inn in pool play
LVSSA: 60 min + 1 inn in pool play, 70 min + 1 in brackets, none in Chmp
Runs per inning:
SPA: 5/ AAA & 7/AAA
NSA: 5
LVSSA: AA/AAA: 5, M=7, M+=open
Foul Ball third Strike:
No Change
Int'l Tiebreaker:
No Change
Number of defensive players in 65+:
No Change
CHANGE HEADING: Max. Number of Batters:
SSWS: Def + 2
Team Registration fees:
SPA: $30
Championship Entry Fees:
ISSA/ISF: $425/$450
SPA: $595
ISA: $450
SSWS: $500-$700
LVSSA: $490
Player ID Cards:
SPA: $35
Home Run Limits:
Major-Plus Division:
SPA, 7 + 1 up, singles
USSSA: 7, singles
ASA, SSWS: 9 + 1 up, outs
LVSSA: Unlimited
Major Division:
SPA: 4 + 1up, single
USSSA: 3, dead ball out
ISSA, ASA, SSWS: 6, 1-up, out
LVSSA: 50,55,60: 7+ 1 up, single/ 65s: 3 + 1-up, single
AAA Division:
SPA, 2, out
USSSA, 1, out
AA Division:
SSUSA, SPA: 1, out
THESE TWO CATEGORIES ADDED TO THE CHART:
Pitch box:
SSUSA, Hunts, SPA, NSA, ISA,SSWS,LVSSA: Yes
ISSA, USSSA, ASA: No
Pitch Distance:
SSUSA, Hunts, SPA, ISA,SSWS,LVSSA: 50-56
ISSA, USSSA, ASA: 50
NSA: 53-56
Item 12: Discussion of Joint Rating System
The Ratings Committee remains RB Thomas, Ridge Hooks and Terry Hennessy. Ratings are posted on the Summit Website: www.softballrating.com. RB Thomas reviewed the benefits of the National Rating System and these issues were discussed:
Small Major and Major-Plus Divisions: Thomas recommended reviewing the Major and Major-Plus Divisions because of the small numbers of teams attending many of the national tournaments. He suggested adding equalizers so that competition was closer and divisions larger. Hennessy offered to use the SSUSA Spring Nationals as a test in combining the division and instituting equalizers so that information would be available to National Associations on combining divisions before their 2006 tournaments.
SUMMIT RESOLUTION:
Dan Needy of Huntsmen Games made a motion to select a committee to pursue what associations can do about small Major and Major-Plus Divisions to encourage greater participation. Seconded by Fred Turnier of LVSSA. Passed unanimously.
Selected for the committee: Terry Hennessy (Chair), RB Thomas, Ridge Hooks, Bill Ruth, Bruce Fisher.
SUMMIT RESOLUTION:
In a second motion on this same topic, Bill Ruth of ISA made a motion to call the committee the Level Consolidation Committee, add an Advisory Board Member to the committee and report back to Summit Associations by June. Seconded by Dan Needy of Huntsmen Games. Passed unanimously.
Mike Sisavec and Randy Moses, National Adviory Board Members, were selected for the committee.
Roster Problems: RB Thomas also discussed a growing problem of teams adding players to rosters when they attend National Tournaments that don't require qualifiers. Hennessy and Hooks offered to share qualifying rosters from SSUSA and SPA qualifiers with other associations so that they can check qualifying rosters against the rosters submitted for their National Tournaments. Delegates expressed interest in posting team rosters on the Summit website so that all associations could check the rosters. Hennessy said that he would find out how to post the rosters, and suggested the Summit start with the teams that won in 2005.
New teams AAA: All new teams will be AAA (not AA) until they play enough tournaments to determine their rating, or unless the committee can determine they should begin competing at a higher level than AAA.
Automatic Raising of Winning Teams: Discussion over whether all teams winning 1st and 2nd place in a 2005 national tournament should be raised on skill level for the 2006 season. Hooks said raising the 2nd place teams created problems because many of them were not strong enough to compete at the higher level and when the Ratings Committee lowered their rating, it created undue controversy.
SUMMIT RESOLUTION:
Terry Hennessy of SSUSA made a motion to raise only the First Place winners of all National Association Divisions to the next higher skill level with no appeal allowed in the 2006 season. Bruce Fisher of SSUSA seconded. Passed unanimously.
Item 13: Snowbird Rule
Hooks recommended that the three associations with snowbird rules (SSUSA, SPA, ISSA) come up with a common definition and requirement. Hennessy said that in the last 8 years ñ until last year ñ there have been no problems with snowbirds, but in the past season some players have tried to take advantage of the exemption. The four associations agreed.
Summit Action:
The main requirements for snowbirds will be that the person lives for THREE (3) consecutive months in each location and that the player announce at the beginning of the year which team they will be participating on when they compete in ALL of the national association finals. The forms will be available on the Summit Website: www.softballrating.com. In addition, a complete list of snowbirds for all four associations will be published on the Summit Website. The list will include the person's name, age division and the two states in which they are allowed to play.
Item 14: Budget Report
Terry Hennessy distributed budget reports to association delegates and reported the budget was on target, with all associations except one up to date on dues payments. Hennessy recommended dues remain $200 for each association for 2006.
Summit Action:
Bruce Fisher made a motion to accept the Budget Report and new dues fee, Charlie Colaianni seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Hennessy also read a series of correspondence between USSSA and Summit Chairman RB Thomas over the subject of back dues owed the Summit. The parties agreed their was a misunderstanding of the Summit role and USSSA indicated it wanted to start paying dues in 2006.
Summit Action:
Hooks made a motion that the Summit take a roll call vote on whether to require USSSA to pay back dues in order to remain a member of the Summit. Charlie Colaianni seconded. Roll Call result was 9 associations in favor of USSSA paying back dues in order to remain a member of the Summit. One association abstained.
Hennessy was directed to write a letter to USSSA expressing the Summit's unanimous desire that USSSA remain a member of the Summit, but stating that in order to remain a member associations need to be current on dues.
Item 15: Summit Website
Terry Hennessy reported on the Summit-supported wedbsite www.softballrating.com and asked associations for input on any improvements. He said a link will be added to the new National Senior Softball Hall of Fame website and that all of the updates from the Summit will be posted by early February.
Item 16: Reviewing the process for adding an association to the Summit
Gary Tryhorn said that the Senior Olympics have asked to become a member of the Summit. Jerry Jackson said that the Summit had approved a form two years ago for prospective new Summit members. Jackson said he would get the form to Tryhorn so that the Senior Olympics can apply for membership. They can present their case to be a member of the Summit at the 2007 Summit meeting, when delegates would vote on their admission.
Item 17: Reviewing the process procedure for staffing the Advisory Board
Gary Tryhorn asked for a review of the procedure for adding members to the National Advisory Board. Delegates confirmed that they wanted to strive to have a broad representation of geography, ages and skill levels on the Advisory Board.
Summit Action:
Hennessy was directed to write a criteria expressing the Summit requirements for the National Advisory Board and putting it on the Summit website along with a form that prospective Advisory Members can fill out. Hennessy said Senior Softball News will also advertise for new National Advisory Board members. Gary Tryhorn agreed to develop a certificate for existing Advisory Board members expressing the Summit gratitude for their efforts to improve the sport.
Items 18-19-20: Advisory Board Recommendations and Summit Responses
(See Separate Reports ñ Adendum A and Adendum B ñ on Men's and Women's Advisory Council recommendations and Summit Responses)
Item 21: New Business
LVSSA as permanent member of Summit: LVSSA has been a provision member of the Summit for two years. The Summit agreed to vote on permanent membership during the 2006 session.
Summit Action:
Ridge Hooks made a motion to accept LVSSA as a permanent member of the Summit. Bill Given of Huntsmen Games seconded. LVSSA unanimously accepted as a permanent member of the Summit.
Item 22: Site for 2007 Summit
SUMMIT RESOLUTION:
Jerry Jackson recommended that the Summit come back to Las Vegas in 2007 on Jan. 20-21. Charlie Colaianni seconded, unanimous approval.
Item 23: Vote for 2008-2009 Summit Chair
SUMMIT ACTION:
Ridge Hooks nominated Bill Ruth of ISA for Summit Chair in 2008-2009. Bruce Fisher seconded. Elected by acclamation. (Bill Ruth will serve as Summit Vice-Chair in 2007 and 2010)
2006 Summit adjourned.
Minutes by Terry Hennessy, Recording Secretary 1/22/06
Page last modified: Jan. 22, 2006
The national senior softball organizations in America:
ASA
ISA
Huntsman Games
ISSA
LVSSA
NASCS
SPA
SSUSA
National Senior Softball Hall of Fame
