Softball News Spring 2009 – 1

Non-Profi t Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 44Garrison, ND

Inside

Volume 27, Number 3 NORTH DAKOTA STATE AMATEUR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION SPRING 2009

➦ Death claims umpire

Page 3

➦ 2009 Invitational Tourneys

Page 15

➦ Umpire Rules Clinics

Page 10

NORTH DAKKKKKKKKKKOOOOOOOTA STATE AMATEUR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION SPRING 2009

Softball News

Hall of Fame elects fi veTwo fast pitch veterans and three slow pitch standouts selected

serves on the NDASA Executive Board. He joins his father, Jim “Rip” Collins as a father-son team in the Hall of Fame.

Craig FlaaganCraig Flaagan of Fargo began

his softball career in 1975 with Eicholtz Masonry, a team for which he played until 1989 when he joined the powerful Tharaldson

Enterprises team. He became an important cog

on what was easily the best team in North Dakota for many years. Craig was a fi rst baseman and his 6 foot 8 inch frame made him a great target for his infi elders to throw to. In addition to his defensive skill around the bag at fi rst base, he was also a fearsome hitter, averaging

.580 for his career with an ability to place hit the ball to all fi elds as well as being able to deliver home runs when the situation called for one. In the fi ve year period from; 1990 through 1994, Craig hit for .600 batting average and delivered 907 runs batted in while crushing

Scott Collins Craig Flaagan Bob Footitt, Sr. Lyle Halvorson Harrison (Dode) Smith

See HALL on page 7

The Hall of Fame Selection Com-mittee, meeting in conjunction with the Winter meeting of NDASA, has selected fi ve outstanding softball personalities to be added to the NDASA Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies will take place at the annual Hall of Fame banquet to be held in the Jamestown Civic Center on Saturday, April 25.

Addition of this year’s inductees will bring the total to 228 members of the softball shrine.

Scott CollinsScott Collins of Minot presently

serves as Recreation Director for the city of Minot and has been involved in North Dakota softball for over twenty years as outstand-ing player, coach, manager, league representative and also serves on the NDASA Executive Board.

Scott has played fast pitch soft-ball for twenty years and carries a lifetime batting average of near

.350. His major position has been as a catcher but he has also played both fi rst and third base. His teams have participated in 18 state tour-naments, six regional and thirteen national ASA tournaments. He has also played in twelve ISC World Championships and six NAFA World Tournaments. He was se-lected four times to All American teams in ASA competition, NAFA All-World three time and was elected to the NAFA Hall of Fame. He also won tournament batting championship and RBI title at an ISC World event.

As a player, Scott was character-ized as a clutch hitter with power and as a great catcher with a good throwing arm and the ability to catch some of the top pitchers in the game.

He also coached and managed for four years and has been League Representative for the city of Minot for thirteen years. He presently also

Red Willow Lake ResortOff Hwy #1, 25 miles North of Cooperstown

Goody, Goody! I’m not going to retire till I’m old “enuff” – so hang onto your caps gals and guys ‘n come out into the “boon docks” ‘n play in some fun softball tourneys again! See ya there!

For Information call: Vernis Haines - 676-2061

Guys & Gals, God loves you and so do I!

Men’s TourneysMay 31 – III & IV ..............................5 team RRJuly 25 & 26 – III & IV ......................16 teamsAug. 22 & 23 – III & IV .....................16 teams

35th Annual Fall FuneramaSept. 6 & 7 – Open ...........................20 teams

Spirit Lake won the ‘08 “Traveling Trophy”

Coed Tourneys31st Annual Spring Reunion

May 24 & 25 – Open ............... 16 teamsJuly 3 & 4 – Open .................... 20 teams

Annual Pepsi TourneyAug. 15 & 16 – Open ............... 16 teams

Girls’ 12-14-16 & UnderLeague meeting April 29

Aug. 2 .............................. League Tourneys

Baseball3 game guarantee or RR

June 6 & 7 – “51st Early Bird” Tourney ..........Babe RuthJune 14 – 5 teams ..................................................Cal RipkenJune 21 – Celebrate Dad’s Day ......................Cal RipkenJune 28 ..................................................................Cal RipkenJuly 10 – Annual “Whoop te do” .....................T-BallJuly 11 & 12 ...........................................................Babe RuthJuly 18 ....................................................................T-BallJuly 19 – Traveling Trophy ......................................Cal Ripken

Win individual engraved medals, trophies, M.V.P. awards, 14 & 22 oz. Neon mugs,

Super Bats for home runs and a few surprises!!

. .

Bring your tents, trailers, motorhomes, barbecue grills, motor boats, friends and family for a fun-fi lled weekend.

Restaurant open 14 hours a day, groceries, softball supplies and game machines. Go fi shing, swimming, boating, skiing, rollerskating or play volleyball. Showers on the grounds. Don’t go home without a Red Willow sweatshirt, cap or T-shirt for loved ones.

OPENINGS IN ALL TOURNAMENTS3 game guarantee for all.

Welcome Canadians and Minnesotans every tourney!!Umpire Clinic

Friday, May 8th • 7 p.m.Tom Harty - Chief Ump

The annual Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony will be held in the Jamestown Civic Center at 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening April 25. The event is usually held in the Gladstone Inn but a prior commit-ment makes it necessary to move the banquet to the lower level of the Civic Center.

This year’s event will feature the

Hall of Fame Banquet set for April 25Five new members to be inducted

induction of fi ve new members to the softball shrine which will bring the number of honorees to 228. The event is held the same day as the annual Spring Meeting of the North Dakota Amateur Softball Association and is held early in the evening to permit those attending the annual meeting to stay over for the Hall of Fame event and to allow

guests coming from out of town to be able to get back home that same evening.

Notice will be sent to all mem-bers of the Hall of Fame but the event is open to everyone. Ticket and menu information is available by contacting the NDASA state of-fi ce by telephone at 701-952-4448 or email at ndasa@daktel.com.

2 – Softball News Spring 2009

President’s Report

Dick Gulman

Commissioner’s Column

Jim Hanley

Softball NewsOffi cial Publication of the North Dakota

Amateur Softball AssociationEditor—Walt StackAdvertising Director—Softball News Box 309, Garrison, ND 58540Subscription and similar material should be addressed to Softball News, Box 309, Garrison, N.D. 58540. Advertising rates upon request.

For advertising rates, write: BHG, Inc., P.O. Box 309, Garrison, ND 58540 or telephone (701) 463-2201.

Welcome again to another soft-ball season in North Dakota. Rules clinics will be held throughout the state in April and the 2009 season will begin shortly thereafter.

I attended the ASA National Council meeting in Oklahoma City this past November along with Jim Hanley, Walt Stack, Mike Wolf as well as a delegation from Minot. Thanks to each of you for taking the time to represent our program at the National level. Minot was awarded the 2010 WSP C National Championship which will be a great event for our state and provide our WSP program the opportunity to participate in a National Champion-ship right at home.

In 2009 ASA National Champi-onships in our region are the fol-lowing: Mandan will host the Men’s Masters 40 Slow Pitch 8/28/-8/30 (ND Teams must play in Masters/Senior State Tournament). Roch-ester will host the Men’s D Slow Pitch Northern National, and Sioux Falls S.D. will host the USA/ASA GFP 16 & Under Championship 7/26-8/2/09. South Dakota has a great GFP program and will do a great job hosting this event. If you love softball, this will be tremen-dous event to go see. A new Na-tional Championship was created at the council meeting this past fall. The E/Rec National Championship will be a four corner National Tour-nament starting in 2009. This years E/Rec in the Northern Territory will be in Topeka, Kansas on labor day weekend. This additional National Tournament will provide a great

opportunity for the Rec. division teams to participate on the National level. We hope to bring this tourna-ment to N.D. in the near future.

I served on a number of com-mittees at the council meeting including, Equipment Testing & Certifi cation, Player Representa-tives, Playing Rules, & Long Range Planning.

I thought it was a very good con-ference with healthy debate on is-sues regarding our game of softball. Many new proposals were passed that I believe will be very positive to the game going forward such as HR rule changes in slow pitch, ad-opted the 1&1 count in slow pitch, and approved the optic ball for all slow pitch in 2010. The 1&1 count for slow pitch was fi nally approved after several years of debate on the issue. This rule is unique to slow pitch, and many areas of the country have been using it for years. Other changes for 2009 in the Code were team and umpire registration fees were increased for 2009. NDASA will keep all fees at the 2008 level for teams and umpires. Find other code and rule changes in this news-paper.

On the equipment side, you can go the NDASA web site to fi nd the 2008 ASA Equipment Committee Review. Just a few highlights, the equipment committee did extensive on the fi eld testing at the Hooters Championship Series. With the assistance of Rawlings and their new technology, we were able to measure BBS in live action in the A through D level of players. This

new technology will greatly en-hance the decision making process for the equipment committee with regards to bat and ball decisions to uphold the integrity of the game. Another change you will see on the ASA web site/certifi ed equipment, is regarding the non-approved bat list. Previously, there were over 100 bats on this list. About 75 of these bats were in fact never approved for ASA play. So this year to make it easier for players and umpires, the non-approved list will only dis-play previously approved bats that have the ASA certifi cation mark on them. This list currently has only 24 models listed as non-approved bats. So, if a bat has the ASA 2000 or 2004 certifi cation mark, and is not on the non-approved bat list, it is legal use. If the bat does not have an ASA certifi cation mark on it, it is probably one of those 75 bats that were never approved for ASA in the fi rst place. Except, if a bat was made prior to 2000 and in the sole discretion of the umpire would pass the ASA certifi cation test if tested. The Equipment Committee will be traveling to St. Louis in early June for additional fi eld testing and will measure BBS with a variety of bats and balls. Players will also see new technology in the market place this year regarding an interchangeable bat barrel in ASA play. The Equip-ment Committee completed several years of extensive testing of this new product and gave its approval this past November. Additional portable bat barrel compression testing machines will be available this spring from Easton Sports. North Dakota has ordered two. One for the state and one for McQuade. I would like to thank the Equipment Committee and Kelly McKeown at the National Offi ce for all their work this past year. These individu-als are committed to the game of softball, and take their responsibil-ity in maintaining the integrity of the game very seriously. Great job to each of you.

My sincere congratulations to Scott Collins, Craig Flaagan, Rob-ert Footit, Sr., Lyle Halvorson, and Dode Smith for their recent elec-tion to the NDASA Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame Committee will be hosting a banquet to honor the inductees on the 25th of April at the Jamestown Civic Center. For ticket information contact the State Offi ce at 952-4448.

A special thanks again to Gary Tharaldson and Tharaldson Enter-prises of Fargo for again sponsoring the trophies and banners for our State and National Tournaments in North Dakota in 2009. This is a signifi cant donation to our program that allows us to keep tournament fees down for teams, and we are very grateful to Gary and his com-pany for their continued support, and commitment to softball and its participants in North Dakota.

All bats used in the NDASA program will be stamped by league reps and DUIC’s before the season starts to assist umpires and offi cials throughout the season. National Tournament bid rotation is 2009 Bismarck, 2010 Mandan, 2011 Minot. The Co-Ed State Tourna-ment will be relocated to Grand Forks in 2009. The current plan is to rotate this State Tournament between Fargo and Grand Forks in the next few years. The McQuade tournament and the Fargo Classic (Y-94) will be National Tournament Qualifi ers for the

B,C,D, E/Rec in MSP and C,D in WSP in 2009. State Tournaments will also qualify to National Cham-pionships in these classifi cations. In the newly formed E/Rec, the top four places in the Rec I State will advance to the National Tournament as well as the top two places in the Rec II East and West State Tourna-ments. The NDASA Men’s Masters Committee has recommended the adoption of a 60 Senior State Tour-namet. This tournament is a wood bat only and was approved with a minimum of four teams required to have the tournament. To assist the makeup of teams the masters committee has recommended an “underage players” point system to enhance the success of the program. Great job again to the Master’s Committee. Another change at the winter NDASA meeting was to allow pickup players to the highest division that a team is playing in.

Example, a Rec II team playing in a Rec I/II tournament could pick up Rec I player’s. D/Rec I tourna-ment, a Rec I team could pick up D player’s, and so forth. This proposal came from the players and should help teams throughout the season for invitational tournaments.

Walt Stack was asked by our Region to stay on another year past his term as Regional UIC. This is certainly a testament to the dedi-cation and hard work that Walt does in this position and the National Staff. Walt is well respected on the National, Regional and State level for his great work and we do appre-ciate him. Great job Walt, you make us proud. Also, it is Walt Stack’s work and dedication that makes this newspaper happen. I hear so many good comments from all over the country on this periodical and do appreciate hearing them. Thanks Walt for all your work to bring this paper to softball readers.

Special thanks to the NDASA BOD, NDASA Advisory board, League Reps, Umpires, Tourna-ment Directors, and the hundreds of volunteers who make it possible to run our program in North Dakota. We couldn’t do it without you. Keep up the good work and have a great 2009 season.

Dick GulmonPresident NDASA

Hopefully our long and arduous winter will shortly come to an end. Still it is time to begin thinking about softball for the 2009 season.

The advisory board met in Jame-stown a week later than planned due to the weather. Many items were brought forth to the execu-tive board which took action on them. All of the items adopted will be discussed when the Association holds it 2009 annual meeting in Jamestown on April 25th . Hope-fully as many of you as possible will be able to attend. At that time your state and national registration fees will be due.

Some of the items approved dur-ing the January executive board at their meeting dealt with NDASA and ASA activities. At national meeting of ASA one of the major adoptions was the I and I count with no courtesy foul in all championship play. NDASA will use this rule to include all invitational tournaments in adult slow pitch division, with the exception of Masters and JO programs. Another Change passed during the meeting of ASA was the addition of a Class E/Rec Division of championship play. National Championship Tournaments of play in this division will be placed in the four areas of play. The Class E/Rec national tournament for the Northern area will be in Topeka, Kansas. Awarding of berth for the

National E/Rec tournament will be as follows: Top 4 teams from Rec I State, top 2 from Rec II East & West state tournaments. Also one berth will be given to Rec II teams in the McQuade and one berth from the Rec I/II Fargo Classic.

The home run rule will follow the ASA home run rule in all adult divisions of play except in Class E and all Rec divisions. The home run rule is for all state and invitational tournaments.

Mandan will be hosting the na-tional 40 & Over tournament. All men’s masters/seniors wishing to participate in this tournament must play in a state tournament.

I want to also pass along my sincere congratulations to the fi ve new inductees to the North Dakota ASA softball Hall of Fame. All fi ve have had distinctive careers and have contributed to the great game of softball. They are Craig Flaagan, Bob Footitt, Sr., Scott Collins, Lyle Halvorson and Harrison “Dode” Smith. They will be inducted at cer-emonies following the annual Hall of Fame banquet at the Jamestown Civic Center on Saturday evening April 25.

GFP is still in its infancy in North Dakota. Last year NDASA indi-vidually registered over 500 girls to play GFP or GSP. I would like to see this program kcep moving torward as it is in most state organizations.

Please promote and help our youth who are playing ball and are getting started. Remember someone helped you get started playing, so return the favor to our youth. The follow-ing information will desribe what is needed to register all GFP and any GSP teams wishing to attend a national tournament.

All GFP teams will be required to register each coach and player individually. For the GSP teams qualifying for a national tourna-ment berth, they will be required to individually register between the time of the state tournament and go-ing on to the national tournament. Ace Certifi cation for a coach and background checks will be required and must be completed before the qualifying team can enter the na-tional tournament.

NDASA will use Register ASA.com for the registration process. This is the same group used last year and was very helpful for our fi rst try at individual registration. For the teams individually regis-tered last year much of the work has been done. Your organization will work off last year’s registra-tions, making changes and then sending it to RegisterASA.com. With the advent of our second year of individual registration, I am sure there will be some changes. I do know that we will be able to work those through.

A couple of new items that will now be required relate to back-ground checks and ACE Certifi -cation for coaches. Both of these requirements can be met by going on line with Register ASA.com. Going online you will be told the process. There is a charge for both of these, again explained by Register ASA.com. NDASA will now require proof that each indi-vidual associated with a JO team has gone through the background check. This includes all assistants and every umpire who will work JO and WSP games. There will be no exception to this. I realize many have gone through background checks as they are required for their work. If a person has been through a background check for 2009, they will have to provide proof. ASA requires a background check each and every year. The cost will be $4.25 for each person working with a JO team.

When organizing teams for the summer, those already individu-ally registered for the high school league, do not have to register again. Most of the high school league teams will have few roster changes. If there are roster changes on these teams, individually registered girls can be placed on the roster free of charge. If not registered, they can be added for the fee of $7.00. This provides each person insurance

coverage. I fi rmly believe, and I am not an insurance agent, that all youth should have some sort of insurance to cover injuries. This is only one way, but possibly the cheapest way. Too many injuries occur and many followed by law-suits. This way, if they have insur-ance, they will be covered as well as the Association.

ACE Certification will be re-

See COMMISSIONERpage 6

Softball News Spring 2009 – 3

Walt Stack

From Behind the CatcherHere we go again. Coming

up on another softball season although as I write this it sure doesn’t look like we’ll be playing anytime soon. We have had a real old fashioned North Dakota win-ter with plenty of snow and near record low temps. The moisture is surely welcome but I would prefer spring rain.

I am beginning my sixth year as a member of the National Um-pire Staff and I fi nally feel like I know what I’m doing. As most of you know, I have been an um-pire for a very long time but still felt like a rookie on the National Staff at least the fi rst couple of years. I just got home from the biennial Umpire in Chief clinic in Oklahoma City. We had over 400 umpires attend which was an outstanding turnout considering the economic conditions in the country. Most of the training sessions concentrated on teaching techniques which the attending UIC’s could take back and use in their local associations.

North Dakota lost another popular and active umpire in December as Bobby Larson lost his fi ght with cancer. He fi rst had symptoms while in Arizona um-piring college and high schools games a year ago this winter. He came back and started treatments in Bismarck and Minot and for a while was doing okay and went back to umpiring. As is too often the case, the cancer re-appeared

and after a long tough fi ght, he died on December 27, 2008. His obitu-ary appears elsewhere in this issue but it doesn’t begin to tell anyone about what a positive person and capable umpire he was. He would go anywhere to work softball and enjoyed every assignment. He was a regular on the fast pitch circuit in the Northern Region and worked slow pitch when he had the time. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in softball.

My congratulations to fi ve more inductees who will enter the North Dakota Softball Hall of Fame in April at the annual Hall of Fame banquet in the Jamestown Civic Center on Saturday, April 25. The honorees elected this year are Craig Flaagan from Fargo who played a big role in the many championship

honors collected by Tharaldson Enterprises.

Harrison “Dode” Smith of Jamestown who was an outstand-ing fast pitch pitcher and first baseman who played for twenty seasons; Scott Collins, Minot Recreation Director, who was an outstanding fast pitch player on teams which played in national and world tournament; Bob Foo-titt, Sr. of Fargo, long time player, sponsor and softball booster and Lyle Halvorson of Wyndmere whose career spanned over thirty years as an active player.

Further information regarding the Hall of Fame festivities can be found elsewhere in this issue

Mandan will play host to it’s first National Tournament this summer when the 40 and Over men’s Slow pitch National comes to that city. Mandan was a suc-cessful bidder for this national event in it’s very first try and promises a quality tournament for visiting teams. Rumor has it that there is already a fl urry of recruit-ing in the major cities in the state and it is hoped that the tournament will also draw a number of teams from the Northern Region and the rest of the United States. Mandan Recreation Director Cole Higlin has named a committee which is already at work making sure that the many details of a national tournament are considered .

Robert Harold”Bobby” Larson , 68, died Saturday, December 27, 2008 following a battle with cancer. Bobby was born on September 30, 1940 in Fargo where he attended Shanley High School before mov-ing with his family to Towner where he graduated from high school in 1959. He served in the U..S. Army from 1959 until 1962.

Bobby then moved to Minot where he worked for Montana-Dakota Utilities from 1962 until his retirement in 2000. Bobby then became involved in the operation of Planet Pizza with long time friend Fred Mueller.

Bobby was well known in state and national softball circles. After playing and managing fast pitch softball for several years, Bobby began his umpiring career in 1982, working local leagues and tourna-ments. He advanced rapidly as an umpire working his first Na-tional tournament in 1987 when he worked the Men’s Master’s 40 and Over . For the next three years, he worked National tournaments including Men’s Class A twice and another Master’s tournament. He continued working softball throughout the 90’s working two nationals in l993, another in 1995, 1996 1997, 1998 and 1999. In 2001 he was selected to umpire the Wom-en’s Major Fast pitch tournament and two years later was selected as an umpire to the Girl’s 18 and Under Gold National Tournament, the World Series of Junior Olympic softball. In most of these tourna-ments, he was under the watchful eye of a member of the National Umpire Staff and in each case he earned excellent evaluations from each of his supervisors.

In recent years, he spent some part of each year in Arizona where

he umpired high school and col-lege softball before coming back to Minot where he umpired college softball games around the state and Northern Region. He attained the ultimate in softball umpiring when he made Elite status as an umpire. He umpired virtually every division of softball from high school through college and into adult competition and was in demand wherever soft-ball was being played.

Bobby was a member of St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Minot, the Eagles Aerie, where he was a past president and the Minot Jaycees where he was awarded Out-standing Jaycee of the year. He was active in the Bishop Ryan Boosters and a proud fan of the Minnesota Vikings and the Boston Celtics.

His unfortunate passing was the second shock to the North Dakota umpire family this year following the sudden demise of Rich Green this past Summer while umpiring in the McQuade Tournament.

Death claims umpireBobby Larson succumbs to cancer

Minot outbid several other cit-ies to win the opportunity to host the Women’s Class C Slow pitch National Championship in 2010. National tournaments are awarded two years in advance to allow host cities to properly prepare for this national event. The tournament will be held from September 2 through 6, 2010 at the South Hill Softball Complex in Minot.

Minot has been the host city for several national tournaments but this will be only the second slow pitch tournament to be held in the Magic City. Details regarding the tournament will be forthcoming and

will be on the Minot web site and in this paper.

North Dakota has a reputation of supporting national tournaments and this tournament will be no exception. Bismarck hosted this same tournament in 2006 and drew a fi eld of 33 teams. In 2007 the tournament was hosted by Salem, Oregon where 18 teams showed up to play while in 2008 this same tournament drew only 5 teams in Waxahacie, Texas.

Minot has a veteran committee of volunteers to prepare for this tour-nament and their past performance will guarantee a quality event.

Minot to host 2010 NationalWomen’s Class C will come to Magic City

Bobby Larson

By MICHAEL WOLF I am currently seeking donations

from softball players, fans, women’s associations, men’s association, and umpires from around the state to establish a memorial in honor of umpire Rich Green who died while umpiring the state softball tourney in Bismarck last summer. Rich was a great ambassador for the game of softball in ND. Rich umpired for several years in ND—primarily in Minot, Bismarck, and tournaments throughout the state. Rich umpired in the McQuade Touranament for over 25 years and the only place Rich ever wanted to umpire were the women’s divisions at the Sam McQuade Sr. Complex.

We want to establish a Rich Green Memorial in memory of Rich at the McQuade Complex.

What exactly we will do as far as a memorial is concerned will depend upon the amount of dona-tions we receive. If you would like to contribute to this worthy and deserving cause in Rich’s memory, please send your dona-tion to Michael Wolf, 1926 Billings Drive, Bismarck, ND 58504-7253. Make your check out to “Bismarck Umpire’s Association—Rich Green Memorial”.

We are planning to have a dedi-cation ceremony at the McQuade Tournament this summer prior to the fi rst game on Friday night at the Kelley Complex. Thank you for supporting this worthy cause and thank you for supporting the memory a Rich—a great ambas-sador of softball in ND!

Rich Green memorial fund

State Softball Commissioner Jim Hanley of Grand Forks has sched-uled the annual Spring meeting of the North Dakota Amateur Softball Association for Saturday, April 25 at the Civic Center in Jamestown. The meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. with a general session following which the various divisions will hold separate meetings. The group will reconvene after an hour or more to hear reports from the Slow Pitch Women, the Slow Pitch Men, Umpires, JO Fast and Slow pitch and Adult Fast pitch. Following that general session lunch will be served buffet style. All Player Representatives are urged to attend as team rule books, scorebooks and

Spring meeting date setJamestown’s Civic Center will be site

other information will be made available.

The Executive Committee of NDASA will meet at 6:30 Friday evening, April 24 and again after the General Meeting session on Saturday morning.

The annual Hall of Fame Ban-quet and induction ceremony will begin at 5:30 Saturday evening in the Jamestown Civic Center. This event is scheduled for early eve-ning so that individuals who want to attend can still drive home after the ceremony. Five inductees will be formally inducted that evening including Scott Collins, Craig Flaa-gan, Bob Footitt, Sr., Lyle Halvor-son and Harrison “Dode” Smith.

Mandan to host national tournament 40 and over men’s slowpitch to play

tive who will be responsible to see that players and teams are properly registered and will conduct reviews of player’s credentials to assure compliance with ASA regulations. A tournament umpire in chief will also be assigned by the National Of-fi ce of ASA in Oklahoma City.

More tournament information will be available in the Summer issue of this paper due for printing and mailing on July 10. Teams in-terested in competing in this event can obtain additional information by contacting the Mandan Parks and Recreation Department.

The Mandan Softball Associa-tion and Mandan Parks and Rec-reation Department will play host to their first ever ASA National Championship Tournament August 28 through August 30, 2009 when the 40 and Over Men’s Master’s Division comes to town.

Mandan competed with several other cities to claim the tournament. Mandan Parks and Recreation Di-rector Cole Higlin has assembled a team of volunteers to plan for and deal with the many details involved in hosting a national event.

The Seven Seas Best Western motel has been named as the Head-quarters motel and the tournament draw will take place there on Au-gust 24, in advance of the actual tournament play. Team entry fee has been set at $375 per team with teams guaranteed a minimum of three games in the tournament. The tournament committee is an-ticipating a fi eld of 24 to 30 teams to compete on four lighted fi elds in the Mandan Softball Complex. In addition to the main diamonds, eight other fields will be made available to enable teams to take hitting and fi elding practice prior to their games.

The Amateur Softball Associa-tion of America is the governing body of softball in the United States and conducts over eighty national tournaments for adults and Junior players. The ASA will assign a tournament Representa-

New Contact InformationNDASA State Offi ce

Telephone: (701) 952-4448

FAX: (701) 952-4488

Email: ndasa@daktel.com

Website:

webmaster@ndasa.org

Minot bids for national tourney. Wendy howe, Minot CVB, Tom Land-siedel, Minot Recreation, Scott Collins, Director , Minot Recreation, Curt Zimblemann, Minot Mayor.

4 – Softball News Spring 2009

Ump Chat

Mike Wolf

2009 Minot Softball TournamentsSponsored by the Minot Recreation Commission

Date Division Class/(Format) Fees DeadlineSunday, May 17 Men’s Slow Pitch 8 – D & Rec I (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, May 08 16 – Rec II (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, May 08 16 – Rec III & IV (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, May 08

Sat. & Sun., July 25 &26 Men’s Slow Pitch 8 – C & D (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, July 17 24 – Rec I (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, July 17 24 – Rec II (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, July 17 32 – Rec III (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, July 17 32 – Rec IV (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, July 17

Sat. & Sun., July 25 & 26 Women’s Slow Pitch 8 – C & D (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, July 17 8 – Rec I (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, July 17 8 – Rec II, III (3 G.G.) $80.00 Friday, July 17

Sat. & Sun., August 1 & 2 Women’s State C & D Slow Pitch

Sat. & Sun., August 8 & 9 Men’s State Rec III – West Slow Pitch

MRC Website: http://www.minotnd.org

Fill out a separate entry form for each tournament entered and send check along with entry form.

Tournament Date:_________________________________

Class: __________ Men: _______ Women: _____________

Team Name:_____________________________________

Managers Name:__________________________________

Make checks payable to MRC.

No team will be entered in theTournament without payment

Address: _________________________________________

Phone: (H)_________________ (W)_________________

E-mail:__________________________________________

Managers Signature:_______________________________P.O. Box 684Minot, ND 58702

Regional Umpire in Chief Walt Stack of Bismarck was recognized at the recent 21st Biennial Umpire in Chief clinic in Oklahoma City for 50 years of service as an ASA reg-istered umpire. The service award was made at the Awards Banquet at the conclusion of the event.

Stack began his umpiring career in Valley City where he umpired baseball including little league, Babe Ruth and Junior Legion ball as well as college baseball. He turned to umpiring adult fast pitch softball in 1960 and continued his umpiring in both baseball and softball after moving to Bismarck in 1965. After being named state Umpire in Chief by the Amateur Softball Association in 1970 he discontinued his baseball activities. He served twelve years as state Umpire in Chief, then fi ve years as Deputy UIC for the Southwest Region of the state and resumed his duties as state UIC when his great friend Tarz Timm of Jamestown

suffered a stroke and was unable to continue in that post.

Stack was elected to the Regional UIC slot in 2004 upon the resigna-tion of long-time Regional UIC Billy Peterson of St. Paul and is currently serving his sixth year in the position.

Stack reaches 50 year milestone

ASA recognizes umpire service

ASA simplifi es banned bat issue

The ASA has changed the non-approved bat listings located at asasoftball.com based on a recom-mendation by the ASA Equipment Testing and Certifi cation Commit-tee. The reasoning behind this was an attempt to make it easier for ASA leagues, tournament directors and umpires to clarify questions sur-rounding legal and/or illegal bats.

Here’s the easy answer for um-pires and tournament directors:

If a bat does not contain the ASA certifi cation mark (either the 2000 or 2004 mark) it should not be allowed in ASA championship play unless in the sole discretion of the umpire the bat was made prior to 2000.

Bat manufacturers, against ASA’s guidance, will continue to make bats intended for homerun derby’s, outlaw leagues and other associa-tions making it nearly impossible to continue listing every non-certifi ed bat along with a photo. None of these bats contain the ASA certifi -cation mark.

A complete list of certifi ed bats can be found in the certifi ed equip-ment section of asasoftball.com.

North Dakota ASA State Presi-dent Dick Gulmon of Valley City is the Chairman of the National ASA Equipment Testing and Certifi ca-tion Committee.

The Amateur Softball Associa-tion has announced that they will sponsor a new National Champi-onship tournament when the Rec-reation Class E Division will have territorial National Tournaments in four different sites. The Northern Territory, which includes North Dakota, will hold it’s National Tournament in this Division in Topeka, Kansas from September 3 through September 7, 2009.

North Dakota ASA has decided that the following tournaments will send eligible teams to this new national event: `

Top two teams from state tourna-ments in Rec.II, East and West

Top four teams from state tourna-ment in Rec. I

ASA establishes Class E NationalRec Class E Division to play territorial tourneys

One team from McQuade Tour-nament Rec.II

One team from Fargo Classic Tournament Rec. I

It appears that this tournament will draw a number of Recreational teams from across the country. The Northern Territory consists of teams from four Regions in the Northern tier of states and includes both Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan , Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.

Further information on this new national tournament will be avail-able at the annual Spring meeting of the North Dakota ASA which meets on Saturday, April 25.

Walt Stack

As I drive by the softball dia-monds and see snow drifted high over the dugout benches I wonder if softball will ever get started this year. Girl’s high school fastpitch is scheduled to start March 27th. We’ll see!

I was fortunate enough to attend the ASA National Conference in Oklahoma City in November. It was great to see some old friends and also meet some new people. Besides making playing rule chang-es and code changes, cities from across the country come to bid on hosting national tournaments. Mi-not will be hosting the Women’s C West tournament in 2010. This will be a great opportunity for some of our umpires across the state to work a national tournament.

We are gearing up for the Men’s Masters 40 & Over that will be held in Mandan this summer. Cole Higlin and Dave Freuh from Mandan Parks and Recreation have

put together a great tournament committee and are working hard on making sure things are ready to go in August. The competition at this tournament will be excellent and another great opportunity for umpires. There will also be other national tournament opportunities for our umpires this summer. I have been working hard in recent years to work out umpire exchanges so our ND umpires can showcase their skills in other parts of the country. To date, we have worked out arrangements for up to11 or 12 umpires to travel to other slowpitch and fastpitch tournaments outside ND.

I recently returned from Okla-homa City in February where I at-tended the bi-annual National UIC Clinic. There were some excellent workshops and a lot of good infor-mation was shared that I can bring back to ND to implement. DUIC Lyle Rader from Wahpeton also

attended the UIC Clinic and was impressed with the knowledge he gained from attending. We will be sharing our information with the other DUIC’s at our annual DUIC meeting schedule for later this month.

Bats continue to be a topic of discussion and as always, contact me if you have any questions before purchasing a new bat. We will con-tinue to sticker bats. Contact your local UIC’s to make sure you get your bats stickered. There is a new rule change for bats. It states “the bat must be free of burrs, dents, and visible cracks” This clarifi cation to the rule means the umpire will no longer have to decide if the dent is

small enough for the bat ring to fi t over the bat. Now, if there is a dent, the bat will be considered illegal.

While a bat with dents may be thrown out of a particular game, it is likely the teams will bring it out again for a different game. We have discussed how to deal with all of the bats that have dents in them and shouldn’t be allowed to be used. One thing we have discussed is putting a specifi c color sticker on the bat which would identify it as an illegal bat. We will be deciding soon how we want to approach this issue.

Once again, we encourage play-ers not to alter your bat by building up the knob with excessive layers of tape. Altering bats in this man-ner makes the bat illegal. We will be instructing umpires not to allow players to use these altered bats in games. After the pre-game meeting and bat inspection, if a player en-ters the batters box with an altered bat, the consequences of entering the batters box with an illegal bat will be enforced. I am hoping that players continue to cooperate by not building up the knobs of the bat. In doing so, we can avoid unnecessary problems at an inopportune time in an important game.

Elsewhere in this issue is a list of rules clinics that will be held around the state beginning in late March. It is mandatory that all team manag-ers and umpires attend a classroom rules clinic. Umpires must also attend a fi eld clinic as part of their certifi cation. There are plenty of opportunities for managers and umpires to attend a rules clinic in your part of the state.

If you are a player and are think-ing of umpiring, come to one of the rules clinics or fi eld clinics to learn more. We are always in need of umpires and my experience shows that individuals who have played the game are better umpires because they have a “feel for the game” and also have the basic rules knowledge of the game. Contact me if you are interested in umpiring and I will put you in contact with the appropriate person in your area of the state so we can get you registered. You don’t have to umpire a lot. Even one night a week can make a big

difference in helping out your lo-cal league.

I would like to thank all of my Deputy UIC’s throughout the state. They all bring a vast amount of knowledge and experience and are a valuable asset to NDASA. Our DUIC’s are: Lyle Rader—Wahpeton, Naomi Erdahl—Bis-marck, Don Daniel—Williston, Tom Harty—Jamestown, Elliott Gerhardt—Bismarck, Ron Smith—Minot, Pat “Rock” Healey—Grand Forks, Mike Lien—Fargo, Mike Nider—Bismarck, Randy Olson—West Fargo, and Al Ziemann—Bismarck.

I enjoy visting with a lot of you throughout the state during the year on various issues. I appreciate each and every question or concern I receive. As always, I am here to help in any way that I can to make softball more enjoyable for players, umpires, and fans. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know. Drop me an email or give me a call and I will be happy to assist you in any way that I can! You can reach me at wolfden8993@yahoo.com or my home number 701-222-0478, or my cell 701-400-2100.

Here’s hoping snow and water issues won’t be a concern or fac-tor throughout the state when it comes time to start the 2009 season. Have an enjoyable, fun, and safe summer!

New Contact InformationNDASA State Offi ce

Telephone: (701) 952-4448FAX: (701) 952-4488

Email: ndasa@daktel.comWebsite: webmaster@ndasa.org

Softball News Spring 2009 – 5

Super sponsor and softball booster Gary Tharaldson will again provide the trophies and the championship banners for all state softball tournaments sponsored by the North Dakota Amateur Softball Association. Included are all the awards for the Junior Olympic program as well as adult awards in both slow pitch and fast pitch. The number of trophies and ban-ners depends on the number of teams entering each of the state tournaments.

Gary Tharaldson and his wife Connie continue their commitment to North Dakota softball with spon-sorship of both men’s and women’s adult teams. Gary’s sponsorship started in the early 1980’s and in-cludes sponsorship of many state championship teams, Regional

champions and several national tournament teams. He was elected to the state Softball Hall of Fame in 1995 as a player and coach of some of the most successful teams ever to play in North Dakota. He played for many years at the highest level of slow pitch softball and won over 650 games as a pitcher. He led his teams in over thirty state tourna-ments, a number of Regional events and close to two dozen National Tournaments.

NDASA is able to provide the trophies and banners only through the cooperation and generosity of Gary Tharaldson and his various business enterprises. NDASA gratefully acknowledges his many, many contributions to North Da-kota softball.

Tharaldson provides trophies, again

ASA hosts umpire clinic in Oklahoma

21st biennial national draws over 400 umpires

The Amateur Softball Asso-ciation hosted over 400 Umpires in Chief and their staffs the weekend of February 6 and 7 in Oklahoma City. North Dakota Umpire in Chief Mike Wolf of Bismarck and Lyle Rader of Wahpeton repre-sented the state at this event.

Beginning on Thursday, Febru-ary 5 in the evening with new UIC orientation the clinic focused on umpire recruiting , training and re-tention. Regional Umpire in Chief Walt Stack of Bismarck was one of several National Staff members to make presentations to the group.

Following the Thursday night session, the opening session for all participants began on Friday with breakout sessions on topics such as retaining umpires, local associa-tions, obstruction and interference, play situations, game management, appeals, protests and equipment issues. The event concluded with an awards banquet on Saturday evening to recognize outstanding achievements in umpiring.

NoticeAll JO Fastpitch players will be required to partake in the JO

Individual Registration. Individual registration will also include insurance for the

athlete in all ASA sanctioned events.The individual accident insurance will have a $250 deduct-

ible.The fee for each player on your roster for individual registra-

tion will be $7.00.

Rosters due when season opens

Team Managers and League Representatives

are reminded that team rosters are

due to be turned in the day the team plays its fi rst game.

No changes can be made to the roster after

June 12, 2009.

By MICHAEL WOLFThe 34th annual Sam McQuade

Sr. Budweiser Charity Softball Tournament is rapidly approach-ing. As of March 1st, we already have over 125 teams registered.

We have a couple of new fea-tures planned for this year’s tour-nament. For the fi rst time ever in our history, we will be offering a Girl’s Fastpitch Division. The fastpitch divisions will began play on Friday morning and conclude prior to the adult games starting Friday evening. We are also trying to revive the Men’s A/B Division. An anonymous donor has offered the tournament $5,000 with $3,000 to used as a cash payout to the two top teams and $2,000 is being donated directly to the McQuade Tournament to benefi t our many charities.

This year’s tournament will also feature a double elimination brack-et for the Women’s C, Women’s D, Men’s Open, and the Men’s C divisions. The Men’s Master’s 35 and Over division will have a three game guarantee, while all other divisions will be single elimination with a consolation championship bracket. We also have one “fam-ily” team entered so far with that being organized by Ron Crouse

Be sure and get your registra-tion form and payment in ASAP. Don’t procrastinate as the tourna-ment fi lls very quickly. Last year we turned away over 100 teams. Don’t be that manager that has to explain to their team that you forgot to send in the registration. We are once again expecting well over 400 teams this year.

Registration forms have been mailed to all non Bismarck teams who were in last year’s tournament. Bismarck managers received reg-istration forms at their January meeting. If you missed that meet-ing, didn’t play in the tournament last year and want to this year, or haven’t received a registration form in the mail, you can print one off the McQuade website which is www.mcquades.com and click on the softball link.

At this year’s tournament, we will once again offer each team an opportunity to purchase an extra home run. This has been a popular feature at past tournaments. Last year we raised $3,000 for local charities from those teams that pur-chased an extra home run. More

information will be included on the website and in the tournament program.

A record $65,000 from last year’s tournament was distributed to charitable organizations throughout the state and with your help and generosity we hope to be able to surpass that amount with this year’s tournament. If you were a part of last year’s tournament in some way, you were an important part of being able to donate all of that money to local charities and organizations.

The silent auction we have at the tournament is also an area of the tournament that raises a con-siderable amount of money for the charities. If you have any items that you would like to donate to the silent auction, please contact me. Any item that is new, gift certifi cates, or sports memorabilia make great items for the silent auc-tion. Businesses or individuals can donate and your donation is tax deductible.

We will be holding our fourth “Defenders of Freedom” division for soldiers stationed overseas. This will be our third Defenders of Freedom Division for our soldiers stationed at Camp Victory over in Baghdad. Our fi rst Defenders of Freedom Division was held for sol-diers stationed in Bosnia in 2006. Last year we had 32 teams in our Defenders of Freedom Division. It was so popular they had to turn away almost 20 teams.

We will once again be send-ing softball equipment, balls, and t-shirts to all of the soldiers par-ticipating in the tournament. We are in need of cash donations to help defray the cost of the t-shirts and shipping. If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please send your donation to the McQuade Tournament, Defenders of Freedom Division, P.O. Box 1196, Bismarck, ND, 58502. The soldiers really appreciated the fact we go out of our way to hold a division for them. They told us being able to play softball really helped them take their minds off their very stressful situation. Please help make a dif-ference in their lives by contribut-ing to our Defenders of Freedom Division fund.

In addition to our other duties on the Board of Directors, Jack Jones and myself will once again serve as Co-Tournament Directors. If you have any questions or concerns, do

McQuade Tournament registration forms available

not hesitate to contact either of us. The McQuade cell phone number is 701-400-2255, my cell phone is 701-400-2100, and Jack’s phone number is 701-426-8700. I can be reached via email at wolfden8993@yahoo.com and Jack can be reached at jack@btinet.net

Here is one more reminder to get your team registration in early. We wouldn’t want your team to miss out on all of the fun and excitement of the premiere softball event of the summer, the 34th Annual Sam McQuade Sr. Budweiser Charity Softball Tournament.

2009 State TournamentsMen’s Slow Pitch

July 18-19 Masters 40 Bismarck Masters 60 BismarckJuly 25-26 Masters 35 Fargo Masters 50 FargoAugust 1-2 Division I Mandan Division II Mandan Division III Mandan Rec. 1 Bismarck Rec II-East Grand Forks Rec II-West WillistonAugust 8-9 Rec III-East Fargo Rec III-West Minot Masters 50 Wood Bat MandanAugust 15-16 Rec IV-East Grand Forks Rec IV-West Dickinson

Women’s Slow PitchJuly 25-26 Masters BismarckAugust 1-2 Class C Minot Class D Minot Rec I Valley CityAugust 8-9 Rec II-East Wahpeton Rec II-West Dickinson Rec III-East Jamestown Rec III-West Bismarck

Men’s Fast PitchJuly Class C (developmental)? TBAAug. Class B TBA

CoedSept. 12-13 Div. I, II, III, IV Grand Forks

Junior OlympicJuly 11 GSP 16 & Under JamestownJuly 12 GSP 18 & Under JamestownJuly 18 GSP 12 & Under JamestownJuly 19 GSP 14 & Under JamestownJuly 18 GFP 12 & Under BismarckJuly 19 GFP 14 & Under BismarckJuly 18 GFP 16 & Under West FargoJuly 19 GFP 18 & Under West Fargo

6 – Softball News Spring 2009

2007 Men’s Slow Pitch teams that must move up for 2008

FROM CLASS D TO CLASS C (1)Bismarck E.T.I.

FROM CLASS REC I TO CLASS D (4)Bismarck Oswald Bros. Auto Repair, Bismarck Taxi 9000/stadium, Bis-marck BNC/Dak. Mini Storage and Wahpeton Driftwood.

FROM REC II TO REC IEast (4) West (3)Grand Forks Southgate Dickinson Mikkelsen DrywallGrand Forks Whalens Moving New Town Sportsman’s BarHillsboro Sky Tractor Minot Murphy Motors/AmonFargo Cable One

REC III TO REC II EAST (6) WEST (6)Fargo Mikkelson Drywall/Knocks Minot Lamplighter/CoorsDevils Lake Proz/Dyla/Budweiser Elgin Seibs Sports BarFargo Water Equipment Minot Space Aliens/Coors Light Fargo Budweiser Mandan Atlas Inc.Fargo Mick’s Offi ce Bowman Coyle ElectricJamestown Shadys/Dewalds Backhoe Beulah D & C/Union State Bank

REC IV TO REC IIIEast (6) West (6)Holmes Mandan BMDLJamestown Frontier Fort Tappen Wolf ConstructionGrand Forks Boston’s Gourmet Pizza Dickinson Town & Country Captain MorganWest Fargo Good Fellows Pizza Minot Capri BarJamestown Dak Farms/”Orr”iginals Dickinson Basic HydraulicReynolds Merchants Beulah Lignite TireALL TEAMS MOVED UP WILL HAVE TO PETITION TO HAVE THEIR CLASSIFICATION LOWERED. ONLY UNDER EXTREME CIRCUM-STANCES WILL THAT REQUEST BE OKAYED. REQUEST MUST BE SENT THROUGH THE LEAGUE COMMISSIONER OR REPRESENTA-TIVE TO JACK LUKES FOR FINAL DETERMINATION.

THE FOLLOWING MEN’S SLOW PITCH TEAMS CHALLENGEDUP FOR STATE TOURNAMENTS:

FROM REC 2 TO REC 1:1.Bismarck Challenger Industries

FROM REC 3 TO REC 1:1. Bismarck Stadium Sports Bar

FROM REC 3 TO REC 2:1. Bismarck O’Brien’s Tavern/CVB2. Bismarck Surety Life Insurance Co.3. Williston Balco Uniforms

FROM REC 4 TO REC 3:1. Jamestown The Buff2. McLeod3. Argusville4. West Fargo Silver Dollar Bar5. Valley City John Deere Air Seeding Group6. Grand Forks Overtime Bar & Grill7. Minot Northern Tier8. Fargo ELG/Idea One Telecom9. Fargo House of Rock/BlueWHEN A TEAM CHALLENGES UP TO A DIFFERENT STATE TOURNA-MENT, IF THEY WIN TWO OR MORE GAMES THE TEAM MUST STAY THAT CLASSIFICATION UNTIL THE NEXT CLASSIFICATION MEETING. A FORFEIT DOES NOT COUNT AS A WIN.

2007 Women’s Slow Pitch teams that must move up for 2008

FROM CLASS D TO CLASS C (2)Bismarck Gold and SilverWest Fargo M & J Saloon

FROM REC I TO CLASS D (2)Wahpeton Casey’s PoetsWest Fargo Advantage Realtors

FROM REC II TO REC I (4 East, 4 West)East WestGrand Forks Broken Drum/Budweiser Minot Magic City Beverage/BudDevils Lake Radio Works Wilton Sports BarValley City Boomers Keg Bismarck SidelinesInkster AJ Bar Bismarck World Wide Auction-eers

FROM REC III TO REC II (4 East, 4 West)East WestMayville Woodard Financial Beulah JOWest Fargo Work Zone #2 Minot Barley Pop/Keystone LightFargo Burger King Bismarck Vaaler InsuranceDevils Lake Nellie’s Bismarck Eagle Rigid SpanTHESE TEAMS WILL HAVE TO PETITION TO HAVE THEIR CLASSIFI-CATION LOWERED. ONLY UNDER EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THAT REQUEST BE OKAYED. REQUEST MUST BE SENT THROUGH THE LEAGUE COMMISSIONER OR REPRESENTATIVE TO MARY HAGER FOR FINAL DETERMINATION.

THE FOLLOWING WOMEN’S TEAM CHALLENGED UP FOR STATE TOURNAMENTS.

From Rec III to Rec II:1. Devils Lake Radio WorksWHEN A TEAM CHALLENGES UP TO A DIFFERENT STATE TOURNA-MENT, IF THEY WIN TWO OR MORE GAMES, THE TEAM MUST STAY THAT CLASSIFICATION UNTIL THE NEXT CLASSIFICATION MEETING. A FORFEIT DOES NOT COUNT AS A WIN.

$7995Plus tax per night

Rates not good during North Dakota State FairNotice

All JO Fastpitch players will be required to partake in the JO Individual Registration.

Individual registration will also include insurance for the athlete in all ASA sanctioned events.

The individual accident insurance will have a $250 deduct-ible.

The fee for each player on your roster for individual registra-tion will be $7.00.

quired for one coach that works with a JO team. This also can be done online through RegisterASA.com. NDASA will require ACE Certifi cation from only one coach. The individuals becoming certi-fi ed will also go through the back-ground check. Others wishing to go through the process can become ACE Certifi ed if they wish. This will also require a background check. ACE Certifi cation has more than one level. The fi rst level costs $15.75. Each level after that costs $10.75, Some of you have already been certifi ed so all that is needed is proof. You can certify more than one level during the year.

Recapping costs: 2009 JO Player = $7.00; JO Coach = $7.00; JO Coach with BGC = $11.25 (Every-one associated with team must do this); JO Coach with BGC & ACE Certifi ed--fi rst year = $27.00, sec-ond level=$22.00. The registration fee has increased only $ 1.00. The higher fees are the result of BGC and ACE Certifi cation.

Presently GFP invitational tour-naments have been scheduled for West Fargo-June 13-14; Bis-marck-June 26th (Friday night of McQuade); Grand Forks July 11th or 12th or both (Prairie Rose). I

have not received any dates from Dickinson or Minot. If any of you have a tournament scheduled for GFP or GSP, please contact me so information can be sent to all.

NDASA has set the dates of both GFP and GSP state tournaments. Again, all slow pitch will be held in Jamestown-July11th – 16 & Under; July 12th –18 & Under; July 18th 12 & Under and July I 9th 14 & Un-der. For GFP the 12 & 14 &Under for Bismarck and the 16 & 18 & Under for West Fargo. Those dates are July 18 for the 14 & 16 and July 19 for the 14 & 18.

I have received correspondence that West Fargo would like to hold the 12 & 14 with the 10,16 & 18 in Bismarck. None of these dates are totally set in stone so I would like some feedback if all agree or disagree and what changes should be made.

This year the NDHSAA is sanc-tioning GFP with 15 teams and a JO team from Wyndmere. NDASA will again, free of charge, sanction ALL high school teams varsity, JV and any other. I will also sanction any GSP teams. I need all the names of all teams, coaches and addresses sent to me. Remember sanctioning team’s results in all ASA registered

umpires being covered by ASA insurance. I will individual register each player and coach for the above stated fee. This will cover them for all season with the same insurance that they had last year. Again, those of you who registered individuals last year can just update your roster (either drop or add) with Register ASA/.com.

Please promote youth umpires. The fee to register youth umpires is $15.00. Register them and sanction your teams in the area and they will be covered by insurance. GFP is still in its beginning stages in North Dakota. Get the local kids and even adults interested in umpiring and making some money this spring and summer.

If you have any other questions, please contact me at 701-772-2709 or 218-779-1525. Thanks for your cooperation. You are the ones who make these programs progress. I want our JO Commissioner Tracy Marback, to become involved with the registration process and to be available to help in any way needed. I am sure she would be available to visit with you or possibly hold some coaches clinics. Her number in Grand Forks is 218-791-3647.

COMMISSIONERcontinued from page 2

Softball Action

Softball News Spring 2009 – 7

Rule 1 Definition Charged Conference: When a team rep-resentative requests a suspension of play or delays the game for the purpose of delivering a message to another team member, unless the pitcher is removed from pitching position.

Comment: This allows the coach to talk to their pitcher before decid-ing to remove the pitcher without being charged a conference.

Rule 2 Section1: Men’s Modi-fi ed fence distance to be a max of 325 feet.

Comment: Modified Players requested this to add more defense to the game.

Rule 3 Section 1 A 1: Remove the word “or” and replace with “and”.

Comment: All approved bats must have the certifi cation mark and be on the list of approved bats. Item 3 of the rule about bats manu-factured before 2000 still applies.

Rule 3 Section 1 F: The bat shall be free of burrs, DENTS and visible cracks…

Comment: This adds to the definition of the surface of the bat to be free of dents. Umpires will no longer have to identify if a dent is small enough for the bat ring to fi t over the bat. If it has a dent the bat shall be removed from competition.

Rule 3 Section 1 K: The offi cial bat shall be of one-piece construc-tion, multi-piece permanently assembled or two-piece inter-changeable construction. If the bat is designed with interchangeable components it must meet the fol-lowing additional criteria:

Mating components must have a unique locking key to prevent un-certifi ed equipment combinations in the fi eld.

All component combinations must meet the one-piece bat rules.

Manufacturer must demonstrate that the interchangeable bat fails in a safe manner. (i.e. visible damage before locking feature’s fail)

Bat components must be de-signed in a way to prevent uncerti-fi ed equipment alterations.

Comments: This allows for new bat technology that the Equipment Standards Committee has studied for several years before approv-ing it.

Rule 3 Section 3 B: The Optic yellow ball shall be used in Na-tional Championships beginning in 2010 for all Slow Pitch, including Coed, Masters, and Seniors.

Comment: The Slow Pitch play-ers wanted this because the yellow ball is easier to see as the game goes on.

Rule 3 Section 6 G: Effect: Play-ers wearing metal cleats after being warned by the umpire not to do so shall be ejected.

Comment: This adds a penalty for players who wear metal cleats when not allowed and have been asked to remove them.

Rule 4 Section 2 I: Allow a cour-tesy runner for an ADA player.

Comment: This allows a cour-tesy runner for an ADA player who is on base. The rule will be the same as the Seniors rule.

Rule 4 Section 6 C 1: Removes the penalty of disqualifi cation from the Substitution Rule.

Comment: This only removes the disqualifi cation portion of the rule; the balance of the penalties still apply. The unreported substi-tute is now in the game and all rules regarding reentry still apply.

Rule 5 Section 8 A: Adds home run limits to Women’s Slow Pitch in the following classifi cations:

Women’s Open UnlimitedWomen’s Class C 4Women’s Class D 2Comment: Sets new limits

for the number of Home Runs in

Women’s Slow Pitch.Rule 5 Section A 1: Move Slow

Pitch Coed Major Classifi cation to the 8 Home Run limit category.

Comment: The Slow Pitch Task Force asked for this based on the players input.

Rule 5 Section A 2: Move Men’s Slow Pitch B Classifi cation to the 6 Home Run limit category.

Comment: The Slow Pitch Task Force asked for this based on the players input.

Rule 5 Section 8 A: move Men’s C Slow Pitch Classification and Coed A Slow Pitch Classifi cation to the 4 Home Run limit category.

Comment: The Slow Pitch Task Force asked for this based on the players input.

Rule 5 Section 8 A: Move Men’s D Slow Pitch Classifi cation and Coed B Classifi cation to the 2 Home Run limit category.

Comment: The Slow Pitch Task Force asked for this based on the players input. This also removes the half inning out for the D Clas-sifi cation.

Rule 5 Section 8 A 6: Add Men’s E/Rec. Slow Pitch Classifi cation of play and establish a zero Home Run limit. Any over the fence Home Run is a half inning ending out.

Comment: The code added a new classifi cation of Men’s Slow Pitch, and restricted their home runs.

Rule 5 Section 9 A 1: Men’s Fast Pitch Only: the Run Ahead Rule is now 15 after 3, 12 after 4 and 7 after 5.

Comment: This changes Men’s Fast Pitch from 8 after 5 innings to 7 after 5 innings.

Rule 5 Section 9 A 3: Men’s A Slow Pitch only, 20 after 4 and 15 after 5.

Comment: This changes Men’s A Slow Pitch Run Ahead Rule from 20 after 3 to 20 after 4.

Rule 5 Section 11: Add Men’s Fast Pitch 40-0 and 45-0 Classifi ca-tions to the Tie-Breaker rule.

Comment: The 45-0 Classifi ca-tion of Men’s Fast Pitch was added by a rule change and the 40-0 was added by a code change. They both will play under the same Tie-Break-er rule as Junior Olympic Girls.

Rule 6 Section 1 A Fast Pitch and Modifi ed: The pitcher must take the position on the pitcher’s plate with the hands separated and the ball in the glove or the pitcher’s hand.

Comment: This only clarifi es a rule that Fast Pitch and Modifi ed

umpires have enforced for years.Rule 6 Section 3 O Fast Pitch

and N Modifi ed: Effect: A ball called on the batter.

Comment: The Effect of Letter O in Fast Pitch and N in Modi-fi ed was an illegal pitch and were always intended to be a ball on the batter only.

Rule 6 Section A Fast Pitch: …an Approved manufactured drying agent that is included on the list published by the ASA, may be used by the pitcher. The Resin must be left on the ground and the approved drying agent in the pitcher’s pocket. Effect: …If any other substance is found in the pitcher’s pocket the pitcher shall be ejected.

Comment: Some drying agents are resin and need to be submitted to ASA for approval before they can be used by the pitcher. Currently, only Gorilla Gold is approved.

Rule 7 Section 3 B: Adult Slow Pitch Only: Prior to the pitch the batter will enter the batters box with a one ball one strike count. Excep-tion: Masters and Seniors.

Comment: The Slow Pitch Play-ers wanted this rule.

Rule 8 Section 1 C 2: Add to the exception 16” Slow Pitch the ball remains live.

Comment: In 16” Slow Pitch runners can lead off and can be picked off, therefore the ball should remain live.

Rule 8 Section 3 I Exception: Add Masters Slow Pitch.

Comment: The Masters Divi-sion of Slow Pitch can now hit an over the fence home run and not run the bases.

Rule 8 Section 5 I: When a fair-batted ball defl ects off a fence then off the fi elder before going over the home run fence. Effect: The ball is dead. All runners and or batter-runner are awarded two bases from the time of the pitch.

Comment: This should be a two-base award since it can not be caught for an out. We are now con-sistent with other organizations.

Rule 8 Section 7 I 2: If prop-erly appealed by any defensive player during a live ball the runner is out.

Comment: This is a clarifi cation of the rule as it has been called by umpires.

Rule 8 Section 10: (All Fast Pitch)

Comment: All Fast Pitch will follow the Courtesy runner rule previously used only by the Junior Olympic Classification of Girls and Boys.

2009 playing rules changes HALLcontinued from page 1

274 home runs. In the 1991 season he had an amazing 252 runs batted in and 78 home runs.

Craig played in 25 state tourna-ments, 15 Regional tournaments and 12 National tournaments. He received ASA national All Ameri-can awards in the 1992 Class B National tournament and in the 1996 35/Older nationals. He also was a valuable member of a Co-Ed team, playing in ten of their state tournaments.

Several of the players endorsing him for the Hall of Fame mentioned the fact that he was a clutch hitter who always rose to the occasion and that he was always willing and able to produce a base hit to keep a rally alive when he could have been swinging for the fences.

Craig is a big reason why Thar-aldson’s was the best team in North Dakota for several years.

Bob Footitt, Sr. Bob Footitt, Sr. was cited by the

Hall of Fame Selection Commit-tee for his many years of softball activity as a player, a sponsor and promoter of the game of softball. He has played the game for over thirty fi ve years, mostly as a third baseman but he has played all in-fi eld positions. During that time, he maintained a consistent batting average of .570 or above. In his early playing days, he was looked upon as a power hitter but in later years he has adjusted his game and became a place hitter.

Bob played in 25 state tour-naments and also took part in Regional competition and played in two National tournaments in 1993 and 1994. In addition to his playing career, Bob has also been a consistent sponsor of teams in the Fargo area. He has sponsored as many at three teams a year and continues to sponsor teams in the women’s leagues as well as in the men’s divisions.

His contributions to the game of softball include his work removing trees from the West Fargo softball complex as well as grooming of the infi elds to help make their complex one of the best in the state.

Bob noted that his sponsored teams also have done well at the McQuade tournament winning back to back championships in 2003 and 2004 as well as in 1998.

One of his favorite memories of his softball career include his two sons playing on the same team with him.

Lyle Halvorson Lyle Halvorson of Wyndmere

has played NDASA softball for over 35 years in the Lisbon, Ender-lin and Wahpeton areas. During his long career he played in 34 state tournaments and was on three state championship teams. A versatile player, he played both third base and fi rst base while fi lling in as an outfi elder and catcher and hit for over a .500 average throughout his playing days.

In addition to playing, he also served as a coach for a women’s

team and a men’s softball team.One of his sponsors described

Lyle as a slick-fi elding, power hit-ting third baseman hitting in the middle of the lineup for his teams. He was a smart hitter who would easily adapt to wind or weather con-ditions. He has a consistent swing and could hit either line drives or home runs.

All of his sponsor emphasized his quiet, modest demeanor and his high degree of sportsmanship.

He also enjoyed a long career as a baseball player with the Enderlin Indies amateur team which culmi-nated in his election to the North Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.

Harrison ‘Dode’ Smith“Dode” Smith was a dominant

pitcher during the mid-70’s until his retirement in 1989. Most of his career was in Jamestown but he also played in Grand Forks and Fargo. In addition to his out-standing numbers as a pitcher, he also played fi rst base and was an excellent hitter with an average of approximately .375.

As a pitcher, “Dode” threw 58 shut outs and ten no hit games end-ing with a lifetime won-lost record of 520 wins against 180 losses. He had 2500 strikeouts, approximately 500 walks and an ERA of 2.00. Many of those walks came early in his career while he was mastering the art of fast pitch.

His teams played in 20 state tour-naments winning championships in 1978 and 1981 while pitching for Jamestown Hillview-Budweiser. He also played on teams in Region-al and fi ve National Tournaments.

He lists as one of his top softball thrills being on the Jamestown Hillview-Budweiser team which was selected as the Non-School team of the year for 1978-79 by the North Dakota Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. “Dode” was the starting pitcher on that team.

While still active as a player, “Dode” also spent time coaching and managing a girl’s softball team and assisted in starting and coach-ing the youth fastpitch league. He also umpired men’s, women’s and youth fastpitch softball.

North Dakota ASA will continue to follow the National Rule which requires that all players carry a current picture ID with signature at all tournaments. After June 15th, managers must also carry a copy of the team roster.

Spot checks will be made. Any person playing without proper ID will face suspension as do his team-mates and/or manager. Games will be forfeited at that time. The NDA-SA executive committee meeting last fall adopted the following rules in regard to picture ID:

When questioned, if the player does not have a picture ID on his person, he or she will be given fi ve minutes to present it.

The player is ineligible until a picture ID has been presented.

The players in violation will be ejected from the game if no ID is available.

The game is not forfeited.The team can replace the players

if they have substitutions.If the ejection brings the team

number down to nine, the team will be allowed to continue with an out in the batting position of the players ejected. This is similar to the injury rule.

If the player turns out to be an illegal player, the present rules for the use of illegal players will be in effect.

MANAGERS—be sure all your players have picture identifi cation so they will not be embarrassed and lose their right to play.

Players must carry picture ID at tourneys

Rosters due when season opens

Team Managers and League Representatives

are reminded that team rosters are

due to be turned in the day the team plays its fi rst game.

No changes can be made to the roster after

June 12, 2009.

8 – Softball News Spring 2009

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Softball News Spring 2009 – 9

TEAM NAME___________________________________________________________(PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY)

TEAM CONTACT NAME__________________________________________________

E-MAIL________________________________________________________________

PHONE NUMBER__________________________ CELL________________________

TEAM CLASSIFICATION___________________________________________________

THE RED RIVER VALLEY SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION IN MOORHEAD, MN.

AT CENTENNIAL FIELDS

Invites youInvites youto playto play

APRIL 25 THE BUD LIGHT TOURNAMENT SERIES PRESENTS A MEN’S EARLY BIRD MONEY TOURNAMENT, open to all teams with upper (“”C” and “D”) and lower (Rec. 1-4, $125.00) and divisions. 3 game guarantee.

MAY 2 and 3 THE BUD LIGHT TOURNAMENT SERIES PRESENTS A MEN’S NORTH STAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER, a two day, 5GG, money tournament open to all teams with upper (“C” and “D”) lower (Rec. 1-4, $175.00) divisions.

MAY 16 THE BUD LIGHT TOURNAMENT SERIES PRESENTS A MEN’S “D” AND BELOW TOURNAMENT, $125.00 for a 3 game guarantee.

MAY 30 THE BUD LIGHT TOURNAMENT SERIES PRESENTS A MEN’S OPEN TOURNAMENT, open to all teams upper (“C” and “D”) and lower (Rec. 1-4,) and divisions. 3 game guarantee for $125.00

JUNE 12-14 THE BUSCH LIGHT/FARGO-MOORHEAD CLASSIC TOURNAMENT FOR ALL MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TEAMS A MEN’S NORTH STAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER. CALL SAM MARTIN AT 701-367-4932 FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION.

AUGUST 28–30 ASA/NORTHSTAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIPS $2,000 TO WIN (with 24 teams) in “B”, “C”, “D” AND “E” DIVISIONS.

All registration fees MUST be received the Wednesday prior to the tournament. The RRVSA reserves the right to cancel the tournament four days prior to its start. All teams must provide their own optic yellow Baden/Lexxum 44 cor ball (Available at check-in for $5.00 each). Call Phil at 701-730-3345 for more information on Bud Light Tournaments, or go to www.rrvsa.org.

Upper and lower division team fees are $125.00 for 3GG, $175.00 for 5GG,For more information on these tournaments contact RRVSA Tournament Director Phil Shiek at 701-730-3345,

or by e-mail at pshiek@reiles.com or go to www.rrvsa.org

PLEASE MAIL COMPLETED FORM AND CHECK FOR TOURNAMENTS ENTERED MADE OUT TO

RRVSA Send to Phil Shiek (RRVSA Tournament Director), 1413 18th St. S., Fargo, N.D. 58103

Saturday, April 25, 3GG,Upper and Lower Divisions

Sat. & Sun, May 2 & 3, 5GG,Upper and Lower Divisions

Saturday, May 16, 3GG,“D” and Below

Saturday, May 30, 3GG,Upper and Lower Divisions

Tournaments your team would like to enter (check all you would like to play)

Home of the ASA/North Star Series

Championship Finals

10 – Softball News Spring 2009

USA roster announced for 2009 Border Battle

Oklahoma City, Okla. – The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) an-nounced today the 15-person USA Softball Men’s Slow Pitch National team roster selected for the 2009 Border Battle, a premier international slow pitch game between the U.S. and Canada. Slated for July 18, 2009 during the tentatively scheduled 4th World Cup of Softball at ASA’s Hall of Fame Complex, this special event will offer fans a rare occasion to see two of the primary disciplines of the sport represented at the highest level in front of thousands of fans and a national TV audience through ASA’s television partner, ESPN.

The 2009 inaugural roster includes athletes from 11 different states that bring powerful talent and years of experience.

“I must say it’s an honor and a privilege to be selected to participate in such an awesome event,” said team member Rusty Bumgardner. “I accept the challenge to compete and the opportunity to be on the fi eld with some of the most gifted athletes that the United States and Canada has to offer.”

“The Border Battle is an outstanding concept,” said team member Brian Wegman. “It’s a perfect way to showcase and educate our sport at the highest level. I am very honored to be a member of this team and have the ability to represent the USA.”

The 2009 USA Softball Men’s Slow Pitch National team includes: Dexter Avery, Sierra Vista, AZ – Outfi eld Bryson Baker, Magalia, CA – Infi eld Rick Baker, West Harrison, IN – Outfi eld Rusty Bumgardner, Gastonia, NC – EH/C/1B Don DeDonatis, Jr., Kissimmee, FL – Infi eld JD Genter, Chickamauga, GA – Infi eld Brett Helmer, Cicero, NY – EH/C/1B Todd Joerling, Defi ance, MO – Infi eld Jason Kendrick, Naples, FL – Outfi eld John McCraw, Lake Wylie, SC – EH/C/1B Andy Purcell, Naples, FL – Pitcher Brian Rainwater, Kathleen, GA – Outfi eld Dennis Rulli, Moorpark, CA – Infi eld Brian Wegman, Hamiliton, OH – Outfi eld Losson White, Omaha, NE – Pitcher Steve Shortland (San Antonio, Texas) will lead the team as the head

coach having 28 years of slow pitch experience as a player and coach. More details surrounding Border Battle tickets, playing rules, clinics

will be released in 2009.

2009 Umpire and Managers Rules ClinicMarch 16 Jamestown HS FP Clinic Jamestown High School 6:00 TBAMarch 18 Minot HS FP Clinic Magic City Campus 6:00 TBAMarch 23 Devils Lake HS FP Clinic Devils Lake High School 6:00 TBAMarch 24 Williston HS FP Clinic Williston High School 6:00 TBAMarch 25 Dickinson HS FP Clinic Dickinson High School 6:00 TBAMarch 25 Fargo Umpires Bowler 6:30 LienMarch 26 Bismarck HS Fastpitch Clinic Horizon Middle School 6:00 NDHSAA March 28 DUIC Meeting/Clinic Jamestown 10:00 Wolf March 29 Jamestown Umpires Otter Tail Room 2:00 HartyMarch 30 West Fargo ASA & HS Field Clinic West Fargo High School 6:30 OlsonMarch 31 Bismarck Women’s Managers Amvets 6:00 Wolf April 1 Bismarck HS Fastpitch Workshop TBA TBA Erdahl April 1 Bismarck Umpires Fastpitch Clinic TBA TBA ErdahlWolf April 1 Grand Forks HS Fastpitch Workshop TBA TBA TBAApril 1 Wahpeton Umpires/Managers Community Center 6:30 Rader April 2 Bismarck Umpires St. Mary’s Grade School 7:3 WolfApril 2 West Fargo Umpires VFW Club 6:30 OlsonApril 6 Bismarck Men’s Managers Amvets Club 6:30 WolfApril 7 Bismarck Umpires St. Mary’s Grade School 7:30 WolfApril 7 Devils Lake Umpires/Managers Burdick Arena 7:00 HartyApril 7 Grand Forks Managers CanadInn 7:00 HealeyApril 8 Grand Forks Umpires Kelly School 7:00 HealeyApril 8 Valley City Umpires/Managers American Legion Club 7:00 HartyApril 8 Mandan Umpires Community Center 7:30 WolfApril 9 Fargo Umpires Bowler 6:30 LienApril 13 Bismarck Umpires St. Mary’s Grade School 7:30 WolfApril 14 Minot Umpires/Managers Minot Auditorium 7:00 SmithApril 14 Mandan Men’s/Women’s Managers City Hall 7:00 WolfApril 14 Grand Forks AFB Umpires/Managers Fitness Center 6:00 Healey April 15 Fargo Umpires Bowler 6:30 LienApril 15 Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic St. Mary’s Grade School 7:30 WolfApril 15 LaMoure Umpires/Managers Legion 7:00 HartyApril 16 Grafton Managers/Umpires Generations 7:00 HealeyApril 18 West Fargo Slowpitch Field Clinic Elmwood Park 10:00 OlsonApril 20 Bismarck Field Clinic St. Mary’s Grade School 7:30 WolfApril 20 Grand Forks Umpires Kelly School 7:00 HealeyApril 21 Minot AFB Community Center 5:00 SmithApril 21 Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic St. Mary’s Grade School 7:30 WolfApril 21 Fargo Umpires Bowler 6:30 LienApril 22 Beulah Umpires/Managers Alibi’s Bar 6:00MT WolfApril 22 Williston Umpires/Managers Rec Center 7:00 DanielApril 22 Wahpeton Umpires Field Clinic Diamond 2 6:30 RaderApril 23 Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic St. Mary’s Grade School 7:30 WolfApril 26 Jamestown Umpires Field Clinic Hillcrest Softball Complex 2:00 HartyApril 27 Bismarck Umpires Amvets 6:30 WolfApril 27 Minot Umpires/Test Night Planet Pizza 7:00 SmithApril 28 Dickinson Managers/Umpires Rec Center 6:00MT GerhardtApril 28 Fargo Umpires Depot 710 Main Ave SW Door 6:30 LienApril 28 Minot Field Clinic South Complex 6:00 SmithApril 29 West Fargo Umpires Test Night VFW Club 6:30 OlsonApril 29 Grand Forks Field Clinic Ulland Park 6:30 HealeyApril 29 Fargo Field Clinic Anderson Complex 6:00 LienApril 29 Mandan Field Clinic Diamonds 6:00 WolfApril 30 Bismarck Umpire Test Night St. Mary’s Grade School 7:30 WolfApril 30 West Fargo Managers VFW Club 6:30 OlsonApril 30 Fargo Umpires Field Clinic Anderson Complex 6:00 LienMay 4 Grand Forks Filed Clinic Ulland Park 6:30 HealeyMay 5 Fargo Umpires Test Night Bowler 6:30 LienMay 6 Turtle Lake Managers/Umpires Marv’s Bar 6:00 WolfMay 7 Dickinson Umpire Field Clinic Gress Complex 6:00MT GerhardtMay 8 Red Willow Red Willow 7:00 HartyMay 11 Grand Forks Umpire Test Night Kelly School 7:00 Healey*****Please note that at some of the manager’s clinics, teams will be able to get stickers put on their bats. We suggest that managers bring bats to their rules clinics to get them stickered. If you have questions concerning stickers, please contact your local DUIC.

Dickinson Parks & Recreation

2009 SOFTBALL TOURNAMENTS

Miller Lite Tournament Saturday & Sunday, July 11-12, 2009

$90.00 3 Game Guarantee

(Deadline: Monday, June 29)

Last Chance Tournament Sunday, September 13, 2009

$90.00 3 Game Guarantee

(Deadline: Monday, August 31)

**Please call 456-2074 to verify receipt of tournament entry form.

2004 Fairway Street Dickinson, ND 58601

Dickinson Softball League Contact: Ryan Nelson

Entry forms are available on our web site:

www.dickinsonparks.org (701) 456-2074

Casual profanity pertains to expletives “not directed at the umpires or opposing players, but most likely at the players uttering them as a vent to frustration. This type of profanity is penalized by “OUTS” being declared against the offensive or defensive teams, whichever is guilty of the viola-tions. The above “OUTS” will be treated on a delayed, dead ball situ-ation. Profanity directed at others, especially umpires, will still result in ejection.

Let’s say a team has the bases loaded and the batter pops up to the infi eld. Immediately he lets out a profanity (fi ll in your favorite).

What happens if the fielder catches the ball? The batter can’t be called “OUT” because he already is. Therefore, the next batter is out. If the batter would be fi rst up the next inning, that spot will be an

Casual profanity rule defi ned for 2009OUT. That’s how the penalty is enforced.

If a defensive player “boots” the ball or drops the ball and utters a profanity where it can be heard by the people in the stand the defense is penalized by having their fi rst batter called out when they come to bat. This is the only aspect of the rule, along with carry-over of the third out enforcement on the offen-sive team, where the rule will have to be enforced at a later time.

Profanity directed at others, especially umpires, will still result in ejection. If a player is called out on a bang-bang players at fi rst and he utters a word under his breath as he runs by the umpires at fi rst, or curses under his breath because of this poor hit as he was thrown out at fi rst, the CASUAL PROFANITY RULE will not be enforced. That’s

because no one but the umpire, and maybe the fi rst baseman has heard him.

THE CASUAL PROFANITY RULE provides a lesser penalty for the gray area between accepted conduct and situations where the offender must be ejected. It has been found that the players police themselves and each other after this happens a couple of times and it has worked for the betterment of softball. It gets players to clean up their act.

Early in the year, umpires, in pregame conference, should warn both managers that the CASUAL PROFANITY RULE applies. Fail-ure to do so does not preclude the penalty being enforced. After June 15, this is not required at pre-game conference as all teams should be aware of the rule.

Softball News Spring 2009 – 11

Complete, Cut & Mail To: Jaybird Foundation, Inc. 2123 Missouri Loop N *Mandan, ND 58554

*Remember To Include Entry Fee*

City:________________________ Team Name:_________________________ Classifi cation:________

Manager’s Name:_____________________________________________________________________

Manager’s Adddress:________________________City:_______________ State:_______ Zip:________

Manager’s Telephone (H):____________ (W/C):_____________ E-Mail: __________________________

FOURTH ANNUAL

JAYBIRD CHARITYSOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

(A.S.A Tournament)

$90.00TeamEntry

EntryDeadline: May 9th,

2009

May 16th & 17th (for rain out or large divisions)

Mandan Softball Complex●Men’s Division: Rec I, II, III, IV

●Women’s Division: Rec I, II, III, Class D, Class CTournament Director: Brett & Kari Charvat 220-3756 or 663-8301

Men’s Team ______

Women’s Team ______

Editor’s Note: The following is a report written by Dick Gulman, Chairman of the Equipment Com-mittee of ASA. It summarizes the process the committee has made in controlling bats and balls to keep the game safe. Gulman is president of NDASA.

–––––In the past year the Equipment

Committee approved an additional testing procedure prior to initial certifi cation of bats called ABI (Ac-celerated Break-In). Currently, a bat must pass an out of wrapper test as well as be subjected ABI. The ABI process effectively rolls the bat in the lab. This new test require-ment should minimize the potential of banning bats, as these bats will be tested at their peak performance rather than on random compliance testing. Bats currently in the mar-ketplace will continue to be subject to random auditing by this commit-tee to ensure standards adopted by ASA are followed and that bats are not made differently than when they were initially certifi ed.

In addition the Equipment Com-mittee approved a resolution where-by manufacturers could not produce or ship bats after 7/1/08 unless a bat was certifi ed with our two-step process including ABI. We believe this new procedure will have a very positive impact in the fi eld as early as 2009.

The Equipment Committee ap-proved and was ratifi ed by the ASA BOD, that there will be no sunset clause or other provisions that could eliminate the use of all previously approved composite bats. The committee’s decision-making pro-cess was based on the 90+ percent satisfaction that was recorded on the last LRP committee survey by council members, and their overall satisfaction with the state of the game in terms of equipment perfor-mance. To be clear, our position is no immediate “expiration date,” of current composite bats is planned by this committee.

The Equipment Committee met in St. Louis this past April and was hosted by Rawlings at their corpo-rate headquarters. We toured Rawl-ings facility and were introduced to their new technology to measure BBS in live action. We saw the fruits of our new ABI process fi rst hand. We tested bats for BBS out of wrapper and after the bats were rolled. The rolling improved BBS in non-ABI bats from 86 MPH BBS to 92 MPH BBS. The best

news was when we rolled a bat that had been approved through the ABI procedure. The BBS prior to rolling was 89.9 MPH and after rolling the BBS only improved to 90.4 MPH. This was a very small scope but the early indication is the ABI procedure is going to be very valuable to our game.

The committee also took action involving the establishment of a standard regulating the dynamic stiffness of softballs #7500 lbs/inch when tested under the most current proposed ASTM test method. This standard will better control the use of multi-layer softballs and bring more consistency to the softball market place without lowering the static compression of 375 lbs/inch. We don’t expect this change in ball specs to disrupt the market place, but it could lead to the develop-ment of a non-approved ball list if manufacturers continue to elect to develop softballs that don’t meet the specifi cations of the new testing parameters.

Several manufacturers have de-veloped alternative softballs using different COR/Compression and dynamic stiffness measurements in an effort to provide alternative products to be used at various di-visions and classifi cations of play. As these products undergo further scrutiny in the lab and in ASA fi eld testing, we will continue our efforts in fi nding an ideal ball/bat combi-nation to preserve the integrity of the game.

This past year with the assistance of Easton Sports in partnership with Sporting Goods Manufacturers As-soc. brought the development of a portable bat barrel compression

tester. These machines may be purchased by Associations and we would encourage at a minimum, following the language contained in the ASA Code, Article 510 M 06 if a bat is found to be altered and used during any ASA sanctioned game.

Also in St. Louis the Equipment Committee agreed to adopt a new language and enter a rule change to allow an interchangeable bat barrel in ASA play. This new technol-ogy will have graphics exclusive to ASA and an ASA logo large enough to be visible to an umpire. The committee has been consider-ing this new product for several years and recommended approval after all concerns were met by the manufacturer.

The Equipment Committee also worked on an aggressive ball compliance program this year as well as fi ling a lawsuit against fi ve individuals for bat doctoring.

Lastly, we again charted games at the Hooters Championship Series and found scores to be lower and percentages of normal/acceptable play in Men’s B, C & D to be im-proved over previous years. We believe these improvements were largely in part to the removal of nine bats from ASA play 1/1/08.

While we believe we have made very positive steps with removing nine bats, implementing the new ABI procedure to the certifi cation process and regulating Dynamic Stiffness in the production of softballs, our work continues in all areas to protect and preserve the integrity of the game.

Dick Gulman, ChairmanEquipment Testing &

Certifi cation Committee

2008 equipment reviewPlayers, teams on suspension or probation for the 2009 season

Suspension/Probation 2009Dominic Pardino Jr., Fargo - Unsportsmanlike conduct, suspended

indefi nitely, can apply for reinstatement. Two year probation follows reinstatement.

Scott Fears, West Fargo - Unsportsmanlike conduct. Reinstated with probation through 2011.

Jason Baca, Mandan - Illegal participation (2nd). Probation 2009, 2010, 2011.

Jeff Murrey & Lee Zander, Mandan - Illegal participation. Pro-bation 2009.

Mike Christianson, Bismarck - Eligibility violation. Probation 2008 & 2009.

Sam Johnson, Wahpeton - Commission of fraud. Probation 2009.

State Tournament ViolationsMSP

Powers Lake Merchants, Rec III-W - No show without notifi ca-tion. Entire team probation 2009

Minot Ground Round, Rec-III-W - No show without notifi cation. Entire team probation 2009

Devils Lake Mrs. Pro Players Church, Rec IV-E - No show without notifi cation. Entire team probation 2009

Fargo Crary Industries, Rec IV-E - No show without notifi cation. Entire team probation 2009

Grafton Farm Boys/Citizens Bank Rec IV-E - No show without notifi cation. Entire team probation 2009

Grand Forks Bonzer’s #2 Rec IV-E - No show without notifi ca-tion. Entire team probation 2009

Grand Forks Joe Black’s Bar, Rec IV-E - No show without noti-fi cation. Entire team probation 2009

Grace City, Rec IV-E - No show without notifi cation. Entire team probation 2009

Grafton Uncles, Rec IV-E - No show without notifi cation. Proba-tion 2009

Mandan Vicky’s, Rec IV-W - No show without notifi cation. Entire team probation 2009

Belcourt Nutty’s Lounge, Rec IV-W - No show without notifi ca-tion. Entire team probation 2009

This season will bring signifi -cant changes and new opportuni-ties for Masters players in North Dakota. The 2009 Masters 35 and Masters 40 State Tournaments will be played on separate weekends for the fi rst time. The Masters 40 tournament will be held July 18-19 in Bismarck. The Masters 35 and Masters 50 Metal Bat tournaments will be July 25-26 in Fargo. This change enables eligible players to participate in both the 35 & 40 age groups. Hopefully, the new format results in more teams for both tour-naments. Keep in mind, “make-up teams” are allowed in Masters play. Those teams must turn in a roster by July 1, along with a $70 sanction fee to NDASA.

A Masters 60 division will also be offered this season. Masters 60 will be included at the McQuade Tournament, June 26-29. The Mas-ters 60 State Tournament will be played in conjunction with the Mas-ters 40 in Bismarck , July 18-19. A minimum of four teams are required for each tournament.

Some special rules have been adopted to help get the 60+ program started.

1) At McQuade, age eligible players will be allowed to play both Masters 50 & Masters 60 . Games will be scheduled to avoid confl icts.

Some things you need to know

Team Registration Deadline ......................................May 15

Roster Deadline ......................................................... June 1

Roster Change Deadline ......................................... June 12

Spring Meeting Date ................................................ April 25

Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony ...... April 25

Men’s Master’s 40 and Over Slow Pitch National Tournament

to be held in Mandan ...........................................Aug. 28-30

2) Masters 60 teams will be al-lowed a limited number of “under-age” players. Teams may have:

two 58 yr. old players OR one 58 & two 59 OR four 59 yr. olds

Age is determined as of Dec. 31, 2009.

3) Masters 60 will be wood bats only.

4) Masters 60 will use the same playing rules as Masters 50.

5) Masters 60 teams must pay NDASA a sanction fee of $20, as well as any tournament entry fees.

Closing out the 2009 season, Mandan will host the ASA Masters 40 National Tournament, August 28-30. North Dakota teams must participate in a Masters State Tournament to be eligible for the national. Contact Dave Frueh (667-3287) at Mandan Parks & Rec. for additional information.

If you have any suggestions or questions regarding the Masters program, please contact one of the Masters Committee members, Jack Jones (Mandan), Gordy Smith (Bis-marck), Steve Granberg (Fargo), Richard Peterson (Wahpeton), Craig Good (LaMoure) . Enjoy a great softball season, and remem-ber, YOU DON’T QUIT PLAYING BECAUSE YOU GET OLD, YOU GET OLD BECAUSE YOU QUIT PLAYING....

Masters State Tourneys to be played on separate weekends

12 – Softball News Spring 2009

Article 106 02 New Additional player is a player that has been added to a team’s championship roster and meets all the requirements set forth in Article 501 and 502 of this code.

Article 106 29 Delete the defi nition of Regular Season Roster and renumber.

Article 106 35 New Team Personnel is de-fi ned as all coaches, managers, scorekeepers and other on fi eld assistants that are required to meet the eligibility requirements of the ASA. Comments: Defi ne who is considered a part of a team.

Article 201 A 03 a, b, c, d and f Dues. Each local association shall pay the fol-lowing dues:

a. Each adult team $8.00b. Each Junior Olympic Team $8.00c. Each Adult Umpire $18.00d. Each Junior Olympic Umpire $18.00e. Each Scorekeeper $8.50f. Individual registrations fees will be

approved by the council.Each local association may individually

register Junior Olympic and or Adult players, coaches or team offi cials. Every 10 persons registered individually shall be counted as one team. Each JO team must include one adult registration.

Comments: Changes the Adult and JO Team registration fee to $8.00, changes umpire fee to $18.00 and adds individual registration fees to the code.

Article 201 A 07 Tax-Exempt. Each local association corporate entity shall be recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a “tax-exempt” organization.

Comments: Adds Tax-Exempt status as a requirement for each local association. EFFECTIVE 2010.

Article 202 09 10 09. East Central - Ohio, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dayton 10. Midwest - Illinois, Chicago, Indiana and Kentucky.

Comments: Moves Cincinnati from Re-gion 10 to Region 9. EFFECTIVE 2010.

Article 301 C 01 New Candidates for Territorial Vice President. They shall submit their names to the National Offi ce no later than 30 days prior to the National Council Meeting. Territorial Vice Presi-dent Candidates must have and maintain National Council Member Status.

Comments: Adds deadlines and require-ments for council members to become Ter-ritorial Vice Presidents.

Article 306 A New A. Council Emeritus. Upon completion of 15 years of service, any council member with 15 or more years of service on the council may be recommended by their commissioner for the status of Emeritus.

Approval. The BOD shall consider all recommendations and a two-thirds vote of approval is required.

Entitlement. A person who is approved as Emeritus is entitled to attend the annual council meeting and shall have one vote on all matters before the council. No fi nancial reimbursement will be considered for a person of Emeritus status.

Comments: Adds Council Emeritus to the code.

Article 311 D 03 c Fast Pitch c. All other Fast Pitch National Championships. Shall use a minimum of three outside (at-large) umpires to be selected from within the re-spective region hosting the entries.

Comments: Sets the number of at large umpires to three for all fast pitch events not specifi cally mentioned.

Article 311 D 04 a Modifi ed Pitch. The National Director of Umpires shall make the following assignments to the respective national championship fi nals:

a. Men’s (09) Man Modifi ed: Seven (7) at-large umpires

b. Men’s (10) Man Modifi ed: Seven (7) at-large umpires.

Note: Of the fourteen (14) umpires as-signed, six (6) shall be selected by the pre-vious year’s National Championship Final Umpires-in-Chief as follows:

Three (3) from the Men’s (09) man.Three (3) from the Men’s (10) man.Comments: Sets the number of at large

umpires for Men’s 9 and 10 Man Modifi ed to seven.

Article 311 D 05 b Delete Men’s Indus-trial and Women’s Class C from the Slow Pitch umpire rotation selection

Comments: Remove Men’s Industrial and Women’s Class C from the rotational selection process of umpires to be used at these nationals.

Article 311 D 05 c Change In all other divisions of slow pitch, including 16-Inch, Church, Masters, Seniors and Junior Olympic. A minimum of three (3) outside umpires shall be selected from within the re-spective region hosting the tournament. The tournament host is responsible for housing and game fees. All outside umpires are to be selected from within the region hosting the tournament. Should there be defi ciency in the number of team entries, the tournament chairman, in cooperation with the host com-missioner, may contact the regional director who shall have the authority to reduce the number of assigned outside umpires to no less than three.

Comments: Sets the number of outside umpires to be selected.

Article 401 A Annual Meeting. The annual meeting shall begin no earlier than October 15 and conclude no later than November 20.

Comments: Sets the time frame of when the Annual Meeting can be held.

Article 402 D Compliance and Ethics. This committee shall consist of at least one member from each ASA territory and shall review commissioners and Council members’ actions that involve conduct detrimental to the purpose and objectives of ASA including but not limited to:

1. A confl ict of interest.2. Unethical behavior.3. Non-performance of duties as set forth

in this Code.This Committee shall have the authority

to conduct hearings and impose discipline including reprimand, probation or removal. Persons disciplined by the Ethics Committee shall have the right of appeal to the Board of Directors whose decision will be fi nal.

Comments: Renames the Ethics commit-tee to Compliance and Ethics.

Article 402 E Hall of Fame. This commit-tee shall provide and publicize the ASA Hall of Fame. Its duties shall include but not be limited to the following:

Committee members. The Hall of Fame Committee shall consist of 12 Council mem-bers appointed by the president for a term of four years. Members of this committee may be removed by the President for just cause. The President may appoint proxies for members unable to attend the current year’s meeting.

Comments: Allows the President to remove members of the Hall of Fame Committee.

Article 501 B 01 Team Eligibility.Team Registration. A team must register

with the local association in which the great-est number of its players reside, and this number must be retained for the remainder of the season.

Exception: Teams in an adjoining county to a State and Metro association my register with either the State or Metro Association by mutual consent of the State/Metro Commissioner’s involved.

Comments: Establishes where a team must register and sets limitations on how many players they must retain to keep that registration.

Article 501 C 02 c Rostered PlayerRostered Player.Adult Player Classifi cation. Individual

adult players may not play more than one (1) classifi cation below the classifi cation level of their most recent team.

Comments: To assist associations with classifi cation of individual players.

Article 501 C 04 a 01 Player Identifi ca-tion.

Providing Proper Identifi cation1. Upon demand of league or tournament

officials including national champion-ship fi nals, a player must produce proper identifi cation (which shall include a current photograph of the player and the player’s signature) or the player shall be declared ineligible and the team subject to suspen-sion. For the purpose of this section, driver’s licenses or comparable identification is acceptable.

2. At all national championship fi nals every player must sign in prior to play-ing. Failure will result in disqualifi cation from the tournament unless the player has not played in, in which case they will be allowed to sign in.

Comments: To establish a specific penalty if players do not sign in prior to competing.

Article 502 ROSTERS. A team’s roster becomes offi cial when a commissioner or designee signs it for championship play. Each team is permitted pick up players according to Article 503 of this code.

Comments: Defines when a Team’s Roster becomes offi cial.

Article 502 B Change. Number of Play-ers. A championship roster can only have a maximum of 20 players, including pick up players. A manager or coach shall not count as a player unless listed as one; names cannot be removed or replaced once the roster is used in championship play.

Comments: Defines the number of players that can be used on a champion-ship roster.

Article 505 B 02 Suspension Proce-dures.

Time Limitations. Suspension complaints must be filed with the commissioner in whose association the offense is alleged to have occurred or the commissioner in whose association registered the player or team, not more than six (6) months from the alleged date of violation.

Comments: To establish who can hold a suspension hearing.

Article 506 A 05 DIVISIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS OF CHAM-P I O N S H I P P L AY D E F I N E DA. The ASA recognized the following divi-sions and classifi cations of championship play. Each local association shall establish a classifi cation code to determine team and/or player classifi cation for championship play in the following divisions:

05. Men’s Slow Pitch A, B,C, D, E/Rec

Comments: Establishes E/Rec Classifi -cation for Men’s Slow Pitch.

Article 506 A 09 Delete Women’s Modi-fi ed Pitch

Comments: Removes Women’s Modifi ed Pitch from list of Championship play list.

Article 506 A 13 Delete Coed Major Slow Pitch

Comments: Removes Coed Major Slow Pitch from list of Championship play list.

Article 506 A 13 D I V I S I O N S

A N D C L A S S I F I C AT I O N S O F CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY DEFINED.13. Co-ed Slow Pitch Open, C, D

NOTE: EFFECTIVE 2011 Co-ed Open is eliminated.

Comments: Changes names of Coed Classifi cations. EFFECTIVE 2011 Co-ed Open is removed.

Article 507 F 01 Mandatory Clas-sifi cation.

Mandatory Reclassifi cation. An adult team that has four or more players on a roster, including pick-up players, from a team or teams that fi nished in the fol-lowing divisions and classifi cations in the same National Championship Final must participate in the next higher classifi cation in championship play for their next ASA playing season unless they played in the highest classifi cation.

NOTE: If a person fails to participate in Championship play the next calendar year this restriction will remain in effect until the team participates at the higher classifi cation.

EXCEPTION: In all Adult national Championships, the top fi nishing 10% (plus ties) will be reclassifi ed to the next higher classification. Fractions will be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Comments: To establish consistency in the number of teams moved up.

Article 507 F 01 Change Player Classi-fi cation Starting January 1 each year will start a player appeal process where each player can submit an appeal to have their player rating dropped. This process ends June 30 and at that time appeals will not be accepted until January. We have taken our team guidelines and based it on the ASA Code in which a team could have 3 Mandatory players from the next higher division on their roster. We consider our list equal to Mandatory rated players. With the player rating system that we have in place helps create a fair and level playing fi eld for all of our teams not only at a local but also at a national level. Below are the guidelines that we use on how to classify a team. Players on the ASA Restricted List can only participate in the Men’s A or Coed Open Programs.

Men’s Slow PitchMen’s A = 2 Player’s from the ASA

Restricted Players ListMen’s B = 3 A Rated players and no

players from the Restricted Player List.Men’s C = 3 B Rated players and no

players from the Restricted Player List.Men’s D = 3 C Rated players and no

players from the Restricted Player List.Men’s E = 3 D Rated and no players

from the Restricted Player List, no A rated players, no B rated players, or no C rated players.

Note: No A Rated players may par-ticipate in the D Level or/and no C and above Rated Players may participate in the E Level.

Women’s Slow PitchWomen’s Open = Any Female PlayerWomen’s C = 3 Open Rated PlayersWomen’s D = 3 C Rated PlayersCo-edCo-ed Open = Any Female Player and

2 Men from the ASA Restricted Player’s List.

Co-ed C = No Male player rated B or above and No Open Rated Women .

Co-ed D = 2 C Rated Men and 2 C Rated Women.

NOTE: Players that have no ASA playing history should be handled in the following manner. If a track record of a player can be verifi ed in another National Association that player can be rated at that level or higher.

Comments: Establishes guidelines for establishing teams with individual player classifi cation.

Article 507 F 02 a Restricted Classifi -cation Rule.

Teams. A team that wins two or more games in a double elimination bracket, or three or more games in a three game bracket, excluding forfeits, in a National Championship Final may not participated in a lower classifi cation in the same division of championship play during their next ASA playing season unless they played in the highest classifi cation. A team that has four or more players on a roster, including pick-ups, from such a team shall be considered the same team.

EXCEPTION: Men’s Major Fast Pitch. Any team that has not competed in the Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship Tournament for two consecutive years shall be allowed to participate in a lower classifi -cation regardless of the number games won at the national tournament, provided they have received permission from their Local Commissioner, to compete at a lower clas-sifi cation for the following season.

EXCEPTION: Men’s Class A Slow Pitch

Comments: Allows for an exception to be made to Men’s Class A Slow Pitch for restricted classifi cation.

Article 507 G Classifi cation Appeal. Teams/Players classified in accordance with this article have the right to appeal their classifi cation after participating at the higher classifi cation. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the team’s local commissioner and should include game results and reason for the appeal. The local commissioner shall evaluate the information presented and for-

ward the appeal with their recommendation to the Chair of the Tournament Programs Committee. The tournament Programs Committee shall review the information presented. If the appeal is granted, the team’s roster/player shall be frozen for the balance of the year. If the team adds a player to their roster, except Pick-Up Players pursuant to Article 503, the appeal is nullifi ed and the team is reclassifi ed to at least the next higher classifi cation.

Comments: Allows players to appeal their classifi cation.

Article 507 G National Softball Player Classifi cation Board

Responsibilities. The NSPC (National Softball Player Classification) Board will oversee all aspects of the adult slow pitch classifi cation. The Board will cre-ate guidelines and procedures regarding classifi cation.

The NSPC Board will consist of fi ve people, one representative from each territory plus one At-Large member, as shown:

*Eastern Territory*Northern Territory *Southern Territory*Western Territory*At large member to be assigned by

ASA President.Each territory representative shall

name a territorial subcommittee com-prised of no less than fi ve and no more than nine people from their territory. Local association representatives will be assigned in conjunction with the Associa-tion Commissioner.

Duties. The duty of the board is to uphold the national team and player clas-sifi cation strategy. The board in concert with the National ASA Offi ce staff, will oversee a National Player Classifi cation Registry. The Board, in concert with Na-tional ASA staff, will communicate with tournament directors of National Cham-pionships to ensure all teams participating in ASA Slow Pitch events are within the guidelines. The board will also seek out further information by contracting local commissioners, player representatives, district commissioners, league directors and tournament directors to acquire the best and most recent information on teams and players.

Comments: To establish an Adult Slow Pitch player classifi cation process to improve the classifi cation across the country.

Article 508 A LEVELS OF CHAMPI-ONSHIP PLAY. The following are levels of championship play:

Local Association Championships. Local associations may not conduct cham-pionship play tournaments in locations outside of their association’s boundaries without permission from that local asso-ciation’s commissioner. Local associations may conduct sub district, district or county championships for the purpose of qualifying teams for local association championships. These tournaments are open to registered member teams in accordance with the rules and regulations of the local association, provided such rules and regulations are not in confl ict or inconsistent with this Code or the established policies of the ASA.

Comments: To establish where Associa-tions may conduct championship play.

Article 508 B 02 LEVELS OF CHAM-PIONSHP PLAY. The following are levels of championship play.

1. Adult Slow Pitch National Qualifi ers may be held in Adult Slow Pitch. The association hosting the tournament must use their local association berths. Teams that accept the berths must abide by the rules set forth by their local association to advance in championship play.

Comments: To establish Adult Slow Pitch National Qualifi ers.

Article 509 B 01 b DATES OF CHAM-PIONSHIP PLAY

B. National Championship Finals. The Executive Director has the authority to change dates of National Championship Finals for extenuating circumstances.

b. Men’s Class B, C,D, and E/Rec Slow Pitch. These National Championship Finals shall be scheduled on Labor Day Weekend and shall commence no earlier than Thurs-day at 6:00 p.m. and concluding no later than Monday.

Comments: Adds Men’s E/Rec Slow Pitch to Labor Day weekend.

Article 509 B 02 b c DATES OF CHAM-PIONSHIP PLAY

1. Adult Fast Pitch. All adult fast pitch National Championship Finals shall be scheduled as follows:

b. Men’s Class A, B and C Fast Pitch. This National Championship will be sched-uled on Labor Day weekend commencing no earlier than 6:00 p.m. Thursday and concluding no later than Labor Day.

Comments: Moves the Men’s Class A, B, and C Fast Pitch to Labor Day weekend.

Article 511 D 03 Change Delete 03 Seeding for Men’s Major Fast Pitch.

Comments: To give everyone an oppor-tunity to be drawn into a bye.

Article 512 G Delete Entry fee for Hall of Fame Tournaments.

Comments: No other entry fees were set by code.

Article 516 D 01 NATIONAL CHAM-PIONSHP FINALS. The following teams are eligible for National Championship Final competition as follows:

D. ASA East/West National Champion-

ship Finals. The ASA will conduct two (2) National Championship Tournaments in following divisions and classifi cations:

1. Men’s Senior Slow PitchOne championship will be played in each

of the two (2) sections in accordance with Article 204, Sections of this Code

Exception: The major plus division in the 50+, 55+, 60+ and 65+ age classifi ca-tions will hold one tournament in Okla-homa City on Labor Day weekend (or at another times and/or place approved by the National Championship Finals Tour-nament Awards Committee).

Comments: To establish that the Major Plus Division of Senior Slow Pitch to have their own single National Championship in Oklahoma City.

Article 516 D 02 NATIONAL CHAM-PIONSHIP FINALS. The following teams are eligible for National Championship Final competition as follows:

D. ASA East/West National Champion-ship Finals. The ASA will conduct two (2) National Championship Tournaments in following divisions and classifi cations:

One championship will be played in each of the two (2) sections in accordance with Article 204, Sections of this Code

2. The ASA will conduct two (2) Na-tional Championship Tournaments in the following division and classifi cation.

Men’s 16” Class A Slow PitchComments: To establish an East/West

Championships for the Men’s 16” Divi-sion.

Article 511 A 03 I, q, r & s CHAMP-TIONSHIP DRAW.

Three Game Format. In lieu of pool play, the respective tournament Directors shall uti-lize an ASA offi cial approved three (3) game guaranteed format for the following:

a. Boy’s 18-Under Fast Pitch.b. Boy’s 16-Under Fast Pitchc. Boy’s 14-Under Fast Pitch.d. Boy’s 12-Under Fast Pitche. Boy’s 10-Under Fast Pitch.f. Men’s Major Fast Pitch.g. Men’s Class A Fast Pitch.h. Men’s Class B Fast Pitch.i. Men’s Class C Fast Pitchj. Men’s Masters 40-Over Fast Pitchk. Men’s Masters 45-Over Fast Pitchl. Men’s Seniors 50-Over Fast Pitchm. Men’s 23-Under Fast Pitchn. Women’s Class A Fast Pitcho. Women’s Class B Fast Pitchp. Women’s Masters 35-Over Slow

Pitchq. Men’s Masters 35-Over Slow Pitchr. Men’s Masters 40-Over Slow Pitchs. Men’s Masters 45-Over Slow PitchComments: To add the Men’s Class C

Fast Pitch and Masters Slow Pitch to the tournaments who use the three game guar-antee format.

Article 511 B 02 Drawing onto the ASA Offi cial Double Elimination Bracket. In all Junior Olympic Girls’ Fast Pitch Class A, Class B and Junior Olympic 18-Under Gold National Championship Finals.

NOTE: The double elimination bracket draw shall be done at the completion of the pool play games, with each team drawing their position onto the double elimination bracket.

Comments: To establish a procedure of when the bracket draw will be done and who must be present.

Article 511 D Seeding (Adults) Added exception to 02 and delete the exceptions in 05 and 06.

02. Seeded Teams. Only teams that shall be seeded are the previous year’s defending champions and fi rst runner-up teams and the current year’s host teams. Seeding of the Men’s A Slow Pitch National Champi-onship. This will be seeded by the ASA 2K Series point standings with the assistance of the National Softball Player Classifi ca-tion Board.

Comments: To create a balanced bracket based on performance during the ASA 2K Series and to clarify what is already stated in Article 511 A 02.

Article 510 M 08 Team Conduct.08. Property Damage. Any property

damage reported by offi cials of the hosting facility in championship play.

Comments: Add property damage to facilities as regulations for teams to abide by at championship play.

Article 510 N Tie Breaker Rule. A region may, by majority vote, establish procedures for a tiebreaker in qualifi ers and regional tournaments. In all Junior Olympic Girls’ Fast Pitch National Qualifi ers and National Championship Finals. Women’s Fast Pitch National Championship Finals: and Men’s Master fast Pitch National Championship Finals the tie breaker shall be in effect.

Comments: Add Men’s Masters Fast Pitch to the list of tournaments the tiebreaker can be used.

Article 511 A 01 CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW

A. Local Association Protection When qualifying pool play is used in Junior Olympic. Women’s Major Fast Pitch, Women’s 23-Under Fast Pitch and Men’s Senior Slow Pitch Championships, teams qualifying from the same local association shall be protected, where possible from playing each other in qualifying pool play. When the number of teams entered in

2009 ASA Code changes and comments – December 5, 2008

See CODES page 13

Softball News Spring 2009 – 13

The rules for the use of pickup players in invitational tournaments are the same for this coming season of 2009 as they were the past two years. Teams may pick up play-ers from another city to play in invitational tournaments as long as the player being picked up is on a NDASA roster and plays in the same class or a lower class than the team which picks him/her up.

As an example, a Class D team from Wahpeton has registered to play in the McQuade Tournament in Bismarck. A day or two before the tournament the team fi nds out that one or more of their regular players will be unable to make the trip to Bismarck. This team can pick up players from any other team in North Dakota as long as the players are on an offi cial NDASA roster and that team is not playing the McQuade Tournament this year and the players to be picked up are Class D or below players.

Other rules governing the use of pickup players remain the same.

Slow pitch players who partici-

Pickup Player rules for 2009pate on more than one team must use their highest classifi cation of any team with which they play when being picked up by another team for an invitational tourna-ment.

Managers and players are re-sponsible for declaring his/her eligibility as to their highest clas-sifi cation status.

A player may not be picked up if one of his/her teams is entered in any other tournament.

More than two pickup players may be allowed in hardship cases. Teams must have the league rep complete a permission form to be given to the tournament director.

Rec IV teams may pick up play-ers from Rec III teams except if they are playing in a Rec IV tour-nament.

With twelve players: No pickup players allowed.

With eleven players: One pickup player allowed.

With ten players: Two pickup players allowed.

With nine players: Two pickup

players allowed.With seven or eight players:

Three pickup players allowed with approval of league rep.

Pickup players must wear the team uniform from the team which they were picked up from.

Once a tournament starts, a team is not allowed to add any additional players unless it conforms to the pickup rule for two day tourna-ments.

the tournament from a local association is greater than the number of pools, the fi nal alignment in pool play shall be deter-mined by the ASA Representative.

EXCEPTIONS: 01. Junior Olympic Pool Play.a. In all Junior Olympic GOD, Class

Aand Class B National Championship Finals, qualifying pool play (providing each team with two games) shall be used to draw teams onto the ASA Offi cial Double Elimination Bracket

NOTE: Teams must participate in pool play to be eligible for the double elimina-tion bracket.

Comments: To create protection in pool play for local associations and to show pool play will be used to draw teams into the double elimination bracket.

Article 516 E F 01 B Change NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS. The following teams are eligible for National Championship Final competition as fol-lows.

E. ASA East/West National Champion-ship Finals. The ASA will conduct two (2) National Championship Tournaments in following divisions and classifi cations.

1. Men’s Class B Slow Pitch.2. Women’s Class C and D Slow PitchOne championship will be played in each

of the two (2) sections in accordance with Article 204, Sections of this Code.

b. Qualifying. Teams will qualify for these National Championship Finals through their local association. Local Associations shall establish guidelines for the process teams may earn a berth into these National Championships. Local associations and regions may combine berths to Champion-ships. Local associations and regions may combine berths to qualify teams for these tournaments in accordance with Article 516 (A) (05) of this code. Teams may play in the tournament of their choice.

F. ASA Easern/Southern/Northern/Western National Champion ship Finals. The ASA will conduct four (4) Natioanl Championships in following division and classifi cations:

01. Men’s Class C Slow Pitch01. Men’s Class D Slow PitchOne Championship will be played in each

of the (4) territories in accordance with Articl 201, Territories of the ASA Code.

b. Qualifying. Teams will qualify for these National Championship Finals through their local associations. Local Associations shall establish quidelines for the process teams may earn a berth into these national Championships. Local associations and region may combine berths to qualify teams for these tounaments in accordance with Ar-ticle 516 (A) (05) of this Code. Teams may play in the tournament of their choice

Comments: Allows teams who partici-pate in choose which tournament they wish to go to.

Article 516 G Change NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS The following teams are eligible for National Champion-ship Final Competition as follows:

F. Girls’ Class A USA/ASA Fast Pitch National Championship Finals. 18,16,14,12,10-Under

All remains the same except Association berths and that change is:

Associations registering 201-999 teams receives one (1) berth, for associations above 999 teams, those associations will receive an additional berth for each

CODEScontinued from page 12

NO changes

can be made to the roster after June 12, 2009

increment of 500 team registrations. As an example, an association that registers 2900 teams would receive 5 total berths. The best way to determine the berths is to take total registered teams and divide by 500 – the number of berths is the whole number – no rounding up.

Comments: To allow association’s berths to be a representation of teams registered.

Article 520 C 06 Levels of Non-Cham-pionship Play

Non-Championship Invitational Tourna-ment Play. Invitational tournaments may be conducted by the local association and sanctioned by ASA provided the following conditions are met:

Sanction and Sanction Fee. Only the local association in whose territory the tournament is conducted may sanction a tournament and shall be entitled to charge a sanction fee.

Comments: To keep Local Associations from sanctioning a tournament in another local association’s territory.

Article 607 08 CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY AWARDS Awards shall be made to teams and individuals as follows:

A: National Championship Finals.Batting Champion. A batting champion

shall be determined at the National Cham-pionship Final on the basis of the highest batting percentage based n appearing at bat at least 15 times in the fast pitch National Championship Final and 15 times in the slow pitch National Championship Final.

Comments: Gives more slow pitch players an opportunity to be the batting champion.

NoticeAll JO Fastpitch play-

ers will be required to partake in the JO Indi-vidual Registration.

Individual registra-tion will also include in-surance for the athlete in all ASA sanctioned events.

The individual ac-cident insurance will have a $250 deduct-ible.

The fee for each player on your roster for individual registra-tion will be $7.00.

14 – Softball News Spring 2009

By WALT STACKFrom time to time, it becomes

necessary to remind teams of the dress code in effect under the rules of the ND Amateur Softball As-sociation. Because of the reclas-sifi cation of teams, there may be some confusion about the uniform dress code provisions contained in the NDASA rules.

Men’s Slowpitch classifi cation B, C and D must have full uniforms. Recreation Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be required only to have shirts with numbers. If a team has uni-forms, even in the Rec. Divisions, they are encouraged to wear them for all invitational tournaments.

In Women’s Slowpitch, divisions C and D will be required to have complete uniforms while Rec. Divi-sions 1, 2 and 3 will not be required. Caps, visor or headbands may all be worn but must be the same. In other words, one player can not wear a cap while another wears a visor, and a third wears a headband. If any headgear is worn, it must be similar in type. All short pants must be identical in color and style. Long pants and short pants do not have to be the same color. Numbers— an Arabic number of contrasting color, at least 6” high must be worn on the back of the uniform shirt. No players on the same team may wear identical numbers. If duplicate numbers exist, one of the payers will not be permitted to participate

in the game. No player can wear a number with more than two digits. In the past we have seen some large individuals wear the number 747 on the back of their jersey. That will be an illegal uniform and will not be allowed. Fractions also are illegal.

Pickup players—all pickup play-ers must wear their own uniform while playing in an invitational tournament. They are not allowed to wear the uniform of the team which has picked them up. No pickups will be allowed in state tournaments.

Jewelry—all exposed jewelry such as wristbands, bracelets, any type of earrings, neck chains or any other item judged to be dangerous by the umpire may not be worn during the game. Medical alert bracelets or necklaces are not con-sidered to be jewelry, but if worn, they must be taped to the body. Players will be asked to remove jewelry and, should they fail to do so, may be ejected from the game. Coaches and managers in coach’s boxes at fi rst and third base must have like colored shirts as the team or wear a shirt carrying the team designation. Tournament umpire-in-chief will instruct umpires to warn players before play begins to correct any uniform infractions before any further action is taken by the umpire. The tournament direc-tor must also enforce this rule and issue warnings.

Follow the dress code for invitational tournaments

January 17, 2009

GeneralRoster deadline is June 1.Roster change deadline is June

12.Registration deadline is May

15.Late fee deadline is June 8,

2009.Spring meeting date is April 25.Classification meeting is July

10.New national tournament – men’s

slow pitch class E/Rec; Labor Day weekend in Topeka, KS.

Master 40 men’s slow pitch national tournament in Mandan 2009.

Women’s Class C slow pitch national in Minot 2010.

New state office phone num-ber, 701-952-4448; email ad-dress, ndasa@daktel.com, Fax 701-952-4488.

National tournament bid rotation is 2009 Bismarck, Mandan 2010.

NDASA is buying a bat compres-sion testing machine.

McQuade softball board is also buying a bat testing machine.

In 2010 the Optic colored softball will be mandatory.

Coed state tournament will be in Grand Forks in 2009.

Women’s SlowpitchReported by SUE LACHENMEIER

These are recommendations from the WSP Group to the Executive Committee. (See Executive Com-mittee minutes for final actions taken.)

State office phone number 952-4448, fax 952-4488, email ndasa@daktel.com.

Spring meeting will be April 25, Jamestown Civic Center – north door.

Classifi cation meeting July 10.2010 Optic Ball will be manda-

tory.Bats will again need to be stick-

ered before used if new – see Ump.

Propose that Rec I Tourney rotate between Valley City – Mandan. Double elimination continue Rec. I.

Home run rule follow national. C-4, D-2, all Rec-2, excess an out.

One & one count in all invita-tional and state. No courtesy foul.

Registration fee $70 to NDA-SA.

When a ND city hosts a national tournament a ND team can play if you play in a state tournament.

2010 Minot Women’s C.Women’s Slow Pitch Tourney

Cities:Masters, Bismarck, 7/25-26Class C, Minot, 8/1-2Class D, Minot, 8/1-2Rec I, Valley City, 8/1-2Rec II W, Dickinson, 8/8-9Rec II E, Wahpeton, 8/8-9Rec III W, Bismarck, 8/8-9Rec. III E, Jamestown, 8/8-9Worth Bat – 2 piece construction

26 oz. & 28 oz. – must be ASARoster deadline June 1.Roster change deadline June

12.Registration deadline May 15.Roster late fee deadline June 8.City Commissioners/League Rep

– Roster must be complete, address and signature mandatory.

Offi cial rosters – can we please have them mailed out sooner. Mid February would be great!

Men’s Slow PitchReported by REINHOLD FLECK

These are recommendations from the MSP Group to the ex-ecutive committee (See Executive Committee minutes for fi nal action taken).

Division Men’s I, II, III Slow Pitch.

Motion that any advancing team from the state tournaments would advance to a national tournament of their current classifi cation..

Motion to allow McQuade and Fargo classic invitational tourna-ments to award national berths in

2009.Motion to change home run

rules to match the national home run rule in invitational and state tournaments. Exception is the Rec divisions, who would still get 2 home runs.

Motion to follow the national 1 and 1 count with no courtesy foul.

Motion to allow teams to pick up player in invitational tournaments to the highest level of the division they are playing in.

Motion to award the following berths for the national E/Rec men’s slow pitch national tournaments: top 4 teams in Rec I state tournament, top 2 teams from Rec. II state, both east and west, 1 from McQuade Rec II division and 1 from Fargo Classic Rec I-II division.

Masters Slow PitchReported by STEVE GRANBERG

These are recommendations from the Masters Group to the Executive Committee. (See Executive minutes for fi nal action taken)

Recommended splitting the Mas-ters 35 & 40 state tournaments to be held on separate weekends. Recom-mended Master 35 and Masters 50 Metal Bat Tournaments are played July 18-19 in Fargo.

Masters 40 & initial NDASA Masters 60 tournaments be held July 25-26 in either Mandan or Bismarck Clem Kelly.

Masters 60: Minimum 4 teams required for division in McQuade or state tournament.

Masters 60 teams Pay $20 sanc-tion fee to NDASA.

Masters 60 is wood bat only uses same playing rules as Masters 50.

Masters 60 teams allow some “underage players.” Point system

NDASA Advisory Board meeting minuteswill be used for underage players, 58 years old (2 points), 59 (1 point). Maximum 4 points per team. Un-derage players will eventually be phased out, as program grows.

Players are allowed to play both 50 and 60, if meeting the age quali-fi cations, even if the tournament is on the same day or weekend, per ASA National rules.

Playing rules change:In Masters 50/60, teams playing

with only 9 players, 10 spot in the order WILL NOT be an automatic out. 10 player may be added at any time.

Executive CommitteeMSC – Approve state tournament

dates and locations for 2009.MSC – Local association will

coordinate with DUIC to continue marking bats.

MSC – Men’s Master/Senior teams must play in NDASA Mas-ters/Senior state tournament before playing in 40 Master National Tournament in Mandan.

MSC – Follow ASA home run rules except in class E and all Rec divisions. Men’s slow pitch class B – 6 home runs, Class C – 4 home runs, Class D- 2 home runs, and all Rec divisions 2 home runs. Coed Class A – 4 home runs, class B – 2 home runs, Master 35 and 40, - 4 home runs, Masters 50 and 60 – 3 home runs. This home run rule is for all state and invitational tournaments.

MSC – In men’s division I, II, III state tournaments, the winners would advance to the national tour-nament of the class of the team.

MSC – Allow McQuade and Fargo Classic invitational tourna-ment to award national berths in 2009. One team per division Class

B, Class C, Class D and Class E/Rec.

MSC – Follow ASA 1 and 1 count with no courtesy foul in all state and invitational tournaments in adult slow pitch division, with exception in Masters and JO Pro-grams.

MSC – Allow teams to pick up players in invitational tournaments to the highest class of division they are playing in. Example: Class C/D division – can pick up a class C player, Rec I/II can pick up a Rec I player, Rec III/IV can pick up a Rec III player.

MSC – Award the following berths for the National E/Rec tour-nament. State will only pay for one berth from the Rec I State; teams as follows from state tournaments: Top 4 teams from Rec 1 State. Top 2 from Rec II East and West state tournaments. One from Rec II McQuad and 1 from Fargo Classic tournament Rec I/II division.

MSC – to approve the following Master/Seniors division changes.

Master 35 and 40 state tourna-ments on different weekends.

Master 60 minimum 4 teams for a state tournament, pay $20 sanc-tion fee. Wood bat tournament, some playing rules as Master 50 state. Use point system for under-age players 58 years old, 2 points, 59 years old one point. Maximum of 4 points per team.

Players can play in 50 and 60 state tournaments on same day.

Master 50/60 teams playing with 9 players, 10 spot in batting order will not be an out in invitational state tournaments. Tenth player can be added any time. Women’s slow pitch and umpire reports, no action take by executive board.

Busch LightFargo-Moorhead Classic

June 13-14, 2009Powered by Hooters and The Hub

Softball News Spring 2009 – 15

Men’s Slow PitchApril 19,West Fargo, 16 R 1 &

BELOW, 3GG, $100, Randy Olson, 1307 4th Ave. East, West Fargo, ND 58078, 282-0766.

April 26, Wahpeton, 5 B-D, RR, $85; 5 R 1-2, RR, $85; 5 R 3-4, RR, $85, Laree Bumgarner, 304 5th Street S, Wahpeton, ND 58075, 642-2811.

May 2, Mandan, 5 C-D, RR, $110; 5 R 1-2, RR $110; 10 R 3-4, RR $110, Jack Jones, 3804 Sara-toga Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58503, 426-8700.

May 10, Bismarck, 8 B-D, 3 GG, $95; 8 R 1-2, 3 GG, $95; 8 R 3-4, 3 GG, $95, Doug Bowers, 424 W Broadway, Bismarck, ND 58501, 258-5790.

May 15, Wahpeton, 8 R 3-4, 3 GG, $85, Laree Bumgarner, 304 5th Street S, Wahpeton, ND 58075, 642-2811.

May 16, Mandan, 10 R 1-2, RR, $100; 10 R 3-4, RR, $100, Steve Ressler, 114 Westwood St, Bis-marck, ND 58504, 527-1004.

May 17, Minot, 30 D-R 4, 3 GG, $80, Tom Landsiedel, PO Box 684, Minot, ND 58702, 857-4730.

May 17, Fargo, 16 R 1-2, 3 GG, $85; 16 R 3-4, 3 GG, $85, Sam Martin, 3253 17th Ave SW #303, Fargo, ND 58103, 367-4932.

May 25, Stump Lake, 8 REC 2 & BELOW, 3 GG, $85, Dwight Elfman, 1411 11th Ave SE, Devils Lake, ND 58301, 662-3928.

May 30 & 31, Beulah, 7 REC 2-4, RR, $100, Daren Eliason, 1300 Central Ave. N, Beulah, ND 58523, 873-2764.

May 31, Red Willow, 8 R 3-4, 3 GG, $85, Vernis Haines, 1540 Country Road 5, Binford, ND 58416, 676-2061.

June 6 & 7, Grand Forks, 8 C-D, RR, $110; 16 R 1-4, 3 GG, $110, Todd Lafferty, 427 Burdick Ct. Grand Forks, ND, 58203, 230-5924.

June 6, Jamestown, 8 OPEN, 3 GG, $85; 8 R 1-2, 3 GG, $85, Ryan Mikkelson, 1622 15th St SW, Jame-stown, ND, 58401, 320-6262.

June 7, Valley City, 5 R 1-2, RR, $95; 8 R 3-4, 3 GG, $85, Amy Pederson, PO Box 422, Valley City, ND 58072, 845-3294.

June 7, Bismarck, 8 C-D, 3 GG, $95; 8 R 1- R 2, 3 GG, $95; 8 R 3-4, 3 GG, $95, Doug Bowers, 424 W Broadway, Bismarck, ND 58501, 258-5790.

June 7, Jamestown, 8 R 3-4, 3 GG, $85; Ryan Mikkelson, 1622 15th St SW, Jamestown, ND 58401, 320-6262.

June 12-14, Fargo, 16 R 1-2, 4 GG, $200; 32 R 3-4, 4 GG, $200, Sam Martin, PO Box 697, Hawley, MN 56549, 367-4932.

Money TourneyJune 12-14, Fargo, 24 C;24

D, 4 GG, $200, Sam Martin, PO Box 697, Hawley, MN 56549, 367-4932.

Money TourneyJune 13 & 14, Center, 20 R

3-4, RR, $100, J D Hanson, PO Box 1836, Center, ND 58530, 794-8891.

June 13, Bismarck, 5 B-C, RR, $105; 5 D-R 1, RR, $105; 5 R 2-R 4, RR, $105; Doug Bowers, 424 W Broadway, Bismarck, ND 58501, 258-5790.

June 14, Stump Lake, 8 REC 2 & BELOW, 3 GG, $85, Dwight Elfman, 1411 11th Ave SE, Devils Lake, ND 58301, 662-3928.

June 21, Devils Lake, 16 R 2- R 4, 3 GG, $85, Terry Wallace, PO Box 446, Devils Lake, ND 58301, 662-8243.

June 26-28, McQuade, 8 O P 50+, CC, $110; 4 OP 60+, CC, $110, Mike Wolf, 1926 Billings Dr., Bismarck, ND 58504, 400-2255.

June 26-28, McQuade, 48 R 2, CC, $110; 128 R 3-4, CC, $110; 16 OP 35-49, D E, $170, Mike Wolf, 1926 Billings Dr., Bismarck, ND 58504, 400-2255.

June 26-28, McQuade, 8 A-B, D E, $300; 24 C, D E, $300; 48 D-R 1, CC, $170, Mike Wolf, 1926 Billings Dr., Bismarck, ND 58504, 400-2255.

June 26, Wahpeton, 8 R 1-2, 3 GG, $85, Laree Bumgarner, 304 5th Street S, Wahpeton ND 58075, 642-2811.

July 11, Turtle Lake, 16 R 3-4, 3 GG, $90, Darwin Saari, PO Box 338, Turtle Lake, ND 58575, 448-2596.

July 11 & 12, Grand Forks, 8 C-D, RR, $125; 24 R 1-4, 3 GG, $125; 8 OLD, RR, $125, Todd Laf-ferty, 427 Burdick Ct. Grand Forks, ND 58203, 230-5924.

July 11 & 12, Rugby, 12 R 2 & BELOW, RR, $100, Mark Hamil-ton, 1116 Main Avenue S, Rugby, ND 58368, 776-5092.

July 11 & 12, Dickinson, B, C, D, 3 GG, $90; R 1, R 2, 3 GG, $90;

R 3, R 4, 3 GG, $90, Ryan D. Nel-son, 2004 Fairway St, Dickinson, ND 58601, 456-2074.

July 12, Stump Lake, 8 R 2 & BELOW, CC, $85; Dwight Elfman, 1411 11th Ave SE, Devils Lake, ND 58301-662-3928.

July 19, Devils Lake, 6 C-R 1, R R, $85; 8 R 2-R 4, 3 GG, $85, Terry Wallace, PO Box 446, Devils Lake, ND 58301, 662-8243.

July 24, Wahpeton, 8 R 3-4, 3 GG, $85, Laree Bumgarner, 304 5th St S, Wahpeton, ND 58075, 642-2811.

July 25 & 26, Minot, 60 C & BELOW, 3 GG, $80, Tom Land-siedel, PO Box 684, Minot, ND 58702, 857-4730.

July 25 & 26, Red Willow, 16 R 3-4, 3 GG, $85, Vernis Haines, 1540 County Road 5, Binford, ND 58416, 676-2061.

July 25, Mandan, 8 R 1-2, 3 GG, $90; 16 R 3-4, 3 GG, $90, Ryan Stiefel, 2612 Berkshire Dr., Bis-marck ND 58503, 222-1702.

July 26, Valley City, 5 R 1-2, RR, $95; 8 R 3-4, 3 GG, $85, Amy Pederson, PO Box 422, Valley City ND 58072, 845-3294.

July 26, Beulah, 5 R 1-2, RR, $80; 5 R 3-4, RR, $80, Daren Elia-son, 1300 Central Ave N., Beulah, ND 58523, 873-2764.

Aug. 22 & 23, Center, 15 R 3-4, RR, $75, J D Hanson, PO Box 1836, Center, ND 58530, 794-8891.

Aug. 22 & 23, Fargo, 16 R 1- R 4, RR, $125; 16 OLD, RR, $125, Steve Granberg, 2513 4th Ave S, Moorhead, MN 56560, 218-236-5867.

Aug. 22 & 23, Red Willow, 16 R 3-4, 3 GG, $85, Vernis Haines, 1540 County Road 5, Binford ND 58416, 676-2061.

Sept. 5 & 6, Grand Rapids, 8 OPEN, 3 GG, $75, David Warcken, 6989 104th Ave SE, Lamoure, ND 58458, 883-5569.

Sept. 6 & 7, Red Willow, 16 R 3-4, 3 GG, $85, Vernis Haines, 1540 County Road 5, Binford, ND 58416, 676-2061.

Sept. 12 & 13 , UTTC, 24 TEAMS, D E, $250, Ruth Buffalo Zarazua, UTTC, 3315 University Dr. Bismarck ND 58504.

Sept. 13, Dickinson, R 1, R 2, 3 GG, $90; R 3, R 4, 3 GG, $90, Ryan D. Nelson, 2004 Fairway St., Dickinson, ND 58601, 456-2074.

Women’s Slow Pitch

May 10, Bismarck, 10 C & BELOW, RR, $95, Susan Heil-man, 710 N 18th St, Bismarck ND 58501, 258-6224.

Qualifying RoundMay 16, Mandan, 10 C-R 1, RR,

$100; 10 R 2-3, RR, $100, Steve Ressler, 114 Westwood St., Bis-marck, ND 58504, 527-1004.

June 6 & 7, Grand Forks, 6 C-D, RR, $110; 6 R 1-3, RR, $110, Todd Lafferty, 427 Burdick Ct., Grand Forks, ND 58203, 230-5924.

June 6, Bismarck, 10 C & BE-LOW, RR, $95, Susan Heilman, 710 N 18th St, Bismarck ND 58501, 258-6224.

June 12-14, Fargo, 8 C-D, 4 GG, $160; 8 R 1- R 3, 4 GG, $160, Sam Martin, PO Box 697, Hawley, MN 56549, 367-4932.

Money TourneyJune 21, Devils Lake, 8 R 1- R

3, 3 GG, $85, Terry Wallace, PO Box 446, Devils Lake, ND 58301, 662-8243.

June 26-28, McQuade, 10 C; 10 D, DE, $170; 20 R 1; 32 R 2, CC, $110; 32 R 3, CC, $110, Mike Wolf, 1926 Billings Dr, Bismarck ND 58504, 400-2255.

July 10, Wahpeton, 8 OPEN, C C, $85, Laree Bumgarner, 304 5th St S,Wahpeton, ND 58075, 642-2811.

July 11 & 12, Grand Forks, 6 C-D, RR, $125; 6 R 1-3, RR, $125, Todd Lafferty, 427 Bur-dick Ct. Grand Forks ND 58203, 230-5924.

July 11 & 12, Dickinson, D, R 1, 3 GG, $90; R 2, R 3, 3 GG, $90, Ryan D. Nelson, 2004 Fairway St, Dickinson ND 58601, 456-2074.

July 19, Devils Lake, 8 R 1- R 3, R R, $85, Terry Wallace, PO Box 446, Devils Lake ND 58301, 662-8243.

July 25 & 26, Minot, 25 C & BELOW, 3 GG, $80, Tom Landsie-del, PO Box 684, Minot ND 58702, 857-4730.

Sept. 12 & 13 , UTTC, 16 TEAMS, D E, $250, Ruth Buffalo Zarazua, UTTC, 3315 University Dr Bismarck ND 58504.

Sept. 13, Dickinson, R 1, R 2, 3

North Dakota Amateur Softball AssociationInvitational Tournament Schedule

GG, $90; R 3, 3 GG, $90, Ryan D. Nelson, 2004 Fairway St. Dickin-son ND 58601, 456-2074.

Co-EdMay 24 & 25, Red Willow, 16

OPEN, 3 GG, $85, Vernis Haines, 1540 County Road 5, Binford ND 58416, 676-2061.

June 6 & 7, Grand Forks, 12 OPEN, 3 GG, $110, Todd Lafferty, 427 Burdick Ct., Grand Forks, ND 58203, 230-5924.

July 3 & 4, Red Willow, 16 OPEN, 3 GG, $85, Vernis Haines, 1540 County Road 5, Binford ND 58416, 676-2061.

July 19, Stump Lake, 8 OPEN, 3 GG, $90, Dwight Elfman, 1411 11th Ave SE, Devils Lake, ND 58301, 662-3928.

Aug. 15 & 16, Red Willow, 16 OPEN, 3 GG, $85, Vernis Haines, 1540 County Road 5, Binford ND 58416, 676-2061.

Aug. 16, Valley City, 8 OPEN, 3 GG, $85, Amy Pederson, PO Box 422, Valley City ND 58072, 845-3294.

Aug. 22, Devils Lake, 8 OPEN, 3 GG, $95, Terry Wallace, PO Box 446, Devils Lake, ND 58301, 662-8243.

Aug. 30, Stump Lake, 8 OPEN, 3 GG, $90, Dwight Elfman, 1411 11th Ave SE, Devils Lake ND 58301, 662-3928.

Sept. 19, West Fargo, 16 OPEN, 3 GG, $100, Randy Olson, 1307 4th Ave. E, West Fargo ND 58078, 282-0766.

Men’s Fast PitchMay 23 & 24, Fargo, 10 B &

BELOW, R R, $250, Kyle Katerba, 3481 S University Dr. #101, Fargo, ND 58104, 730-4689.

June 13 & 14, Fargo, 10 OPEN, R R, $300, Kyle Katerba, 3481 S University Dr. #101, Fargo, ND 58104, 730-4689.

Junior OlympicGirls Fast Pitch

June 26-28 , McQuade, 12 YOUTH FAST PITCH, TBA, TBA, Mike Wolf, 1926 Billings Dr. Bismarck ND 58504, 400-2255.

Send to:Wahp-Breck Softball1900 North 4th StreetP.O. Box 490Wahpeton, ND 58074Phone: (701) 642-2811Fax: (701) 642-5053E-Mail: woppark@702com.net

2009 Wahpeton, North Dakota Slowpitch Softball Tournaments

Men’sDate Tourney Teams/Class Format FeeSun. April 26th Springtime Classic 5 Class B,C, D RR $85 5 Rec I, II 5 Rec III, IVFri., May 15th Poet’s Classic 8 Rec III or IV 3 GG $85Fri. June 19th Michael Gylten Memorial 8 Rec I & II 3 GG $85Fri. July 24th Randy Metcalf Memorial 8 Rec III-IV 3 GG $85

Women’sFri. July 10th Casey’s/Poet’s Tournament Open Single Elim $85

Bring the family & enjoy Chahinkapa Zoo, Nature Center, Prairie Rose Carousel,178’ Water Slide & 18-Hole Golf course

WAHPETON’SPRAIRIE ROSE CAROUSELCome On

Take a Spin!

Team Name:_________________________________________

Classifi cation:________________________________________

Coach’s Name:_______________________________________

Coach’s Address:_____________________________________

Home Phone:_______________Work Phone:_______________

Cell Phone:_________________Fax:_____________________

E-Mail:_____________________________________________

Payment guarantees your team a place in the tournament

• Indoor waterpark with 150-footwaterslide and hot tub

• Nickel’s Lounge and Seasons Cafe

• Across the street from Kirkwood Mall

• Exercise facilities, sauna and virtualarcade

16 – Softball News Spring 2009

Catch agreat rate

When you’re traveling the state

during the softball season,

simply call any of our great

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ask for our special

Fargo

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Bismarck

Fairfield Inn-North223.9077

Fairfield Inn-South223.9293

Grand Forks

Fairfield Inn775.7910

Minot

Fairfield Inn838.2424

Fargo

Comfort Inn-East280.9666

Comfort Inn-West282.9596

Comfort Suites237.5911

Econo Lodge232.3412

Grand Forks

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Jamestown

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Wahpeton

Comfort Inn642.1115Softball Team Rates.