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SPRING 2009 REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Registration and League Changes for Spring 2009
1) Minimum playing age for Tee Ball is 5 as of 4/30/09 (baseball) Click here for the Registration Process Instruction Summary. Click here for Detailed Instructions on Program Withdrawal. Click here for Information on Registration Special Requests. Registration for all players MUST be done ONLINE between Saturday, November 8th at 8am and Monday, December 1st at 5pm (EST). All players not registered ONLINE during that time in the appropriate category as noted below will only be permitted to register for the Wait List.
Players registering for the Spring 2009
season fall into one of two categories: a
Returning Spring 2008 player or a
New player.
Consistent with information provided for Fall 2008 registration, priority for
Spring registration is no longer provided to Fall players. As a result, players that only
participate in the Fall program are treated identically to players that have never participated
in a Spring or Fall program at Ocee Park (New players). The two registration categories are defined below:
A A New player
is a player who did not participate in the Spring 2008
program and did not have a sibling that participated in the Spring 2008 program.
These players must register for the LOTTERY
and are not guaranteed a spot in the program. Registration fee for all players is
$210
except for Tee Ball (baseball and softball) which is $175 (the
registration fee for Spring includes a standard picture package for
all players so no additional picture fees will be required). The registration
fee for Spring 2009 is identical to that of the Spring 2006, 2007, and 2008 seasons.
ONLINE REGISTRATION ONLY FOR THE SPRING 2009 SEASON
REGISTRATION FOR RETURNING SPRING 2008 PLAYERS
REGISTRATION LOTTERY FOR NEW PLAYERS - ONLINE ONLY Why is a Lottery Necessary? The Ocee Park baseball and softball program fills to capacity each season and generally has an extensive Wait List in most age groups. As a result, a system was devised (the lottery) whereby players would be selected for the limited number of openings in each age group. A random lottery was chosen over first-come first-serve registration in an effort to provide fair access to the program openings to anyone registering during the 3-week period. Due to the volume of registrants for the Ocee Park program, the number of lottery openings will be very small or non-existent in some age groups. More information on lottery slot availability will be available following the end of registration on December 1st when the number of players that are guaranteed program spots is known. It is very possible that certain age groups, such as the 5, 6, 7, and 8 year old baseball groups, may fill to capacity with returning players and that no lottery slots in these age groups may be available for new players.
WITHDRAWALS - DEADLINE AND PROCEDURE
2. Your refund request must be received prior to January 9th at 5pm (EST).
3. You must identify the player's name and age in the email.
4. You must receive an auto-response from the Ocee Park email system indicating
your withdrawal request was received by the deadline - retain this email receipt in the
event you need it for verification later.
5. You must receive a return email acknowledgement from the Registrar confirming
the withdrawal. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, the player in question
is still registered and you are not entitled to a refund. The acknowledgement from the
Registrar can be expected within 48-hours of the request. Please contact the Registrar if you
do not hear back in this time frame.
age determination guidelines - LEAGUE
AGE
Note: Ocee Park is not responsible for
dates used to determine league age and they are the same for most all youth organizations. We
understand that there will always be players born on either side of the age cutoff that may
prefer to play in a different age group. Ocee Park requires that players register for and play
in their age group based on the published cutoff dates.
Tee Ball Special Note: the minimum age for player registration
in Tee Ball is 5-years old (baseball or softball league age). Players that are not 5-years old
by April 30th, 2009, are not eligible to register for the Ocee Park program
in tee ball (baseball). Players that are not 5-years old by December
31st, 2008, are not eligible to register in tee ball (softball). For all divisions of Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken baseball, the date used to determine your player's league age will be April 30, 2009. For all divisions of Babe Ruth softball, the date used to determine your player's league age will be Dec. 31, 2008. Click here for the Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken baseball age chart. Click here for the Babe Ruth softball age chart. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND INFORMATION
PROOF OF AGE AND RESIDENCY * Copy of player’s certified birth certificate (or a suitable alternative) * Copy of a recent utility bill for the player’s permanent residence (or a suitable alternative) Important Note - players that do not reside within the Ocee Park Babe Ruth league boundary and are not returning Spring 2008 players are not eligible to register at Ocee Park. Babe Ruth baseball/softball does not have a waiver process for players that reside outside the league boundary and therefore those players may not register to play at Ocee Park. Ocee Park Babe Ruth League requires that all players establish age and residency requirements prior to being allowed to participate in the Spring 2008 season. During the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Ocee Park implemented a pilot program with Babe Ruth for our tournament team players that allowed us to verify the age and residency of a player and to issue that player a Babe Ruth identity card. This card can be used to verify eligibility of that player for regular season and tournaments in subsequent years without the need for additional substantiating documentation. The program was very successful and efforts will be made to extend this program to include regular season players as well as tournament team players in 2009. Baseball and softball players that are selected to the various Ocee Park tournament teams for the 2009 summer season will be required to undergo more stringent age and residency verification prior to being permitted to join a tournament team.
OCEE PARK BABE RUTH LEAGUE BOUNDARY
Please note that the Ocee Park Babe Ruth League boundary for 2009 is identical to that used
for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Players that reside outside the boundary area are
not eligible to register and play at Ocee Park unless the player (or a sibling) is a
Returning Spring 2008 player.
Babe Ruth League, Inc. does not have a waiver process for players that live
outside the boundary area.
PLAYER ASSESSMENTS
Special Majors
National Baseball Note: If you are a returning
Majors National Division baseball player from Spring 2008 (you played in the
baseball Majors National league in Spring 2008 as a 10-year old or 11-year old),
you are not required to attend assessments. You will be assigned to your
Spring 2008 team automatically for the 2009 season. This only applies
to Majors National players -- all Majors American league players from 2008 that will be
11- or 12-years old for the 2009 season must attend player assessments.
Special Majors Softball Note: If you are a returning
Majors NGFA Division softball player from Spring 2008 (you played in the
softball Majors NGFA league in Spring 2008 as a 10-year old or 11-year old),
you must attend assessments. All returning Majors NGFA players are guaranteed
a spot in the Majors NGFA league but re-balancing of teams may be necessary so
it is imperative that all returning players as well as new players attend the
player assessments. Players will be notified if for some reason they are not
required to attend player assessments.
Click here for
the Player Assessment Guidelines for Baseball.
Click here for
the Player Assessment Guidelines for Softball.
Please consult
the guidelines to determine which assessment sessions to
attend. Since playing up in age group is not permitted in 2009,
determining the assessment session to attend is simple. All players
should attend the assessment session pertinent to their age group based
on their league age.
LEAGUE INFORMATION FOR THE SPRING 2009 SEASON
In softball, a starter league for
5- and 6-year old girls has been added. This allows girls to play together starting
at the age of 5-years old and to begin to familiarize themselves with the basics
of softball. Previously, 5-year old girls only had tee league baseball as an option.
Additionally, 6-year old girls will be combined with the 5-year olds allowing the
8U age group to be exclusively 7- and 8-year old players. This
will enhance the experience for all of those age groups affected. A combination of
machine pitch and tee hitting will be used in the softball tee league.
In baseball tee league,
two leagues will be created instead of a combined league for all 5- and 6-year
old players. The 5-year old baseball tee league will be focused on beginners
and will feature hitting from a tee. The 6-year old baseball tee league will
be more advanced in instruction and will feature a combination of coach pitch
and tee hitting.
A significant change in the
structure of 7- and 8-year old baseball is in store for 2009. In the past, we
have offered a Farm and A League for these age groups and divided the players
based on assessments instead of age. For 2009, after experimenting for several
years, we are moving back to an age based league structure. All 7-year old players
will be part of the Farm League and all 8-year old players will play in the A
League.
In both Majors National
baseball and Majors NGFA softball (our highest level competitive leagues for
11- and 12-year old players), players that played on teams in those leagues
in Spring 2008 that are again eligible as 11- or 12-year olds in Spring 2009
will return to their team from last season. These players also do not need to
attend player assessments. It is expected that the 11- and 12-year olds in
baseball will be divided into Majors American and Majors National leagues
based on the results of player assessments. In softball, a similar division
of players will be made into the Majors In-Park and Majors NGFA
leagues based on assessment results.
In Spring 2008, the softball
Majors Division for 10-, 11- and 12-year olds was split based on the results of player
assessments to create a highly competitive Majors NGFA league and a second Majors
In-Park league. Both leagues will again be offered in Spring 2009. While selection
to the Majors NGFA league is based on the results of skills assessment, parents may
request that their daughter be assigned to the Majors In-Park league. Click here to
read more about the two leagues including the requirements and differences.
The league
alignments for Spring 2009 reflect the continuing commitment on the part of the
Board to provide the best baseball and softball experiences for our
players. Based on parent and coach surveys from the Spring 2008
season, the Board has addressed a number of issues with the new 2009
league alignments.
Ocee Park will
operate the following Divisions and Leagues in the Spring 2009
season. See the table below for more information on the leagues
offered in Spring 2009 as well as the general age requirements for
those leagues. The ages noted for each division and league are the
player league ages as determined under the Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken League guidelines.
All baseball leagues for players 12-years old and under operate as
part of the Cal Ripken Division of Babe Ruth. All baseball leagues
for players 13-years old and up as well as softball operate as part
of the Babe Ruth Division.
Sport
Division
League
Ages
League Type
Baseball
Tee
Ball
Tee
Ball
5
Year Olds
Coach Pitch/Tee
Baseball
Tee
Ball
Tee
Ball
6
Year Olds
Coach Pitch
Baseball
Minors
Farm
7 Year Olds
Machine Pitch
Baseball
Minors
A
8 Year Olds
Machine Pitch
Baseball
Minors
AA
9 Year Olds
Player Pitch
Baseball
Minors
AAA
10 Year Olds
Player Pitch
Baseball
Majors
Major 60/46
11-12 Year Olds
Player Pitch
Baseball
Majors
Major 70/50
11-12 Year Olds
Player Pitch
Baseball
Junior
Junior
13-15 Year Olds
Player Pitch
Baseball
Senior
Senior
16-18
Year Olds
Player Pitch
Softball
Tee Ball
Tee Ball
5-6 Year Olds
Machine Pitch/Tee
Softball
Minors
Farm
7-8 Year Olds
Machine Pitch
Softball
Minors
AA
9-10
Year Olds
Player Pitch
Softball
Majors
Major In-Park
10-12 Year Olds
Player Pitch
Softball
Majors
Major NGFA
10-12 Year Olds
Player Pitch
Softball
Senior
Senior
13-16
Year Olds
Player Pitch |
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2009 SPRING SCHEDULE REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR WITHDRAWAL VOLUNTEER MEETING PLAYER ASSESSMENT PLAYER DRAFTS PRACTICES BEGIN OPENING DAY PICTURE DAY SPRING BREAK ALL STAR DAY SEASON ENDS 2009 LEAGUES softball |
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