West Carleton / Arnprior Little League Baseball 2010

We interrupt the hockey season for a brief but important message about baseball in West Carleton-Arnprior. Please accept my apologies if this has reached you in error, and just ignore it. I have been putting together the receiver list from old e-mails, contacts, and help from a few others. I have certainly missed some folks, (for example, the WCA Minor parents) and I may have inadvertently added some people who probably do not belong on this list. If you know any adults who should see this e-mail and don't see their address in the "To:" list, please forward it.

AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL ADULTS OF THE WEST CARLETON-ARNPRIOR LITTLE LEAGUE

I am writing to you to get you thinking about the future of WCALL. I know that a lot of us are busy with other things right now, like hockey, but given the current state of WCALL, the time for action is NOW.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The bottom line is that WCALL seems to have no active Executive at the moment, and if there is to be any youth baseball in WCA this year, we need to find some adult volunteers, and quickly.

WHO AM I?

My name is Jim Dean and I am the Little League District Administrator

(DA) for Ontario District 2. That means I oversee these 5 Little

Leagues: Carlingwood-Frank Ryan (CFRLL), East Nepean (ENLL), Kanata (KLL), Pinecrest (PLL) and West Carleton-Arnprior (WCALL). I am also the President of Little League Ontario. Both of these roles are volunteer positions. My son grew up in the Pinecrest LL, and while he is too old for it now and has moved on, I continue on as a volunteer as many other adults have done after their children have grown up.

Each League runs itself, normally without outside interference. The DA's role is to liaise between the League and Little League Canada, and also coordinate activities involving two or more leagues (for example, the Spring and Summer Interlocking Schedule). The DA may not belong to any one league, and he or she helps each league play by Little League rules and the League's own constitution. One of my jobs is to help run the Districts every year, and as such I have helped run Districts in WCA two or three times in the last 4 years.

WHY WRITE NOW?

Although I am writing as your DA, on behalf of Little League, what I am saying is true regardless of whether your baseball program is run as a Little League, a member of the Ontario Baseball Association, or a community sports group. We need adult volunteers.

I have had the pleasure of working with two very fine people in the role of President of WCALL, Carol Devine and Bill Ruddy. But both have moved on and we need to find a new President. In fact, I believe WCALL needs an entire Executive. January and February is when Little Leagues start their registration and planning for the upcoming season. I do not know of any adult who is doing this planning for the league.

WHAT DO WE NEED?

I am writing to beg anyone with an interest to help us get started and form a League Executive. As spelled out in the WCALL Constitution, we have to have an "Annual General Meeting" and elect an Executive. For a league the size of WCALL, we would recommend at least four grown-ups: A President, a Vice-President, a Treasurer and a Registrar. These should be different people. Additionally we should consider roles like an equipment manager, field manager, coaches, etc. Again, this advice applies whether you are Little League, OBA, or independent.

WHAT IF WE CAN'T FIND AN EXECUTIVE FOR WCALL?

What happens if we don't find some adult volunteers? That's simple. You won't have youth baseball. If WCALL does not exist, players will NOT be allowed to cross boundaries into leagues like Kanata. For one, a DA does not have the power to re-draw boundaries. A DA can only recommend to Little League International that a change be made. Given that Kanata Little League is already very big relative to other leagues in the area, it is not likely that Little League would approve making it bigger. But that is a moot point anyway because Kanata's registration already fills up the available diamond time in Kanata. There is no room for WCA players to go and join KLL, and the rules don't support it anyway.

Period. (And I'll suggest that no other league would want to add 100 or more players whose parents are reluctant to volunteer.)

WHAT ELSE CAN WE CONSIDER?

Assuming that WCA stays with Little League, we could discuss whether moving to District 8 (with Perth, Mississippi Mills, Renfrew and

Pembroke) would be better for your children than staying in District 2.

We could discuss whether a merger with another league is possible. With Kanata, the answer is No. But perhaps one of the District 8 leagues would be interested. The DA of District 8 (Rick Wilson) and I will listen to any proposal that has the best interests of the children at heart.

NEXT STEPS:

* Organize an AGM

* Elect an executive

* Start the registration process

* Apply for annual Little League Charter

SUMMARY

If you have read this far, I thank you.

I really want baseball to succeed in WCA, but it can't happen without some adult participation. Please consider what you can do to help, or the children of WCA will not have a league to play in.

Please let me know if you can help set up an AGM for WCALL and help us ensure that there will be a place for WCA children to play baseball.

Anyone in WCA having children aged 7-18 who want to play baseball next spring and/or summer should seriously consider attending the AGM and volunteering for a role within the League. Even if you don't volunteer for a role within the league, the AGM is the place where you get to have a say about what directions the League could take.

Any interested party should contact me by e-mail at:

jimdean@littleleague.ca, or by telephone at (613) 794-5134.

Regards,

Jim Dean

District Administrator, Little League Ontario District 2 President, Little League Baseball Ontario Inc.

jimdean@littleleague.ca<mailto:jimdean@littleleague.ca>

http://ontd2ll.fuzzybeagle.com/

http://llont.fuzzybeagle.com/