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Volume 32, Number 3 | NORTH DAKOTA STATE AMATEUR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION | SPRING 2016
Kyle Christensen
Jeff Burgess
The NDASA Hall of Fame
Selection Committee meeting in
conjunction with the Winter meeting of the NDASA selected five
long-time players to the Softball
Hall of Fame. They are Larry
Bellerud of Fargo; Jeff Burgess
of Bismarck; Kyle Christensen of
Glen Ullin; Jon Kegel of Fargo and
Michelle Paul of Bismarck. They
will be inducted at the Annual Hall
of Fame Banquet on Saturday,
April 23 in Jamestown. The date is
also the date of the Annual Spring
Meeting of the North Dakota Amateur Softball Association. All current members of the Hall of Fame
are invited and will be introduced
individually. Family, friends and
softball fans are also invited to
the event which will begin with an
open bar at 4:30 p.m. followed by
a buffet dinner and the induction
ceremony. The early hour will allow attendees to drive home after
the event.
fielder. He played fast pitch with
outstanding teams from Minot,
Bismarck and Fargo and also with
nationally ranked teams from Minnesota and Wisconsin. He was a
member of the 2003 Minot Barley
Pop team which won the Class A
National title. His fast pitch record
includes play in five state tournaments, 2 Regionals, 5 ASA Nationals, 5 ISC World Tournaments and 4
NAFA Triple A World Series.
In his slow pitch career, Kyle
played on top tier teams from
Bismarck, Minot and Mandan. He
played in 25 state tournaments, 2
Regionals, 7 ASA Nationals and one
Senior Softball 40 and Over World
Championship.
Kyle’s All American credentials
include lst Team All-American in
2002 in the ASA Class A National
tournament in fast pitch and 2nd
Team All American teams in 35
Masters and 40 Masters tournaments in slow pitch softball.
KYLE CHRISTENSEN:
Kyle Christensen may have
been one of the most athletic and
versatile softball players to ever
play in North Dakota. He is one of
the very few players in the state to
be named to All American teams
in both fast pitch and slow pitch.
Kyle played fast pitch softball for
14 years mostly as a shortstop and
outfielder but he could and did play
every position including pitcher
during his career.
After switching to slow pitch
softball, Kyle played for 26 years
primarily as a shortstop and out-
JEFF BURGESS:
Jeff Burgess who played for 32
years in Bismarck before his untimely death in an auto accident was
elected posthumously. He played
with some of the top teams during
his career, always batting in the top
third of the lineup. An excellent hitter with good power, he was noted
as one of the best defensive outfielders in the state. His long, lanky
stride enabled him to cover ground
and make plays which would elude
others. A former champion javelin
thrower at NDSU who still owns
records at that school, Jeff had an
Jon Kegel
Michelle Paul
Larry Bellerud
ship honors in 1990 in Division C
and again in Class B in 1996. The
team also participated in six National tournaments in Oklahoma City
in Class C in 1990; Reno, Nevada
in Class C in 1991 in which they
finished in fourth place. In 1995
they entered the Class B National
in Marietta, Georgia in 1995 and in
1997 qualified for the National in
Orlando, Florida in the Class B Division, finishing in 5th place. They
jumped to the Major Division in
2011 in Elhart, Indiana and finished
a respectable 5th and in 2012 the
against played in the Major Division
in Ashland, Ohio where they earned
a 4th place.
In addition to his activities managing and sponsoring, Jon also
served as Tournament Director for
the Holm’s Classic tournament in
Fargo and became involved in ISC
fast pitch where he served on the
National Committee in 1997, 2000
and 2004.
range. She was one of the mainstays
on the team sponsored by Dr. Marc
Fiechtner which dominated the
Women’s league in Bismarck while
winning a state title in 1992 plus
three Regional titles in 1990, 1992
and 1996. She participated in 32
state tournaments, three Regionals
and six Nationals as well as three
Co-Ed Nationals. In addition, she
assisted in managing two women’s
teams. Michelle was known as a
determined competitor on the field
but always maintained a positive
attitude toward the game, her teammates and her opponents.
Selection Committee adds five to Hall Of Fame
outstanding arm as well.
He played in 30 state tournaments
and four nationals. His batting average was about .600 and he played on
teams which captured six McQuade
tournament titles. In addition to his
outstanding playing career, Jeff was
active on the administrative side of
the game. He was a long time board
member on the Bismarck Slow
Pitch board plus was the league
representative to the state office. He
also served on a committee which
raised the funds to construct the
softball fields at Cottonwood and
also assisted on local committees
hosting national tournaments.
JON KEGEL:
Jon Kegel of Fargo was nominated as a manager and sponsor of
fast pitch teams for over 29 years.
In addition, he also managed and
sponsored youth fast pitch in the
Fargo area.
Jon has an amazing record as a
manager/sponsor with 1,348 wins
and 592 losses. His Junior Boy’s
18 and under team which he managed and sponsored for five years
won state championships in three
consecutive years, 1987, 1988 and
1989.
His Kegel Sign teams won the
1990 Regional Championship
in Class B fast pitch. This team
participated in 22 NDASA state
tournaments; 11 National Qualifiers, Six Regionals and 9 National
tournaments from 1985 thru 1996.
Jon also sponsored the Kegel
Black Knights from 1990 until the
present winning state Champion-
Annual Spring Meeting April 23
Hall of Fame Banquet, same date
State Softball Commissioner
Dick Gulmon has announced the
date for the Annual Spring Meeting
and Hall of Fame Banquet. Both
events will be held on Saturday,
April 23 at the Gladstone Hotel in
downtown Jamestown.
The Spring meeting of NDASA
will begin with coffee and rolls at
8:30 a.m. followed by a general
meeting at 9:00. Separate meetings
of the various divisions will follow
before the group meets again to
hear reports from the Men’s Slow
Pitch Division; the Women’s Slow
Pitch Division, the JO Fast Pitch
Division and the Umpires.
The Hall of Fame Banquet and
Induction ceremony for five new
members is also scheduled for that
evening with the banquet beginning at 5:30 so that attendees at
the state meeting can stay for the
Hall of Fame ceremony and still get
home that evening. A cash bar will
open at 4:30 with a buffet dinner to
follow. All current Hall of Fame
members are invited and urged to
attend. Each will be individually
introduced prior to the banquet.
Anyone interested in attending is
also invited.
Tickets may be obtained by
contacting the NDASA office in
Jamestown. Phone number is 701952-4448.
MICHELLE PAUL:
Michelle Paul was one of the
talented threesome who played slow
pitch softball in Bismarck for over
30 years at the highest level. She is
the last, but certainly not the least of
the trio and deserves to stand with
the other outstanding women players in the state Hall of Fame.
Michelle played for 34 years for
a variety of sponsors compiling a
batting average of .560. She could
and did play either outfield or infield
as the situation required. She was
regarded as an excellent third baseman with a strong arm and excellent
LARRY BELLERUD :
who began his softball career in
Grafton before moving to Fargo was
nominated in the player category
and also in the sponsor category.
He played for 39 seasons and sponsored teams for 30 of those years.
As a player, he was noted as a fine
defensive player at second base and
as a middle infielder. He hit for
an average over .600 for his long
career and was noted a clutch hitter. He played in 38 tournaments,
state, regional and national with
teams which won 18 state titles.
He played with top-tier teams including Tharaldson’s; Miller Lite;
and Bellerud Transport. His teams
won 27 League championships and
made twenty appearance in National
events. He was twice voted to All
American teams, 3rd. Team.
During his 30 career as a sponsor, he sponsored both men’s and
women’s teams which were very
successful in state softball circles.
2016 Important Dates
NDASA Spring Meeting
Hall of Fame Banquet & Induction Ceremony
League Registration Deadline
Roster Deadline
Roster Final Change Date
McQuade 41st Annual Tournament
Classification Meeting
Men’s Masters 35 National in Mandan
2016 National Council Meeting-Shreveport, La.
April 23
April 23
June 3
June 13
June 21
June 24-26
July 8
Aug. 26-28
Nov. 12-17
2–
Softball News Fall 2015
President’s Report
As Winter draws nearer to an
end (still has some punch left as the
high for today as I write this is only
Zero)-it is time to start thinking of
softball again. It is just around the
corner. How time flies, seems like
just yesterday we were wrapping up
State and National tournaments. It
is time to get your teams together
and making sure of your sponsors
for the coming year. And please
remember to support your sponsors
when you can.
It is with a heavy heart and
much sadness to report of the sudden passing of Scott Schafer this
past Nov. Scott was our JO Commissioner along with many other
duties in our State Office. He was
my go-to guy along with Shirley his
mother at the State Office. They
were both a huge help to me each
softball season. Because of Scott’s
passing and all the help he was for
Shirley she has decided to retire
effective the end of 2015. The
Schafer family has been a large part
of my softball career with NDASA.
Tiny was the State Commissioner
for many years and gave me my
start in NDASA way back in the
early 70’s when he appointed me
as League Rep for Ransom County
League. And like they say the rest
is history. Shirley I would like to
take this time to personally thank
you for all your hard work and
dedication and time put into our
great Organization. You have been
very approachable and helpful to
me for many years. This is wishing you a very happy and healthful
retirement.
With the passing of Scott and
Shirley’s retirement it left a big hole
in our State Office. Thankfully RC
Courtright has stepped up to be our
Director of Operations and will fill
the shoes of Scott and Shirley. RC
is currently our webmaster and will
continue that job with his new duties. Thank you RC.
Mary Hager our Women’s
Commissioner is retiring after the
2016 season. So we have elected
Amy Anderson from West Fargo to
take her place starting in 2017. We
hired Amy now so that she could
work with Mary for this year to
help transition into her new job.
Welcome Amy
At the Winter meeting we
passed the raising of State entry
fees for the coming year. They are
as follows- Men’s Slowpitch Div. 1,
2, 3 will go to $225, with all other
classes to $175. Women’s Slowpitch classes C/D will go to $200,
with other classes going to $175.
JO- all Fast Pitch will go to $175
and all Slow Pitch going to $125.
Men’s /Women’s Master is going
to $175. Coed will go to $150
for all teams, both registered and
non-registered. Basically all went
up $25. The Men’s and Women’s
Slow pitch entry fees are due before
the Classification Meeting. Men’s
Masters is due July 1st. Women’s
Masters is due July 10th. And Coed
is due Sept. 1st.
Here are some important
dates to remember for the coming
year. Spring Meeting and Hall of
Fame Banquet will be April 23rd.
Remember that the Hall of Fame
Banquet is open to everyone. It is
a great time to honor the five new
inductees along with many of those
already in the Hall that come to this
Banquet each year. The Classification Meeting is July 8th. League
registration deadline is June 3rd.
Roster deadline is June 13th into the
State Office. (After that there is a
$25 late fee.). And the final roster
change deadline is June 21st.
Mandan was awarded the 2016
National Men’s Master 35 tournament that will be held Aug 26-28th.
This Masters tournament will be
broken into 2 divisions this yearan upper and a lower division. We
are hoping that this will help in our
participation for this tournament.
So people start getting your Master
35 teams together, you will not get
a National Tournament any closer
than this. A couple of other Nationals that are close this year are: D
Northern will be in Red Wing, MN.
And the Men’s E/Rec Northern and
the Women’s C/D both will be held
in Sioux Falls, SD. These tournaments will be held over the Labor
Day weekend.
Last year was the first year for
our Tournament series and it was
very successful. It will be held
again this year with a few minor
changes. Any questions on this
Series please contact Scott Brahos
or Jack Jones.
Lastly I would like to congratulate and welcome the 5 newest
members to our Hall of Fame. They
are Larry Bellerud from Fargo,
Jack Lukes
Michele Paul from Bismarck, Kyle
Christensen from Glen Ullin, Jeff
Burgess from Bismarck, and Jon
Kegal from Moorhead. Congrats
to these folks for this great honor.
So it’s about time to put away
your ice fishing gear and dig out
your balls, bats, and gloves for
another great year of softball. Good
luck to everyone for a fun season.
See you around the diamonds.
Sincerely,
Jack Lukes- State President and
Men’s Slowpitch Commissioner
Some Thoughts By Walt
As I started to write this column
I watched the snow drifting down
outside my window and wondered
how long before we can really think
about softball. We have enjoyed a
pretty open Winter with little snow
and only one or two cold snaps so
I don’t want to complain but I am
ready for Spring.
Our NDASA family has undergone some major changes during
the off-season including the sudden
death of Scott Schafer, our Commissioner of JO Slow Pitch and the
retirement as Secretary of NDASA
of Shirley Schafer. We have had
a Schafer involved with NDASA
for the past 55 years since the late
Duane “Tiny” Schafer became the
state commissioner in 1960 and his
wife Shirley became the unofficial
Secretary of the organization. After “Tiny’s” death in 1996, Shirley
assumed the official position of
Secretary and has served faithfully since that time. Her oldest
son, Scott, was also involved with
the organization, most recently as
the JO Slow Pitch Commissioner.
An obituary of Scott can be found
elsewhere in this edition and a story
about Shirley’s retirement in also
documented in this issue.
Our talented Webmaster RC
Courtright of Jamestown has assumed most of the duties formerly
performed by Shirley Schafer and
will also continue to maintain the
NDASA Website. He has been
named the Director of Operations
for the organization. A separate
story on his new job is also to
be found in this issue. Shirley’s
retirement also required that we
found a replacement for her as the
Secretary of the Hall of Fame. We
were fortunate to obtain the services
of Linda Lyman, wife of Hall of
Fame member Mike Lyman. As I
write this, I am aware that there are
several duties associated with that
job and between Sharon Morgan
and me we are trying to assist Linda
as she settles into her new job.
While I am on the topic of
replacement personnel, I have to
report that the newspaper which
produces and prints this paper has
also lost some key people who were
directly involved in the production
and layout of this paper. I was fortunate that Tami Engel of Garrison
was the person who did most of
the layout and detail work on each
issue for at least the last 25 years.
She left for other employment and
her replacement has just notified me
that she has also taken another job
so I have another new person with
whom to work. During this change
over period I found that despite my
misgivings the new people have
all done excellent work and I have
found no problems with the newspaper personnel.
I want to congratulate the five
new members of the NDASA Hall
of Fame who will be inducted at a
banquet on Saturday, April 23 at the
Gladstone Hotel in Jamestown. Selected this year are Larry Bellerud
of Fargo, Jeff Burgess of Bismarck
who was selected posthumously;
Kyle Christensen of Glen Ullin;
Jon Kegel of Fargo and Michelle
Paul of Bismarck. All are richly
deserving of the honor with many
years of softball history and accomplishments.
I also want to pass along my
complements to Dave Frueh and
the Mandan Softball Association
as well as Jack and Cheryl Jones
for netting not one but two National tournaments for that city.
The original plan was to bid on
the 2017 Men’s E/Rec tournament
which was awarded following the
normal procedure at the National
Council meeting in November.
The Mandan contingent was then
asked to also host the Men’s Masters 35 tournament for 2016. That
event was originally scheduled for
Ridgeland, Mississippi but they
declined citing poor attendance in
prior tournaments. Mandan asked
for and received some special
up again. The problem is 50 states
have different rules and certifications that a coach or coaches must
have before a team can play in that
state. Be advised that if you are
going out of state, to check with
the tournament managers, to see if
any additional concussion training
is required by a coach or coaches.
In some states it is a misdemeanor
on a coach should they not have
that training and a team plays.
The concussion training website
is the National Federation of High
Schools. The online courses can be
finished on that website.
Class B will be played in Fargo.
Those state tournament dates are
June 2nd – June 4th. They will be held
in conjunction with the NDHSAA
baseball tournaments for both Class
A and B.
Sioux Falls, SD will be hosting the National 14U tournament.
They can take up to 128 teams and
is filling up fast with teams. That
tournament will be held July 30th
thru August 7th of this year.
Walt Stack
consideration which was approved
by the Executive Director of ASA
so the tournament will be held in
Mandan on the weekend before
Labor Day. NDASA will be allowed to have pick-up teams enter
this tournament.
Finally, I am hopeful that I can do
some umpiring this coming season.
I missed being out there being hollered at last year. See you around
the diamonds.
J.O. Fastpitch Update
Scott Schafer a longtime NDASA Home office official, passed
away of an apparent heart attack
back in November. My sympathies
go out to his family, and he will be
greatly missed by me and the JO
fastptich community.
ASA/USA softball is in the process of becoming just USA softball.
Remember USA softball is the only
organization that fields a national
and Olympic team. Fastpitch softball will be back in the Olympics
in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games.
I just returned from the national
JO commissioner meeting held
February 5th and 6th in Oklahoma
City.
The Conference was highlighted
by former UCLA head coach, Sue
Enquist. She gave the attendees
a look into Division 1 athletics,
from recruiting, academics, team
building, and parent involvement.
In addition, she wanted to review
her history of the game and how
ASA/USA softball was involved
in career, and her desire to get USA
softball back to its prominant status.
The JO commissioners discussed
a number of topics that are affecting the JO program and the future
of softball. Projects include, an 8U
national tournament, a 12U National Allstar teams consisting of
16 to 32 teams playing a national
in Oklahoma City on Labor Day
weekend. Adding a JO cup for the
16U and 14U age divisions and cutting the regions down from 12 to 8.
The Council did defeat opening up
a C division last fall. That discussion came up again and there were
both number of positive and negative discussions on that topic again.
The topic of concussions came
The ND High School season will
start on March 21st. A player must
have 9 practices in before they can
play in a game. The NDHSAA state
tournaments, will be held in different venues this year. The Class
A will be in Jamestown, and the
Grand Forks looks forward to
hosting the NDASA state tournament to be held July 15th – 17th. As
like last year, the tournament will
start on Friday night. There will be
both Class A and B divisions for
ages 10U, 12u, 14u, 16u and 18u.
The Northern Regionals B will be
held in late July so please check
the ASA website for those specific
dates. The B 10u Rochester, MN,
Brian Neuhardt
12u Pekin IL, 14u Overland Park,
KS, 16U Watertown, WI, and the
18u B will be in Bowling Green,
KY. The Northern A tournaments
12U Rochester, MN, 16U Ames,
IA, and the 18u A will be in Rochester, MN. All North Dakota teams
are eligible to play in these tournaments as long as your team plays in
the NDASA state tournament.
Softball News Fall 2013 – 3
Ump Chat
No matter what time of year it
is, it seems as though people are
always ready for softball. With
Spring rapidly approaching, things
are definitely gearing up for another
season of softball in North Dakota.
Once again, the upcoming season comes with minimal new rule
changes which are great for both
umpires and players. However,
there has been a big change with
18 Easton bats being put on the
banned bat list. These are all older
Easton bats, but several of them are
still being used in slowpitch and
fastpitch. We will work diligently
as umpires to sticker these illegal
bats as we run across them. The
subject of these new illegal bats
will be covered extensively at our
manager’s rules clinics and it will
be the responsibility of the managers to pass the word on to their
players.
However, it is ultimately the
responsibility of players and managers to know that these bats are
now illegal and to ensure that they
are not used in sanctioned play! If
a player is caught using an illegal
bat, they will be ejected from the
game and then could face a suspension from play of 1 to 5 years!
So, be sure NOT to use these bats!
Ignorance will not be an excuse if
you are caught using an illegal bat!
We are expecting that players will
help umpires police the use of these
bats. Look elsewhere in this issue
for the complete list of the Easton
banned bats.
Since all of the banned Easton
bats that were used in the past have
an orange sticker, PLEASE bring
ALL of your bats to your manager’s
rules clinics whether they have an
orange sticker or not so you can
have them all re-checked. Since
every manager is required to attend a rules clinic in your area, it
will be a good opportunity to put
an illegal bat sticker on any of the
banned Easton bats so that they are
not accidently used during a game.
Umpires will also be given a supply
of illegal bat stickers and we will
continue to check bats throughout
the course of the season.
As I mentioned before, as umpires we will be as diligent as we
can to get illegal stickers on the
banned Easton bats, but ultimately
if a bat isn’t presented to an umpire
to be checked, it is the responsibility of the player to NOT use a
banned bat. PLEASE call me, text
me, or email me if you have any
questions at all concerning the new
Easton banned bats.
Elsewhere in this issue is a complete listing of the rule changes for
2014. We will go over the entire list
of rule changes as well as discuss
all the new banned bats at all of the
umpire rules clinics and all of the
manager’s rules clinics throughout
the state. If you have any questions
concerning any of the rule changes,
be sure and let me know.
We will be holding several classroom rules clinics for managers and
umpires. We will also be holding
several field clinics for umpires
throughout the state that everyone is
invited to attend. At past field clinics we have stretched a string ten
feet high and another string six feet
high between the pitcher’s mound
and home plate to use as a training
tool for umpires to see where the ten
foot limit is and where the six foot
minimum is. This is a great training
tool for both umpires and players.
I highly recommend that pitch-
ers, players, and managers take the
time to attend the portion of the
field clinic at the beginning where
we cover the pitching height to get
a true feel of where the ten foot arc
limit really is. Last year we had a
lot of players attend our field clinics and a lot of eyes were opened
at our field clinics by players and
umpires alike when we stretch the
string and start throwing pitches.
So, please consider attending a field
clinic and take a look at the pitching
arc. There is a complete listing of
classroom clinics and field clinics
listed elsewhere in this issue.
We have a great opportunity for
players and umpires to be a part
of a national tournament in North
Dakota this summer. Mandan
will be hosting the Men’s Masters
35 & Over National Tournament
August 26-28, 2016. There will
be a competitive division and a
recreational division which should
really increase participation in this
tournament. I am sure Jack Jones
will be covering this tournament
in more detail in his column. This
national tournament will be a great
opportunity for our Men’s Masters
teams, so start thinking about getting your team put together. This is
also going to be an excellent opportunity for umpires as this is an Elite
qualifier tournament, one of only a
few in ASA that allows umpires to
achieve Elite status.
We will also have a lot of great
opportunities for umpires from ND
to work national tournaments this
summer. Besides the Men’s Masters 35 in Mandan, we have already
secured some great opportunities
this summer for some of our umpires to work a national tournament
outside the state. We have already
secured a slot in Men’s B National
Tournament in Oklahoma City, OK.
Tom Hamkens from Bismarck has
been assigned to work that tournament. Gerald “Shorty” Payne from
Grand Forks has been selected to
umpire the Women’s Armed Forces
Tournament in San Antonio, TX,
Naomi Erdahl from Bismarck has
been assigned to umpire the ASA/
USA JO Cup Fastpitch Tournament in Atlanta, GA, and Ben
Birkemeyer from Bismarck has
been assigned to umpire the ASA/
USA Worth Championship Series
in Oklahoma City, OK. These are
some excellent tournament assignments for some of our ND umpires.
We will also be receiving umpire
assignments for the Women’s C and
D National Tournament in Sioux
Falls, SD, the Girls JO fastpitch in
Rochester MN, and the Men’s E
National Tournament which will be
held in Sioux Falls. I am also working on a couple of other umpire
exchanges for national tournaments
outside our region. All of these
opportunities to work outside our
state are great opportunities for our
umpires to showcase their skills.
I would like to recognize and
congratulate Terry O’Clair from
Bismarck who has been approved
for Elite umpire status from the
ASA national office. Elite umpire
status is the highest recognition an
umpire can achieve in ASA/USA
Softball. If you see Terry, be sure
and congratulate him for all his
hard work and dedication in reaching Elite status! North Dakota’s
umpire program is fortunate to have
several umpires who have achieved
Elite status. It is a great testament
to our umpire program. O’Clair
joins the following ND Elite um-
Mike Wolf
Umpire in Chief
pires: Elliott Gerhardt, Allan Ziemann, Walt Stack, Naomi Erdahl,
and Michael Wolf from Bismarck,
Tom Harty, Jamestown, and Gerald
Payne, Grand Forks.
It is also time for my annual plea
to recruit more umpires. Leagues
around the state are growing, and
some umpires retire, and some just
don’t come back, so we are always
in need of new umpires. Every
city in North Dakota will need
more umpires. Players make good
umpires because they have a keen
knowledge of the rules and a feel
for the game. Plus, where else can
you find a part-time job—outdoors,
where you can make around about
twenty five dollars an hour?
If you have any interest at all to
umpire, please contact me and I can
put you in touch with someone from
your area of the state. Or, check out
the listing of the field and classroom
clinics in this issue and you can
just show up and register. If you
have any questions or concerns
about umpiring, please contact me
Ump Chat
continued on page 4
Commissioner’s Column
Welcome again to another softball season in North Dakota. When
it is time to write this column on the
upcoming softball season, we know
that we are at the tail end of winter
and softball is around the corner.
2015 ended on a very sad note
with the passing of Scott Schafer.
Scott had been very instrumental
in the operation of the State Office
with Shirley Schafer for several
years. With Scott’s passing came
the resignation of Shirley Schafer
who has been a part of the NDASA
program for years. The late Tiny
Schafer was appointed Commissioner in North Dakota in the early
60’s so the Schafer family, Tiny,
Shirley and Scott have been an important part of our program for over
50 years. We wish Shirley the very
best in retirement and thank her for
all she has done for the NDASA
over the years.
With the changes at the State
Office we have appointed RC Courtright of Jamestown to the position
of Director of Operations for the
NDASA. RC will assume all of
the duties previously handled by
the Schafers at the State Office. RC
is an outstanding young man who I
believe will be a tremendous addition to our staff. We look forward
to working with RC in delivering a
quality program to our association.
We had a very good year with
the NDASA program in 2015. Financially we are in good shape with
adequate reserves for the program.
Registrations remained very stable
in the adult slow pitch program
which is a real positive for 2015.
We had a great growth year again
with the JO GFP program. Individual registrations grew by over
200 in 2015 to almost 1500 girls in
the program. Brian Neuhardt and
volunteers in communities across
the state are to be congratulated
for the time and effort in growing
the GFP program in North Dakota.
The State Tournament participation this past year was down about
40 teams from 2014, but we still
had 607 teams in the Adult and JO
program participate in State Tournaments which is tremendous. We
are fortunate that Gary & Connie
Tharaldson continue to cover the
cost of our trophies and awards for
State and National Tournaments.
Tharaldson’s contribution to our
program is significant and allows us
to keep fees affordable for all teams
and assists in maximizing participation. Please thank Gary and Connie
whenever you have a chance. We
also had a successful year with
the establishment of the NDASA
DeMarini Slow Pitch Tournament
Series. The series provided a
$15,000 prize package at the end of
the season for teams participating
in the series throughout the year.
We are happy with the tournament
series results and will provide the
same opportunity for teams in 2016.
At the NDASA Winter meeting
we brought in the Executive Board,
Advisory Board, League Reps, as
well as the HOF Committee. We
discussed the upcoming season
and reported on the ASA/USA
National Council meeting this past
fall. Mike Peterson of Fargo was
reappointed to the Executive Board
for another three year term. Mary
Hager current WSP Commissioner
has announced her retirement at the
end of 2016. We have appointed
Amy Anderson of West Fargo to
replace Mary in that position in
2017. Amy will work with Mary
this season on the WSP program
and look forward to her leadership
in the future.
Congratulations to the Fargo
Slow Pitch Board and Tournament
Committee who did an outstanding
job in hosting the ASA/USA Mens
D Northern National Championship this past fall. Fargo hosted 76
teams which was the largest adult
ASA/USA National Championship
in the country in 2015. Fargo was
awarded the prestigious James Ferrell Award for holding one of the
highest rated ASA/USA Championships in the country with a 97%
rating. This kind of success does
not just happen, it takes hard work
by the committee and volunteers.
Great job Fargo Slow Pitch and
appreciate your great work on the
Mens D Championship.
I attended the ASA/USA National Council meeting this past
November in Louisville, Kentucky
along with Jack Jones, Nick Gulmon, Ryan Nelson and a delegation
from Mandan led by Dave Freuh.
Mandan was awarded the 2017
ASA/USA MSP Northern E/Rec
National Championship as well as
the 2016 MSP Masters 35 National
Championship. We would also
like to thank Lori Yantzer from the
Bismarck/Mandan Convention &
Visitors Bureau for their continued
support in bringing National events
to Bismarck/Mandan. We could
not attract these events without
the commitment and support of
communities. Thanks Lori. Effective 2017 the only ball that can be
used in WSP, Coed WSP, and JO
Girls and Boys slow pitch is the
52/300-11” ball so please keep this
in mind when ordering softballs.
ASA/USA has launched an official
USA Softball Mobile App. Get the
latest ASA/USA Softball news and
follow events and athletes throughout the year. Download the App @
ASA/USASoftball.com
The NDASA Hall of Fame Selection committee met in January
and reviewed 26 candidates for the
HOF. It is my pleasure to extend
my sincere congratulations to Jon
Kegel of Moorhead, Larry Bellerud
of Fargo, Kyle Christensen of Glen
Ullin, Michele Paul of Bismarck
and the family of the Late Jeff Burgess of Bismarck, for being selected
to the NDASA Hall of Fame in
2016. The HOF Banquet is scheduled for April 23rd at the Gladstone
Inn in Jamestown. I would also
like to announce and thank Linda
Lyman for agreeing to become the
Secretary for the NDASA Hall of
Fame replacing Shirley Schafer.
Special thanks again to Shirley for
all her dedicated work for the Hall
of Fame over the years.
Dick Gulmon
I would like to thank the NDASA
Executive Board, NDASA Committee’s, League Reps, Umpires,
Tournament Directors, Park &
Recreation partners, and all the volunteers who make it possible to run
our program in North Dakota. We
could not have the quality program
we have without the hard work and
dedication of so many.
Wishing you all a great season
in 2016 and see you around the
diamond.
NDASA Commissioner
Dick Gulmon
Softball News
Official Publication of the North Dakota
Amateur Softball Association
Editor—Walt Stack
Advertising Director—Softball News
Box 309, Garrison, ND 58540
Subscription 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,
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4–
Softball News Fall 2015
Ump Chat
continued from page 3
and I’d be happy to visit with you.
Umpiring just one night a week can
make a huge difference in helping
out your local league.
I would like to recognize our
Deputy UIC’s are throughout the
state and I would also like thank
all of my Deputy UIC’s for the
great job they do for NDASA.
They all bring a vast amount of
knowledge and experience and
are a valuable asset to our umpire
program in ND. Our DUIC’s are:
Lyle Rader—Wahpeton, Tom Lawson—Minot, Elliott Gerhardt—Bismarck, Pat “Rock” Healey— Grand
Forks, Mike Nider—Bismarck,
Randy Olson—West Fargo, Al
Ziemann—Bismarck, Marchel
Krieger—Jamestown, and Terry
O’Clair—Bismarck.
With the retirement of Mike Lien
from Fargo, we are adding two new
DUIC’s in Fargo. We would like
State secretary Shirley
Schafer retires
Long time state secretary of
the NDASA has retired effective
December 3l, 2015. She has been
the state secretary since she and her
late husband Duane “Tiny” Schafer
moved to Jamestown in 1960 and
Duane assumed the duties of State
Softball Commissioner. He served
in that capacity for 36 years until
his death in 1996. Shirley’s work
as state secretary covered all phases
of the work involved as the softball
program in North Dakota grew
from 70 teams to more than 2,000.
During the softball season it was a
full time job and then some.
Shirley also assumed the duties
of secretary of the Hall of Fame and
the Selection Committee. She has
maintained the state office in her
home and was a regular feature at
National Tournaments in the state
as she was responsible for registered the teams for these various
events. Her dedication to her work
and the state softball association
was recognized when she was
elected to the state softball Hall of
Fame in 2000.
Secretary/Treasurer Greg Kaeding of Fargo expressed his great
appreciation and admiration for the
assistance Shirley provided him in
his current job and as a member
of the Finance Committee. State
Commissioner Dick Gulmon of
Valley City also joined in commending Shirley for her years of
work on behalf of the softball association. “Shirley and the Schafer
family have left a legacy of hard
work and dedication to a softball
program which has been and is
being enjoyed by thousands of
individuals annually.”
Webmaster RC Courtright of
Jamestown will assume most of
the duties of the state office in
addition to his role as Webmaster.
Commissioner Gulmon has named
Courtright as Director of Operations for NDASA.
Linda Lyman
group in Moorhead. Welcome
Linda! Enjoy your work with the
Hall of Fame.
ASA Masters 35 National
Championships
August 26-28, Mandan
1) There will be two divisions
of play.
Competitive and Recreational.
Competitive will have no limits
regarding player classification.
Recreational - maximum 3 Class
D Players / No players above
Class D
2) Competitive Division 4 home
runs
Recreational Division 2 home
runs
All additional are outs.
3) Tournament Format
10 teams or more – double elim./
3 game guarantee 9 teams or less
Look elsewhere in this issue for a
story on Mike Lien as well as the
appointment of Chris Coleman and
Koby Pennick as the new DUIC’s
in Fargo.
I enjoy visiting 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, text, or give me
a call and please know that I will
be happy to assist you in any way
that I can! You can reach me at
[email protected] and my
cell 701-400-2100.
Have an enjoyable, fun, and safe
summer!
Courtright named
Director of Operations
Webmaster succeeds retiring Schafer
New secretary named for
Hall Of Fame Council
Linda Lyman is the new Secretary for the Hall of Fame council
succeeding long time Secretary
Shirley Schafer who retired December 31, 2015
Lyman lives in West Fargo with
her husband, Mike who was elected
to the Hall of Fame after a lengthy
career in fast pitch softball. They
have two sons who both play fast
pitch and three grandchildren who
are involved in various sports
activities.
Linda retired from Concordia
College in Moorhead after working
there for 24 years and is currently
working part-time for a Non-Profit
to welcome Chris Coleman and
Koby Pennick as the new DUIC’s
in Fargo. Each come with several
years of umpiring experience at
the local, state and national levels
and will be a great addition in
helping strengthen the Fargo Umpire Association. I would like to
thank Mike Lien for doing such a
great job for so many years as the
DUIC in Fargo. His services and
expertise will definitely be missed.
- pool play (2 games) , seed into
double elim.
4) Entry Fee - $ 450
If paid by Aug. 1 - $350
5) NDASA will allow makeup
teams for this event.
North Dakota players must have
been on rosters of teams that play
in state tournaments. Make-up
teams must pay a $70 registration
fee to NDASA
6) Additional information:
www.mandaparks.com
www.mandanparks.com or call or
email Jack Jones
701-426-8700 or [email protected]
Webmaster RC Courtright of
Jamestown has assumed most of
the duties of the state office in
addition to his role as Webmaster.
State Commissioner Dick Gulmon
has named Courtright as Director
of Operations for NDASA.
Courtright has run the Web Site
for the softball association for the
past eight years and has earned
praise from the National Office
of ASA for having one of the best
Web Sites in the country. He will
now take over and maintain the
state office duties and will bring
a wealth of technical knowledge
and ability to the position. His
prospective of the workings of
the state association along with
his knowledge of technology and
experience will bring great value
to the organization.
Courtright is a graduate of
Jamestown University with majors in math and business and has
previous experience in the banking
industry. He is currently employed
with CSI Computers in Jamestown
and has been active in North Dakota softball for the past twenty
years as a player.
Tharaldson continues to
sponsor state trophies
Super sponsor and softball
booster Gary Tharaldson and his
wife Connie continue providing all
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 banners depends on
the number of teams entering each
of the state tournaments.
The Tharaldsons have dedicated
much of their lives to supporting
ASA softball as sponsors for not
just one or two divisions but across
the whole spectrum of ASA softball. Tharaldsons sponsored Men’s
A, B and C Slow pitch Divisions
and supported five different levels
of senior ball many years.
He and his wife also sponsored
women’s teams for 15 years as
well as both Boys and Girls Junior
Olympic teams. His sponsored
teams have participated in over 30
National Tournaments.
In addition to his sponsorships,
Gary was also a player during his
time as a sponsor winning two
National Championships and over
1,000 games as a pitcher. His best
year was a season in which he won
58 games, losing only 2 and he carried a .600 batting average over his
long career.
He is a member of the North
Dakota Amateur Softball Hall of
Fame and in 2011 was elected to
the National Hall of Fame during
induction ceremonies at the annual
ASA Council Meeting in Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina.
NDASA is able to provide the
trophies and banners only through
the cooperation and generosity of
Gary Tharaldson
Gary Tharaldson and his various
enterprises. NDASA gratefully
acknowledges his many, many contributions to North Dakota softball.
Hall Of Fame Banquet open to all
The annual Hall of Fame banquet
and induction ceremony will take
place on Saturday, April 23, 2016
at the Gladstone Inn in downtown
Jamestown. This event is open
to anyone-you don’t have to be a
member of the Hall of Fame.
The banquet will feature a buffet dinner with two meat entrees,
potato, salad and vegetable plus
a light desert. Cost is $20 per
person. Hall of Fame members
in attendance will be individually
recognized before the dinner and an
open bar will be available starting at
4:30 pm. Dinner will follow at 5:30
and the induction ceremony for the
five new inductees will conclude
the evening.
Reservations with payment for
the banquet must be made no later
than April 18. No tickets will be
issued, simply check in at the door.
Make checks payable to NDASA,
mail to Linda Lyman, 1158 44th.
Ave.W in West Fargo 58078.
Book Printing & Binding, Brochures/Pamphlets
Newsletters, Business Cards & much more
Stop by one of our offices for more information:
For All
Your Printing Needs
“A Family of Family Newspapers”
1-800-658-3485
BHG, Inc. – Garrison – 463-2201
The Leader News – Washburn – 462-8126
Beulah Beacon – Beulah – 873-4381
Hazen Star – Hazen – 748-2255
New Town News – New Town – 627-4829
McLean County Journal – Turtle Lake – 448-2649
Velva Area Voice – Velva – 338-2599
McClusky Gazette – McClusky– 363-2492
Northern Sentry – Minot – 839-0946
Softball News Fall 2015 – 5
The Last Call
Bismarck Hall Of Famer Dies Jo Slow Pitch Commissioner Scott Schafer
Boyd Van Patten Was 68
passes away at 55
Boyd Van Patten died on Febru-
ary 10 in Bismarck with his family
and friends by his side. Boyd was
born in Arem, Utah on November
5, 1947, attended high school in
Springville, Utah where he starred
in football and baseball. He was
offered a scholarship at Southern
Utah but opted to sign a professional baseball contract with the
Houston Astros. He was sent to
the Astro’s farm team in Bismarck,
the Bismarck/Mandan Pards. In
his second year, Boyd suffered a
leg injury which ended his baseball
career. He attended Bismarck State
College and worked as a teacher,
bookkeeper, insurance agent and
business owner.
Boyd played eleven years of fast
pitch softball at the top level Division and soon established himself
as one of the premier hitters in the
game. He played on the 1974 State
tournament champion Bismarck
Elks and was picked up in 1976
and 1977 by the Minot team Young
America for the Regional tourna-
ment and went with them when they
advanced to the National Tournament. Boyd was one of the most
feared hitters in the state and was
selected as Fast Pitch player of the
1970’s decade and was also named
Most Valuable Player of the Minot
International tournament in 1977.
He was named to the NDASA Hall
of Fame in 1987.
Survivors include his wife Marilyn and two sons, Derek and Shane
and a grandson George.
Scott Duane Schafer, 55, passed
away in his home on Tuesday afternoon, November 10, 2015. He
was born July 25, l960 in Fargo
to Duane and Shirley (Borderud)
Schafer and moved to Jamestown
the same year. He graduated from
Jamestown High School in 1979.
Scott married Debra Nelson in
1982. Together they had two sons,
Matt and Schaun. They were later
divorced. Scott also has two other
children with Lisa Kapp, a son
Riley and a daughter Jade.
In addition to his softball involvement as Commissioner of
the JO Girl’s Slow Pitch Association, Scott was also an active
member in the North Dakota Amateur Hockey Association which he
served as Vice President. Other
activities included the Northern
Plains District Grow the Game
Chair; League Governments
Committee member and State
Tournament Chair. He served the
local Jamestown Hockey Association for several years as a past
president and board member. He
enjoyed spending time at the rink
and softball diamonds as well as
watching his children play on the
same co-ed softball team.
Softball was ingrained in
Scott’s life as the son of Duane
and Shirley Schafer. Duane
(Tiny) Schafer was the state
softball commissioner for over
35 years and Shirley did much of
the office work required. All of
their children played the game at
various levels.
Survivors include Scott’s mother, Shirley, sons Matt(Chastity)
Shaun (Briana) Riley and daughter Jade. He is also survived by his
special friend Lisa Kapp, brothers
Mike(Karina) Mark (Connie) and
sister Jill and Louie Weigel.
NEW—Online Registration and Payment Now
Available For McQuade Tournament Entry!
Wounded Warriors and United States All-Air Force Team To Appear.
By: Michael Wolf
The 41st Annual Sam McQuade
Sr. Budweiser Charity Softball
Tournament is rapidly approaching
and will be held June 24, 25, and
27 in Bismarck and Mandan. We
are excited to announce that teams
can now register online and also pay
their registration fee online! This
is a great addition to the registration process and will give team’s
immediate confirmation that their
entry has been received. Teams
will still be able to register via mail
as well if they prefer that method.
As divisions fill, a team may get a
verification that their registration
was received online, but it is not a
guarantee that you are in the tournament. If for some reason your
division is full when you register,
you will be notified that you will be
placed on a waiting list.
Registration forms will still be
mailed to all non-Bismarck teams
who were in last year’s tournament
but we encourage online registration. Bismarck managers received
registration forms at their February
meeting. You can print a registration form off the McQuade website
www.mcquades.com and click on
the softball link.
We are excited to announce that
the Wounded Warriors Amputee
Softball Team will be attending our
tournament once again this summer.
The Wounded Warriors Amputee
Softball Team is scheduled to play
exhibition games during the weekend. They will also be playing in
the tournament as well.
We have also secured the United
States All-Air Force Team who are
excited to be coming back to the
McQuade again this summer. The
team is made up of United States
Air Force retired personnel from all
over the country and is coached by
Steve Shortland. Shortland is also
the coach of Team USA who has
appeared at the McQuade on two
prior occasions.
We are planning to have “Military Appreciation Games” with the
Air Force and Wounded Warriors
throughout the weekend. Mike Offerdahl will be heading a committee
that will determine which players
will be selected to participate in the
military appreciation games against
the Air Force and Wounded Warriors
teams. We are also looking to have
umpires who are military veterans
umpire the games as well.
Preliminary plans are in the works
to hold exhibition games with the
Wounded Warriors and Air Force
Team on Thursday night before the
tournament starts as well as Friday
night and possibly Saturday or
Sunday. We are looking for opportunities for more people to come out
and watch the Wounded Warriors
and Air Force team while they are
here. Watch the McQuade website
for continuing updates.
We will once again be holding
our Cancer Awareness Appreciation
Day on Saturday. Last year was the
first time we held a cancer awareness day and it was a huge success!
As a result of different fundraising
activities before and during the tournament, we were able to distribute
$5,000 directly back to cancer patients in the form of gas cards and
Visa gift cards. If you would like
to make a tax-deductible monetary
donation towards our cancer awareness appreciation day please contact
me (see contact information below).
We are anticipating another record setting year and entries are
coming in fast and some divisions
are getting close to full. That is
a hint to the Men’s D, and Men’s
Rec I to get your registrations in
since these are only 32 team divisions. Men’s Rec 3 and 4 divisions
also fill very fast as well. Since
there are some Men’s B teams in
the region, we will have a combine
Men’s A/B division this year. In the
Men’s Masters 35 division, the state
Men’s Master’s Committee will
once again assist us in seeding the
teams properly. We have combined
the Women’s C/D division, but we
are reserving the right to split that
division if we get enough C teams
entered in the tournament. If you
are thinking of putting together a
“family” team or a “reunion” team,
please contact me as well.
We continue to get several requests from companies to come
in and set up vendor booths. We
have found that players and fans
enjoy the opportunity to see all of
the products available to them. It
looks as though we will have some
additional softball vendors at the
tournament this year and we may
also have vendors in Mandan for
those teams that play there.
Once again this year on the McQuade website you will be able to
click on a link to see all of the teams
that have registered for the tournament. Our plans are to update this
every Friday afternoon. It is a good
way to make sure that your entry
was received and it will save Jack
and Dee and I a lot of phone calls.
It will also serve as a cross reference
to make sure everyone is entered in
the correct division.
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. In the past, we
have been able to raise over $5,000
for local charities from those teams
that purchased an extra home run
last year so it is a great fundraiser for
the tournament. More information
will be included on the website and
in the tournament program about
purchasing extra home runs.
We are excited to let you know
that we had a record setting year last
year as we were able to distribute
over $100,000 for the first time to
charitable organizations throughout
the state and with your help and
generosity we hope to be able to
donate much more with this year’s
tournament. Without your help and
support, this would not be possible!
Also, I can’t go without mentioning
all of the great volunteer groups who
help out during the tournament as
well as the great people at McQuade
Distributing who help with the tournament—Dee, Kathy, Renae, and
Rhea. It is our volunteers that help
us out in so many ways that help
make this tournament so successful.
Thank You!
The silent auction we have during the tournament is also an area
that raises a considerable amount of
money for the charities. If you really
want to contribute to the tournament
in another way, I would like to challenge anyone to provide an item for
the silent auction or contact a local
business in your area to donate an
item and explain the benefits of the
silent auction and the advertising
exposure to them. We estimate that
close to 20,000 people will look
through the silent auction items
over the course of the weekend! If
you have any items that you would
like to donate to the silent auction,
please contact me. Any item that
is new, gift certificates, or sports
memorabilia make great items for
the silent auction. All donations are
tax deductible!
In addition to our other duties on
the Board of Directors, Jack Jones
and I will once again serve as CoTournament Directors. I would
also like thank the other Board of
Director members who contribute
their time and talents effectively in
so many ways—Eldie Ulmer, Mike
Offerdahl, Cheryl Jones, Jim Janusz,
Sam McQuade Jr., and Shannon
McQuade-Ely. We would like to
extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to Deb Marback who retired
from the McQuade board after more
than twenty years of service. Deb
was a great asset to the board and she
will be greatly missed! Thanks Deb!
If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to call, text, or
email Jack or myself. 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 [email protected] or contact us at
[email protected]
PLEASE, don’t procrastinate as
the tournament fills very quickly.
Don’t miss out on all of the fun and
excitement of the premiere softball
event of the summer—the 41st Annual Sam McQuade Sr. Budweiser
Charity Softball Tournament.
So, here is one more reminder
to get your team registration in
early!
The Wounded Warrior’s
Amputee Softball Team
By: Jack Jones
The Wounded Warrior Amputee
Softball Team makes its second
appearance at McQuade Tournament this June. McQuade will be
the halfway point , stop # 14 , on
this years WWAST tour of 28 cities
in 17 states, plus the U.S. Virgin
Islands. However, Mcquade won’t
even be WWAST’s first North
Dakota experience in 2016. Three
weeks earlier , June 3-5 , the true
America’s Team will be playing in
teammate Chris Hutton’s hometown of Grand Forks.
I’m sure the Grand Forks community will do a great job promoting and hosting the event. It will
even find me making my third trip
ever to Grand Forks to be part of
the crowd. (Honestly, I never, ever
thought I would go to Grand Forks
for my birthday!)
June is a very busy month as the
WWAST Kids Camp is sandwiched
between the two North Dakota
trips. Kids Camp takes place June
13-18 in the Washington DC Metro
area. The annual camp teaches softball and life skills to children ages
8-12 with missing limbs. WWAST
athletes participate as instructors,
counselors, and mentors during
the camp activities. Most WWAST
players consider Kids Camp the
highlight of each season.
The WWAST organization provides airfare, hotels and meals for
each child and a parent or guardian.
This years camp will welcome 2022 children. September 2-5 could
very well see WWAST participating at the ASA Class E National
Tournament in Sioux Falls. At
present things are in the planning
stages, but all signs thus far appear
positive, as my good friend Kenny
Anderson heads up the Sioux Falls
project. There is no one better for
that job !
The WWAST season concludes
with an event in the U.S. Virgin
Islands . What a place to end the
softball season !!
In other WWAST news, among
the new players added to the team
roster is Danielle Green from South
Wounded Warrior’s
continued on page 8
6–
Softball News Fall 2015
2016 ASA Rule Changes with comments as of November 08, 2015
Rule 3, Section 3F[2]: Beginning January 1 2017 the 11”
.520 COR or under with a compression of 300.0 lbs. or under
will be the only ball allowed
in Women’s Adult Slow Pitch,
Coed Women’s Slow Pitch and
Junior Olympic Girls and Boys
Slow Pitch.
Comment: The 11” ball with
a COR.440 or under, with a ball
compression of 375.0 lbs. or
under will no longer be allowed
in Women’s Adult Slow Pitch
Divisions of Play, Women’s Adult
Coed Slow Pitch Classification
of Play, Junior Olympic Girls,
12-Under, 14-Under, 16-Under,
18-Under Slow Pitch Classifications of Play, Junior Olympic
Boys, 10-Under and 12-Under
Slow Pitch Classifications of
Play.
Rule 3, Section 5E: Remove
the requirement for Chin Straps
to be worn with batting helmets
in all Junior Olympic Divisions
of Play.
Comment: Chin straps on
batting helmets for all Junior
Olympic Divisions of Play will
no longer be mandated but still
allowed.
Rule 3 Section 6 Exception:
Men’s D Slow Pitch, Men’s E
Rec Slow Pitch, Women’s C and
D Slow Pitch and Coed C and
D Slow Pitch: the only uniform
requirement is matching shirt
with number.
Comment: Adds Women’s
C & D Slow Pitch Classification
of Play and Coed C and D Slow
Pitch Classifications of Play to
the exception on uniforms that
only need matching shirts with
numbers.
Rule 5 Section 8A Effect:
For any in excess, the ball is
dead, the batter is out, and no
runners can advance.
2016 Umpire and Managers Rules Clinic
Mar. 19
Mar. 20
Mar. 23
Mar.29
Mar. 30
Mar. 31
Apr. 4
Apr. 4
Apr. 4
Apr. 4
Apr. 4
Apr. 5
Apr. 5
Apr. 6
Apr. 6
Apr. 6
Apr. 7
Apr. 7
Apr. 11
Apr. 11
Apr. 13
Apr. 13
Apr. 13
Apr. 13
Apr. 14
Apr. 18
Apr. 18
Apr. 18
Apr. 19
Apr. 19
Apr. 20
Apr. 20
Apr. 20
Apr. 21
Apr. 21
Apr. 24
Apr. 25
Apr. 25
Apr. 27
Apr. 27
Apr. 27
Apr. 27
Apr. 27
Apr. 28
Apr. 28
Apr. 28
Apr. 28
May 1
May 2
May 3
May 4
May 16
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
10:00
Deputy UIC Clinic
Hampton Inn—Jamestown
6:30
Jamestown Umpires
IDK Bar & Grill
6:00
Wahpeton Umpires
Community Center
6:00
Bismarck Umpires
St. Mary’s Grade School
6:30
Bismarck FP High School Clinic
BSC Career Academy
6:30
West Fargo Umpires
VFW Club
7:00
Wahpeton Men’s Managers
Community Center
7:00
Wahpeton Men’s Old Pro Managers
Community Center
6:30
Grand Forks Umpires
Kelly School
6:00
Bismarck Men’s Managers
Amvet’s Club
6:00
Valley City Umpires/Managers
American Legion Club
7:00
Bismarck Women’s Managers
Amvet’s Club
7:00
Wahpeton Women’s Managers
Community Center
6:30
May/Port Managers & Umpires
Floyd’s—Portland
6:00
Mandan Umpires
Softball Diamond Building
6:00
LaMoure Umpires/Managers
Center Field Supper Club
6:30
Bismarck Umpires
St. Mary’s Grade School
7:00
Fargo Umpires
Information Bowler
6:00
Grafton Managers/Umpires
JR’s (Oakwood)
6:30
Bismarck Umpires
St. Mary’s Grade School
7:00
Fargo Umpires
Bowler
7:00
Grand Forks Umpires
Kelly School
7:00
Mandan Managers
City Hall
6:00
Devils Lake Umpires/Managers
Burdick Arena
6:30
Bismarck Umpires
St. Mary’s Grade School
6:30
Fargo Umpires
Bowler
6:00
Grand Forks Field Clinic
Ulland Park
6:00MT
Bismarck Umpires
St. Mary’s Grade School
6:30
Dickinson Umpires
Recreation Center
7:00
Fargo Umpires
Bowler
6:30
Williston Umpires/Managers
Williston Recreation Center
6:00
Fargo Field Clinic
Anderson Complex
6:00
Beulah Umpires/Managers
Alibi’s Bar
6:30
Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic
16th Street Diamonds
Anderson Complex
1:00
Fargo Field Clinic
Hillcrest Softball Complex
6:30
Jamestown Field Clinic
Amvet’s Club
TBA
Bismarck Umpires Make-up
Park District Office (701 Main) 6:30
Fargo Umpires
Diamond 2
6:30
Wahpeton Ump Field Clinic & Test
VFW Club—Test Night
7:00
West Fargo Umpires
Minot Auditorium-Rec Area
6:00
Minot Umpires
Diamond 8
6:30
Mandan Umpires Field Clinic
Ulland Park
4:00
Grand Forks Field Clinic
All Season’s Arena
6:30
Bismarck Women’s Managers
Sticker Bats
th
16 Street Diamonds
6:30
Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic
VFW Club
6:00
West Fargo Managers
6:30
Fargo Umpires Mandatory Test Night Bowler
North Elmwood
7:00
West Fargo Umpires Field Clinic
Kelly School
6:00
Grand Forks Test Night
16th Street Diamonds
6:00
Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic
16th Street Diamonds
8:30
Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic
St. Mary’s Grade School
7:00
Bismarck Umpires Mandatory Test
Night/Pizza
South Hill Complex
Minot Umpires Field Clinic
Grand Forks Managers
Casselton Summer Fastpitch Umpires
West Fargo Summer Fastpitch Umpires
Grand Forks Summer Fastpitch Umpires
Bismarck Summer Fastpitch Umpires
Wolf
Krieger
Rader
Wolf
Gerhardt
Olson
Rader
Rader
Healey
Wolf
Krieger
Wolf
Rader
Healey
Wolf
Krieger
Wolf
Cole/Pennick
Healey
Wolf
Cole/Pennick
Healey
Wolf
Krieger
Wolf
Cole/Pennick
Healey
Wolf
Gerhardt/Wolf
Cole/Pennick
Krueger
Cole/Pennick
Gerhardt/Wolf
Wolf
Cole/Pennick
Krieger
Wolf
Cole/Pennick
Rader
Olson
Lawson
Wolf
Healey
Wolf
Wolf
Olson
Cole/Pennick
Olson
Healey
Wolf
Wolf
Wolf
Lawson
Healey
Rader
Rader
Healey
Gerhardt
Comment: Removes the half
inning ending out for an over the
fence home run in Men’s E/REC
Slow Pitch Classification of Play.
Rule 7 Section 1A Exception: Men’s Fast Pitch, Men’s
Modified Pitch and all Junior
Olympic Fast Pitch Divisions
of Play may use either on-deck
circle.
Comment: Adds all Junior
Olympic Fast Pitch Divisions of
Play to the ability to use either
on-deck circle. 2016 ASA Rule
Changes with Comments as of
November 08, 2015 NOTE: All
changes below are EFFECTIVE
January 1, 2016 unless otherwise noted.
Rule 8 Section 9B2: (All
Adult Slow Pitch except Seniors)
Any eligible player on the official
line-up including available substitutes may be used as a courtesy runner. A courtesy runner
may be used once per inning.
NOTE: Any Courtesy Runner
used in Coed must be gender
specific.
Comment: Allows for all Adult
Slow Pitch Divisions of Play to
use a Courtesy Runner once
per inning.
Suspension/Probation 2016
Dominic Partino Jr. Fgo
Unsportsmanlike conduct, suspended indefinitely, two year
probation follows reinstatement
Todd Kalpakoff Fgo
Altered Bat- Two years suspension 2010 & 2011 NDASA/ASA
Play. Five years probation starting 1/1/12
Roland Rivera
Unsportsmanlike conduct ASA/
NDASA Three year probation
starting 1/1/15
Mike Albrecht
Unsportsmanlike conduct Suspended indefinitely. Can request
Reinstatement 1/1/17
Must be supported by the Jmst
Softball Assoc.
Brian Goeser
Josh Bukowski
Alex Anderson
Illegal Participation
Probation 2016/2017
Proz DLYA Team
Munich Team
Illigal Participation
Probation 2016
State Tounament No-Shows without notification
MSP Rec III
Wahpeton Red River Communications
Entire Team Probation 2016
Valley City Eagles/ Dirty Birds
Entire Team Probation 2016
MSP Rec III-West
Williston Rouges/Stat Oil
Entire Team Probation 2016
Minot Larson Tire/ Stickmen
Entire Team Probation 2016
MSP Rec IV- East
Town Hall Bar II, Weat Fargo
Entire Team Probation 2016
IDK Prarie Paws, Jamestown
Entire Team Probation 2016
Last Chance, Grafton
Entire Team Probation 2016
MSP Rec III- East
Devils Lake Cletes & Cleavage
Entire Team Probation 2016
Probation
Player with No/Show probation in 2015 starts the season with 1
violation.
The first ejection from a game would be a two (2) game suspension.
The second ejection from a game would be a season ending
suspension.
***Please note that before or after all of the manager’s clinics and before or after most of the field clinics,
teams will be able to get stickers put on their bats and have their bats checked to make sure they are legal.
If you want to get bats stickered, please bring them before or after the clinics end so as not to interrupt the
field or rules clinics. If you have questions concerning stickers or rules clinics in general, please contact
UIC Mike Wolf at 400-2100 or contact your regional DUIC. For phone numbers for all regional DUIC’s
log on to www.ndasa.org and click on the “Umpires” box at the top of the page.
National Umpire Schools
Dec. 4-6, 2015
Jan. 22-24, 2016 RESCHEDULED*
Jan. 29-31,2016
Jan. 29-31, 2016
Jan. 29-31, 2016
Feb. 12-14, 2016
March 4-6, 2016
March 4-6, 2016
March 18-20, 2016
April 1-3, 2016
April 1-3, 2016
June 14-19, 2016
San Antonio, Tx
Burlington, NC
Plant City, FL
Halawa District Park, HI
Tustin, CA
Tupelo, MS
Plainfield, IN
Burlington, NC
Findlay, OH
Oxford, MI
Ralston, NE
Salem/Blacksburg, VA
Region 7
Region 4
Region 5
Region 14
Region 14
Region 6
Region 10
Region 4
Region 9
Region 8
Region 12
Fast Pitch
Marvin Cobb
Phil King
Anthony Small
Stan Finch
James Walker
Davey Cole
Matt Davis
Phil King
Warren Jones
Bob Lawson/ Register
John Patrick/ Flyer
Randy Sprouse
210-391-5693
919-524-6246
863-409-7250
808-448-1050
310-529-4555
662-213-0825
317-363-6379
919-524-6426
419-651-3335
248-719-3951
402-305-2627
703-507-8320
Softball News Fall 2015 – 7
2016 NDASA Executive Council Meeting Minutes
January 23, 2016 | Gladstone Inn
& Suites, Jamestown ND
Meeting called to order at 1:21
p.m. by Commissioner Dick Gulmon
Discussion and voting on rule
changes presented by committees
oWomen’s Slow Pitch
o WSP recommendation to eliminate Class C, move current C teams
to Class D, and have one Class D
state tournament with a 3 game
guarantee/double elimination format (Motion by Sue Lachenmeier,
second by Scott Collins, passed by
simple majority)
o Change women’s HR rule to
follow the men’s HR – changes
Class D to 3 HR w/excess out
(Motion by Mary Hager, second
by Mike Wolf, passed by simple
majority)
o Men’s Slow Pitch
o Request that NDASA again
provide up to $1500 to cover prize
packages for the series if needed
(Motion by Scott Collins, second
by Jack Lukes, passed by simple
majority)
o Estimated $1300-$1400 would
be raised for this purpose with the
sale of softballs by NDASA to local
associations
o For Rec divisions at McQuades
the following teams will be moved
up the following season (Motion
by Jack Jones, second by Wayne
Beyer, passed by simple majority)
o For 32 team tournament, top
finisher
o For 48 team tournament, top
2 finishers
o For 64 team tournament, top
3 finishers
o Jack Jones confirmed this rule
would also ensure that returning
out-of-state teams moved up at the
next year’s McQuade tournament
if this rule applies to them
o Move up top 10% of teams
from state tournaments with a
maximum of 8 – if 8 teams, those
teams would be the final four in
the championship & consolation
bracket
o Mike Peterson recommended
the 8 teams moved up would be
the championship final four, the
consolation final two and the final
two teams from the 1-1 bracket
o MSP recommendation altered
to move up top 10% of teams from
state tournaments with a maximum
of 8 – if 8 teams, those teams would
be the final four in the championship, the final two in the consolation
bracket and the final two in the 1-1
bracket (Motion by Jack Jones,
second by Scott Brahos, passed by
simple majority)
o Players that solely play on
league only teams are ineligible
to be added to a tournament only
roster
o MSP recommendation amended such that Players that solely play
on league only teams are ineligible
to be added to a tournament only
roster or as a pickup player in any
state or invitational tournament
(Motion by Jack Jones, second
by Jack Lukes, passed by simple
majority)
o Change the State Tournament
Pickup Player Form to allow for
multiple players listed on same
page with a line item allowing state
official or league rep to sign for
each player (Motion by Jack Lukes,
second by Wayne Beyer, passed by
simple majority)
o Masters
2016 NDASA Executive Council
Respecting the Officials of the Game
By Mike Candrea
Anyone that has played or
coached the game should understand by now that officiating a game
is not the easiest job on the field. As
much grief as umpires take in our
game - it’s important to remember
that they are vital to our game and
they are human and can make mistakes just like coaches and players.
About 90 percent of the plays in
our game are obvious and don’t
need an objective party to make
the call. However, in the other 10
percent, umpires prevent constant
argument so the game can go on.
Even when every call in a game is
clear and easy, the mere presence
of an umpire brings credibility to
the contest.
Umpires are human and this
means that they are going to make
mistakes. Its is imperative that
coaches and parents understand that
there is only one acceptable way to
treat sports officials is with respect.
The coach sets the tone and when
the coach understands the principle
of mutual respect, he or she is more
likely to be in control of his players
and the parents. The parents will
take cues from the coach. If the
coach is abusive, the parents are
likely to follow suit and be abusive.
If the coach does not tolerate this
behavior, the parents will be better
behaved.
I have found over my years of
coaching, the more I show appreciation for the job they are doing,
the better the results. There is no
umpire that blows a call on purpose
as they usually have the same passion and desire to give everyone
their best effort. There is a certain
way to discuss a call that goes
against you and the main thing is to
keep your composure, understand
the rules of the game, and never
embarrass an official. They are
truly trying to give their best effort
to allow the game to go smoothly
without controversy. When mutual
respect is established, official will
be better able to give his or her best
in calling a good and fair contest.
If parents are generally supportive
of the official and he or she is more
likely to pay attention to this type of
feedback. The parents have gained
credibility with the official because
they have not complained about every call. Consequently, the official
will think more about the last call to
determine if it was in error.
All I ask from umpires is to
hustle, know the rules, communicate clearly, and maintain a focus on
doing what’s right for the players.
If they do these things, I can live
with a blown call from time to time.
Here are some key points to
remember:
• Respect their role on the field.
• Respect the person dressed in
Blue.
• Respect the game and the job of
officials.
• Focus on the players.
• Be reasonable and don’t argue
every call.
• Be polite and dont get personal.
• Keep the game fun.
• Downsize your ego.
• Teach your players the rules of
the game.
2016Wahpeton, North Dakota
Date
Sun., May 1
Tourney
Spring Classic
Teams/Class
5 Class C,D
5 Rec I, II
5 Rec III, IV
Format
RR
Fee
$100
Sat. June 4
Blue Goose Days
16 Rec III & IV
DE
$100
Fri., July 15
Summer Classic
8 Rec III-IV
3 GG
$100
Team Name:
Coach’s Name:
Coach’s Address:
Classification:
Email:
Home Phone:
Work Phone:
Cell Phone:
Fax:
Payment guarantees your team a place in the tournament
Make Checks Payable to Wahpeton Parks
Send to: Wahp-Breck Softball
Phone: (701) 642-2811
304 5th St. South
Fax: (701) 642-5053
Wahpeton, ND 58075
E-mail: [email protected]
o Motion to make no change to
the current bat sticker program –
bats that have not been stickered
would need to be inspected by
an approved representative of the
state association and approved bats
would have the same orange sticker
used in 2015 adhered to them (Motion by Mike Wolf, second by Jack
Lukes, passed by simple majority)
Jack Jones, on behalf of Chris
Hutton, began discussion on having
better representation for the Coed
division to help alleviate concerns
over different state tournament
rules implemented between rotating
hosts Fargo & Grand Forks. Appoint Coed Commissioner? Tabled
for future discussion.
Jack Jones inquired about use
of a proxy at the national meetings
when a representative – particularly
in regards to the Junior Olympics
program – is unable to attend.
o Attendance currently limited
to voting members (Commissioner,
Assistant State Commissioner, &
Umpire-In-Chief) due to expense
concerns
Meeting adjourned by Dick Gulmon at 1:38 p.m.
2016 NDASA Slow Pitch
teams to be moved up
MEN’S CLASS D TO CLASS C
Fargo Men’s Hair House/ The
Box/ MMB
Fargo 3X Gear/ Box/ Fat Tire
Bismarck Men’s Hair House
Fargo Sickies Garage
Inge’s Pub/ Coors Light (7th in
D National)
MEN’S REC 1 TO CLASS D
Mandan Chiropractic
Bismarck Nutrishop
Bismarck TC Wolves
Jamestown Knights of Columbus
Mandan Boyko Inc.
Bismarck Jones PT
Minot Burgess Detailing (3rd in
E/ Rec National)
Grand Forks First Class Mortgage/ Joe Blacks/ ACCU (challenged to D & went 2-2)
Fargo Wild Rice Bar/ Shock Top
(challenged to D & went 3-2)
Fargo Johnson Hardwood Flooring (challenge to D & went 2-2)
MEN’S REC 2 TO REC 1
Slowpitch Softball Tournaments
MEN’S
Check
Meeting Minutes
January 23, 2016 | Gladstone Inn
& Suites, Jamestown ND
o For the Men’s Masters 40 &
50 divisions, allow a maximum 5
runs per inning (with last inning and
extra innings being open with no
such limit) and the only run ahead
rule will be 20 runs after 4 innings
(Motion by Jack Lukes, second by
Scott Brahos, passed by simple
majority)
Discussion on placing stickers
on approved and/or non-approved
bats (in response to recent announcement of previously approved Easton bats now being
added to the non-approved list)
o Scott Collins recommended no
change, players and managers need
to be held accountable
o Dick Gulmon reinforced that
ignorance of the rules is not an
excuse
o Mike Peterson stressed education through the wide variety of
means association has to provide
information to teams and that players and managers must be held accountable for using non-approved
bats.
Fargo DMVW #2
Grand Forks Weiand Chiropractic
Fargo the Bowler/ Golf Addition
Fargo Prospective Plumbing/
Bro-Dude
Fargo MTW Towing
Williston BoomTown/ Shirt Work
Minot Rossco’s/ BWW
Minot Taco John’s/ Sports on
Tap (challenged to Rec 1 &
went 2-2)
Center Merchants (went 3-2 in
the E/Rec National)
Minot Wings N Rings/ Schuler
Repair (went 4-2 in the E/Rec
National)
MEN’S REC 3 TO REC 2
West Fargo H & S Painting
Grand Forks AA Roughnecks/
Kelly’s Bar
West Fargo Uncle Maddio’s
Pizza
Grafton JR’s Bar
Fargo Nodak Mutual Insurance/
The Distr
Fargo Riding the Pine
LaMoure Choice Financial
Williston Border States Electric
Mandan Any Leaks
Bismarck Miller Lite/ Blarney
Stone
Bismarck Sidelines/ Prairie
Public Bingo
Dickinson Dough Boys
Minot Lucky Strike/ Grand Hotel
Williston Outlaws
Fargo Edward Jones/ Paul
Zenker (challenged to Rec 2 &
went 3-2)
Absaraka (challenged to Rec 2
and went 2-1)
MEN’S REC 4 TO REC 3
Grand Forks Speedway Busch
Pounders
Wahpeton Smith Motors/ Miller
Lite
Fargo Scrapper Pride
Grand Forks Taco Johns’s
Fargo Lobby #1
Sheldon
Rolette
Great Northern Grand Treasure
Casino
Fargo Slammers (challenged to
Rec 3 & went 2-2)
Grand Forks R&R Contracting
(challenged to Rec 3 & went
2-2)
WOMEN’S CLASS D TO CLASS C
Grand Forks All Pets/Simplot
Growers
Grand ForksDreams/ Ground
Round/ JUC
WOMEN’S REC 1 TO CLASS D
West Fargo Pete’s/ M&J/ Dan’s
Minot Knowles Jewelry
WOMEN’S REC 2 TO REC 1
West Fargo M&J Saloon/ Imperial Flooring
Mayville Heros and Legends
McLean McHenry Murtual Insurance
WOMEN’S REC 3 TO REC 2
Grand Forks Loft Girls/ Deek’s
Pizza
West Fargo M & J Saloon
Beulah Lady Comets
Drake United Community Bank
Mandan Goldade Landscaping
8–
Softball News Fall 2015
Fargo Duic Mike Lien Retires Coleman
And Pennick Named Replacements
Mike Lien
Chris Coleman
State Umpire in Chief Mike
Wolf of Bismarck has announced
that Fargo DUIC Mike Lien has
retired after fourteen years in the
position. He will be replaced by
Chris Coleman and Koby Pennick.
The position includes Fargo, West
Fargo and the Southeast Region
of the state for slow pitch softball.
Lien was appointed to the staff in
2002 after spending 30 years as an
umpire in both fast pitch and slow
pitch. He shared duties with Rick
Fryhling until Fryhling
’s death
Coleman served in the US Army
as a Combat Medic from 1985
to 1992 and began his umpiring
career in 1991. He has umpired in
six National Championship tournaments and served as the Umpire
Coordinator for the 2015 Class D
National in Fargo. Has umpired
in the annual Can-Am games in
Fargo for 20 years and served as the
tournament manager the past three
years. Coleman has a seventeen
year old daughter.
Pennick began umpiring in earnest in 2009 in both fast pitch and
slow pitch softball. He also offici-
ates basketball, football and volleyball. He has worked in Men’s
Class C National in Rochester,
Mn. and also in Men’s Class B in
Andover. Both were slow pitch
tournaments. He has also umpired
three Nationals in JO Fast pitch
including the 14 and Under Class
A in Rochester, the 14 and 16 Class
B also in Rochester and the 18 and
Under Class B in Sioux Falls, South
Dakota.
He has also attended National
Umpire Schools in Rochester,
Minnesota and West Fargo, North
Dakota and attended an Advanced
National Umpire School in Lincoln,
Nebraska. He has served as UIC for
the Detroit Lakes Softball League
and for the Clay County League
in Minnesota. He lives in Fargo
with his wife Katie and two school
age daughters. They also have
four other grown children and two
grandchildren.
Coleman and Pennick will be responsible for conducting Managers
and Umpires Rules Clinic prior to
the 2016 season and for supervising invitational tournaments in the
Southeast Region.
National Schools
Rochester
2011
Advanced Nat School,
Lincoln NE
2012
West Fargo
2014
Koby Pennick
Slowpitch Nationals
Men’s C Rochester
2010
Coed Open Bloomington
2011
(Cancelled which was a bummer)
Men’s B Andover
2013
Fastpitch Nationals
Rochester (14’s 16’s)
Rochester (14-A)
Sioux Falls (18-B)
2012
2014
2015
2016 ASA National Tournaments
8/3/2016 - 8/7/2016
7/27/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/25/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/25/2016 - 7/31/2016
8/3/2016 - 8/7/2016
8/4/2016 - 8/7/2016
8/4/2016 - 8/7/2016
7/25/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/31/2016 - 8/4/2016
7/27/2016 - 7/31/2016
8/2/2016 - 8/7/2016
7/25/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/26/2016 - 7/30/2016
8/2/2016 - 8/7/2016
7/25/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/26/2016 - 7/31/2016
8/3/2016 - 8/7/2016
8/4/2016 - 8/7/2016
8/4/2016 - 8/7/2016
7/26/2016 - 7/31/2016
ASA FAST PITCH GIRLS’ B
10-Under East
Marion, OH
10-Under North
Rochester, MN
10-Under South
Tupelo, MS
10-Under West
Medford, OR
12-Under East
Marion, OH
12-Under North
Pekin, IL
12-Under South
Lawton, OK
12-Under West
Kingman, AZ
14-Under East
York, PA
14-Under North
Overland Park, KS
14-Under South
Columbus, GA
14-Under West
La Habra, CA
16-Under East
Findlay, OH
16-Under North
Watertown, WI
16-Under West
Salinas, CA
18-Under East
Findlay, OH
18-Under North
Bowling Green, KY
18-Under South
Longview, TX
18-Under West
Salinas, CA
7/23/2016 - 7/26/2016
8/4/2016 - 8/7/2016
7/25/2016 - 7/31/2016
8/1/2016 - 8/8/2016
7/23/2016 - 7/26/2016
7/27/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/26/2016-7/31/2016
7/27/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/27/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/27/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/25/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/26/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/30/2016 - 8/2/2016
7/27/2016 - 7/31/2016
8/3/2016 - 8/7/2016
7/30/2016 - 8/2/2016
7/28/2016 - 7/31/2016
8/5/2016 - 8/7/2016
8/3/2016 - 8/7/2016
8/11/2016 - 8/13/2016
8/11/2016 - 8/13/2016
8/11/2016 - 8/13/2016
8/11/2016 - 8/13/2016
8/11/2016 - 8/13/2016
ASA SLOW PITCH COED
C
D
Open
St. Joseph, MO
St. Joseph, MO
Bowling Green, KY
8/26/2016 - 8/28/2016
8/26/2016 - 8/28/2016
9/16/2016 - 9/18/2016
ASA SLOW PITCH GIRLS’
10-Under
12-Under
14-Under
16-Under
18-Under
Evansville, IN
Evansville, IN
Evansville, IN
Evansville, IN
Evansville, IN
7/28/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/28/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/28/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/28/2016 - 7/31/2016
7/28/2016 - 7/31/2016
ASA SLOW PITCH MEN’S
Church
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class D
Class D East
Class D South
Class D Sout
Class D West
E/Rec. East
E/Rec. North
E/Rec. South
E/Rec. South
E/Rec. West
Industrial
Masters 35-Over
North Class D
NorthClass D
Senior East
Senior West
Super
Rolla, MO
Oklahoma City, OK
Oklahoma City, OK
Oklahoma City, OK
Oklahoma City, OK
Salem, VA
Oklahoma City, OK
Fort Myers, FL
Parris, CA
Salem, VA
Sioux Falls, SD
Ridgeland, MS
Oklahoma City, OK
Salem, OR
Ridgeland, MS
Mandan, ND
St. Joseph, MO
Welch, MN
Burlington, NC
Happy Valley, OR
Oklahoma City, OK
8/13/2016 - 8/14/2016
9/30/2016 - 10/2/2016
8/26/2016 - 8/28/2016
9/2/2016 - 9/4/2016
9/30/2016 - 10/2/2016
9/2/2016 - 9/5/2016
9/9/2016 - 9/11/2016
8/26/2016 - 8/28/2016
8/26/2016 - 8/28/2016
9/2/2016 - 9/5/2016
9/2/2016 - 9/5/2016
8/26/2016 - 8/28/2016
9/9/2016 - 9/11/2016
9/2/2016 - 9/5/2016
8/26/2016 - 8/28/2016
8/26/2016 - 8/28/2016
9/2/2016 - 9/5/2016
9/1/2016 - 9/5/2016
9/1/2016 - 9/4/2016
9/2/2016 - 9/7/2016
9/29/2016 - 9/30/2016
ASA SLOW PITCH WOMEN’S
Class C
Sioux Falls, SD
Class D
Sioux Falls, SD
Open
Oklahoma City, OK
9/2/2016 - 9/5/2016
9/2/2016 - 9/5/2016
9/30/2016 - 10/2/2016
Six Stall Batting Cage
(3 Baseball, 3 Softball) 25 balls for $2.00
100 Feet Deep, 100 Feet Wide & 50 Feet Tall
When you hit the ball watch it Ày!!
State of the Art 5,000 sq. ft. 2 level laser tag”
www.thunderroadfargo.com • 282-5151
West Acres
Mall
Exit
348
Ask about our
Team Rates!
I-94
r
Thundde
a
o
R
✭
Flying J
32nd Ave. S.
Exit 62
On I-29, Fargo
(North of Flying J Truck Stop)
38 Go-Karts - 1,000 ft. Track - Two 18-Hole Miniature Golf Courses - Full Arcade
5,000 sq. ft. Lazer Tag - Parties - Batting Cages (Softball and Baseball)
Buy one token get one free redeemable at Thunder Road
University Dr. S.
Sterling, VA
Pekin, IL
Tupelo, MS
Kent, WA
Sterling, VA
Rochester, MN
Tallahassee, FL
Kent, WA
Prince George, VA
Mt. Pleasant, MI
Dallas, TX
Roseville, CA
Wilmington, DE
Nevada/Ames, IA
Columbus, GA
Clovis, CA
York, PA
Rochester, MN
Johnson City, TN
Clovis, CA
Canton, OH
Canton, OH
Canton, OH
Canton, OH
Canton, OH
25th St. S
S.
ASA FAST PITCH GIRLS’ A
10-Under East
10-Under North
10-Under South
10-Under West
12-Under East
12-Under North
12-Under South
12-Under West
14-Under East
14-Under North
14-Under South
14-Under West
16-Under East
16-Under North
16-Under South
16-Under West
18-Under East
18-Under North
18-Under South
18-Under West
ASA SLOW PITCH BOYS’
10-Under
12-Under
14-Under
16-Under
18-Under
Bend IN. Danielle is a former Notre
Dame basketball star who received
the Pat Tillman Award for Service at
the 2015 ESPY Awards. Following
the Sept 11, 2001 attacks , Danielle
left her job as a teacher and basketball coach in her hometown of
Chicago to enlist in the U.S Army
. While serving with a military police unit in Baghdad , she lost her
lower left arm in a rocket propelled
grenade attack. When watching
Danielle play , her athletic talent is
obvious as she works toward being
a valuable member of the team ,
despite the fact her missing limb is
her dominant arm. Imagine trying
to learn to throw a softball without
your dominant arm!
This winter I had the good
fortune to attend three WWAST
events. No matter how many times
I see them play , I continue to marvel at their ability to overcome the
challenges they have faced. They
are a truly remarkable group of
softball players and people. Please
enjoy WWAST as they share their
spirit and special brand of softball
in North Dakota this summer.
I
I-29
7/17/2016 - 7/24/2016
7/17/2016 - 7/23/2016
8/4/2016 - 8/7/2016
8/26/2016 - 8/28/2016
7/15/2016 - 7/17/2016
7/22/2016 - 7/24/2016
9/29/2016 - 10/2/2016
9/2/2016 - 9/4/2016
42nd St. S.
ASA / USA GIRLS’ GOLD FAST PITCH
16-Under
Broken Arrow, OK
18-Under
Oklahoma City, OK
Kimberly, WI
Elkhart, IN
Salem, OR
Prescott, AZ
Houston, TX
Port Huron, MI
39th St. S.
7/31/2016 - 8/7/2016
7/31/2016 - 8/7/2016
7/30/2016 - 8/7/2016
8/1/2016 - 8/7/2016
8/1/2016 - 8/7/2016
continued from page 5
ASA FAST PITCH MEN’S
Major
Open East
Open West
Senior 50-Over
Senior 60-Over
(10)
45th St. S.
ASA / USA GIRLS’ CLASS A FAST PITCH
10-Under
Stockton, CA
12-Under
Salem, VA
14-Under
Sioux Falls, SD
16-Under
College Station, TX
18-Under
Bloomington, IN
Wounded Warrior’s
Offering free hot breakfast,
free WIFI, inroom coffee,
fridge, microwave, hairdryer,
iron & board. Enjoy indoor spa
and exercise room, courtesy
airport shuttle service and
more. expresswayhotels.com
“Where a good nights
rest costs less”
Softball News Fall 2015 – 9
Fargo earns award of excellence
James Farrell Award earned for Men’s Class D Tourney
Left to Right: Cheryl Jones, Jack Jones, Dave Frueh, and Lori Yantzer
Mandan lands two National Tournaments
Dave Frueh, representing the
Mandan Parks and Recreation
Department and the Mandan Softball Association went to the ASA/
USA National Council meeting in
Louisville, Kentucky to bid on a
national softball tournament. He
came home with two National
Tournaments in the bag – one for
2016 and one for 2017.
Mandan intended to bid for
the Men’s E/Rec tournament for
the 2017 season but they were
urged first by Chris Sebren of the
National Office and then by the
Chairman of the Masters/Seniors
Committee, Steve Anthony to accept the Master’s 35 tournament
for 2016. That tournament was
originally scheduled to be held in
Ridgeland, Mississippi but they
elected to withdraw. They cited
poor attendance as the reason. Assistant North Dakota Softball Commissioner Jack Jones and Frueh
agreed to take the 2016 Master’s
35 tournament with the following
conditions:
l) Tournament dates to be the
weekend before Labor Day weekend.
2) Two Divisions (Competitive
and Recreational)
3) Competitive Division-no
limits on player classification
Recreational Division-Maximum three Class D Players.
4) Home Run Rule: Competitive-4 Recreational: 2
5) Tournament Format: If ten
teams or more, double elim, 3 game
guarantee
Nine teams or less: Pool Play
: Seed into double elim
All of the conditions set out
above were approved by National
ASA Director, Craig Cress.
Tournament Dates: August 2628, 2016- Entry Fee $450, $350 if
paid by August l.
The ASA player database will
be used to determine classification.
The Fargo Slow Pitch Association was recognized with an award
for running one of the best National
Tournaments in the Nation at the
conclusion of the 2015 season.
The James Farrell award is given to
those tournament hosts whose ratings were above 90% in evaluations
done by the ASA National Office,
the ASA Tournament Representative and the ASA UIC of the tournament. Fargo had one of the top
rated tournaments in the country in
their first slow pitch National.
The award was presented at the
2015 ASA/USA National Council
meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.
The tournament was held over the
Labor Day weekend and drew one
of the largest fields of teams in the
country. Shown is Nick Gulmon,
Fargo Slow Pitch Board member
accepting the award on behalf of
the Fargo group.
Men’s E/REC Tournament
also awarded to Mandan
The Men’s E/Rec slow pitch
tournament was also awarded to
Mandan for 2017. This was the
tournament originally bid on and
was awarded for 2017 to allow tournament organizers time to properly
prepare.
This tournament has become one
of the most popular tournaments
sponsored by ASA. Mandan hosted
this same tournament in 2014 and
drew 63 teams, including 47 from
North Dakota as well as teams from
Minnesota, Montana,Wisconsin,
Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota.
Tournament dates and particulars
will be announced in future editions
of this paper.
Jack and Cheryl Jones assisted
Dave Frueh in both these tournament bids along with Lori Yantzer
of the Bismarck/Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Amy Anderson to Replace Mary
Hager as Women’s Commissioner
Amy Anderson of West Fargo has
been appointed NDASA Women’s
Commissioner to succeed Mary
Hager of Harvey who announced
her intention to retire after the 2016
season. Anderson will work with
Hager during this year so she will
move into the Commissioner’s role
in 2017 with a year’s experience as
an administrator.
Anderson grew up in Burnsville,
Minnesota and began playing slow
pitch softball in that city when she
was in the second grade. When
she reached the seventh grade she
switched to fast pitch, learned to
pitch and played four years of varsity softball at Burnsville High. She
went on to play high level fast pitch
for two years at NDSU and a year
at Minnesota State in Moorhead.
She has played slow pitch softball for over twenty years in the
Fargo, West Fargo area with a number of successful teams including
Tharaldson’s Bellerud, Pete’s and
the Silver Dollar Bar. She serves as
the Women’s League Representative for West Fargo. In addition to
her passion for softball, Amy also
enjoys bow hunting and fishing.
Her favorite quotation tells us
Amy Anderson
pretty much how she feels about
the game of softball: “They call
this a softball but really it’s a yellow
threaded gift from God, revealed to
each young lady who dares to play
the game. Somewhere between
her heart and hard work she will
find the thread that will unwrap the
talent she didn’t know she had, develop the character she will always
need and transform her teammates
into everlasting friends.” Author
Unknown.
Bat Information
The Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA)/ USA Softball, the
National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, in working
with Easton Baseball/Softball Inc. (Easton), announced today that
Easton is voluntarily removing the following softball bat models from
the ASA/USA list of certified bats:
SCN1
SCN11BH
SCN1B
SCN2B
SCN3
SCN4B
SCN5
SCN5B
SCN6B
SCN7
SCN7B
SCN8
SCX14
SCX14B
SCX24B
SCX3
SCN8B SCN9
Other organizations that currently use ASA’s bat performance standards
such as the NCAA, NFHS, NAIA, NJCAA may restrict such bats from
play in 2016 and beyond.
10 –
Softball News Fall 2015
DICKINSON
Parks & Recreation 2015
Softball
Tournaments
ents
ents
ents
Get your registration in early
to guarantee your spot
Pepsi Prime Time Classic
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Divisions: Men’s & Women’s
3 game guarantee
Cost: $130
9th Annual Rug Rat Benefit
Softball Tournament Sponsored
by Jerome Distributing
JUNE 3 -5
RD
th
3-Day Tournament
Men’s Division
Men’s C/D Division- 6 Teams
Rec 1-6 Teams
Rec 2-8 Teams
Rec 3-12 Teams
Rec 4-8 Teams
Women’s Division
Rec 1-3 – 12 teams
Deadline: June 1, 2016
Miller Lite Softball Tournament
Saturday & Sunday, July 9-10, 2016
*Member of the NDASA/Demarini Tournament Series
Divisions: Men’s & Women’s Divisions – 3 game guarantee
Cost: $150 (Men) - $130 (Women)
3 Game Guarantee
Unique Trophies!!!
Tournament Sponsored by
Deadline: June 29, 2015
Last Chance Pepsi Challenge
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Divisions: Men’s & Women’s Divisions
3 game guarantee
Sept. 2, 2015
Cost: $130
Mandan Softball Complex
Men’s and Women’s Divisions
Games will be played Friday if needed
3 All-Star Games Friday Night
Women’s 6:00 PM- Diamond 8
Rec 3-4 7:15 PM- Diamond 8
C/D Rec 1-2 8:30 PM- Diamond 8
“Teams may enter 1 player from
each Men’s Team and 2 Players
from each Women’s Team”
Have your Registration in by May
2nd 2016 for a chance to win a prize!
Silent Auction on Saturday
Tournament Hosted by
Please bring items to donate for the Silent Auction. A prize will be
given to the team whose items raise the most money.
Deadline: August 31, 2016
Entry forms are available
on our web site:
dickinsonparks.org
(701) 456-2074
2004 Fairway Street, Dickinson, ND 58601
Dickinson Softball League Contact: Ryan Nelson
Complete, Cut & Mail to: Rug Rat Tournament, to 3438 Crocus Ave, Bismarck, ND 58501 ॥ RegistraƟon must include Entry Fee
Men’s Team:
Women’s Team:
Team Name:
Division:
Manager’s Name:
Manager’s Address:
Manager’s Telephone: (H)
(C)
(W)
All Star Game Player(s):
Entry Fee $125.00, RegistraƟon Deadline May 24, 2016
Make checks payable to: Rug Rat BeneĮt SoŌball
Tournament Director:
Cody Clark
701-390-0024
[email protected]
ASA/USA Softball launches official
USA Softball Mobile App
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of
America/USA Softball announced
today the launch of the official
USA Softball Mobile App. Providing fans with exclusive content
365 days a year, the USA Softball
Mobile App is available for free on
iOS and Android platforms for both
smart phones and tablets.
"The USA Softball Mobile App
provides fans even more opportunities to follow along with our
athletes and events throughout
the year," said ASA/USA Softball
Executive Director Craig Cress.
"With the ever-changing digital
world, we're excited to offer our
fans and members exclusive content
and breaking news, all available at
their fingertips."
The USA Softball App provides
the latest in news, results and videos from Team USA athletes and
ASA/USA Softball events across
the globe. Fans who download the
app will have access on-the-go,
connecting their devices to athlete
stories, photos, videos and social
media. Some of the app features
include:
- Get all the latest in breaking
news, including competition results, Team USA announcements
and ASA/USA Softball stories
across the country
- Watch live-streaming from
ASA/USA Softball events across
the U.S. or search through our
video library for previous World
Cup, National Championships and
behind-the-scenes content
- Find anything and everything
about members of the USA Softball
National Teams, including social
media accounts, photo galleries and
athlete profiles
- Discover the many membership benefits of playing ASA/USA
Softball, including information on
how to register as a team, player,
coach or umpire
- Locate an ASA/USA Softball
event near you, including Team
USA tour stops, international competitions and ASA Hall of Fame
Complex events
- Shuffle through our expansive
photo galleries from tournaments,
contests and Team USA events
- Easy access to ASA/USA Softball's social media accounts
- Links to SoftballOutlet.com,
where fans can shop at the official
ASA/USA Softball online store
- Help keep athletes in the Red,
White and Blue with links to support USA Softball through donation
opportunities
For more information and to
ASA Insurance Plan
Summary for 2016
1. How to insure Teams and
Leagues
a. Individual Registration for JO
and Adult
A Combination of ASA insurance
and ASA Registration is included in
the ASA membership fee. Individual Registration is handled through
your local ASA Association.
b. Team Insurance for JO and
Adult
In some areas, insurance is available on a team or league basis
fro registered ASA teams. Obtain
a login and password from your
Commisioner to purchase Team
Insurance
with a credit card at www.RPSBollinger.com. Once your credit
card is approved, you can print you
insurance certificates.
2. How to insure Tournements
or Clinics
a. ASA SAnctioned Tournaments
This insurance is available for
softball tournements sanctioned
by your ASA Commisioner. Purchase online with a credit card at
www.RPSBollinger.com. Once
your credit card is approved, you
can print out your certificate of
insurance.
b. Softball Clinics/Classroom
Clinics
Clinic directors, sponsors and
organisors need to sanction thier
Clinic with thier local ASA Association. The insurance is then
available for purchase at www.
RPSBollinger.com. Once your
credit card is approved, certificates
are available fro printing.
3. How to insure Field Owners
Available to owners of fields were
ASA registered teams play and
where softball-related activities on
those fields have been authorized
by the local ASA Association. To
purchase insurance, mail completed enrollment fourm, along
with a check to RPS Bollinger. This
coverage is not available to Teams
and Leagues.
4. How to ensure Sport Officials
for other sports
Coverage is available to ASA
REgistered Umpires while officiating other sports and must be
purchased through your local ASA
Umpire Association or local ASA
Association (see info on www.
RPSBollinger.com).
5. How to insure Teams and
Leagues for:
a. Directors & Officers Liability
Provides coverage to anyone
acting in an official capacity for
non-profit Sports Leagues and
Associations for the actual or alleged wrongful acts and errors or
omissions.
b. Crime Insurance
Provides protection for Spots
Leagues and Associations against
the financial loss caused by dishonest dissapearace of money and
securities.
c. Equipment Insurance
Equipment owned by the Laegue
or Association is protected against
loss, including fire and theft.
All Optional Coverages can be
purchased with a credit card online
at www.RPSBollinger. com or by
check with a completed enrollment
form sent to RPSBollinger.
6. How to insure Commissioners
for Travel Accident
Commissioners can purchase
this plan to cover themselves and
thier staff on a 24-hour basis while
traveling on ASA business. To
purchase, mail a completed enrollment form along with a check to
RPSBollinger.
Brochures for each coverage are
available for printing at www.
RPSBollinger.com.
Any inquiries can be emailed to
ASARPSins.com.
download the app, please visit ASAUSASoftball.com.About
ASA/USA Softball
Founded in 1933, the Amateur
Softball Association (ASA)/USA
Softball is the National Governing Body Softball in the United
States and a member of the United
States Olympic Committee. One
of the nation’s largest sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball
sanctions competition in every
state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown
from a few hundred teams in the
early days to over 165,000 teams
today, representing a membership
of more than 2.5 million. ASA/
USA is responsible for training,
equipping and promoting the six
USA Softball National Teams
that compete in international and
domestic competitions. The USA
Softball Women’s National Team
is one of only two women’s sports
involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive
gold medals at the Olympic Games
since 1996. The U.S. women have
also won nine World Championship titles as well as claimed eight
World Cup of Softball titles. For
more information about ASA/USA
Softball, please visit http://www.
asausasoftball.com.
HR Rules
WSP HR RULE
Softball News Fall 2015 – 11
2016 State Tournaments Women’s
Slow Pitch/Co-Ed/Jo Girl’s Fast Pitch
TOURNAMENT
Women’s Slow Pitch Old Pro
Women’s Slow Pitch Rec II
Women’s Class D
Women’s Class C
Women’s Rec I
Women’s Rec III East
Women’s Rec III West
Co-Ed
JO Girl’s Fast Pitch
DATES
July 23-24
July 30-31
July 30-31
Aug. 13-14
Aug. 13-14
Aug. 13-14
Aug. 13-14
Sep. 10-11
July 15-17
SITE
Bismarck
Jamestown*
Wahpeton
Valley City
West Fargo
Grand Forks
Bismarck
Fargo
Grand Forks**
*Women’s Rec II East and West tournaments have been combined.
**JO Girl’s Fast Pitch includes 10U; 12U; 14U; 16U;18U.
2016 State Tournaments
Old Pro and Men’s
TOURNAMENT
Old Pro 50
Old Pro 60
Old Pro 50-Wood Bat
Old Pro 35
Old Pro 40
Men’s Div. II Class C
Men’s Div. III Class D
Men’s Rec II East
Men’s Rec II West
Men’s Rec III East
Men’s Rec III West
Men’s Rec I
Men’s Open
Men’s Rec IV East
Men’s Rec IV West
DATES
July 23-24
July 23-24
July 23-24
July 30-31
Aug. 20-21
Aug. 6-7
Aug. 6-7
Aug. 6-7
Aug. 6-7
Aug. 13-14
Aug. 13-14
Aug. 13-14
Aug. 13-14
Aug. 20-21
Aug. 20-21
SITE
Mandan
Mandan
Mandan
Mandan
Jamestown
Bismarck
Bismarck
Fargo
Mandan
Fargo
Bismarck
Minot
Mandan
Grand Forks
Dickinson
Open - Unlimited
C - 4 HR - Excess out
D - 2 HR - Excess out
MSP HR RULE
A - 10 HR - Excess out
B - 6 HR - Excess out
C - 4 HR - Excess out
D - 2 HR- Excess out
Rec- 1 - 2 HR Excess out
Rec - 2 -2 HR Excess out
Rec - 3 - 1 HR Excess out
Rec - 4 - 0 HR Excess out
SENIOR 50 - 60
HR’s 3 - Excess out
CO - ED
C - Div 1 - 4 HR - Excess out
D - Div 2,3,4 - 2 HR - Excess out
MASTERS
35 - D1 - 4 HR Excess out
35 - DII - 2 HR Excess out
35 - DIII - 1 HR Excess out
40 - D1 - 4 HR - Excess out
40 - DII - 2 HR - Excess out
2016
Tournament
Series
Fargo .................... April 16
Bismarck .............. May 1
Wahpeton ............. May 1
Mandan ................ May 7
Minot .................... May 7
Fargo .................... May 14-15
Mandan ................ May 21
Jamestown ........... May 21-22
Wahpeton ............. June 4
Grand Fork .......... June 4-5
Fargo .................... June 11-12
Center ................... June 11-12
Bismarck .............. June 18
Williston ............... June 18-19
McQuade.............. June 24-26
Dickinson ............. July 9-10
Grand Forks ........ July 9-10
Lisbon ................... July 9-10
Oakes .................... July 16-17
Valley City ............ July 17
Minot .................... July 23-24
NDASA Executive Committee
Dick Gulmon
Commissioner
883 Chautauqua Blvd
Valley City, ND 58702
[email protected]
(H) 701-845-4332
(W) 701-845-2712
(C) 701-490-0078
FAX 701-845-0781
Jack Lukes
2018
President & MSP
Commissioner
614 Rose Street
Lisbon, ND 58054
(H/FAX) 701-683-4466
(W) 701-241-8758
(C) 701-680-0408
[email protected]
Jack Jones
Asst. State Commissioner
3804 Saratoga Ave
Bismarck, ND 58504
1222 SW 4th Ave (Oct-Apr)
Cape Coral, Fl. 33991
(C) 701-426-8700
[email protected]
Scott Collins
2018
At-Large
PO Box 684
Minot, ND 58702
(H) 701-857-4730
[email protected]
Greg Kaeding 2017
Secretary/Treasurer
2813-10th Street N.
Fargo, ND 58102
(H) 701-280-2200
(C) 701-799-8042
[email protected]
Scott Brahos
2016
Vice President
805 Diane’s Court
Mandan, N.D. 58554
(C) 701-425-9444
(W) 701-221-1006
(H) 701-667-9296
[email protected]
Mary Hager
2016
WSP Comm. At-Large
2838-18th Street NE
Harvey, ND 58341
701-324-5272
(C) 701-341-0565
[email protected]
Sue Lachenmeier
2017
At-Large
950 Summit Blvd
Bismarck, ND 58504
(H) 701-222-3627
(C) 701-471-3182
[email protected]
Wayne Beyer 2018
At-Large
304 South 5th Street
Wahpeton, ND 58075
(H) 701-642-3082
(W) 701-642-2811
(C) 701-899-1700
[email protected]
Mike Wolf
2018
At-Large
1926 Billings Drive
Bismarck, ND 58504
(C) 701-400-2100
(H) 701-222-0478
[email protected]
Mike Peterson 2019
At-Large
4133 Arthur Dr.
Fargo, ND 58104
(C) 701-238-7384
[email protected]
Chris Hutton
2017
At-Large
9549 Demers Ave
Grand Forks, ND 58201
701-330-5798
[email protected]
RC Courtright
Ex-Officio Dir of Ops
Jamestown, ND
701-658-9337
[email protected]
12 –
Softball News Fall 2015
2016 NDASA/ DeMarini/
Invitational Tournament Series
2016 NDASA/DeMarini Tournament Series Rules
1) Teams entered in Series events will be awarded Series points based upon
tournament results.
2) Series points will be updated each week on the NDASA website.
3) Teams must play a minimum of three Series events, plus one state tournament, to be eligible for prize packages.
4) Teams “playing up in classification” will receive double points. It is the responsibility of the team managers and tournament directors to make the
Series Coordinator aware of teams playing up in class.
5) Teams may play more than one state tournament. Teams will receive Series points based upon where they place in each event. Teams will NOT
receive extra points for playing up in state tournaments.
Exception: D teams playing in the Open State Tournament will receive
points based upon being the highest placing D team, 2nd highest D team,
3rd highest, etc.
6) Points awarded for each tournament will be posted on the NDASA website
no later than 1 p.m. the Friday prior to Series events. Points will also be
listed at the tournament site in close proximity to the bracket boards.
7) Points will be based upon where teams place in the tournament and the
total number of teams entered in each event. All teams participating will receive a minimum of 60 points for each event.
8) Teams dropping out or forfeiting out of tournaments will NOT receive Series points.
Exception: Teams forfeiting due to the injured player rule will receive points
respective to their final tournament standing.
9) If a tournament is cancelled due to weather or not enough entries, all
teams that paid entry fees will receive the minimum 60 points.
10) If a partial rainout occurs, points will be distributed according to the order
of finish. Should some places be undecided, all remaining teams will share
equally the points for the undetermined places.
11) The number of entries, classifications of play, and tournament format are
at the discretion of local tournament directors at each event.
12) All NDASA Rules of Tournament Play apply. Any variations MUST be approved by the State Commissioner.
13) Final decisions regarding Series points will be made by the Series Committee. Any protest of points, tournament standings, results or eligibility,
etc., will be settled by the Series Committee.
14) Sam Martin will act as Series Coordinator. Series Committee: Sam Martin,
Jack Jones, Scott Brahos, RC Courtright.
2016 NDASA/DeMarini Series
Prize Packages
Over $15,000 in prizes will be given away this season:
Teams must play a minimum of three Series events, plus one
state tournament to be eligible for prize packages.
CLASS D
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
3 DeMarini Bats and 13 DeMarini Caps
2 DeMarini bats & Black Ops Roller Bag
2 DeMarini bats
CLASS E/REC 1
1st Place: 3 DeMarini Bats and 13 DeMarini Caps
2nd Place: 2 DeMarini Bats and Black Ops Roller Bag
3rd Place: 2 DeMarini Bats
REC 2
1st Place:
2nd Place:
3rd Place:
4th Place:
3 DeMarini Bats and 13 DeMarini Sweatshirts
3 DeMarini Bats and 13 DeMarini Long Sleeves
2 DeMarini Bats and Black Ops Roller Bag
2 DeMarini Bats
REC 3
1st Place:
4 DeMarini Bats, 13 DeMarini Long Sleeves and 13
DeMarini Caps
2nd Place: 3 DeMarini Bats and 13 DeMarini Caps
3rd Place: 2 DeMarini Bats and 13 DeMarini Long Sleeves
4th place: 2 DeMarini Bats and Black Ops Roller Bag
5th place: 2 DeMarini bats and a DeMarini Black Ops
backpack
6th Place: 2 DeMaarini Bats
7th Place: 1 DeMarini Bat
REC 4
1st Place:
2nd Place:
2nd Place:
3rd Place:
3rd Place:
4th Place:
5th Place:
3 DeMarini Bats and 13 DeMarini Sweatshirts
2 DeMarini Bats and Black Ops Roller Bag
3 DeMarini Bats and 13 DeMarini Long Sleeves
2 DeMarini Bats
2 DeMarini Bats and One DeMarini Black Ops
backpack
2 DeMarini Bat
1 DeMarini Bat
2015 ASA Equipment Committee Review
In the past year the Equipment
Committee, Dr. Lloyd Smith/
WSU Lab and ASA/USA Softball staff members have spent
a considerable amount of time
on equipment issues. We have
utilized the Trackman radar
system in field conditions for the
slow pitch and fast pitch this past
year. Trackman was used at the
McQuade Charity Tournament
in Bismarck, North Dakota to
compare the batted ball speed
(BBS) from the 11 inch 52/300
and 44/375 balls. Each ball was
rotated every inning to make for
accurate accounting of BBS.
Very favorable comments from
participants were received in
the event. Field testing of the
52/300 technology was also
done in the GFP game in 2015
utilizing trackman whereby the
52/300 -12” ball was compared
to the 47/375 12” ball. The ball
in this event was also rotated
every inning to develop accurate
comparisons. Teams also provided positive feedback as they
liked the size of the 52/300 FP
ball (11.875 min diameter versus
12.0 diameter of the 47/375 ball.
We have also learned the last
couple of years that the 52/300
ball provides more consistent
play in varying weather conditions.
The Trackman technology
was made possible by a partnership developed by ASA, WSU
Lab, NCAA and the NFHS for
this purchase and sharing of
the technology. The Trackman
technology has proven to be
essential to the decision making process in monitoring the
game conditions, equipment
standards, and research. Increasing our understanding of
how equipment performs and
impacts our game will quantify
how rule changes affect play as
we can make decisions about
softballs, bats and the effects of
temperature on equipment.
In 2015 the goals and project
priorities included the following:
Continue a Reaction Time
study to better understand reaction time and the variables that
affect it. We hope to learn more
about measuring acceptable
risk, perception of a batted ball,
formulation of response time,
distribution of reaction time, and
determine an average reaction
time of a fielder. This is a long
term project but worthwhile.
We continued to study the
52/300-11” ball and the 52/300
FP ball in the lab and field testing
with trackman. We continue to
learn the value of the 52/300 ball
in playability in all weather conditions as well as a significant reduction in severity impact which
will reduce injuries to players.
The use of compression testing
at all Championships was used
in 2015 and very positive results
were realized.
Bat and Ball Compliance
continued in 2015 whereby we
purchase products off the retail
store shelf and send to the lab
for testing. This past year we
also had a few associations send
ASA/USA Softball different bat
models for compliance testing.
In all cases the models were
sent to the lab and were found
to be in compliance with our bat
certification requirements.
WSU lab projects included the
study of bat surface roughness
and its effects on performance.
A field study regarding Reaction
Time was done at the Border
Battle this past year. Reaction
time study is a long term project
but will be valuable in making
equipment decisions in the future. The lab is in the process of
studying rolled bats and the possibility of building a non-destructive device to better identify bats
that have been rolled. Dr. Smith
and his staff continue to update
and improve the equipment used
to certify bats, making results
more repeatable in the process.
In 2014 the Equipment Committee presented a rule change
for the addition of the 52/30011” ball to be used in Women’s
Slow Pitch, Coed Slow Pitch
(Women’s batters only), Women’s Seniors, Women’s Masters
and Boy’s and Girls’ JO Slow
Pitch effective 2016. In 2015 we
have introduced a rule change
to eliminate the 44/375’11” ball
from ASA/USA Softball play effective 2017. The intent of these
changes is to optimize the positive effects we have realized in
the 52/300-12” ball technology
into the 11” game. Throughout
field and lab testing the past
three years the 52/300 technology has brought several important factors to the playing field.
1) The 52/300 ball produces
dramatic reduction in the impact severity index which will
reduce injuries to players upon
impact either by a thrown or
batted ball. The impact force
reduction in the 52/300-12” ball
is approximately 1000 lbs. We
have learned through field and
lab studies that the reduction in
impact force for the 52/300-11”
ball is an additional 20% more
than the 12” ball. We also found
in field studies that the 52/30011” ball only travels 2.5 ft less
than the 44/375-11” .
2) The 52/300-11” ball is less
affected by extreme temperatures or humidity and will provide
more consistent playability. Additionally and more importantly,
a significant reduction in the
Impact Severity Index will reduce
injuries to players. These factors
alone make it imperative for the
ASA/USA Softball to make a
change to the 52/300-11” ball.
The Equipment Committee
and Lab will continue to study
this technology of the 52/300-12”
ball for FP. Ball weight, diameter
and seam height will also be
important factors to consider if a
future change is considered for
the Fast Pitch game.
This past year we shared
a very positive Long Range
Planning survey taken at the
2014 Council meeting regarding equipment changes implemented the past few years.
We continue to discuss issues
surrounding bat tampering and
efforts to curb and or eliminate
this illegal activity that damages
the game. It is also extremely
important that we continue to
meet with our manufacture partners, as we collectively search
for new ideas to improve equipment opportunities for the game
of softball.
The Equipment Committee’s
2016 plans will be to continue
studying reaction time, improve
the process to detect rolled
bats, bat and ball compliance,
continued lab and field studies
of the 52/300 FP and SP ball,
and continue our partnerships
with manufactures to develop
and approve new products for
the game of softball.
We appreciate the work of Dr.
Smith and his WSU lab, members of the Equipment Committee as well as Craig Cress, Rich
Cress, Kevin Ryan and the ASA/
USA Softball staff for all the work
that was done this past year. As
in the past, it is the duty of the
Equipment Committee to make
the very best decisions possible
for the game of softball. We
continue to base those decisions
regarding bat and ball combinations and other related equipment; on the scientific data we
collect in an effort to uphold the
integrity of the game of softball.
Respectfully submitted,
Dick Gulmon
Chairman, Equipment Testing
and Certification Committee
If you are interested in a copy
of this review to post on your web
site, please contact me.
Softball News Fall 2015 – 13
NDASA Men’s Invitational Tournaments 2016
Sat, Apr 09
Fargo
4 C - D, 6 R1 - R2, 6 R3 - R4,
3GG, $135
Sam Martin
5235 50th Ave. S.
Fargo, ND 58104
701-367-4932
Bismarck ND 58504
527-5538
Sat, May 21
Mandan
12 R1 - R2, 12 R3 - R4, 3GG, $150
J D Hanson
Box 1836
Center, ND 58530
701-794-8891
DeMarini
Sat, Apr 16
Fargo
4 C - D, 6 R1 - R2, 6 R3 - R4,
3GG, $135
Sam Martin
5235 50th Ave. S.
Fargo, ND 58104
701-367-4932
DeMarini
Sat, May 21
Jamestown
6 R1 - R2, 6 R3 - R4, 4GG, $100
Gary Schmidt
1710 2nd Pl. NE
Jamestown, ND 58401
701-659-1744
DeMarini
Sat, Apr 23
Jamestown
8 R1 - R2, 8 R3- R4, 3GG, $100
Gary Schmidt
1710 2nd Pl. NE
Jamestown, ND 58401
701-659-1744
Sun, May 01
Wahpeton
5 C - D, 5 R1 - R2, 5 R3 - R4, RR, $100
Laree Bumgarner
304 5th St S
Wahpeton ND 58075
701-642-2811
DeMarini
Sun, May 01
Bismarck
4 Open, 6 C - D, 12 R1 - R2,
12 R3 - R4,3GG $150
Scott Kinnischtzke
4250 Calahan Place
Bismarck ND 58504
527-5538
DeMarini
Sat, Jun 04
Wahpeton
8 R3-R4, DE, $100
Laree Bumgarner
304 5th St S
Wahpeton ND 58075
642-2811
DeMarini
Sat, May 07
Mandan
5 C, 8 D, 8 R1 - R2, 8 R3 - R4,
3GG, $150
J D Hanson
Box 1836
Center, ND 58530
701-794-8891
DeMarini
July 9-10
Lisbon
8teams, R1-R2, 8 R3-R4, 4GG, $150
Brad Dahl
204 Bluff Street
Fort Ransom, ND58033
701-308-0489
DeMarini
Sat, May 07
Minot
35 C - R4, 3GG, $125
Tom Landseidel
420 3rd Ave. SW
Minot, ND 58701
701-857-4730
DeMarini
Sat, May 14
Fargo
8 C-D, 6 R1, 6 R2, 6 R3, 6 R4, 6GG, $235
Nick Gulmon
1839 49th St. S.
Fargo, ND 58103
[email protected]
701-866-0460
DeMarini
Sat, May 14
Bismarck
4 Open, 6 C-D, 12 R1 - R2,
12 R3 - R4, 5GG, $200
Scott Kinnischtzke
4250 Calahan Place
Fri, Jun 03-05
Mandan Rugrat
8 R1, 10 R2 , 16 R3, 16 R4, 3GG, $125
Cody Clark
3438 Crocus Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58501
701-390-0024
Sat, Jun 04-05
Grand Forks
BWW Early Bird
8 Open, 16 R1 - R2,
16 R3 - R4, 3 GG, $150
Chris Hutton
Grand Forks Softball Assn.
PO Box 13693
Grand Forks, ND 58208
701-330-5798
DeMarini
Sat, Jun 11-12
Fargo Classic
16 B -C, 24 D, 32 R1 - R2, 32 R3 - R4
3GG, 3GG, 3GG, 4GG
$225, $225, $200, $170
Sam Martin
5235 50th Ave. S.
Fargo, ND 58104
701-367-4932
DeMarini
Sat, Jun 11-12
Center
6 R2 , 10 R3 , 6 R4, 4 GG, $150
J D Hanson
Box 1836
Center ND 58530
701-794-8891
DeMarini
Sat, Jun 11
Dickinson
5D, 5 R1, 6 R2, 8 R3, 6 R4, 3GG, $130
Ryan Nelson
2004 Fairway St
Dickinson ND 58601
701-495-0025
Sat, Jun 18
Bismarck
4 Open, 6 C - D, 12 R1 - R2,
12 R3 - R4, 3GG, $150
Scott Kinnischtzke
4250 Calahan Place
Bismarck ND 58504
527-5538
DeMarini
Sat, Jun 18-19
Williston
7 D - R1, 7 R2 - R3, 6GG, $175
Darin Krueger
PO Box 1153
Williston, ND 58801
701-774-9773
DeMarini
Sun, Jun 19
Devils Lake
16 R2 - R4, 3GG, $100
Terry Wallace
PO Box 446
Devils Lake ND 58301
662-8243
Fri, Jun 24-26
Bismarck-Mandan
The McQuade
6 A-B, 24 C, 32 D, 32 R1, 48 R2,
128 R3, 48 R4, 16 M35-49, 8 M50, 4 M60
DE, DE, CC, CC, CC, CC, CC
$260, $260, $175, $175, $175, $175, $175
Mike Wolf
1926 Billings Dr
Bismarck ND 58504
400-2100
DeMarini
Register online at www.mcquades.com
Sat, Jul 09-10
Grand Forks
8 Open, 16 R1 - R2, 16 R3 - R4,
3 GG, $150
Chris Hutton
Grand Forks Softball Assn.
PO Box 13693
Grand Forks, ND 58208
701-330-5798
DeMarini
Sat, Jul 09-10
Rugby
6 R1 - R2, 8 R3 - R4, 5GG, $125
Mark Hamilton
1116 Main Ave S
Rugby ND 58368
701-208-1373
Fri, Jul 15
Wahpeton
8 R3 - R4, 3GG, $100
Laree Bumgarner
304 5th St S
Wahpeton ND 58075
642-2811
Sat, Jul 16-17
Oakes
8 R2 , 8 R3, 8 R4, 3GG, $120
Bob Ubben
210 S. 7th St.
Oakes ND 58474
742-2087 | 388-3083 DeMarini
Sun, Jul 17
Valley City
6 R1-R2, 8 R3 - R4, 3GG, $135
Amy Pederson
Valley City Parks & Rec
PO Box 422
Valley City, ND 58072
701-845-3294
DeMarini
Sat, Jul 23
Devils Lake
16 R2 - R4, 3 GG, $100
Terry Wallace
PO Box 446
Devils Lake ND 58301
701-662-8243
Sat, Jul 23-24
Minot
45 C-R4, 3GG, $125
Tom Landseidel
420 3rd Ave. SW
Minot, ND 58701
701-857-4730
DeMarini
Sat, Aug 20-21
Fargo
16 R3, 16 R4, 6 GG, $150
Greg Laffen
3813 17th St. S.
Fargo, ND 58103
701-280-1300
Sat, Aug 27-28
Center
8 R1 - R2, 12 R3 - R4, 3 GG, $150
J D Hanson
Box 1836
Center ND 58530
701-794-8891
Sat, Jul 09-10
Dickinson
5 D , 6 R1, 6 R2 , 16 R3, 12 R4,
3GG, $150
Ryan Nelson
2004 Fairway St
Dickinson ND 58601
701-495-0025
DeMarini
Fri, Sep 09-11
United Tribes
Legends
8 All Native, 8 D, 8 R1-R2, 12 R3 - R4,
DE, $260
Steve Shepherd
United Tribes Tech. College
3315 Univerity Dr.
Bismarck, ND 58504
701-226-3987
Sun, Jul 10
Turtle Lake
16 R3 - R4, 3GG, $110
Darwin Saari
PO Box 338
Turtle Lake, ND 58575
701-448-2596
Sun, Sep 11
Dickinson
5 D - R1, 6 R2, 12 R3 - R4, 3GG, $130
Ryan Nelson
2004 Fairway St
Dickinson ND 58601
701-495-0025
ND State & Invitational Tournament Instructions to all
MSP & WSP Team Managers
Teams may start with nine (9)
players. The tenth position in the
batting order will be an automatic
out each time that position comes to
bat. The tenth player may enter the
game at any time that they show up.
Team Forfeit: Teams that forfeit
as a result of other than ineligible
players or acts of suspension under
Article 305 (A) of the ASA Code,
shall be allowed to continue in the
tournament unless the forfeit was
their eliminating loss. All Forfeits
count as team loss.
Uniform Rule: Follow ASA
Rule book. Class B/C must wear
complete uniform. D & below
matching shirts with numbers.
Shorts must be like in color for B/C.
All classes - Caps and visors may be
mixed in color as long as they are
the color of the team uniform and
worn properly.
Run Ahead Rule: 20 after 3 innings, 15 after 4 innings, 10 after 5
innings. A/B - 20 after 4 innings &
15 after 5 innings.
Courtesy Runner: One courtesy
runner per inning. (All Divisions
of play) Use Masters Rule.Pitching:
1-1 Count, no courtesy foul.
Bats: ASA approved bats only.
State Tournaments- mandatory
compression testing at Men’s Rec
1 and higher. Random testing in all
other divisions.
Line Up Cards: Line up cards
required listing names of all starters
and substitutes.
No Metal Spikes.
Jewelry Rule: Follow ASA
Jewelry Rule.
Protests: All protests must be
settled immediately. No protests on
judgment calls.
Game Time: Game time is forfeit
time.
State Tmt. Pickup Rule: Teams
may pick-up a maximum of 2 players not to exceed 12 total players.
Pick-ups must come from same
classification or below. State Pickup form must be signed by league
rep or state official and submitted to
Tournament Director prior to first
game. Pick-up players must wear
their own uniform of highest classified team they are picked up from
No artificial noise makers
(boom boxes, music boxes, etc.
while game is in progress. Penalty
Ejection.
HR’s Do Not Run Bases
MSP HR Rules
A-Open 10 HR – Excess out
B -- 6 HR –Excess out
C -- 4 HR –Excess out
D – 3 HR –Excess out
Rec 1 & 2 – 2 HR – Excess out
Rec 3 - 1 HR – Excess out
Rec 4 - 0 HR –Excess out Invitational Tmt Pickup Rule -3 Pickup
players allowed with maximum of
12 players.
NDASA rostered players only.
Must wear uniform of highest rated
team. See Sec VII, 3.2 of NDASA
Guide Book for further information
on pickup rule or NDASA web site.
HR Masters
35 – Div 1- 4-HR – Excess out
35 –Div II – 2 HR – Excess out
35- Div III – 1 HR – Excess out
40 – Div 1 – 4 HR – Excess out
40 – Div II – 2 HR –Excess out
Co-Ed: C – 4 HR –Excess out
D –2 HR –Excess out
WSP: Open - Unlimited
C – 4 HR – Excess out
D – 2 HR –Excess out
Rec 1 – 2 HR Excess out
Rec II – 2 HR Excess out
Rec III –1 HR Excess out
State Tmt. Time Limit - WSP –
75 Minute time limit on all games.
MSP – 75 Minute time limit on
all (Rec III & Rec IV) games
No inning shall start after 75
minutes has elapsed. ExceptionChampionship Game
Game Rules: No alcoholic
beverages or smoking on benches
or in playing area during a teams
game. No Alcohol Consumption
by team personnel during games.
Auto Ejection.
Check the board for possible
changes in game times and dia-
monds.
Rosters: Teams must carry their
roster and Player carry ID’s. Roster
checks will be done.
National Tournament Misc.
Jack Lukes C: 680-0408 H: 683-4466
[email protected]
Mary Hager C: 341-0565
[email protected]
National Tournament: State
Office Rosters-Pick up forms –
Entry Fees
State Officials:
Dick Gulmon C: 490-0078, 845-3268,
845-4332
Jack Lukes C: 680-0408 H)683-4466
Jack Jones C: 426-8700
Mike Wolf C: 400-2100
Greg Kaeding C: 799-8042
Mary Hager C: 341-0565 H: 3245272
State Office – 952-3666
Enforcement of all rules are the
responsibility of the Tournament
Director & UIC
14 –
Softball News Fall 2015
2016 ASA code changes with comments as of November 18, 2015
Change Player Release is for
a player that has participated on a
team in championship play. They
may be released from a team after participating in Championship
Play, but it shall be prior to the
State / Metro Association roster
change deadline and shall have
written approval from the Coach
and Player / Parent Guardian
( if under age 18 ). For Junior
Olympic Players, if the Manager /
Coach and Parent / Guardian are
one and the same, there needs to
be an additional Manager / Coach
signature. For Adult Players if the
Manager / Coach and the Player
are one and the same, there
needs to be an additional Manager / Coach signature. This Player
Release Form must be approved
via signature by the State / Metro
Association Commissioner or his
/ her designee. A player may only
be released one time. If a request
to be released is denied by the
coach the player may appeal to
the Executive Director.
Comments: Establishes an
appeal process for a player when
a release request is denied by the
coach and establishes a limit on
how many times a player may
be released during the current
registration season.
Article 201 A A. Local Associations. The geographical area of
the United States shall be divided
into local associations each of
which shall be represented by a
Commissioner who shall act as
the liaison between such area
and ASA/USA Softball. Local Associations are defined as follows:
Comments: Redefines local
associations as established by
the Board of Directors.
Article 301 D 01 Exception:
a. In 9-Man Modified and 10Man Modified Pitch, teams shall
be made up of players from
their respective region or the
associations bordering state(s).
A rostered player can play in
Championship Play if they come
from within their respective region
or bordering states.
Comments: Establishes what
players can make up modified
teams. Article 301 D 05 c Masters
and Seniors Age Qualifications.
Note: Senior ages 70 & over
and 75 & over may have up to
three players who are one year
below the minimum age. Comments: Establishes allowances
for younger players to play 70 &
75 and over slow pitch.
Article 303 A 01 01. Pick-up
Players General Rule. The team
adding pick-up players must
select roster members from ASA
registered teams.
Comments: Removes restrictions on where a pick-up player
can come from.
Article 305 B 02 02. Hearing. Notwithstanding the prior
sentence or other provisions
of Article 305 of this Code, for
purpose of addressing extenuating circumstances, the ASA
Executive Director and or any
ASA Commissioner shall have
the authority to issue an interim
suspension pending a hearing. In
cases of an interim suspension,
an initial hearing on the matter
must be scheduled within twentyone ( 21 ) days from the first day
of the interim suspension. An
interim suspension shall have
the same effect as a suspension.
Comments: Establishes a
time frame for when a hearing
will be scheduled for an interim
suspension.
Article Number Article 305
F 01 Change Reciprocity. 01. A
determination of suspension or
ineligibility by one local Associa-
tion shall automatically constitute
a determination of suspension or
ineligibility for the applicable time
period with respect to participation in all ASA activities, including those activities conducted
by other ASA local associations
and for any national events conducted by ASA.
Comments: Creates a reciprocity of a suspended individual
between associations.
Article 305 F 02 02. At the
discretion of the Executive Director or any Local Association
Commissioner, a determination
of suspension or ineligibility of a
team, team member, manager,
team official, administrator, volunteer or umpire made by another sports organization, an affiliated member of ASA, an allied
member of ASA or another sport’s
governing body may be afforded
reciprocity by ASA so long as that
determination of suspension or
ineligibility was made after the accused person was provided notice and an opportunity to present
facts of his/her side of the issues
to the applicable organization
or governing body. In the event
ASA elects to provide reciprocity
to any such determination, the
Executive Director or any Local
Association Commissioner shall
issue a written statement that the
ASA has become aware of the
determination and shall similarly
enforce the suspension or eligibility determination of the other
organization or governing body
as to all ASA activities. Such a
written determination shall be
mailed to the accused person. If
the determination is made by any
Local Association Commissioner,
then the written determination of
the Local Association Commissioner shall be appealable by the
accused person by written appeal
within 14 days to the Executive
Director, whose decision shall
be final. If the determination is
made by the Executive Director,
then the Executive Director’s
determination shall be final and
not appealable.
Comments: Establishes
guidelines for honoring another
organizations suspension of
an individual playing ASA/USA
Softball.
Article 306 A 01 Divisions
and Classifications of Championship Play Defined 01. Men’s
Fast Pitch. Major Open
Comments: Establishes the
Open classification for Men’s
Fast Pitch and Deletes Men’s
Class A, B and C Fast Pitch.
Article 306 A Divisions and
Classifications of Championship Play Defined Men’s Senior
Slow Pitch 50, 55, 60, 65-Over
Major Plus Major AAA AA
Comments: Establishes the
Major Plus division for senior
classification.
Article Number Article 306
A Change Senior Slow Pitch
Note: The Senior Slow Pitch playing guidelines will be established
by the ASA Executive Director.
Comments: Establishes that
the Executive Director will establish guidelines for senior slow
pitch.
Article 306 A Masters Slow
Pitch Note: The Masters Slow
Pitch playing guidelines will be
established by the ASA Executive Director.
Comments: Establishes that
the Executive Director will establish guidelines for master’s
slow pitch.
Article 306 A Boys Slow
Pitch Note: The Boys Slow
Pitch playing guidelines will be
established by the ASA Execu-
tive Director.
Comments: Establishes that
the Executive Director will establish guidelines for boys slow
pitch.
Article 307 F 03 f f. Men’s
Major Fast Pitch Players will be
classified by a restricted fast pitch
players list. The restricted fast
pitch players list will be available
on the ASA website and this list
will be updated, modified and/or
revised on a regular and continuous basis, but will be finalized by
July 15 each year for the current
year’s National Championship
Finals. The players on this list
are ineligible to participate in
the Men’s Open Fast Pitch classification. Any appeals regarding
this list can be made through the
National Office to the Fast Pitch
Classification Board.
Comments: Establishes the
deadline when the Men’s Major
Fast Pitch restricted list will be
finalized.
Article 307 H H. Mandatory
Classification NOTE: Players
that have no ASA playing history
should be handled in the following manner: If a track record of a
player can be verified in another
National Association that player
shall be classified at that level.
The higher classification level
from any association will set the
base standard for ranking, within
a two ( 2 ) year time frame.
Comments: Establishes a
guideline for classifying slow
pitch players who are not in the
ASA/USA Softball classification
database.
Article 307 H 03 d d. Girls’
Class B Fast Pitch. Teams and
players who participate in Class
A tournaments, or higher, that
lead to a National Championship Finals, shall not be eligible
to participate in the Class B
competition. Girls’ Class B teams
must be made up of players who
participate in the same league.
Comments: Eliminates the restriction that Girls’ Class B teams
have to be made up of girls from
the same league.
Article Number Article 309
C 01 j Change j. Women’s Class
C and D Slow Pitch. These National Championship Finals can
be scheduled on the weekend
prior to Labor Day or on Labor
Day weekend. If scheduled on
the weekend prior to Labor Day
the tournament shall commence
no earlier than Thursday at 6:00
p.m. and conclude no later than
Sunday. If scheduled on Labor
Day the tournament shall commence no earlier than Thursday
at 6:00 p.m. and concluding no
later than Monday.
Comments: Establishes an
additional date that the Women’s
Class C and D Slow Pitch National Championships can be held.
Article 310 F 01 01. Fill-in
procedure may be implemented
only after the entry deadline date
and/or with the consent of the
National Office.
Comments: Establishes a
procedure for implementation of
the fill-in procedure for National
Championships.
Article 310 F 02 02 EXCEPTIONS: a. Junior Olympic Girls’
Class A Fast Pitch Only. No fill-in
procedure if the tournament has
128 qualified teams. At no time
will the fill-in procedure be used
to exceed 128 teams.
Comments: Establishes a
guideline for how many teams
can be entered
Article 311 A A. Types of
Championship Brackets Exception: The Executive Director can approve an alternative
bracket used in Championship
Play upon request.
Comments: Allows the Executive Director to approve alternative brackets for championship
play.
Article 311 A 01 01 Pool Play
Bracket Note: Junior Olympic
Girls’ Fast Pitch 16-Under Gold
and 18-Under Gold, this championship will use pool play prior to
a double elimination bracket and
play 3 pool play games. The pool
play bracket is to be used prior
to the seeded double elimination
bracket for the purpose of drawing into the seeded bracket.
Comments: Establishes that
pool play will count in seeding
the double elimination bracket for
the Gold National Championship.
Article 311 A 04 04. 3 Game
Guarantee Bracket l. Coed
Class C m. Coed Class D
Comments: Establishes that
the Coed Class C and D National
Championships will offer a three
( 3 ) game guarantee bracket.
Article 311 B 03 b Bracket
Draw Procedures. Delete 01,
02, and 03 and replace with
the following. 01. Teams will
represent the Region where they
are registered.
Comments: Establishes what
region a team will represent at a
National Championship.
Article Number Article 313
F 01 Change Gold National
Qualifier. Remove the event
from Oklahoma City. Comments:
Removes the Gold National
Qualifier from being held in Oklahoma City each year.
Article 315 F 01 01. National
Gold Qualifying Tournaments
Exception: 16-Under and 18-Under Gold Territory Qualifiers may
be held during the week if agreed
upon by the Regional JO Commissioners in their territory.
Comments: Establishes the
option for Gold Qualifiers to be
held during the week if approved
by the Regional JO Commissioners.
Article 315 F 05 a. Each
NGQT Director will submit to
the National Office and to the
National Tournament Director
Host an updated list of all teams
participating in their tournament
(inclusive of Team Name, as it appears on their ASA Official Tournament Entry Form, Manager’s
Name including Street Address,
City, State, Zip Code, Telephone
Numbers, and Email, and registered association), within 24
hours after the conclusion of
the tournament. b. The National
Office will maintain a master
list of all Gold teams who have
qualified and accepted berth(s)
for the National Championship
Finals. Maintaining this list will
require each NGQT Director to
submit each Monday, starting
the first week in June, a list of
teams that qualified the previous weekend (Inclusive of Team
Name, as it appears on their ASA
Official Tournament Entry Form,
Manager’s Name including Street
Address, City, State, Zip Code,
Telephone Numbers, and Email,
and registered association, and
association they qualified/accepted the berth from). c. Each
NGQT Director will follow Procedural Manual Article 105 D 14
for using www.tournamentasa.
com d. Each NGQT Director will
submit an official order of finish,
and tournament bracket within
24 hours after conclusion of the
tournament to the National Office
and to the National Tournament
Director Host. e. Each NGQT Director will scan/email the original
rosters, and official tournament
entry forms (completed) to the
National Office and National
Tournament Director. f. Failure
to submit paperwork on time will
result in assessment fees to be
raised from $15 per team to $50
per team to be paid to ASA.
Comments: Establishes the
guidelines for National Gold
Qualifying Tournament host.
Article 316 C 01 01 Men’s
Class B Slow Pitch. 01. The
top 10% finishers at the previous
season’s Men’s Class C Slow
Pitch Nationals will be awarded
an unpaid berth.
Comments: Establishes that
Men’s Class C teams who finish in the top 10% will receive a
berth to the following years Men’s
Class B National Championship.
Article Number Article 316
D 03 Change D. Men’s Class
C Slow Pitch. 03. The top 10%
finishers at the previous season’s
Men’s Class D Slow Pitch Nationals will be awarded an unpaid
berth.
Comments: Establishes that
Men’s Class D teams who finish in the top 10% will receive a
berth to the following years Men’s
Class C National Championship.
Article 316 E E. Women’s
Class C Slow Pitch, Women’s
Class D Slow Pitch, Co-ed
Open, Co-ed Class C and Coed Class D. The ASA will conduct
one ( 1 ) National Championship
Final in each division and classification. The format and an
optimal date at a destination city
will be determined by the Tournament Programs and Awards
Committee. Qualification and
advancement from each local
association will be determined by
the respective local association
commissioner.
Comments: Establishes that
the local association commissioner determine how Women’s
Class C, D, and Co-ed Class C,
D, and Open qualify for the National Championships.
Article 316 G 01 a 01. Men’s
Class D Slow Pitch a. The top
10% finishers at the previous
season’s Men’s Class E/Rec
territory slow pitch nationals will
be awarded an unpaid berth to
Men’s Class D territory slow pitch
nationals.
Comments: Establishes that
Men’s Class E/Rec teams who
finish in the top 10% will receive a
berth to the following years Men’s
Class D National Championship.
Article 316 G 03 ASA Eastern
/ Southern / Northern / Western
National Championship Finals.
03 Junior Olympic Slow Pitch
Comments: Establishes that
Junior Olympic Girls and Boys
Slow Pitch National Championships can be hosted in each ASA
Territory.
Article 316 H H. Girls’ Class A
ASA / USA Fast Pitch National
Championship Finals. 18, 16,
14, 12, 10-Under. Returning
Teams from previous year’s ASA/
USA National Class A National
Championship Finals - Top 10%.
Comments: Establishes returning berths for the top 10%
of teams in the order of finish for
ASA/USA National Championships.
Article 317 E USA SOFTBALL
MEN’S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. E. RULES AND
REGULATIONS. EXCEPTION:
Pick-ups will not be allowed after the National Championship
Finals for the National Championship Series.
Comments: Deleting this item
will allow for teams that make it
to the National Championship
Series to pick up players.
Softball News Fall 2015 – 15
NDASA Invitational Tournaments 2016
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Softball News Fall 2015