Softball News

Transcription

Softball News
Softball News Spring 2013 – 1
McQuade Tournament
ready for round 38!
Page 7
Invitational
Tournaments
Pages 10,11
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Garrison, ND
IATION | Spring 2013
Volume 31, Number 3 | NORTH DAKOTA STATE AMATEUR SOFTBALL ASSOC
Tim Burckhard
Darcie Hanson
Tim Michelsen
Don Minette
Mike Wolf
Five more added to Hall of Fame
Meeting in conjunction with the
annual Winter meeting of the North
Dakota Amateur Softball Association, the Hall of Fame Selection
committee has proposed five additions to the Softball Hall of Fame
bringing the total membership to
250. This year’s inductees will
include Tim Burckhard of Burlington; Darcie Hanson of Bismarck;
Tim Michelsen of Bismarck; Don
Minette who is deceased; and state
Umpire in Chief Mike Wolf of
Bismarck. Induction ceremonies
will take place on April 20 at the
Gladstone Inn of Jamestown.
TIM BURCKHARD: Burckhard has played slow pitch softball
in Minot for almost 30 years and
carries a lifetime batting average
near .600. Primarily an outfielder
who also played first base when
need, Burckhard is described as a
great competitor with lots of power
in his bat while at the same time
could deliver key hits when needed.
He played at the top level of North
Dakota slow pitch virtually his
whole career. He had a teriffic arm,
good speed and was one of the most
feared hitters in the Minot area.
Blessed with power at the plate
he played for teams which won
state titles in several divisions of
play. He generally hit in the number
3 or 4 spot in the lineup and has hit
over 1,200 homeruns in his long
career. In the days before home run
limits were imposed, Burckhard hit
multiple home runs in many games
and in many tournaments.
In particular, he remembers hitting three home runs in the first
inning of a game in the McQuade
tournament while playing with
Toads of Minot.
His application for membership
in the Hall of Fame has won endorsements from four players who
are already in the shrine.
DARCIE HANSON: Darcie
Hanson of Bismarck has played
some form of bat and ball since she
was a little girl. She began her career as a little league baseball player
in her home town of Robinson since
no softball was available to play.
She credits her coaches in little
league who stressed fundamentals
and taught them to all the players.
During high school she played
with her mother’s adult softball
team , then started college at Valley
City State where she played fast
pitch, first as a shortstop and then
as an outfielder. During her final
three years in college, Hanson was
named to the All Conference and
All District teams. She also assisted
the fast pitch team during her final
year in college. Her 1988-89 team
was recently inducted into the Valley City state Hall of Fame.
She has played slow pitch softball in the Bismarck City leagues
for over 25 years and has played in
the top women’s leagues as well as
dozens of state tournaments, five
Nationals and three Co-ed Nationals. She is described by one of her
endorsers as a hard nosed player,
not afraid to get skinned up and
willing to put maximum effort into
every game.
She has a strong throwing arm
and always hits the ball hard and is
a home run threat.
Despite being an intense competitor, she leaves the game on the
field which displays good sports-
manship and class.
TIM MICHELSEN: Tim Michelsen has played with five differSee HALL of FAME page 11
Annual Spring meeting April 20
Hall of Fame banquet, induction same date
State softball commissioner
Jim Hanley has announced that
the annual Spring meeting of the
North Dakota Amateur Softball Association will be held on Saturday,
April 20 at the Gladstone Inn in
downtown Jamestown.
The Hall of Fame banquet and
induction ceremony will be held in
the Gladstone as it has been the past
several years.
The Spring meeting will begin
with coffee and rolls at 8:30 a.m.
followed by a general meeting beginning at 9:00 a.m. 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
Red Willow Lake Resort
division and the umpires.
The Hall of Fame banquet and
induction ceremony is also scheduled on Saturday, April 20 at the
Gladstone Inn . The banquet will
begin at 5:30 p.m. so that attendees
at the state meeting can also stay
for the Hall of Fame festivities and
still get home that evening. A cash
bar will open at 4:30 p.m. with the
dinner to follow. Induction of this
year’s Hall of Fame members will
follow. All Hall of Fame members
have been invited and anyone may
feel free to attend.
Tickets may be obtained by
contacting the NDASA office in
Jamestown. Phone number is (701)
952-4448.
see HALL OF FAME on page 2
Off Hwy #1, 25 miles North of Cooperstown • 30 miles south of Lakota
OPEN AGAIN! You decided I wasn’t old enough to retire – so in December We decided, O.K. we’ll work on the diamonds and enjoy all those
hours with you again! “Let’s make it a super fun 2013. Yipes – 67 years?? Field of Dreams – Heifer Stadium – here we all come again!
Win individual engraved
medals, trophies, M.V.P.
awards, 14 & 22 oz. Neon mugs,
Super Bats for home runs
and a few surprises!!
Men’s Tourneys
OPENINGS IN ALL TOURNAMENTS
3 Game Guarantee or RR
3 game guarantee for all.
Welcome Canadians and Minnesotans every tourney!!
July 27 & 28 – III & IV .......................16 teams
Aug. 24 & 25 – Open ........................16 teams
Baseball
39th Annual Fall Funerama
Aug. 31-Sept. 1-2 – Open.................24 teams
Coed Tourneys
3 Game Guarantee
35th Annual Early Bird Spring Reunion
May 26 & 27 – Open ........................12 teams
July 4 – Open ...................................12 teams
Aug. 17 & 18 – Open ........................12 teams
Girls Fast Pitch Tourneys
June 22 – 18 & Under ......................8 teams
June 29 – 14 & Under.......................12 teams
3 Game Guarantee or RR
Bring your tents, trailers, motorhomes, barbecue
grills, motor boats, friends and family for a fun-filled
weekend.
Restaurant open 12 hours a day, groceries, softball
supplies and game machines. Go fishing, swimming,
boating, skiing, rollerskating or play volleyball. Showers on the grounds. Don’t go home without a Red
Willow sweatshirt, cap or T-shirt for loved ones.
June 8 & 9 – 54th Early Bird ............. 15 & Under Babe Ruth
June 16 – 12 & Under....................... Cal Ripken
June 23 – 12 & Under....................... Cal Ripken
June 30 - 9 & Under ......................... T-Ball
July 6 & 7 – 15 & Under.................... Babe Ruth
July 13 – 9 & Under ......................... T-Ball
July 14 – 12 & Under ........................ Cal Ripken
..
For Information call:
Vernis Haines - 676-2061
Guys & Gals, God loves you and so do I!
2–
Softball News Spring 2013
President’s Report
Welcome again to another softball season in North Dakota. Rules
clinics will be held throughout the
State in April as we begin another
year of our ASA/NDASA Softball
program.
I attended the ASA National
Council meeting in Dallas last November along with Commissioner
Jim Hanley, Mike Wolf, Walt Stack,
Jack Jones as well as a delegation
from Bismarck and Mandan who
were bidding on ASA National
Championships for North Dakota.
Mandan received the James Ferrell
award of excellence for holding
one of the highest rated National
Championships in the country. Congratulations to Dave Freuh and his
staff which included a tremendous
amount of volunteers for putting
on such a great event. Great job to
you and your staff Dave, we appreciate all the work in providing
another quality ASA Championship
in North Dakota. Other good news
coming out of the National Council
meeting was Mandan was awarded
the 2014 MSP E/Rec Northern National Championship for 2014, and
Bismarck was awarded the 2014 JO
16B Northern National Championship. These two cities have made us
all proud in running numerous high
quality ASA National Championships over the years. Thus, North
Dakota has a tremendous reputation
for getting the job done which leads
to future success in the bidding
process. Our thanks to Dave Freuh,
Tim Kuntz and their staffs for their
work in promoting softball on the
local and national level. A special
thank you to the Bismarck/Mandan
Convention and Visitors Bureau for
their assistance in bringing these
National Championships to North
Dakota. It would be extremely difficult to hold these National events
were it not for the support from
the CVB. These events are impor-
tant to our players, fans and they
certainly promote quality of place
and quality of life in North Dakota.
Special thanks to Lori and her staff
at the Bismarck/Mandan CVB for
their vital role in the success of our
program.
2013 Rules and Code changes
approved at the Council meeting
are printed in this newspaper as
well as listed on the NDASA web
site. Just a few of the highlights
are: I)GFP 14 A&B will pitch at
43’ which is the same as GFP 16U
and 18U. There will be a new ASA
2013 Certification Mark for bats
approved for SLOW PITCH only.
2) Effective 2014 the 52/300 12”
ball will be the only ball allowed in
Men’s Adult SP and Co-ed, Men’s
Masters SP and JO Boys SP. 3)
Established a new qualifying procedure and Championship format
for the Men ‘s Class C Slow Pitch.
4)Increases the Men’s D Championship Series to the top (4) from
each Territorial Championship to
this event. Sixteen (16) teams will
be seeded into a double elimination
bracket. 5)Men’s Slow Pitch B has
been changed to the 2 weeks prior
to Labor Day.
Other items at the council was
the NDASA web site as well as
Indiana ASA and Southern Cal
ASA web sites were used for an
educational session to promote usage and the quality of web sites in
the ASA. We were certainly proud
to have the NDASA web site part
of the session and send out a special
thank you to RC Courtwright for
the great job he does for us in North
Dakota. ASA has created an app for
your smart phone to access ASA
Rules. The app is $4.95 per year
and you can get more information
on the ASA web site. It will be a
great opportunity for all to search a
particular rule at the field with your
smart phone. Not for you folks with
the flip phone. Also, download the
ASA web site on your phone @
M.ASASoftball.com which will
allow you to access all the ASA
information at your finger tips,
including equipment information.
These are great opportunities for
everyone provided by the ASA
National Office staff.
NDASA has received three (3)
berths to the Men’s Slow Pitch
National Championships. We will
hold qualifiers this summer at three
different sites. The qualifiers will
be the Fargo Busch Light Classic
June 15 & 16, the McQuade Charity
tournament June 29 & 30, and the
MSP Div 1 State Tournament Aug
3 &4. Each berth will provide the
team with $500.00 travel money
and $200.00 entry fee paid to ASA.
This past fall NDASA established a new position of Asst. State
Commissioner at the State level. I
am pleased to inform you that Jack
Jones has been appointed to this
position. Jack comes with tremendous softball experience from all
facets of the game on the field and
from an administration standpoint.
In this position Jack will assist in
all aspects with regards to the administration of the ASA/NDASA
program. Jack’s first responsibility
will be serving as Chairman of
a newly formed Slow Pitch Task
Force Committee. Jack will be
assisted by Vice Chair Mike Peterson and committee members from
across the State. This committee
will meet throughout the year to
discuss, promote and recommend
changes to improve the Slow Pitch
program within the NDASA. Jack
and Mike will do a great job with
this committee and we look for
positive results going forward. We
have made some changes to our
player classification eligibility,
most notably in the Rec Divisions.
Changes have also been made to
the HR limit in Rec III and Rec IV.
These changes were approved at
the Winter NDASA meeting based
on recommendations from the task
force. See the NDASA web site
for details. If you have questions
on the player classification appeal
process please contact Mike Peterson Chairman for assistance. Mike
and his committee of Scott Brahos
and Roger Weigel have done a
great job implementing our player
classification program and look to
develop a process for the Rec Divisions as well.
There are great opportunities
to participate in ASA National
Championships in the Northern
Region in 2013. MFP B & C in
Mankato 8/29-9/2, GSP 10-18 in
North Mankato 8/1-8/4, GFP 16A
Rochester, Mn. 8/1-8/4, GFP 14B
Bismarck, N.D. 8/1-8/4, GFP 18A
Bloomington, Mn. 8/1-8/4, GFP
18B Rochester, Mn. 8/1-8/4, and
WSP C&D Watertown, S.D. 8/299/1. The 14B GFP is NDASA’s
first opportunity to host a National
Championship for Girls’ Fast Pitch.
We encourage programs across our
State and Region to take advantage
of this opportunity. We look for a
great event in Bismarck.
I would like to once again send
out a special thank you to Gary and
Connie Tharaldson for sponsoring
our State Tournament Trophies and
Banners. This is a significant donation to our program and assists us
in holding down fees to players and
teams which provides tremendous
opportunity for participation. Be
sure to thank Gary and Connie
when you see them.
Congratulations to the NDASA
Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Darcie
Hanson of Bismarck, Tim Burckhard of Burlington, Don Minette
(deceased) formerly of Minot, Tim
Michelson of Bismarck and Mike
Wolf of Bismarck will be inducted
Dick Gulmon
into the NDASA Hall of Fame at
a banquet on April 20th in Jamestown at the Gladstone Inn. Contact
the State Office for details as this
well be a very special event for the
inductees and their families.
A special thank you to Commissioner Jim Hanley, the NDASA
Executive Board, the NDASA
Advisory Board, League Reps,
Umpires, Tournament Directors,
and the hundreds of volunteers who
make it possible to run our program
in North Dakota. We could not
have the quality program we have
without the dedication and hard
work of so many in North Dakota.
Also, a special thanks to the ASA
National staff members who provide guidance and assistance to run
our softball program. I have had the
pleasure to work and get to know
the folks at the National Office and I
can tell you that they are a group of
dedicated people who love softball
and pride themselves in the work
they do for us and the sport every
day. Thanks to each of you for all
you do for ASA. It is indeed a privilege to be a part of the ASA which
is the National Governing Body of
Softball in the United States.
Have a great season in 2013
and hope to see you around the
diamond.
Dick Gulmon President/NDASA
Commissioner’s Column
It is time to start thinking about
the 2013 softball season. It is
enjoyable to write this column as
expectations are high for the upcoming spring. NDASA is preparing to meet your softball needs for
the upcoming season.
At the fall meeting of ASA in
Dallas, Mandan received a national award for receiving a very
high mark for holding the 2012
MSP Master 35 and Over National
Championship. I personally wish
to congratulate Mandan for this
prestigious award.
At the conference Bismarck was
awarded the GFP 16U B Northern
National Tournament for 2014
7/31—8/3. Mandan received the
E/Rec Northern Nation Tournament
for 2014.
North Dakota will host at
Bismarck the 2013 GFP 14U B
Northern National Tournament.
(8/01/8/04).
This past winter the Executive
Board named Jack Jones Assistant
State Commissioner. Jack will
co-chair with Mike Peterson of
Fargo the recently formed Slow
Pitch Task Force. This Task Force
will deal with all classification
changes and other pertinent information. Slow Pitch (Men’s) will
be directed to them.
Other people retain their positions. These people are to be
contacted about questions in their
division of play. Bill Butterfield
GFP State Commissioner and
Brian Neuhart Assistant GFP State
Commissioner will be in charge.
Scott Schafer will be the GSP State
Commissioner. Roger Weigel
continues to be the state and invitational Tournament Coordinator.
(ALL tournament inquires and
sanctioning must go to him before
you can host at tournament.)
I want to inform all teams playing NDASA softball this year that
their team classification may have
changed. You must know your
team classification as you register
and roster your players. It is your
responsibility to check what your
2013 classification will be. If you
do not agree with the classification,
you must contact Mike Peterson or
Jack Jones.
ALL GFP (registration and
rostering) must go through either
Bill Butterfield or Brian Neuhart.
The registration in GFP will remain as individual registrations.
Registration will follow the rules
established for our other division
of play. Invitational tournaments
must be sanctioned by Roger
Weigel. You can not host a GFP
or GSP tournament without being
sanctioned through Roger Weigel.
There have been some rule and
code changes that could affect
NDASA divisions of play. These
will be addressed at the spring meeting in Jamestown on April 20,2013.
Check our web site for NDASA
information. We are planning to use
this site as it pertains to all NDASA
matters. Check out the web site for
this material but if not found contact
one of the people listed above. At
the fall conference the web site of
NDASA was ranked in third place
among all the ASA web sites. I have
been told by the webmaster that next
year we will be ranked #1.
I wish to congratulate the newest
inductees to the NDASA softball
Hall of Fame. They will be inducted
at a banquet the evening of April 20th
in Jamestown. If you have never
been to an induction ceremony, it
Jim Hanley
would be a great opportunity to
attend this year and express your
feelings toward each inductee. The
ceremony lasts about one hour and
allows each to be on the road by
8:00 PM.
Have a wonderful year playing
NDASA and ASA softball. Good
Luck.
From Behind the Catcher
This column will be mostly
personal so if you just don’t care,
maybe you don’t want to read any
further. As hard as it is for me to
believe, I turned 80 years old on
January 24, 2013. That fact has
created some conflict in my life.
I had been counting on umpiring
some recreational games this coming season so I would be able to say
that I was still umpiring in my 80’s.
Unfortunately I’m not so sure
my physical health will permit me
to do that. As far as I know, I have
no dread disease but most days I
can really tell that I have 80 years
on my odometer. I’m hoping that
when the sun starts to shine I will
be able to get out there again.
The Amateur Softball Asso-
Contact Information
NDASA State Office
Telephone: (701) 952-4448
FAX: (701) 952-4488
Email: ndasa@daktel.com
Website: webmaster@ndasa.org
ciation is also celebrating it’s 80th
birthday. I recently attended the
Umpire in Chief Clinic in Oklahoma City. The association had put
together some banners celebrating
the 80th year of ASA.
Several Umpires from the Northern Region threw some money
in and bought one of these large
banners (6ft.x3ft.) and then had it
autographed by about 100 umpires
who were in attendance at the
clinic. It was presented to me at
the awards ceremony. It was a very
thoughtful thing to do and I really
did appreciate it. Several umpires
took photos of Northern Region
UIC Steve Riswold presenting it
to me so I hope I will get one of
those photos to print along with
this column.
For the first time in several years,
I passed up the Annual Council
Meeting of the ASA in Dallas. I
could have gone but I chose to go
to the UIC Meeting in Oklahoma in
February. I really feel like an extra
wheel at the Council meeting since
I have no duties or responsibilities.
Of course I could see lots of people
I know and visit with old friends but
I still feel out of it.
Maybe next year.
As you’ll see elsewhere in this
issue, both Bismarck and Mandan were fortunate enough to be
awarded National tournaments.
Bismarck will hold the 16 and
Under Girl’s fast pitch Northern
National in 2014 while Mandan
Walt Stack
will run the Men’s E-Rec slow pitch
national. Both should be popular
events and should draw teams from
the Northern Region. Hope to see
you around the diamonds this coming season.
Softball News Spring 2013 – 3
Ump Chat
I hope everyone has had an
enjoyable winter! Softball is right
around the corner and it won’t be
long until we hear and see the sights
and sounds of softball! The upcoming season comes with minimal new
rule changes. Elsewhere in this
issue is a complete listing of the
rule changes for 2013. We will go
over all of these at all of the umpire
rules clinics and all of the managers
rules clinics throughout the state. If
you have any questions concerning
any of the rule changes, be sure and
let me know.
I was fortunate enough to attend
the ASA National Conference in
Dallas, TX in November. As always, it is a great experience. It was
great to see some old friends and I
always meet some new people as
well. Besides making playing rule
changes and code changes, cities
from across the country come to bid
on hosting national tournaments.
This year we were able to secure
two national tournaments for 2014.
The Girls Fastpitch 16B National
Tournament is slated for Bismarck
in 2014 while Mandan secured the
Men’s E National Tournament in
2014. Bismarck and Mandan both
run top notch national tournaments
and these two tournaments are going to be great opportunities for
girl’s fastpitch in North Dakota as
well as men’s Rec teams, so start
thinking about forming your teams
now!
We will have a lot of opportunities for umpires from ND to work
national tournaments this summer.
Bismarck will be hosting the Girls
Fastpitch 14U B National Tournament August 1-4, 2013. This is
the first youth national fastpitch
tournament for North Dakota and
it is going to be an excellent opportunity for teams from all over
the state to participate in a national
tournament. Other opportunities
this year for our umpires and teams
within our region include the slowpitch Women’s C & D National in
Watertown, SD, as well as girl’s
fastpitch opportunities for teams
and umpires in Rochester MN,
and men’s fastpitch opportunities
for umpires in Mankato, MN. I
am also working on some umpire
exchanges for national tournaments
outside our region with those being
the Women’s C & D in California
and the Men’s E in Washington and
I am confident we will be sending
umpires to those and other tournaments this summer.
We will 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 pitchers, 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 field
clinics listed elsewhere in this issue.
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 twenty
two to 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 and I’d
be happy to visit with you. Umpiring only one night a week can make
a huge difference in helping out
your local league.
I would like to recognize our
Deputy UIC’s all 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 NDASA. Our
DUIC’s are: Lyle Rader—Wahpeton, Naomi Erdahl—Bismarck,
Tom Harty— Jamestown, Elliott
Gerhardt—Bismarck, Pat “Rock”
Healey— Grand Forks, Mike
Lien—Fargo, Mike Nider—Bismarck, Randy Olson—West Fargo,
and Al Ziemann—Bismarck, and
Terry O’Clair--Bismarck. We also
have one new DUIC this year and
that is Tom Lawson from Donnybrook who will be in charge of
the Minot area. Tom is a veteran
umpire with several years of experience and has worked national
tournaments. Tom will be a great
asset to our umpire program in
North Dakota!
Mike Wolf
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 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 wolfden8993@yahoo.
com or my cell 701-400-2100.
And by the way—don’t hesitate
getting in your McQuade registration. Some divisions are almost
full already and others are filling
fast. Check out the article on the
McQuade Tournament elsewhere
in this issue.
Have an enjoyable, fun, and safe
summer!
J.O. Fastpitch Update
Greetings to all softball fans.
Again it is Spring and everyone is
wrapping up their winter sports and
it is again time to start planning our
spring sports.
I recently attended the Spring
NDASA annual meeting in Jamestown last month. One of our topics
that came up was that our Fastpitch
softball numbers had not increased
from the year before. After the
meeting it dawned on me that we
lose players every year due to
graduation.
So I wanted to do a quick check
of former High School athletes
from North Dakota who now play
College softball in ND. I came up
with 14 athletes.
Katie Backes Jr. – Minot State
(Bishop Ryan)
Catherine Dorsher Fr. – UND (Red
River)
Krista Brustad Jr. – Mayville
State (Devils Lake)
Rachel
Koopman So. – Mayville State
(RR)
Sydney Rheault Fr. – Jamestown
College (WF)
Brooke Rheault
Fr. – Jamestown Coll. (WF)
Darby Krivoruchka So. – Jamestown (CHS – Bis.)
Autumn
Wang Fr. – Jamestown Coll. (DL)
Mackenzie Hamre Fr. – VCSU
(Enderlin)
Aleesha
Klein So. – BSC (CHS – Bis.)
Jennifer Herman So. – BSC
(Kenmare)
Katlyn
Clark Fr. – BSC (Minot High)
Leslie Kindseth Fr. – BSC (CHS
– Bis.)
Kelly
Fogarty Fr. – BSC (Valley City
High)
Please note that this does not
include any athletes who are attending college and playing softball outof-state. If we missed anyone please
forward that information to me.
A number of college coaches
informed us that they already have
commitments for next season. In
addition, the college coaches have
indicated that inquires and school
campus visits are way up. Kylee
Wilson, head coach BSC,” In the
three years I have been in North
Dakota, I have the opportunity to
see fastptich grow at a rapid rate,
especially at the youth level. I think
it is great so many parents, coaches
and young athletes are coming together to foster fastpitch softball in
North Dakota”.
NDASA’s summer program has
been a major benefit for these athletes success. We now have a tournament just about every weekend of
this season, along with a state and
Regional National championship
play. Last season (2012) ND sent
8 different teams to the National
tournament. The reaction we got
back from the coaches and parents
was that it was “a positive experience for all.” As one parent put it
“The ASA summer program is a
great way to those younger athletes
started in softball.”
Anyone interested in getting their
young athletes started in softball,
please consider our ASA program.
If you are in a smaller community
and would like to start a program,
please get a hold of me or any of
our members as listed on the www.
ndasa.org website.
Again congratulations to all of
FFASTPITCH
ASTPIITCH
TCH GIRLS
GIRLS B 14
14-UNDER
14-UND
ND E R
August 1-4, 2013
Brian Neuhardt
our college softball athletes. We are
all proud of you.
Sincerely,
Brian Neuhardt – President,
Bismarck Youth Fastpitch Softball
Assn.
Deputy Director – NDASA Jr.
Olympics
I would like to congratulate all
the players, coaches, adminstraters, fans and parents for making
the High School program a success.
Jack Jones, Mandan named
Assistant State Commissioner
With the pending retirement of
State Softball Commissioner Jim
Hanley, the state softball association has named Jack Jones of Mandan as Assistant Commissioner.
Jones has been active in softball
for over 35 years beginning in Ft.
Wayne, Indiana and Rapid City,
South Dakota before settling in
Mandan in 1990. Since that time,
he has played, managed and sponsored dozens of successful teams.
His teams have captured National
titles in several Divisions of slow
pitch softball.
A highlight of his managing/
sponsoring career was winning
three Nationals Seniors titles in a
single day.
Jones is also active on the state
and local scene having served on
the Mandan Softball Commissioner
from 2001 through 2007, NDASA
Classification Committee from
2001 until the present. Jones also
chairs the NDASA Masters Committee. He has been a member
Bismarck, ND
Entry fee: $400 per team
Entry deadline: July 22, 2013
Housing Coordinator:
Lori Yantzer, 701-222-4308 or
lori@discoverbismarckmandan.com
For More Information:
Tim Kuntz 701-223-3600 or
tkuntz@bisparks.org or
Naomi Erdahl 701-250-7780 or
naomi@bisparks.org
Softball News
Official Publication of the North Dakota
Amateur Softball Association
of the Sam McQuade, Sr. Charity
Tournament Board of Directors
since 2005 and presently is the coDirector of the tournament along
with state umpire in chief Mike
Wolf of Bismarck.
Jones will serve as interim Commissioner if and when Jim Hanley
retires and before a permanent
Commissioner is selected.
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,
Garrison, ND 58540 or telephone (701) 463-2201.
4–
Softball News Spring 2013
Northern Region umpires from Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota who attended the UIC Clinic in Oklahoma City in February
ASA holds UIC Clinic
in Oklahoma City
ASA held it’s UIC Clinic at the
Biltmore Motel in Oklahoma City
February 7 through 9, 2013. This
umpire clinic is held every two
years and features a number of topics designed to improve the performance of ASA umpires nationwide.
450 ASA umpires showed up to
participate in a series of presentations taught by staff members of
the National Umpire staff’ North
Dakota umpires in attendance were
state UIC Mike Wolf, DUIC’s Terry
O’Clair, Lyle Rader, and Elliott
Gerhardt. Long time umpire Walt
Stack also attended.
In addition to the classroom sessions, the attendees were treated to
a presentation by Don Vaden, the
Supervisor of Officials for the NBA
and a motivational speaker Deb
Hartwig, a former college softball
coach and personal trainer.
Classroom presentations included sessions on Recruiting and Retaining Umpires, Train the Trainer,
Mechanics Illustrated, Angles and
Distances, Evaluations of Umpires
and sessions on Equipment and
Technology. Steve Riswold of
Sioux Falls, South Dakota who is
the Northern Regional Umpire in
Chief instructed several sessions
and conducted a northern region
meeting for umpires from North
and South Dakota and Minnesota.
The North Dakota umpires who attended the UIC Clinic pose with a banner celebrating 80 years
of ASA Softball and the 80th birthday of Walt Stack. From left to right: Terry O’Clair, Walt Stack,
State UIC Mike Wolf, Lyle Rader and Elliott Gerhardt
Hanley to step down
as State Commissioner
State softball commissioner Jim
Hanley of
Grand Forks
has advised
the Executive
Board that he
will step down
effective at
the end of the
Jim Hanley
2013 season.
Hanley is serving his 17th year as
state commissioner.
With the death of long time commissioner Duane “Tiny” Schafer,
Hanley was named as interim commissioner after leading the Grand
Forks softball association since
Bismarck, Mandan awarded Nationals
Joint effort pays dividends for 2014
A team of Parks and Recreation
workers and softball enthusiasts
from Bismarck and Mandan put
together a presentation which
resulted in both cities obtaining
national tournaments for the 2014
season. Bismarck landed it’s second JO Girl’s Fast pitch Northern
Region tournament during the
2013 National Council meeting
of the ASA meeting in Dallas in
November, 2012. Mandan was
awarded the Men’s E-Rec Northern tournament August 28 through
September 1, 2014. The 16 and
Under Girl’s Northern Region will
be held July 31 through August 3,
2014. The event will be a Class B
ASA tournament.
Bismarck bid on the Girl’s Class
B 16 and under tournament and
Mandan bid on an adult slow pitch
tournament for the same season.
This was the first time that North
Dakota was allowed to bid two
national tournaments in the same
season. Prior to this year, North
Dakota cities were prohibited from
bidding for national tournaments in
the same season.
Bismarck will host a 14 and
Under Class B Northern National
fast pitch tournament in 2013 before tackling the 16 year old girls
in 2014.
Mandan will host the men’s ERec tournament which will be the
third adult slow pitch national to
be hosted by that city. Prior tournaments were men’s 40 and Over and
men’s 35 and over in the past three
years. Each of those prior tournaments earned awards for running
a quality tournament. The men’s
E-Rec tournament is one of the
most popular national tournaments
for slow pitch player since it allows
Recreational players to have their
own National tournament.
Future issues of Softball News
will provide further information on
both of these tournaments.
Beulah
Softball Association
Tournament Schedule
2013
Bidding successfully at the National Meeting for National Tournaments to be held in both Bismarck and
Mandan in 2014 are from left, Tim Kuntz, Bismarck Parks & Rec.; Mike Wolf, State UIC; Jack Jones,
Assistant State Commissioner; Lori Yantzer, Bis-Man CVB and Dave Frueh, Mandan Parks & Rec.
1974. When he took over the Grand
Forks association they registered
only 42 teams and he registered
176 when he left to lead the state
organization.
Hanley is a 1961 graduate of the
University of North Dakota with a
degree in Education. He accepted
a teaching job at South Junior High
and taught there until 1995 when
he transferred to Red River High
School. He met his wife Yvonne
while she was student teaching in
South Junior High and they were
married in 1968. Hanley was
elected to the North Dakota Softball
Hall of Fame in 1996.
No successor has been named at
this time.
June 1-2
16 Men’s Rec 2 & Below
4GG
$110
July 28
4 Men’s Rec 1 & 2
8 Men’s Rec 3 & 4
3GG
3GG
$100
$100
75 mi. NW of Bismarck, campsites & 3 hotels nearby
Come see our complex improvements!
Call or text Daren Eliason at
701-870-2764 for more information
Or mail check payable to “BSA” with team name, class & Mgr.
contact info to Daren at 1300 Central Ave. N., Beulah, ND 58523
Softball News Spring 2013 – 5
ASA/USA Softball Executive Director
Ron Radigonda to retire after 2013
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Amateur Softball Association (ASA)
of America and USA Softball
announced today that Executive
Director Ron Radigonda will retire
following the conclusion of the
2013 calendar year. Radigonda
has been involved with ASA/USA
Softball for over 30 years, first as
the Commissioner for Sacramento
ASA and for the past 14 years as
the Executive Director.
“It has been a distinct honor to
serve the Amateur Softball Association and USA Softball as the Executive Director since 1998,” said
Radigonda. “I have truly enjoyed
my involvement with the great sport
of softball for over 50 years. From
the beginning as a bat boy for my
father’s industrial league team in
San Francisco to serving the ASA as
the Executive Director and all of the
other positions in between, softball
has played a major role in my life.
I am fortunate that I have had a
professional career that has spanned
45 years working with great individuals that share common goals
and passion in promoting the Game
America Plays --- Softball.”
Radigonda will continue as Executive Director through the end of
2013, during which time the ASA/
USA Softball Board of Directors
will seek applications and plan to
hire for the position by June of
2013.
Radigonda, who graduated from
San Francisco State University in
1970, worked with the City of Sacramento in the Parks and Recreation
Department for 28 years and also
served as Executive Director of
the Sacramento Sports Commission and the Sacramento Sports
Foundation. In 1982, he became the
Commissioner of the Sacramento
ASA, a position he held until he was
selected as the Executive Director
for ASA/USA Softball in 1998.
During his time as Commissioner,
he served as Chair of numerous
committees and served on the
Board of Directors and as the Chair
of the Association’s Insurance and
Finance Committees. Since his
appointment at the National Office, Radigonda has guided ASA/
USA Softball through a variety of
changes and economic difficulties
and has helped secure ASA/USA
Softball’s role as the foremost softball organization in the U.S.
“Ron has been a great asset to
ASA/USA Softball over the years,”
said ASA/USA Softball President
ET Colvin of Columbus, Miss. “He
Ron Radigonda
brought the association into the 21st
century by implementing modern
technology and assembling a staff
of dedicated and knowledgeable
employees. He is a great ambassador for ASA and the sport of
softball and is one of the most liked
and respected people in the sport.”
“Ron is an amazing leader for
ASA and USA Softball,” said
four-time USA Softball Olympian
Laura Berg of Corvallis, Ore. “I’m
honored to have known him while I
played and coached for Team USA.
He will certainly be missed and I
wish him the best of luck in the next
chapter of his life.”
Under Radigonda’s leadership,
the face of ASA/USA Softball has
evolved dramatically. The ASA
Hall of Fame (HOF) Complex has
undergone a major renovation and
has continued its hosting duties for
the NCAA Women’s College World
Series (WCWS), and the World
Cup of Softball, an international
softball event, that was created and
is hosted annually at the Complex.
He also helped foster a continuing
relationship with the City of Oklahoma City. ASA/USA Softball has
also become the leader in coaching
and umpire education and has led
the country in equipment standards
and coaching certification. At the
International Level, Radigonda has
served as a delegate and committee
chair for the International Softball
Federation (ISF), the governing
body of softball internationally.
He has attended numerous men’s
and women’s international events,
including three Summer Olympic
Games, seven World Championships, and the Pan American
Games.
“I have taken this opportunity
to announce my retirement as the
Executive Director of ASA to facilitate a smooth transition for the
new E.D.,” said Radigonda. “The
business of running and operating a non-profit association with
3 million members and hundreds
of annual events is complex. Announcing my retirement a year out
will allow our Board of Directors
an opportunity to seek and select a
qualified individual and allow that
individual an opportunity to be a
part of the transition. ASA/USA
Softball is a healthy association that
has experienced surplus budgets the
past 14 years and has invested the
surpluses into improved facilities in
Oklahoma City, enhanced umpire
and coach training, and improved
equipment testing protocols and
procedures. Based on the current
health of the association, I feel this
is an appropriate time to pass the
baton and keep ASA/USA Softball
on the path to continued excellence.”
The ASA/USA Softball Board of
Directors will begin seeking applications for the Executive Director
position in January of 2013. More
information will follow in a formal
announcement.
About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the
United States and a member of the
United States Olympic Committee.
The ASA has become one of the
nation’s largest sports organizations
and now sanctions competition in
every state through a network of
76 local associations. The ASA has
grown from a few hundred teams
in the early days to over 210,000
teams today, representing a membership of more than three million.
For more information on the ASA,
visit http-//www.asasoftball.com/.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the
ASA that links the USA Men’s,
Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior
Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible
for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams
to 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 six World
Cup of Softball titles. For more
information about USA Softball,
please visit http://www.usasoftball.
com
Two new members join Hall
of Fame Selection Committee
State Commissioner Jim Hanley
of Grand Forks has named two
new members to the Hall of Fame
Selection Committee to replace two
veteran committee members who
have retired.
Gordie Smith of Bismarck has
replaced Donna Henson of Glenburn effective in January, 2013
and Mike Lyman of Fargo/Moorhead has replaced LeRoy Olson
of Buxton.
Smith is a long time slow pitch
player still active as a player/manager. A member of the Hall of Fame
who was elected in 2000, Smith
has played over 35 years and as a
pitcher has won over 1,000 games!
He has always played at a high level
of competition and is well known
as an intense player. He has been
named to a number of All American teams as a player and also is a
member of the Bismarck Softball
Association Board of Directors.
Lyman is also a member of the
Hall of Fame having been elected
in 2010. He was a long time fast
pitch player who primarily played
as a catcher. He caught over 1,200
games and played in 30 state tournaments. He caught Hall of Fame
pitchers Ray Clark, Jim Baum, Pat
Stockert and the late Jim Kapp.
Also active as an organizer and
manager, he was a Board member
of every league in which he played.
Donna (Osman) Hensen of Glenburn played her entire 20 year career in the Minot Women’s League.
She was an outfielder and pitcher
and was an excellent hitter with a
lifetime batting average of .334.
She played in 20 state tournaments
and was on 8 state champions and 4
runner-up teams. She also played in
12 Regional tournaments with the
winning team six times. She served
the state Women’s Softball Association as secretary and president. She
retired from active play in 1972.
LeRoy Olson of Buxton played
for 25 years in the Class B ranks
of North Dakota softball primarily
as a pitcher. During his career he
estimates that he pitched over 500
games with a winning percentage of
.800. He played in ll state tournaments and pitched his 1975 Buxton
team to its only state championship.
Although he retired from active
play in 1975 he stayed involved as
an organizer and promoter serving
in the capacity of District Commissioner in his local area.
Check out the
Invitational
Tournament
listing for 2013
on page 10
Reclassified Teams
All teams moved up will have to petition to have their classification lowered. Only Under extreme circumstances will
that request be approved. Requests must be sent through the
league commissioner or representative to Jack Lukes for final
determination.
Following is a list of teams that must move up in classification
for the 2013 season. Teams are reclassified due to placement in
their respective 2012 state tournaments unless otherwise noted.
Men’s Slow Pitch - Class B
Bismarck Heartland Investors (won Class C national tournament)
Men’s Slow Pitch - Class C
––––
Men’s Slow Pitch - Class D
Grand Forks Rumors/T.J.’s Bar/Sterling Optical
Bismarck The Lodge/Novaspect/Red Door
Fargo The Box/Burn Boiler
Fargo McNeilus Steel
Men’s Slow Pitch - Rec I
West Fargo Michelob Golden Draft Light
Fargo Azure Construction
Bismarck Riverside Resources/Elbow Room
Bismarck Kupper Chevrolet/Kramer Agency/Lang’s Lawn
Mandan Corral Sales/Goldade
Minot Capri Bar/Key Light
Minot Bootlegrz/Budweiser
Minot Sevens (challenged to Rec I, went 2-1)
Men’s Slow Pitch - Rec II
Fargo Edward Jones -Zenker
Grand Forks Waind Chiropractic
Jamestown Vets Club
Grand Forks XL93
New Effington Mikey’s Bar
Lisbon Casual T’s
Minot Kruse’s/Coors Light
Beulah OIC Truck Parking/Beulah Vision/Erickson
Beulah Electric/American Family
Dickinson DTE/Challenge
Rugby Lee’s Bar
Enderlin Merchants (challenged to Rec. II, went 3-2)
Fargo BFJ Homebuilders Inc (challenged to Rec. II, went 2-3)
Mayport Insurance (challenged to Rec. II, went 2-1)
Bismarck Thrive/Team Divine (challenged to Rec. II, went 4-2)
Williston K&A Oil Mulligans (challenged to Rec II, went 2-2)
Men’s Slow Pitch - Rec III
Fargo B-Dubs
Neche Mens
Grafton Farmers Union
Grand Forks I’d Hit That
Wahpeton Twin Town Villa
Oakes James Valley Grain
West Fargo F-M Mortgage
Grand Forks The Gladiators Tavern
Grand Forks Eagles 350
Rugby Eagles
Dickinson Miller Lite/Dan’s Rain Gutter
Mandan Rug Rat
Bismarck Precision Underground/D.J.’s Pizza Lounge
Turtle Lake Bev’s Cafe
Fargo Gateway/Woody’s (challenged to Rec. III, went 2-1)
Grand Forks EGF American Legion (challenged to Rec. III, went 2-3)
Women’s Slow Pitch - Class C
TBA
Women’s Slow Pitch - Class D
Bismarck Captain Freddy’s/Missouri Valley Ag
Minot Sports on Tap
Women’s Slow Pitch - Rec I
Grand Forks Diamond Lounge
Jamestown Allied Agronomy Minot Capri/Caribbean Color
Women’s Slow Pitch - Rec II
West Fargo Silver Dollar/MFI Streeter/Gackle Merchants
West Fargo Hooters/NW Mutual/Smart
McLean/McHenry Mutual
Bismarck Trans Trash
Corral Bar
Player Classification
ASA/NDASA. - MSP Plavers Classification Effective 2011
1) Men’s A 5 players from ASA Restricted Player list
2) Men’s B 3- A Rated Players - No A+ or Restricted Players
3) Men’s C 3- B Rated Players - No A or B+ Rated Players
4) Men’s D 3- C Rated Players - No A, B, or C+ Rated Players
5) Men’s E/Rec I 3- D Rated Players - No A,B,C or D+ Players
Effective 2012
Men’s Rec II 1-D and 3 Rec I - No D+ and above
Men’s Rec III 2-Rec I and 3 Rec II - No D and above
Men’s Rec IV 2- Rec II and 3 Rec III - No Rec 1 and above
ASA/NDASA - WSP Plavers Classification Effective 2011
1) WSP - Open - Any Player
2) WSP-C 3- Open Players
3) WSP-D 3- C Players - No Open Players
Effective 2012
WSP-Rec I 3- D Players - No C or above
WSP-Rec II 1-D & 3- Rec I Players - No C or D
WSP-Rec III 2 Rec 1 & 3- Rec II Players-No D and above
6–
Softball News Spring 2013
New certification marks and test
standards for ASA/USA Softball
Oklahoma City - The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America
and USA Softball have begun implementing a new Certification Mark
and Test Standard for all bats used for slow pitch softball. These changes,
effective January 1, will affect slow pitch ONLY for 2013 and beyond.
Read more about the certification marks and test standard for each division of ASA/USA Softball below.
Slow Pitch for 2013 and Beyond for
ASA/USA Softball
There WILL be changes for Certification Mark and Test Standard for
all bats used in the game of ASA/USA Slow Pitch Softball for the 2013
season and beyond. A new Certification Mark will be used on all future
bat models manufactured for the game of Slow Pitch for 2013 and beyond.
The new certification mark will look like this image below (ASA Shield).
The current 2000 and 2004 Certification Marks will continue to be valid
Marks for the existing
Slow Pitch bats, while any
new models produced by
the manufacturers will display the new Certification
Mark. All bats currently
listed on the approved bat
lists will remain legal for
ASA/USA Softball play.
ASA/USA Softball will
continue to perform random testing of all approved
models to verify conformance of the approved bat
performance standard
and any model found out
of compliance could be
added to the non-approved
list. All models currently listed on the non-approved list will not be allowed in ASA/USA Softball play.
Fast Pitch for 2013 and Beyond for
ASA/USA Softball
Jesse Trelstad/The Forum
Fargo North senior Courtney Johnson has committed to play softball at North Dakota State.
There will NOT be any changes for Certification Mark and Test Standard
for all bats used in the game of ASA/USA Fast Pitch Softball for the 2013
season. The current 2000 and 2004 Certification Marks will continue to
be the appropriate marks for Fast Pitch, and any new models produced by
the manufacturers will continue to display the 2004 Certification Mark.
Familiarity wins out
North’s Johnson commits to join North Dakota State’s softball team
By TOM MIX
tmix@forumcomm.com
Fargo North senior Courtney
Johnson is going to add a little local flavor to the North Dakota State
softball roster next year.
Johnson, a Class A all-state selection last spring, has decided to
take her talents to NDSU and is the
first North Dakota softball player
to commit to an NCAA Division I
program.
“For me it is a big deal to be the
first girl from North Dakota to play
Division I softball,: said Johnson,
who also plays volleyball and basketball for the Spartans. “I have had
to sacrifice a lot. I would travel to
Minneapolis for a tournament and
usually stay by myself, so it is a relief that all my hard work paid off.”
Johnson helped the Spartans to
an 18-10 record last spring and a
second-place finish in the Eastern
Dakota Conference. North Finished
fourth at the state tournament.
The left-handed, slap-hitting
outfielder also considered the University of North Dakota and the
University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Johnson’s familiarity with the
Bison was what helped NDSU
win out.
“They have a really good program and a winning personality,”
Johnson said. “I have been to a
lot of their camps and the coaches
are incredibly nice. They are like
a family.
“I wanted to stay in North Dakota
and contribute to their team. It is a
blessing to go there.”
In addition to playing for North,
Johnson has spent the last two
summers playing for the Minnesota
Irish, an elite summer club team
that has qualified for the national
tournament the last two years.
Johnson also will be the first Fargo-Moorhead recruit to play for the
Bison since the school transitions
all of its athletic programs to Division I in 2013. Bison head coach
Darren Mueller said he couldn’t
recall any players from the Fargo
area playing for the Bison in his 12
years as head coach.
“I don’t think any that I have
coached,” Mueller said. “ I know
some a long time ago that played
here. When I first started there were
a couple North Dakota kids on the
team a long, long time ago.”
Softball has only been a sanctioned sport the last four years in
North Dakota, but is growing in
popularity with the creation of the
Class B division.
Mueller said he actively recruits
North Dakota, but there are some
limitations.
“Obviously, you take a look,”
Mueller said. “Since they don’t play
as many tournaments, we don’t get
out as much. We go to the bigger
tournaments.
“We don’t go to high school
games as much because we go to
summer tournament games. High
school games are tougher to get to
with our travel schedule.”
NDSU has qualified for the
NCAA tournament the last four
seasons and have won two Summit
League regular-season championships.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Tom Mix at (701) 241-5562
Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack
contributed to this story.
Tharaldson provides trophies, banners
Super sponsor and softball booster Gary Tharaldson will again
provide the trophies and the championship banners for all state softball tournaments sponsored by the
North Dakota Amateur Softball
Association.
Included are all the awards for
the Junior Olympic program as
well as adult awards in both slow
pitch and fast pitch. The number of
trophies and banners depends on the
number of teams entering each of
the state tournaments.
Gary Tharaldson and his wife
Connie continue their commitment
to North Dakota softball with sponsorship of both men’s and women’s
adult teams. Gary’s sponsorship
started in the early 1980’s and includes sponsorship of many state
championship teams, Regional
champions and several national
tournament teams. He was elected
to the state Softball Hall of Fame in
1995 as a player and coach of some
of the most successful teams ever
to play in North Dakota.
He played for many years at the
highest level of slow pitch softball
and won over 650 games as a
pitcher. He led his teams in over
thirty state tournaments, a number
of Regional events and close to two
dozen National Tournaments.
NDASA is able to provide the
trophies and banners only through
the cooperation and generosity
of Gary Tharaldson and his various business enterprises. NDASA
gratefully acknowledges his many,
many contributions to North Dakota softball.
The Amateur Softball Association of America, the governing
body of softball in the United States
has recognized his many contributions to the game by naming him
Mandan recognized for outstanding
National Tournament in 2012
Recreation Manager for the Mandan Parks and Recreation Department Dave Frueh, accepted a trophy
on behalf of the Mandan Parks and
Recreation and the Mandan Softball
Association for doing an outstanding job of hosting the Men’s 35 and
Under Slow pitch national tournament in 2012. The presentation
was made during the annual ASA
National Council meeting in Dallas,
Texas in November, 2013. Frueh
served as the tournament manager.
The award is based on tournament evaluations from the umpire
in chief, the ASA representative
and the home office of ASA. Paul
Kraimer who is the Umpire in Chief
for Mineapolis was the UIC for the
Mandan event while North Dakota
ASA state president, Dick Gulmon
of Valley City was the ASA tournament representative. In addition,
the home office of ASA also evaluates the handling of paperwork and
other administrative details.
Mandan also was recognized in
2010 for successfully running the
40 and Under Men’s Slow pitch
national tournament.
Rosters Due When Season Opens
Gary Tharaldson
to the National ASA Hall of Fame.
Induction ceremonies took place at
the annual ASA Council meeting
held in November in Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina.
Team managers and League Representatives are
reminded that team rosters are due to be turned in
the day the team plays its first game.
NO changes can be made to the
roster after June 15, 2013.
Softball News Spring 2013 – 7
McQuade Tournament ready for round 38!
By Michael Wolf
The 38th annual Sam McQuade
Sr. Budweiser Charity Softball
Tournament is rapidly approaching
and will be held June 28, 29, and
30. We are anticipating another
record setting year and entries are
coming in fast and furious and
some divisions are getting close to
full. That is a hint to the Men’s C,
Men’s D, and Men’s Rec I to get
your registrations in since these
are only 24 team divisions and to
the Men’s Rec 3 and 4 because
they just generally fill up fast. .
Since we now have some Men’s B
teams in ND, we made a conscious
effort to split up the Men’s A/B
Division once again into separate
divisions. So, this year we will
have a separate division for Men’s
A (6 teams) and a separate division
for Men’s B (6 teams). ASA is
also offering $2,000 to the winner
of the Men’s A division to travel
to the Men’s A National Tournament in Oklahoma City. In the
Men’s Masters 35 division, the
state Men’s Master’s Committee
will assist us in seeding the teams
properly. All other divisions in
men’s and women’s will remain the
same number of teams and format.
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 will
also have vendors in Mandan for
those teams that play there.
We are once again planning a
“Military Appreciation Game.”
Last year a military team played
an exhibition team against Team
USA Futures players. Since Team
USA will not be playing an exhibition game this year we are looking
at options to put together some of
the different branches of the armed
forces to play an exhibition game.
In addition to the military appreciation game we are looking at other
festivities to go along with that to
honor our military personnel. A
committee will be set up to determine which players will be selected
to participate in the military appreciation game.
Be sure and get your registration form and payment in ASAP.
PLEASE, don’t procrastinate as the
tournament fills very quickly. We
don’t like it when teams register late
and then have to tell them their division is full. Don’t be that manager
that has to explain to their team that
you forgot to send in the registration. We are hoping to match or
exceed our record of 477 teams.
We also have at least one “family”
team entered in the tournament this
year already.
Registration forms have been
mailed to all non Bismarck teams
who were in last year’s tournament. Bismarck managers received
registration forms at their February
meeting. If you missed that meeting or didn’t play in the tournament
last year and want to this year, or
haven’t received a registration form
in the mail, you can print a registration form off the McQuade website
which is www.mcquades.com and
click on the softball link.
New 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
Bismarck to host Girl’s Fast
Pitch National 14 and Under
ASA Northern August 1 - 4
Bismarck will become the first
North Dakota city to host an ASA
Girl’s National fast pitch tournament when the 14 and Under Girl’s
Class B Northern Region Tournament comes to town from August
1 through August 4, 2013. The
tournament was awarded during the
annual ASA Council Meeting held
in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in
November, 2011. National tournaments are awarded two years in
advance to allow the host cities the
time necessary to prepare for these
national events.
A local organizing committee has
been established under the leadership of Tim Kuntz who will be the
tournament director and Naomi
Erdahl who will be the assistant
director.
The following committees have
been established to handle the
various tasks to ensure a quality
national tournament experience for
the teams competing.
• Fund Raising and Budget
• Housing
• Game Operations
• Souvenirs
• Maintenance and Parking
• Concessions
• Medical
• Publicity
• Umpires
The tournament is one of four
held nationally for the 14 year old
division of girl’s ASA softball.
ASA hosts regional tournaments
for 10 year olds, 12 year olds, 14
year olds, 16 year olds and 18 year
olds. Regional tournaments are
held in the Eastern Region, Southern Region, Northern Region and
Western Region.
More information will be printed
in the Summer issue of Softball
News. Questions regarding the
Bismarck tournament should be directed to Tim Kuntz at the Bismarck
Parks and Recreation Offices.
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.
Also new this year we are contemplating having a raffle to raise
extra funds to support the charities
that rely so much on our tournament. More information will be
placed on the website on how to
purchase raffle tickets. Or, if your
group is interested in selling raffle
tickets, groups will be able to do
that and also receive additional
proceeds from the tournament for
doing so. Please contact me if your
group is interested in selling raffle
tickets.
At this year’s tournament, we
will once again offer each team an
opportunity to purchase an extra
home run. This has been a popular
feature at past tournaments. Last
year we raised over $3,000 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 had a record year last year as
we were able to distribute just over
$85,000 to charitable organizations
throughout the state and with your
help and generosity we hope to be
able to donate at least that and hopefully much more with this year’s
tournament. Without your help and
support, this would not be possible!
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 throughout 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. Businesses or individuals can
donate and all donations are tax
deductible!
We will also have another “Defenders of Freedom” division this
year as a way to honor our softball
players who are in the military and
currently stationed overseas. It is a
small token of our appreciation for
all they do to protect our freedom.
This year we will be sponsoring a
tournament in Afghanistan where
we have ND soldiers stationed as
well as other soldiers from around
the country. It does take money to
send over bats, balls, and gloves.
We also send over 400 t-shirts to
each soldier and the volunteers who
help over there. So, if you would
like to donate any amount to help
support our Defenders of Freedom
division please contact me!
In addition to our other duties on
the Board of Directors, Jack Jones
and myself will once again serve as
Co-Tournament Directors. I would
also like thank the other Board of
Director members who contribute
their time and talents effectively
in so many ways—Deb Marback,
Eldie Ulmer, Cheryl Jones, Sam McQuade Jr., and Shannon McQuadeEly. I can’t go without mentioning
all the great volunteer groups who
help out during the tournament as
well as the great people at McQuade
Distributing—Dee, Kathy, Renae,
Rhea, and Mike. It is our volunteers
that help us out in so many ways
that help make this tournament so
successful.
If you have any questions or
concerns, do not hesitate to contact
Jack of myself. The McQuade cell
phone number is 701-400-2255, my
cell phone is 701-400-2100, and
Jack’s phone number is 701-4268700. I can be reached via email at
wolfden8993@yahoo.com and Jack
can be reached at jack@btinet.net
or contact us a www.mcquadesoftball@yahoo.com
Here is one more reminder
to get your team registration in
early. We wouldn’t want your team
to miss out on all of the fun and
excitement of the premiere softball
event of the summer—the 38th Annual Sam McQuade Sr. Budweiser
Charity Softball Tournament!
National Umpire Schools Scheduled
Northern Region School To Be Held In Sioux Falls
National Director of Umpires Kevin Ryan has announced a series of
eleven National Umpire Schools to be conducted prior to the 2013 softball
season. Each of these clinics is run by a team of National Umpire staff
members who serve as clinicians.
A ratio of one instructor per each 25 or 30 students. Students receive
hands-on instruction in both fast pitch and slow pitch umpiring including
base and plate mechanics.
Registrations fees vary by location. Contact the school co-ordinator
for further details.
December 7, 8 and 9
Region 7
Killeen, Texas
February 1,2 and 3
Region 9
Zanesville, Ohio
February 15, 16 and 17
Region 3
Aston, Pa.
February 22, 23 and 24
Region 14
Clovis, Ca.
March 8, 9 and 10
Region 2
Parsypany, M. J.
March 15, 16 and 17
Region 10
Crawfordville, Ind.
March 15, 16 and 17
Region 15
Portland, Ore.
March22, 23 and 24
Region 8
Oklahoma City
April 11, 12 and 13
Region 13
Clinton, Utah
April 19, 20 and 21
Region 11
Sioux Falls, SD
June 11 thru 16
Fast pitch advance camp Lancaster, Ca.
A total of ten Regions and ten states are hosting these national
umpire events.
8–
Softball News Spring 2013
Grand Forks Softball Association
JULY CLASSIC
July 13 & 14, 2013 Grand Forks
ULLAND PARK
MEN’S DIVISION
OPEN/BCD
REC I • REC II
REC III • REC IV
NORTH STAR QUALIFIER
WOMEN’S DIVISION
• 16 Diamond Complex
• 3 game Guarantee
• ASA Sanction Rules
• Format Dependent on
Number of Teams in Division
OPEN/CD • REC I • REC II • REC III
- CASH PRIZE
- COOLERS ALLOWED
ENTRY FEE $140
Registration Information Available at www.grandforkssoftballassociation.com
or Contact Chris Hutton at 701-330-5798
JUNE 1 & 2 – GRAND FORKS
Ulland Park
16 Diamond Complex, 3 Game Guarantee, ASA Sanction Rules,
Format Dependent on Number of Teams in Division
MEN’S DIVISION
WOMEN’S DIVISION
Open C/D
Rec 1-2, Rec 3, Rec 4
Upper and Lower
ENTRY FEE $140
Cash Prize in each division
Cash Prizes in
each division
$50 Buffalo Wild Wings
Gift Card (Saturday Bracket Winners)
*Coolers
*CoolersAllowed
allowedin
inComplex*
complex*
Registration Information at
www.grandforkssoftballassociation.com
SOUTH FARGO
nd
1501 42 St S.
356-WING
NORTH FARGO
TH
1515 19
Ave N.
280-WING
MOORHEAD
nd
2201 2 Ave N.
218-512-0400
GRAND FORKS
BISMARCK
2717 S. Columbia Rd.
775-WING
218 S. 3 Street
323-WING
rd
Softball News Spring 2013 – 9
START DATE
8/1/2013
STOP DATE
8/4/2013
LOCATION
North Mankato, MN
BOYS’ FAST PITCH
Boys’ 10-Under
Boys’ 12-Under
Boys’ 14-Under
Boys’ 16-Under
Boys’ 18-Under
START DATE
8/1/2013
8/1/2013
8/1/2013
8/1/2013
8/1/2013
STOP DATE
8/4/2013
8/4/2013
8/4/2013
8/4/2013
8/4/2013
LOCATION
North Mankato, MN
North Mankato, MN
North Mankato, MN
North Mankato, MN
North Mankato, MN
JO FAST PITCH
Girls’ A 16-Under Northern
Girls’ B 18-Under Northern
Girls’ B 14-Under Northern
START DATE
8/1/2013
8/1/2013
8/1/2013
STOP DATE
8/4/2013
8/4/2013
8/4/2013
LOCATION
Rochester, MN
Rochester, MN
Bismarck, ND
ADULT WOMEN SP
ASA Women’s Northern Class C
ASA Women’s Northern Class D
START DATE
8/29/2013
8/29/2013
STOP DATE
9/2/2013
9/2/2013
LOCATION
Watertown, SD
Watertown, SD
2013 Umpire and Managers Rules Clinic
March 2
March 26
March 28
April 1
April 1
April 1
April 2
April 2
April 3
April 3
April 4
April 4
April 7
April 7
April 8
April 9
April 9
April 10
April 10
April 10
April 11
April 15
April 15
April 17
April 16
April 17
April 17
April 17
April 18
April 18
April 20
April 21
April 22
April 23
April 24
April 24
April 23
April 24
April 24
April 25
TBA
April 24
April 25
April 28
April 28
April 29
April 29
May 1
May 1
May 1
May 2
May 6
May 7
May 9
Deputy UIC Clinic
Bismarck Women’s Managers
West Fargo Umpires
Wahpeton Men’s Managers
Bismarck Men’s Managers
Wahpeton Men’s Old Pro Managers
Bismarck Umpires
Wahpeton Women’s Managers
Williston Umpires/Managers
Wahpeton Umpires/Test Night
Bismarck Umpires
Fargo Umpires
Jamestown Umpires
West Fargo Fastpitch Umpires
Bismarck Umpires
Devils Lake Umpires/Managers
Mandan Umpires
Grand Forks Umpires
Valley City Umpires/Managers
Mandan Managers
Fargo Umpires
Grand Forks Umpires
Bismarck Umpires
Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic
May/Port Managers & Umpires
Fargo Umpires
Grafton Managers/Umpires
LaMoure Umpires/Managers
Fargo Managers/Umpires
Beulah Umpires/Managers
State Meeting—Rules & Registration
West Fargo JO Fastpitch Rules
Bismarck Umpires Make-up
Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic
Dickinson Managers/Umpires
Dickinson Fastpitch Managers/Umps
Fargo Umpires
Wahpeton Ump Field Clinic & Test
Minot Umpires
Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic
April Grand Forks Managers
Grand Forks Field Clinic
Fargo Field Clinic
Jamestown Field Clinic
West Fargo Umpires Field Clinic
Bismarck Umpires Field Clinic
Grand Forks Field Clinic
West Fargo Umpire Test Night
Minot Umpires
Fargo Field Clinic
West Fargo Managers
Grand Forks Test Night
Bismarck Umpires Test Night
Fargo Umpires Test Night
Gladstone—Jamestown
Amvet’s Club
VFW Club
Community Center
Amvet’s Club
Community Center
St. Mary’s Grade School
Community Center
Raymond Comm. Center
Community Center
St. Mary’s Grade School
Information Bowler
IDK Bar & Grill
North Elmwood
St. Mary’s Grade School
Burdick Arena
Community Center
Kelly School
American Legion Club
City Hall
Bowler
Kelly School
St. Mary’s Grade School
16th Street Diamonds
Floyd’s—Portland
Bowler
Generations
Center Field Supper Club
Fargo Parks 701 Main Ave
Alibi’s Bar
Gladstone—Jamestown
West Fargo High School
Amvet’s Club
16th Street Diamonds
Recreation Center
Recreation Center
Bowler
Diamond 2
South Hill Complex JC Field
16th Street Diamonds
Buffalo Wild Wings
Ulland Park
Anderson Complex
Hillcrest Softball Complex
North Elmwood
16th Street Diamonds
Ulland Park
WF VFW Club
South Hill Complex JC Field
Anderson Complex
WF VFW Club
Kelly School
St. Mary’s Grade School
Bowler
10:00
6:00
6:30
6:30
6:30
7:30
6:00
7:00
6:30
6:30
6:00
6:30
2:00
6:30
6:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
6:30
7:00
6:00
6:00
7:00
6:30
7:00
7:00
6:30
6:00MT
9:00am
6.30
6:30
6:00
6:30MT
6:30MT
6:30
6:30
6:30
6:00
8:30
6:30
6:30
2:00
6:30
6:00
6:30
6:30
6:30
6:30
7:00
7:00
8:30
6:30
Wolf
Wolf
Olson
Rader
Wolf
Rader
Wolf
Rader
Krueger
Rader
Wolf
Lien
Harty
Olson/Rader
Wolf
Harty
Wolf
Healey
Harty
Wolf
Lien
Healey
Wolf
Wolf
Healey
Lien
Healey
Harty
Lien
Gerhardt
Wolf
Olson
Wolf
Wolf
Wolf
Gerhardt
Lien
Rader
Lawson
Wolf
Healey
Healey
Lien
Harty
Olson
Wolf
Healey
Olson
Lawson
Lien
Olson
Healey
Wolf
Lien
*****Please note that before or after most 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. 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 local DUIC. For phone numbers
for all DUIC’s log on to www.ndasa.org and click on “Administrators” and then “Umpires”
Have fun
playing
softball
this season
Remember
good
sportsmanshipis
always part of
NO changes can be made to the
roster after June 15, 2013.
a
f
o
t
r
a
p
a
Be
m
a
e
t
g
n
i
n
n
i
w
Call for listing of our
area agents and we’ll help you
with your insurance needs!
122 Main Street, PO Box 575
Turtle Lake, ND
701-448-2255 • 877-793-1293
mmmins.biz
Linda Huelsman,
Manager
DICKINSON
Parks & Recreation 2013
Softball
Tournaments
ents
Get your registration in early
to guarantee your spot
Miller Lite Tournament
Sat. & Sun., July 13-14
Entry Fee: $115
3 Game Guarantee, Deadline: Monday, July 1, 2013
Last Chance Tournament
Sun., September 8
Entry Fee: $115
3 Game Guarantee - Deadline: Monday, Aug. 26, 2013
Please call 701-456-2074 to verify
receipt of tournament entry form
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
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 3,000’ 2 level laser tag”
www.thunderroadfargo.com • 282-5151
West Acres
Mall
Exit
348
I-94
r
Thundde
Roa
✭
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 - Parties - Batting Cages (Softball and Baseball)
University Dr. S.
ADULT FAST PITCH
Men’s 23-Under
Team managers and League Representatives are
reminded that team rosters are due to be turned in
the day the team plays its first game.
25th St. S
S.
LOCATION
North Mankato, MN
North Mankato, MN
North Mankato, MN
North Mankato, MN
North Mankato, MN
I
I-29
STOP DATE
7/28/2013
7/28/2013
7/28/2013
7/28/2013
7/28/2013
42nd St. S.
START DATE
7/24/2013
7/24/2013
7/24/2013
7/24/2013
7/24/2013
39th St. S.
JUNIOR OLYMPIC SP
Girls’ 10-Under
Girls’ 12-Under
Girls’ 14-Under
Girls’ 16-Under
Girls’ 18-Under
Rosters Due When Season Opens
45th St. S.
National Tournaments in Northern Region 2013
10 –
Softball News Spring 2013
2013 Slowpitch Invitational Tournaments
Mens
Start Date
Sat, Apr 13
End Date
Sat, Apr 13
City
Fargo
Classifications
4C-D
6 R1 - R2
6 R3 - R4
Type
3GG
Fee
$100
Sun, Apr 21
Sun, Apr 21
Fargo
4C-D
6 R1 - R2
6 R3 - R4
3GG
$100
Sat, Apr 27
Sat, Apr 27
West Fargo
8 R1 - R4
3GG
$100
Sun, Apr 28
Sun, Apr 28
Wahpeton
5B-D
5 R1 - R2
5 R3 - R4
RR
$90
Sat, May 04
Sat, May 04
Mandan
8C-D
8 R1 - R2
8 R3 - R4
3GG
$150
Sat, May 11
Sun, May 12
Jamestown
16 R1 - R4
DE
$100
Sat, May 11
Sun, May 12
Bismarck
8C-D
16 R1 - R2
16 R3 - R4
5GG
$195
Sat, May 11
Sat, May 11
Lisbon
16 R1 - R4
3GG
$110
Sun, May 12
Sun, May 12
Minot
25 C - R4
3GG
$100
Sat, May 18
Sat, May 18
Mandan
10 R1 - R2
10 R3 - R4
3GG
$125
Sun, May 19
Sun, May 19
Oakes
8 R3 - R4
3GG
$85
Sun, May 19 Sun, May 19
Fargo
8C-D
12 R1 - R2
12 R3 - R4
3GG
8C-D
16 R1 - R2
16 R3 - R4
3 GG
Sat, Jun 01
Sun, Jun 02
Grand Forks
Sat, Jun 01
Sun, Jun 02
Beulah
16 R2 - R4
4GG
Sun, Jun 02
Sun, Jun 02
Bismarck
5 C, 5 D
5 R1, 5 R2
5 R3, 5 R4
3GG
Sat, Jun 08
Sun, Jun 09
Center
20 R3 - R4
4 GG
Fri, Jun 14
Sun, Jun 16
Fargo
Fargo Classic
Money
Tournament
16 Open
24 D
32 R1 - R2
32 R3 - R4
3GG
3GG
3GG
4GG
Sun, Jun 16
Sun, Jun 16
Devils Lake
6 C - R1
16 R2 - R4
RR
3GG
Sat, Jun 22
Sat, Jun 22
Bismarck
8C-D
12 R1 - R2
12 R3 - R4
3GG
Sat, Jun 22
Sat, Jun 22
Wahpeton
16 R3-R4
3GG
Fri, Jun 28
Sun, Jun 30
BismarckMandan
The McQuade
6A,
6B
24 C
24 D, 24 R1
48 R2
128 R3, 48 R4
16 M35-49
8 M50, 4 M60
8 R1
16 R2
20 R3
16 R4
6 R2
6 R3 - R4
DE
DE
DE
CC
CC
CC
CC
Fri, Jul 12
Sun, Jul 14
Mandan
Sat, Jul 13
Sun, Jul 14
Rugby
Sat, Jul 13
Sun, Jul 14
Grand Forks
Sat, Jul 13
Sun, Jul 14
Dickinson
Sat, Jul 13
Sat, Jul 13
Devils Lake
Sun, Jul 14
Sun, Jul 14
Turtle Lake
Fri, Jul 19
Fri, Jul 19
Wahpeton
Sat, Jul 20
Sun, Jul 21
Sat, Jul 20
Sun, Jul 21
Oakes
Entry
Deadline
7/07
Minot
$100 Sam Martin
3253 17th Ave SW #303
Fargo ND 58103
367-4932
$140 Chris Hutton
Grand Forks Softball Assn.
PO Box 13693
Grand Forks, ND 58208
701-330-5798
$110 Daren Eliason
1300 Central Ave. N.
Beulah, ND 58523
870-2764
$125 Scott Kinnischtzke
4250 Calahan Place
Bismarck ND 58504
527-5538
$100 J D Hanson
Box 1836
Center ND 58530
794-8891
$195 Sam Martin
$195 3253 17th Ave SW #303
$170 Fargo ND 58103
$135 367-4932
$100 Terry Wallace
PO Box 446
Devils Lake ND 58301
662-8243
$125 Scott Kinnischtzke
4250 Calahan Place
Bismarck ND 58504
527-5538
$150 Laree Bumgarner
304 5th St S
Wahpeton ND 58075
642-2811
DE
$400
$250
$200
$140
$140
$140
$140
$140
$125
RR
$125
8C-D
16 R1 - R2
16 R3 - R4
3 GG
$140
8C-D
12 R1 - R2
16 R3 - R4
3GG
$115
RR
3GG
$100
16 R3 - R4
3GG
$90
8 R3 - R4
3GG
$90
16 R3 - R4
3GG
$100
50 C - R4
3GG
$100
6C - R1
16 R2 - R4
Director
Sam Martin
3253 17th Ave. SW #303
Fargo, ND 58103
367-4932
Sam Martin
3253 17th Ave. SW #303
Fargo, ND 58103
367-4932
Rod Olson
409 5th Ave.
Mapleton, ND 58059
701-799-0588
Laree Bumgarner
304 5th St S
Wahpeton ND 58075
642-2811
Bryan Jones
2835 Yorktown Drive
Bismarck ND 58503
426-8704
Levi Serfoss
1519 8th Ave. NE
Jamestown, ND 58401
701-269-8741
Scott Kinnischtzke
4250 Calahan Place
Bismarck ND 58504
527-5538
Brad Doll
406 Oak Street, #103
Lisbon, ND 58054
Tom Landseidel
420 3rd Ave. SW
Minot ND 58701
857-4730
Bryan Jones
2835 Yorktown Drive
Bismarck ND 58503
426-8704
Justin Prochnow
222 11th St. N
Oakes, ND 58474
701-899-1271
Mike Wolf
1926 Billings Dr
Bismarck ND 58504
400-2100
Cody Clark
3438 Crocus Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58501
701-629-1480
Mark Hamilton
1116 Main Ave S
Rugby ND 58368
701-208-1373
Chris Hutton
Grand Forks Softball Assn.
PO Box 13693
Grand Forks, ND 58208
701-330-5798
Ryan Nelson
2004 Fairway St
Dickinson ND 58601
701-495-0025
Terry Wallace
PO Box 446
Devils Lake ND 58301
662-8243
Darwin Saari
PO Box 338
Turtle Lake ND 58575
701-448-2658
Laree Bumgarner
304 5th St S
Wahpeton ND 58075
642-2811
Bob Ubben
210 S. 7th St.
Oakes ND 58474
742-2087 | 388-3083
Tom Landseidel
420 3rd Ave. SW
Minot ND 58701
857-4730
Start Date
Sat, Jul 27
End Date
Sun, Jul 28
City
Red Willow
Classifications
16 R3 - R4
Type
3GG
Sun, Jul 28
Sun, Jul 28
Beulah
4 R1 - R2
8 R3 - R4
3GG
Sat, Aug 24
Sun, Aug 25
Fargo
16 R3
16 R4
RR
Sat, Aug 24
Sun, Aug 25
Center
16 R3 - R4
4 Open
4 GG
Sat, Aug 24
Sun, Aug 25
Red Willow
16 Open
3GG
Sat, Aug 31
Mon, Sep 02
Red Willow
16 Open
3GG
Sat, Sep 07
Sun, Sep 08
United Tribes
28 Open
DE
Sun, Sep 08
Sun, Sep 08
Dickinson
6 R1- R2
16 R3 - R4
3GG
Fee Director
$100 Vernis Haines
1540 County Rd 5
Binford ND 58416
676-2061
$100 Daren Eliason
1300 Central Ave. N.
Beulah, ND 58523
870-2764
$150 Greg Laffen
3813 17th St. S.
Fargo, ND 58103
280-1300
$100 J D Hanson
Box 1836
Center ND 58530
794-8891
$100 Vernis Haines
1540 County Rd 5
Binford ND 58416
676-2061
$100 Vernis Haines
1540 County Rd 5
Binford ND 58416
676-2061
$300 Debbie Painte
United Tribes Tech. College
3315 Univerity Dr.
Bismarck, ND 58554
701-426-3544
$115
Ryan Nelson
2004 Fairway St
Dickinson ND 58601
701-495-0025
Womens
Start Date
Sat, Apr 27
End Date
Sat, Apr 27
City
West Fargo
Sat, May 11
Sun, May 12 Jamestown
Sun, May 19 Sun, May 19 Oakes
Classifications
8 - Open
Type
RR
16 R1 - R3
DE
4 R2 - R3
3GG
4C-D
6 Rec 1 - Rec 3
RR
Sat, Jun 01
Sat, Jun 01
Bismarck
Sat, Jun 01
Sun, Jun 02
Grand Forks
8 C - Rec 2
8 - R3
3GG
Fri, Jun 14
Sun, Jun 16
8D - R1
8 R2 - R3
4GG
Sun, Jun 16
Sun, Jun 16
Fargo
Fargo Classic
Money
Tournament
Devils Lake
8 R1 - R3
3GG
Fri, Jun 28
Sun, Jun 30
Bismarck-Mandan
The McQuade
Fri, Jul 12
Sun, Jul 14
Mandan
12 C
16 D
24 R1
32 R2, 40 R3
12 R1 - R3
DE
CC
CC
CC
3GG
Sat, Jul 13
Sun, Jul 14
Grand Forks
8 C - R2
16 - R3
3GG
Sat, Jul 13
Sun, Jul 14
Dickinson
8 R1 - R2
8 R3
3GG
Sat, Jul 13
Sat, Jul 13
Devils Lake
8 R1 - R3
3GG
Sat, Jul 20
Sun, Jul 21
Minot
20 C & below
3GG
Sat, Sep 07
Sun, Sep 08
United Tribes
12 Open
DE
Sun, Sep 08
Sun, Sep 08
Dickinson
6 R2 - R3
3GG
Fee Director
$100 Rod Olson
409 5th Avenue
Mapleton, ND 58059
701-799-0588
$100 Levi Serfoss
1519 8th Ave. NE
Jamestown, ND 58401
701-269-8741
$85 Justin Prochnow
222 11th St. N.
Oakes, ND 58474
701-899-1271
$95 Cody Remboldt
32 Eckelson Rd
Lincoln ND 58504
751-3843
$135 Chris Hutton
Grand Forks Softball Assn.
PO Box 13693
Grand Forks, ND 58208
701-330-5798
$100 Sam Martin
$100 3253 17th Ave SW #303
Fargo ND 58103
367-4932
$100 Terry Wallace
PO Box 446
Devils Lake ND 58301
662-8243
$200 Mike Wolf
$140 1926 Billings Dr
$140 Bismarck ND 58504
$140 400-2100
$125 Cody Clark
3438 Crocus Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58501
701-629-1480
$140 Chris Hutton
Grand Forks Softball Assn.
PO Box 13693
Grand Forks, ND 58208
701-330-5798
$115 Ryan Nelson
2004 Fairway St.
Dickinson, ND 58601
701.495.0025
$100 Terry Wallace
PO Box 446
Devils Lake ND 58301
662-8243
$100 Tom Landseidel
420 3rd Ave. SW
Minot ND 58701
857-4730
$300 Debbie Painte
United Tribes Tech College
3315 University Drive
Bismarck, ND 58554
701-426-3544
$115 Ryan Nelson
2004 Fairway St
Dickinson ND 58601
701-495-0025
Rosters Due When Season Opens
Team managers and League Representatives are
reminded that team rosters are due to be turned in
the day the team plays its first game.
NO changes can be made to the
roster after June 15, 2013.
Softball News Spring 2013 – 11
Coed Slowpitch Invitational
Start Date End Date
City
Sun, May 26 Mon, May 27 Red Willow
Classifications
16 Open
Type
3GG
Fee
$100
Thu, Jul 04
Thu, Jul 04
Red Willow
12 Open
3GG
$100
Sat, Aug 17
Sat, Aug 17
Devils Lake
8 Open
3GG
$100
Sun, Aug 18 Sun, Aug 18
Red Willow
12 Open
3GG
$100
Sun, Aug 25 Sun, Aug 25
Grand Forks
8 Open
3GG
$140
Sun, Sep 22 Sun, Sep 22
Grand Forks
8 Open
3GG
$140
Director
Vernis Haines
1540 County Rd 5
Binford ND 58416
676-2061
Vernis Haines
1540 County Rd 5
Binford ND 58416
676-2061
Terry Wallace
PO Box 446
Devils Lake ND 58301
662-8243
Vernis Haines
1540 County Rd 5
Binford ND 58416
676-2061
Chris Hutton
Grand Forks Softball Assn.
P.O. Box 13693
Grand Forks, ND 58208
701-330-5798
Chris Hutton
Grand Forks Softball Assn.
P.O. Box 13693
Grand Forks, ND 58208
701-330-5798
HALL of FAME
continued from page 1
ent teams during a playing career
stretching over 33 years. He has
played with teams which won two
state Class A titles, four state Class
B titles, one Class C and one Class
D title and eleven Old Pro state titles including Old Pro 40 and Over;
Old Pro Fifty and Over both wood
bad and metal bat. His teams have
also been successful at the massive
McQuade Tournament winning the
Class C title in 2000 and Old Pro
Titles in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Michelsen’s primary position has
been shortstop and he has refined
the position as far as arm strength
and range are concerned. He is one
of the top defensive shortstops to
play in North Dakota.
In addition to his defensive skills,
Michelsen is known as a clutch
hitter who pitchers hate to throw
to in key situations. He has maintained a high batting average who
sets the table for the power guys in
the middle of the lineup. An ideal
leadoff hitter, Michelsen not only
hits the ball often but also has a sure
eye at the plate and if a walk will
help the cause of his team, he will
willingly take it.
His outstanding defensive talents, his sure hands and strong arm,
his speed afoot and his high batting
average mark him as an excellent
ball player but beyond that, all of
his endorsers mentioned what an
excellent teammate he is. He is
always encouraging his teammates
and never allows the team to let
down no matter what the score.
DON MINETTE: Don Minette
played fast pitch softball in Fargo
for almost twenty years with some
of the best teams in that city. He
played for the VFW; Holsum Bread
; and Nassif Rug. Late in his career,
he accepted a job transfer to Minot
where he continued his fast pitch
career with the Union National
Bank or the Riviera Lounge.
During the bulk of his career,
Minette played in 19 state fast pitch
tournaments. And was on the winning team 5 or 6 times. He also
played in seven Regional Tournaments and was named to a dozen
city All Star teams in thirteen years.
Minette was a high average hitter who could also hit with power.
He was described as a five tool
player:hit for average, hit for power,
strong arm, outstanding fielder and
good speed. He was known as a
fine defensive outfielder with great
range and a strong arm.
His greatest asset was his clutch
hitting and he won many games
with timely hits.
Minette passed away in January of 2010 at the age of 80. He
is survived by his wife Virginia of
Minot, sons Mike and Darren and
daughters Laurie and Kathis.
MIKE WOLF: Mike Wolf’s
contributions to North Dakota
softball are almost too numerous
to mention. Currently serving as
the state Umpire in Chief, he first
registered as an ASA umpire in
1977 and after serving as the state
Assistant Umpire in Chief from
1993 till 2004 became the state
UIC in 2004. He has achieved
virtually every award an umpire
can gain having been a member of
the National Indicator Fraternity
since 1996, and Elite umpire since
2003 (the first slow pitch umpire
in the state to achieve this status.)
Wolf also serves on the state ASA
Executive Board and has been a
voting member of the ASA National
Council in 2010 and 2011. Also, he
has been a presenter before the ASA
Council to try to secure national
tournament bids for Bismarck,
Mandan and Minot. These three
cities have been successful every
year they bid.
Wolf’s achievements on the field
include umpiring eight national
tournaments including the Men’s
Super Division in 1996, the Men’s
Major in 1999, the Hooter’s Nation
al Championship series in 2006 and
the Men’s Armed Forces National
in 2007. He has served as Umpire
in Chief at several National tournaments and as assistant UIC in
several others. He has attended and
conducted several Umpire schools
around the United States.
Wolf has also been associated
with the Sam McQuade Senior
Charity Softball Tournament for
over 30 years. He began as a
working umpire in the tournament,
became the UIC for the tourney in
1991 and has been a Co-Director
of the tournament since 2007. He
recruits the tournament umpires (85
to 90 per year) makes the assignments and schedules each umpire.
This tournament draws over 400
teams annually to the event and
raises nearly $80,000 for local
charities in the two day event.
Wolf is described as the busiest guy in town since his outside
activities include involvement in
church and school activities, volunteer youth basketball coach, and
public address sports announcer for
local high school events as well as
Regional and State tournaments.
State Tournament Schedule for 2013
Men’s Slow Pitch
Men’s Slow Pitch
Men’s Slow Pitch
Men’s Slow Pitch
Men’s Slow Pitch
Men’s Slow Pitch
Old Pro 40
Old Pro 55
Old Pro 35
Old Pro 50
Old Pro 60
Old Pro 50 Wood
July 20 and 21
July 20 and 21
July 27 and 28
July 27 and 28
July 27 and 28
Aug. 3 and 4
Mandan
Mandan
Bismarck
Fargo
Fargo
Mandan
Division One
Division Two
Division Three
Aug. 3 and 4
Aug. 3 and 4
Aug. 3 and 4
Fargo
Fargo
Fargo
Rec I
Rec. II East
Rec. II West
Rec. III East
Rec. III West
Rec. IV East
Rec. IV West
Aug. 10 and 11
Aug. 17 and 18
Aug. 17 and 18
Aug. 10 and 11
Aug. 10 and 11
Aug. 17 and 18
Aug. 17 and 18
Mandan
Wahpeton
Dickinson
Grand Forks
Bismarck
Fargo
Minot
Women’s Old Pro
Women’s Class C and D
Women’s Rec I
Women’s Rec. II East and West Combined
Women’s Rec. III East
Women’s Rec. III West
Co-Ed
July 17 and 28
Aug. 3 and 4
Aug. 3 and 4
Aug. 10 and 11
Aug. 10 and 11
Aug. 10 and 11
Sept. 7 and 8
Bismarck
Devils Lake
Valley City
Jamestown
West Fargo
Dickinson
Gr. Forks
Girl’s Slow Pitch 12U
Girl’s Slow Pitch 14U
Girl’s Slow Pitch 16U
Girl’s Slow Pitch 18U
July 20
July 21
July 6
July 7
Jamestown
Jamestown
Jamestown
Jamestown
Girl’s Fast Pitch 10U
Girl’s Fast Pitch 12U
Girl’s Fast Pitch 14U
Girl’s Fast Pitch 16U
Girl’s Fast Pitch 18U
July 13 and 14
July 13 and 14
July 13 and 14
July 13 and 14
July 13 and 14
Bismarck
Bismarck
Bismarck
Bismarck
Bismarck
UMPIRES
Questions regarding rules should be referred to the Deputy Umpire in Chief from your area of
the state. If necessary, he or she may refer your inquiry to the state Umpire in Chief or to the
Northern Regional UIC.
REGION 11 UMPIRE-IN-CHIEF
STATE UMPIRE-IN-CHIEF
Steve Riswold
4901 S Baha Ave #3
Sioux Falls, SD 57106
Home 605-362-1681 • Cell 605-212-0657
E-Mail: riz@riswold.com
Michael W. Wolf
1926 Billings Drive
Bismarck, ND 58504-7253
Home 701-222-0478 • Cell 701-400-2100
E-Mail: wolfden8993@yahoo.com
DEPUTY UMPIRES-IN-CHIEF
Pat Rock Healy
3900 Fairview Drive
Grand Forks, ND 58201
Home 701-775-0117
E-Mail: rock_nd@hotmail.com
patrick.healy@gfschools.org
Mike Lien
4333 15th Avenue SW #318
Fargo, ND 58103
Cell 701-238-0129
E-Mail: lmikenkarla@cableone.net
Tom Lawson
311 Wright Street
Doonybrook, ND 58734 (Minot)
58554
Naomi Erdahl (Fastpitch)
1311 Portland Dr
Bismarck, ND 58504
Home 701-425-2130
E-Mail: naomierdahl@bis.midco.net
Lyle Rader
619 5th Street North
Wahpeton, ND 58075
Home 701-642-3466
Cell 701-899-0158
E-Mail: lyrader@hotmail.com
Michael Nider
824 Lohstreter Road
Mandan, ND 58554
Home 701-663-1515
E-Mail: icallum@bis.midco
Tom Harty
316 23rd Avenue NW
Jamestown, ND 58401
Home 701-952-1586
Work 701-252-0371
Cell 701-269-2454
E-Mail: tharty@daktel.com
Al Ziemann
1008 27th Street NW
Mandan, ND 58554
Home 701-663-6547
E-Mail: zeebuilt@bis.midco.net
Randy Olson
1307 4th Avenue E
West Fargo, ND 58078
Home 701-282-0766
Cell 701-429-3708
E-Mail: olson6363@msn.com
Elliott Gerhardt
2216 E Capitol Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58501
Home 701-223-7977
Cell 701-391-7121
E-Mail: elliotts@btinet.net
Terry O’Clair
1720 Hamburg Drive
Bismarck, ND 58504
Home 701-258-1574
Cell 701-391-0985
E-Mail: toclair@nd.gov
12 –
Softball News Spring 2013
NDASA Advisory Board proceedings
NDASA ADVISORY BOARD
MEETING
January 2013
General
•Jack Jones appointed Asst. State
Commissioner.
Establishment of Men's Slow
Pitch task force.
Jack Jones Chairman, Mike Peterson Vice Chairman
2013 National Tournament –
Northern Region
•GSP 10-18 Mankato, MN 8/1
– 8/4
GFP 16-A Rochester, MN 8/1
– 8/4
GFP 14-B Bismarck, ND 8/1 – 8/4
GFP 18-A Bloomington, MN
8/1 – 8/4
GFP 18-B Rochester, MN 8/1
– 8/4
WSP C&D Watertown, SD8/29
– 9/1
2014 National TournamentsNorthern Region
•GFP 14-A Rochester, MN 7/318/3, 2014
GFP 16-B Bismarck, ND 7/318/3, 2014
MSP E/Rec Mandan – 8/289/1/2014
MFP A & B Watertown, SD -8/289/1, 2014
National Bid Rotation
2013 Fargo
2014 Bismarck
2015 Mandan
Priority city can bid adult or J.O.
Next city listed could bid alternative.
MSP C National Qualifiers
1-berth from Fargo Busch Light
1-berth from McQuade
1-berth from MSP Div I State
Tournament
ASA qualifier $500 travel money
and $200 entry fee paid to ASA.
ASA approved a new threshold
for non-linear bats. (i.e. Louisville
Zeno's and Dimarini Flipper). ASA
to provide a sticker for compression
testing machine.
70 foot bases in MSP/WSP, COED, and Master/Seniors. 52/300
softball to be used in MSP & COED, Masters and Seniors.
• Roster deadline 6/17/2013. After
date $25 late fee.
Roster final change deadline
6/24/2013.
Registration deadline 6/3/2013.
After date $10 late fee.
Spring meeting April 20, 2013.
Roster Minimum 12, maximum
20.
Pick-up player in 2012 state
tournaments. 197 players, pick-up
by 148 teams.
All pick-up player forms for a
state tournament must be signed by
a League Rep. or a State Official.
Men's Slow Pitch
Reported by Roger Weigel
These are the recommendations
from the MSP group to the Executive
Committee
See Executive Committee minutes for final approval
Men's task force formed 10 members:
• Meet after season (October) to
discuss issues and recommendations.
Chair Jack Jones, Co-chair – Mike
Peterson.
Courtesy runners similar to rule
adopted by Master.
• Motion – Adopt Master courtesy runner rule for all levels of
play excluding National qualifer
tournament.
Passed.
Players playing down:
• Committee recommended 1
class down and three per team.
Discussed point system, 4 (max).
Motion – Accept task force recommendation of limiting players
playing down to 1 class down and
max 3 per team.
Extend player classification
committee:
• Consider adding recreation
classes and expand committee.
• Player database – need to
develop consistency with ASA National database and state database.
Homerun rules:
-Motion – Zero HR's in Rec 4
tournaments.
One in Rec 3; with exception of
purchasing one additional HR for
charity tournament. Passed.
Rosters:
•Roster available on-line fill-in
form.
•Continue evaluation/seeking
new application (website).
•Tournament ASA
•Scott Brahoss PowerPoint later
today.
•State tournament pick-up player
is working and will be continued.
•Tournaments such as Busch
Light & McQuade will be weighted
heavier by classification committee.
•Tournament series for Rec
tournament.
•Mike Peterson looking for
sponsors.
•Play 3-4 tournaments to qualify
for prize packages.
•Points to play and additional
points for placing.
Girls JO Fast Pitch
Reported by Brian Neuhardt
These are the recommendations
from the Girls JO Fast Pitch group
to the Executive Committee See
Executive Committee minutes for
final approval
Set State Tournament Dates:
•Suggested Invitational Tournaments:
June 8/9 Jamestown (tentative)
June 15/16
West Fargo
June 22/23
Grand Forks
July 6/7
Bismarck
July 13/14
State
Set State Tournament Entry fees
at $150 (3 game guarantee).
•Discussed national tournaments, fees, roster deadline of
July 1st.
Must send money and roster into
state office by July 1st and/or let the
national directors know what teams
we are sending from North Dakota.
The state office will then pay the
national tournament entry fee.
Reviewed past discussions on
advancing state tournaments, online registration and the ND/MN
teams.
Women's Slow Pitch
Reported by Sue Lachenmeier
These are the recommendations
of the WSP group to the Executive
Committee
10 OFF
$
Bismarck Inn
800-456-6388
See Executive Committee minutes for final approval
State Tournament fee increase
for 2013:
•Umpires $25 per game
C & D Div $175
Rec I, II, III $150
National Tournament information will be given to the winner of
C & D Division at the time of the
tournament. Team will need to give
a check to Tournament manager
that day and have 5 days to decide
if they are going.
70' bases mandatory for 2013.
Discussed in the future to hold
C, D, Rec I tournament all in one
location.
•MSC – C – Division state tournament:
2 teams – 3 out of 5
3 teams – double round robin
4 teams or more – round robin/
double elimination
Executive board: no action taken.
Discussed at classification meeting the Commissioner and League
Reps. Decide if tournament is
double elimination or 3 game
guarantee.
Tournament formation for small
tournaments later start time and use
no more than 4 diamonds. Keep
teams longer in the day. MSC.
No action taken by executive committee.
Discussed and recommended
courtesy runner at state tournaments – follow the MSP, MSC.
Roster Classification:
Proposed point system
1 Division above you – 1 point
2 Divisions above you – 2 points
2 Divisions above you – 3 points
Maximum 3 points allowed if
more than 3 points team class is
raised one class. MSC.
No action taken by the executive
committee.
Masters Committee
Reported by Jack Jones
These are the recommendations
of the Masters committee to the
Executive Committee
See Executive Minutes for final
approval
50-55-60
•Adopt strike mat per ASA senior
rules.
Any ball hitting the mat or home
plate is a strike – arc limit 6 to 12'.
•Adopt 5 run max, per inning. Except 7th inning or any extra innings.
60 & over
•Reduce the number of underage players to max of 2. Minimum
age 59.
55 & over tournament
•Minimum of 4 teams required.
Survey participating teams as to
whether wood or metal bats.
50 & over stated tournament
•If more than 12 teams have upper
and lower divisions.
Masters 35
–
If Masters Committee's
opinion 2 teams are head and shoulders above the rest – play best of 5
state tournament.
Executive Committee
MSC -Approved state sites and
tournament dates.
MSC -Approved new state tournament fees:
MSP – Div I, II, III
$200
MSP/WSP Master/Rec $150
WSP & C & D
$175
J.O.
$150
65% of fees go to host city
MSC – Increase state tournament
umpire fee per game to $25
MSC- Women class C & D state
tournaments to be held in Devils
Lake 8/3 & 4, Rec II Women's state
tournament to be combined to one
tournament and played in Jamestown 8/10 & 11.
MSC – Change roster final deadline to June 24.
MSC – GFP National tournaments deadline for entry is July 1.
State GFP fee of $150 due by 7/1.
Home Run Rule is for State and
Invitational tournaments
MSC – new home-run limit over
fence:
WSP
Open – unlimited C- 3HR
D-2HR
Rec I- 2HR
Rec II-2HR
Rec III-2HR
Seventh Annual
Rug Rat Benefit
Softball Tournament
www.expresswayhotels.com
Advanced reservations required.
Some blackout dates may apply.
Excludes economy singles.
No other discounts apply.
Expires 3/31/14. Code 29
10 OFF
$
Tournament
History
2008: 9 teams
2009: 20 teams
2010: 40 teams
2011: 56 teams
2012: 62 teams
Proceeds to bene¿t the Bismarck Cancer Center Foundation!
July 12-14, 2013
Mandan Softball Complex
Men’s Division: 8 Rec 1, 16 Rec 2, 20 Rec 3, 16 Rec 4, Double Elimination
Women’s Division: 8 Rec 1-3, Double Elimination. NSS Quali¿er
ASA Sanctioned. Tournament Director: Cody Clark
E-mail: coclark@hotmail.com
Friday night feature!!
$125 Team Entry Fee. Entry Deadline: July 1, 2013
Payable to: Rug Rat Bene¿t Softball
Bismarck Suites
888-774-5566
Master's Men 35-4HR
40-4HR
45-4HR
MSP B-6HR
C-4HR
D-2HR
REC I-2HR
REC II-2HR
REC III-1HR – excess out
REC IV -0-excess out
COED C-4HR
D-2HR
Home run rule is for state and invitational tournaments with excess
home runs over the fence an out.
MSC - Player classification:
MSP B – 3 A rated players. No
A+ or restricted.
C – 3 B players. No A or B+
players.
D – 3C players. No A, B, or C+
players.
REC I – 3 D Players. No A, B, C
or D+ players
REC II – 3 REC I players. No
D or above.
REC III – 3 REC II players. No
REC I or above.
REC IV – 3 REC III players. No
REC II or above.
WSP Open – any player
C – 3 – open player
D – 3 C player. No open.
REC I – 3 D players. No C or
above.
REC II – 1 D & 3 REC I players.
No C or D+
REC III – 2 Rec I & 3 Rec II. No
D or above.
MSC – Use Master courtesy
runner rule for all levels of play in
MSP and WSP tournaments excluding all Championship Play/national
qualifying tournaments.
MSC – Master Report:
• Adopt strike mat – level 50,
55, 60.
Adopt 5 run max per inning,
except 7 inning or any extra inning,
level 50, 55, 60.
Reduce the number of underage
players to max of 2, minimum age
59, level 60.
55 & over state tournament minimum of 4 teams required.
Complete, Cut & Mail to: Rug Rat Bene¿t Softball
3438 Crocus Ave., Bismarck, ND 58501
All-Star Games
Women can enter 3 players,
Rec 2,3,4 can enter 1 player,
Rec 1 can enter 2 players
Team Name:___________________________________
Manager’s Name_______________________________
Men’s Division:__________
Address_______________________________________
Women’s Division________
Phone #: (H)__________________ (C)______________
Saturday night
Manager’s e-Mail_______________________________
Home Run Derby
with a twist
Silent Auction Saturday!!
Prize for the team whose items bring in the
money.
e most money
Softball News Spring 2013 – 13
2013 ASA Code Changes with Comments as of January 28, 2013
Article 106 U 02 TOURNAMENT STAFF No manager, coach,
family member may be involved in
the role at a National Championship
Final as an ASA Rep. Tournament
Director, UIC, Asst. UIC, or Umpire Coordinator.
Comments: Established a definition and guidelines for who can
be on the staff at an ASA National
Championship Final.
Article 201 D 07 e New e Allied
Members shall not run competing events within fourteen (14)
days of ASA Championship play.
Comments: Establishes restrictions when Allied Members can
run softball events around ASA
Championship Play.
Article 201 E 04 e New e Affiliated Members shall not run
competing events within fourteen
(14) days of ASA Championship
play. Comments: Establishes restrictions when Affiliated Members
can run softball events around ASA
Championship Play.
Article 301 D 01 D. Territorial
Vice Presidents. 01. Nominations.
Candidates for Territorial Vice
President shall submit their names
to the National Office no later
than 30 days prior to the National
Council Meeting. Territorial Vice
President Candidates must have and
maintain National Council Member Status and reside within their
respective territorial boundaries.
Comments: Establishes guidelines
where Territorial Vice Presidents
must reside.
Article 301 E 01 Election. A
regional director from each region
shall be elected to or at the annual
meeting. The regional director shall
reside within their respective regional boundaries and come from
the National Council members
of the respective region and shall
be elected by a majority vote of
the region’s National Council
members, local association Junior
Olympic commissioners, local association player representatives and
local umpires-in-chief. Comments:
Establishes guidelines where Regional Directors must reside.
Article 302 B 03 Quorum. A
quorum shall consist of a majority
of all eligible voting members of
the Board of Directors. Approval of
any business before the BOD shall
take a minimum of 8 affirmative
votes. Comments: Establishes a
minimum number of votes required
for a Board of Directors vote to
pass.
Article 305 D 08 Delete and
add Associations shall submit an
appropriate IRS 990 form within
seven months of conclusion of association’s fiscal year. Comments:
Requires that Local Associations
have on file with the ASA National
Office a 990 form.
Article Number Change Article 501 C 02 (d) Modified Pitch.
Men’s 9-Man Modified Pitch teams
will be determined by a restricted
pitchers list. The restricted modified
pitch pitchers 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 August 1
each year for the pitchers on this
list are ineligible to pitch in the 10Man Modified championship play
tournaments but may participate
in another position. Any appeals
regarding this list can be made
through the ASA National Office to
the modified pitch sub-committee.
If a pitcher on the restricted
pitchers list, pitches or attempts to
pitch in 10 man Modified Championship play, that games(s) will
be forfeited and the team will be
suspended from further play in
the tournament. The team may be
subject to further penalties. Comments: Allows individuals on the
9-Man Modified Pitchers to play
a position other than pitcher in the
10-Man Modified National Cham-
pionship.
Article 501 C 02 e 01 All Men’s
Slow Pitch players and or teams
that are eligible to participate in the
Men’s Class A and Men’s Class B
National Championship may play
and still retain their eligibility for
their original classification in current championship play season.
Comments: Allows teams to play
in the Class B National Championship and still play in the Class they
are eligible to participate in.
Article 501 C 03 b All Junior
Olympic team personnel assisting
in the dugout must visually display proof of an ASA background
check (current year) Comments:
Requires Junior Olympic team
personnel to have proof of background check displayed while in
the dugout.
Article 507 F National Adult
Fast Pitch Players Classification
Board. Comments: Changes the
Fast Pitch Pitchers Classification
Board to Fast Pitch Players Classification Board
Article 507 F 03 g Delete g
Comments: With the creation of
the Players Classification for Fast
Pitch this item is not required.
Article 507 H 02 Add Exception Exception: Coed Class C and
Coed Class D teams must finish in
the top 10% of their Territory Tournaments, two consecutive years
before they will be required to
play in the next higher classification in ASA Championship Play
Comments: Adds an exception to
Coed Class C and Coed Class D for
Mandatory reclassification.
Article 509 C 02 e Men’s Masters 50-Over Fast Pitch. The
National Championship Final shall
be scheduled on the weekend which
includes the last Saturday in July
and shall be scheduled for a maximum of four days to conclude on
Sunday. Comments: Establishes
a new date for the Men’s Masters
50-Over Fast Pitch National Championship.
Article 510 N 06 New Equipment. The National Championship
UIC, Assistant UIC, or Tournament
staff have the right to remove any
and all equipment not meeting the
requirements of ASA Rule 3, including bats and helmets through
testing, pregame inspection or during the game. Removed equipment
would be marked properly with the
name of the team and/or player and
not returned until after the team’s
final game of the tournament. The
equipment is to be securely stored
by the tournament committee until
returned to the team and/or player.
Comments: Establishes a procedure for when equipment does not
meet Rule 3.
Article 510 N 07 New and
Renumber Non Approved Bat.
Any person discovered using a
non-approved bat will be ejected
from the game and are subject to
further action by the protest committee. Comments: Establishes a
consequence for a person using a
non approved bat.
Article 510 R Umpires. Three
(3) umpires per game shall be used
for all games at National Championship Finals in Adult Fast Pitch,
Men’s Class A Slow Pitch, Men’s
Class B Slow Pitch, Men’s 16”
Slow Pitch, Men’s Modified Pitch
and Girls’ ASA/USA 12-Under,
14-Under, 16-Under, 18-Under and
18-Under Gold Fast Pitch. All other
National Championship Finals
will utilize a minimum of two (2)
umpires per game. In all divisions
where there are pool play games, a
minimum of two (2) umpires per
game will be utilized. Comments:
Adds Men’s Class B Slow Pitch to
the list of Championships that will
utilize three (3) umpires per game.
Article 513 B Eligible Teams.
The tournaments shall be open to
all member teams; however, a limit
on the number of entries may be
necessary because of the number
of fields available for play. NOTE:
18A teams may participate in any
Gold National Qualifier in their respective age division and then have
the ability to return to the respective
“A” division provided the team did
not earn a berth at the Gold level.
Comments: Allows 18U Class A
teams to participate in any Gold
National Qualifying Events. The
18U teams shall have to meet the
Roster Guidelines for participating
at the Gold Classification which
can be found in Article 501 D 02 d.
Article 510 A 06 a 12 Delete
Women’s 23-Under National
Championship Finals Comments:
Eliminates the Women’s 23-Under
National Championships. Will be
held as NIT’s.
Article 516 D Men’s C Slow
Pitch 01. Qualifying – Teams will
qualify for these National Championships Finals through National
Qualifiers. 02 Mens Class C Slow
Pitch Berth Allocation – 64 teams
will qualify, berths will be distributed by the Slow Pitch Tournament
Committee. Comments: Establishes a new qualifying procedure and
Championship format for Men’s
Class C Slow Pitch.
Article 516 H 01 Eligible
Teams. All teams within an ASA
National Championship Finals Territory that has not qualified for an
ASA/USA Junior Olympic Girls’
Class A Fast Pitch National Championship are eligible to qualify for
the ASA National Championship
Finals Tournament through their
local association. Teams may play
in the National Championship of
their choice. [ Ineligible. Any team
that has qualified for an ASA/
USA Junior Olympic Girls’ Pitch
National Championship is not
eligible to participate in an ASA
National Championship Finals
Tournament. ]
Comments: Allows Junior
Olympic Class A teams to go to
the ASA National Championship
Finals of their choice.
Article 516 I 01 Eligible Teams.
All teams within an ASA National
Championship Finals Territory are
eligible to qualify for their ASA
Territory National Championship
Finals Tournament through their
local association. Teams may play
in the National Championship of
their choice.
Comments: Allows Junior
Olympic Class B teams to go to
the ASA National Championship
Finals of their choice.
Article 516 J Delete Returning Berths from previous years
Gold National Championship and
Champions from the Territorial
Gold National Championships.
Comments: Eliminates returning
berths from future Gold National
Championships.
Article 517 USA SOFTBALL
MEN’S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. The ASA will
conduct a USA National Championship Series Tournament for Class
D Slow Pitch in accordance with
Article 203 and Article 516 F.
A. Eligible Teams. The Top Four
Teams from the Eastern, Northern,
Southern and Western National
Championships.
Tournament Format. In the
Championship Series involving
sixteen (16) teams, a seeded double
elimination bracket will be played.
F. Expenses. Each team participating in these tournaments shall receive eight (8) hotel rooms paid for
by ASA. These rooms can only be
used by the players on the national
championship final roster plus one
manager and one coach.
Comments: Adds an additional
12 teams to those eligible to come
to OKC to participate in the Men’s
D Championship Series. It also
eliminates Men’s C from the Championship Series due to the New
Championship format that was
created.
Article 601 A Delete and Add
The Executive Director shall negotiate and secure proposals to host
the ASA Annual Council Meeting.
The ASA Board of Directors will
decide the final site of the meeting.
Comments: Gives the Board
of Directors the authority to select
the location of future ASA Annual
Council meetings.
Article 603 B 01 B. Umpire
Expense. Umpire expenses must
include the following:
Game fees for Adult Fast Pitch,
Junior Olympic Fast Pitch and
Modified Pitch shall be a minimum
of $30.00 per game. Game Fees for
Adult Slow Pitch shall be a minimum of $25.00 per game and Game
Fees for Junior Olympic slow pitch
shall be a minimum of $21.00 per
game. The number of umpires to be
assigned per game is addressed in
Article 510 (Q) of this code.
Comments: Increase all game
fees $5.00 for all umpires working
National Championships.
Article 603 B 02 Housing accommodations.
a. Two umpires to a room.
b. An umpire who brings family, will be responsible for 50% of
room cost.
Umpires are required to be present when the tournament starts,
including the pre-championship
clinic.
Comments: Establishes guidelines for housing for National
Championship Host and Umpires
traveling to National Championships.
Article 606 B 02 Tournament
Awards
Comments: Establishes new
guidelines for trophy packages for
ASA National Championship.
Article 700 Remove Article
700 and place in the Procedural
Manual of the Board of Directors.
Comments: Removes all of
Article 700 from the ASA Code.
Rosters due when
season opens
Team Managers and
League Representatives
are reminded
that team rosters are
due to be turned in the day
the team plays its first game.
No changes can be made
to the roster after
June 12, 2013.
Stop in at the Cenex C-store
in Wilton and check out the
new items in our deli!
We have daily lunch
specials, one of
which is the new
“Smoked Beef
Brisket Sandwich.”
We also have f’real
shakes, smoothies and
frozen cappucinos!
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Wilton • 734-6312
14 –
Softball News Spring 2013
2013 Playing rule changes with comments
NOTE: All changes
below are EFFECTIVE
January 1, 2013
unless otherwise
noted.
Rule 2 Section 1 Table: The
pitching distance for Girls Junior
Olympic 14 and under A/B classificiation of play shall be 43 feet.
Comment: Allows for Girls 14U
Junior Olympic Fast Pitch to pitch
from the same distance as the Girls
16U and 18U Junior Olympic Fast
Pitch Classifications of play.
Rule 3 Section 1A [1]: The Official bat must bear either the ASA
2000 Certification Mark, the ASA
2004 Certification Mark or the ASA
2013 Certification Mark.
Comment: This adds an additional Certification Mark to the list
of ASA Certification marks allowed
on ASA approved bats.
Rule 3 Section 1A [4]: Bats
bearing the ASA 2013 Certification Mark are allowed in Slow
Pitch Only.
Comment: Clarifiies bats with
the new ASA 2013 Certification
Mark are only allowed in the game
of Slow Pitch.
Rule 3 Section 3E [3]: EFFECTIVE IN 2014 The 52/300 12
inch ball will be the only 12” ball
allowed in Men’s Adult Slow Pitch,
Men’s Co-ed, Men’s Master’s Slow
Pitch and Junior Olympic Boys
Slow Pitch, with the exception of
Seniors.
Comments: Removes the
44/375 12” ball as an approved
ball for all Men’s Adult Slow Pitch,
Men’s Co-ed, Men’s Master’s Slow
Pitch and Junior Olympic Boys
Slow Pitch.
Rule 3 Section 6A [2]: (Female
Fast Pitch and all Slow Pitch)
Ball caps and visors are optional
for players. If worn, they may be
mixed, but must be worn properly.
Comment: Removes headbands
from the list of headwear regulated
by uniform rule. Headbands can
still be properly worn on the head
and allows them to be mixed colors
if worn.
Rule 3 Section 6A [2] Exception: Adult Slow Pitch, caps and visors may be mixed and must be the
same color(s) as the team uniform
but do not have to be alike in color.
Comment: Allows for caps and
visors worn by a team to be mixed
in color as long as the cap or visor
matches a color of the uniform.
Rule 3 Section 6G EXCEPTION: Junior Olympic Fast Pitch
10U, 12U, and Junior Olympic
Slow Pitch, Co-ed Slow Pitch,
and Senior Slow Pitch Play: No
metal cleats. No metal spikes nor
hard plastic or polyurethane spikes
similar to metal sole and heel plates
are allowed.
Comments: Allows for Girls
Junior Olympic Fast Pitch 14U
A/B Classifications of play to wear
metal cleats.
Rule 3 Section 7B: The National
Championship UIC, Assistant UIC
or Staff has the right to remove
any and all equipment not meeting
Rule 3 including bats and helmets,
through pregame inspection, bat
testing or during a game. Removed
equipment will be marked properly
with the name of the team and/or
player and will be returned after
the team’s final game of the Championship. The equipment will be
securely stored by the Championship Committee until returned to the
team and/or player.
Comment: Documents a procedure for removing and storing
equipment not meeting Rule 3 of
the ASA Rule Book.
Rule 4 Section 6C [2]: When
an unreported substitute is discovered while at bat. EFFECT: The
unreported substitute is officially
in the game and assumes the ball
and strike count. All action stands.
Comment: Clarifies the EFFECT of the Unreported Substitute Rule when the unreported
substitute is discovered while still
at bat.
Rule 5 Section 1: Prior to the
start of all games, the choice of
which team will bat first or last in
the inning shall be decided by a
coin flip.
Comment: Clarifies that a coin
flip is required before the game.
Rule 5 Section 9A [2]: Modified Pitch, 15 after three innings,
12 after four innings, and 10 after
5 innings.
Comments: Adds a run ahead
rule after four innings to the Modified game.
Rule 5 Section 9C: (Men’s
Senior Slow Pitch Only) All age
groups will have a maximum
number of runs allowed per inning
except for the seventh inning, the
last inning of a time limit game or
any extra inning. The Major will
have a maximum of 7 runs and the
AAA & AA Divisions will have a
maximum of 5 runs. The seventh inning, the last inning of a time limit
game or any extra innings will have
unlimited runs allowed.
Comment: Institutes a runs allowed per inning rule except in the
7th inning, the last inning of a time
limit game or any extra innings in
Men’s Senior Slow Pitch Classifica-
tions of play.
Rule 5 Section 12: Dugout
Conduct:
a) Coaches, players, substitutes,
and other bench personnel shall not
be outside the designated bench,
dugout/team area except when the
rules allow or it is justified.
b) Adult- Participants may not
smoke or use alcoholic beverages
inside the dugout or on the playing field.
c) Junior Olympic Only: The use
of alcoholic beverages or tobacco
products is prohibited at all Junior
Olympic Championships.
EFFECT: The first offense is a
team warning. Any repeat offense
shall result in the ejection of that
team member.
Comment: Better defines Dugout Conduct in the ASA Rule Book.
Rule 6 Section 1C [1] FP: (Male
and Junior Olympic Boys) The
pitcher shall take a position with
their pivot foot in contact with the
pitcher’s plate and their non pivot
foot in contact with it behind the
pitcher’s plate.
Comment: Allows Junior Olympic Boys Classifications of play to
pitch by the Men’s Fast Pitch pitching rule by starting with both or one
foot on the pitcher’s plate.
Rule 6 Section 1E [1]: FP (Male
and JO Boys) A backward step may
be taken before, simultaneous with
or after the hands are brought together. The pivot foot must remain
in contact with the pitcher’s plate at
all times prior to the forward step.
Comment: Clarifies that Boys
Junior Olympic Classifications of
play can step back with the non
pivot foot like the Men’s Fast Pitch
pitching rule.
Rule 6 Section 3H: FP (Men’s
& Junior Olympic Boys Fast Pitch)
In the act of delivering the ball, the
pitcher must take one step with the
non-pivot foot, simultaneous with
the release of the ball. The step must
be forward toward the batter. It is
not a step if the pitcher slides the
pivot foot across the pitcher’s plate
toward the batter, or if the pivot foot
turns or slides in order to push off
the pitcher’s plate, provided contact
is maintained with the plate. Raising the foot off of the pitching plate
and returning it to the plate creates a
rocking motion and is an illegal act.
Comment: Allows for the Junior
Olympic Boys Classifications of
play to step outside the 24” width
of the pitcher’s plate during the
delivery of the pitch like the Men’s
Fast Pitch pitching rule.
Rule 6 Section 3L: FP (Men’s
and Junior Olympic Boys) Pushing
off and dragging the pivot foot in
contact with the ground, or if both
feet are in the air, having the toes
of the pivot foot in the downward
direction is required.
Comment: Allows for the Junior Olympic Boys Classifications
of play to leap during the delivery
of the pitch like the Men’s Fast
Pitch pitching rule.
Rule 6 Section 1E MP: The
pitcher shall bring the hands together for not less than one second
and not more than 10 seconds
before releasing it, and both feet
must remain in contact with the
pitching plate at all times prior to
the forward step.
Comment: Aligns the rule with
fast pitch so that the pitcher only
needs to bring the hands together
not hold the ball in both hands.
Rule 7 Section 2D [2]: If batting order is discovered after the
incorrect batter has completed a
turn at bat:
a. The improper batter’s time at
bat is negated.
b. The player who should have
batted is out.
c. Any advancement or score of
a runner as a result of the improper
batter is negated. Runners not
called out must return to the last
base occupied at the time of the
pitch. Any runner, who is called
out prior to the discovery of the
Players must carry
picture ID at tourneys
North Dakota ASA will continue to follow the National Rule
which requires that all players
carry a current picture ID with
signature at all tournaments.
After June 15th, managers must
also carry a copy of the team
roster.
Spot checks will be made. Any
person playing without proper
ID will face suspension as do
his teammates and/or manager.
Games will be forfeited at that
time. The NDASA executive
committee meeting last fall
adopted the following rules in
regard to picture ID:
When questioned, if the player
does not have a picture ID on his
person, he or she will be given
five minutes to present it.
The player is ineligible until
called out when they come to bat.
This is the only aspect of the rule,
along with carry-over of the third
out enforcement on the offensive
team, where the rule will have to be
enforced at a later time.
Profanity directed at others, especially umpires, will still result in
ejection. If a player is called out on
a bang-bang players at first and he
utters a word under his breath as he
runs by the umpires at first, or curses
under his breath because of this poor
hit as he was thrown out at first, the
CASUAL PROFANITY RULE will
not be enforced. That’s because no
one but the umpire, and maybe the
first baseman has heard him.
THE CASUAL PROFANITY
RULE provides a lesser penalty
for the gray area between accepted
conduct and situations where the
offender must be ejected. It has
been found that the players police
themselves and each other after this
happens a couple of times and it has
worked for the betterment of softball. It gets players to clean up their
act. Early in the year, umpires, in
pregame conference, should warn
both managers that the CASUAL
PROFANITY RULE applies. Failure to do so does not preclude the
penalty being enforced. After June
15, this is not required at pre-game
conference as all teams should be
aware of the rule.
Rosters Due When Season Opens
Team managers and League Representatives are
reminded that team rosters are due to be turned in
the day the team plays its first game.
NO changes can be made to the
roster after June 15, 2013.
a picture ID has been presented.
The players in violation will
be ejected from the game if no
ID is available.
The game is not forfeited.
The team can replace the players if they have substitutions.
If the ejection brings the team
number down to nine, the team
will be allowed to continue with
an out in the batting position
of the players ejected. This is
similar to the injury rule.
If the player turns out to be an
illegal player, the present rules
for the use of illegal players will
be in effect.
MANAGERS—be sure all
your players have picture identification so they will not be
embarrassed and lose their right
to play.
Welcome
to Minot
Casual profanity rule defined
Casual profanity pertains to
expletives “not directed at the umpires or opposing players, but most
likely at the players uttering them
as a vent to frustration. This type of
profanity is penalized by “OUTS”
being declared against the offensive
or defensive teams, whichever is
guilty of the violations. The above
“OUTS” will be treated on a delayed, dead ball situation. Profanity directed at others, especially
umpires, will still result in ejection.
Let’s say a team has the bases
loaded and the batter pops up to
the infield. Immediately he lets out
a profanity (fill in your favorite).
What happens if the fielder
catches the ball? The batter can’t be
called “OUT” because he already is.
Therefore, the next batter is out. If
the batter would be first up the next
inning, that spot will be an OUT.
That’s how the penalty is enforced.
If a defensive player “boots” the
ball or drops the ball and utters a
profanity where it can be heard by
the people in the stand the defense is
penalized by having their first batter
infraction, remains out
d. The next batter is the player
whose name follows that of the
player called out for failing to bat.
EXCEPTION: (Co-ed Only)
If the incorrect batter is called out
as a result of their time at bat, and
is scheduled to be the proper batter,
skip that player and the next person
in the line-up will be the batter.
Comment: Rewords the rule
so if the Batter-Runner is called
out that out applies to the batter
who should have batted. All outs
made by runners are still out. If
the incorrect batter makes an out
and is the next legal batter they
simply bat again. The old rule of
all out stands including the batter
runner and skipping the batter if
they make an out and they are the
next legal batter, still applies to the
game of Co-ed.
Rule 7 Section 6B: When a
batter enters the batter’s box with
or is discovered using an altered
or non-approved bat. EFFECT:
The batter shall be ejected from the
game, and if in a tournament may
be subject to future penalties by the
protest committee.
Comment: Establishes an appeal
process for players who have used
an altered or non approved bat before possibly being ejected for the
entire Championship.
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Softball News Spring 2013 – 15
Suspension/Probation for 2013
2012 ASA Equipment Committee review
In the past year the Equipment
Committee, Dr. Lloyd Smith/WSU
Lab and ASA staff members, have
spent a considerable amount of time
on slow pitch equipment issues
and we have utilized the Trackman
radar system in field conditions for
the fast pitch game as well. Trackman was used at several events
including a number of 16U and 18U
GFP tournaments, NCAA events,
and slow pitch events, including
the ASA Championship Series in
Oklahoma City. The Trackman
technology was made possible by
a partnership developed by ASA,
WSU Lab, NCAA and the NFHS
for the purchase and sharing of this
technology. The Trackman technology has proven to be essential to the
decision making process in monitoring game conditions, field standards and research. Increasing our
understanding of how equipment
performs and impacts our game
will quantify how rule changes affect play so we can make decisions
about field dimensions, softballs,
bats and the effects of temperature
on equipment.
The Equipment Committee traveled to Oklahoma City in May
and held a joint meeting with bat
and ball manufacturers. Discussions were very broad based and
productive. It is important that we
continue to meet with our manufacturer partners as we collectively
search for new ideas to improve
equipment opportunities for the
game of softball.
In the past 18 months we have
experienced real positive change
on the field including stronger bat
tampering penalties, and bat testing machines that are more mobile
and user friendly. Both of these
practices have helped us to deter
bat cheaters. The development and
certification of the 52/300 ball for
slow pitch was introduced to the
game in 2011 after extensive field
and lab studies. We have learned
that the 52/300 has brought four
(4) 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.
2) The 52/300 ball is less affected
by extreme temperatures or humidity and will provide more consistent
playability.
3) Lab and field studies have
indicated that the 52/300 ball will
reduce batted ball speed (BBS) by
an estimated three (3) mph.
4) The 52/300 ball still allows
those who can/should hit home
runs to do so.
In light of the positive changes
to the game as a result of the development of the 52/300 ball, the
Equipment Committee, Dr. Smith
and the ASA staff made the decision to expand our research to an
extensive swing speed study in
slow pitch. The results of a comprehensive field and lab study on the
swing speeds of players at the ASA
Championship Series provided
important data used to recommend
changes in our bat license agreement with the manufacturers. Based
on science, the committee recom-
mended changing the swing speed
used in the certification of bats
from 85 mph to 80 mph. The ASA
Board of Directors approved the
recommendation of the Equipment
Committee and the adjustments will
affect the bat certification process
as well as the approval of additional
bat models in ASA play, and bring
more continuity to the market place
for players and the manufacturers.
With considerations regarding
the positive results of the 52/300
ball, and reduction of swing speed
in the bat certification equation,
a new ASA BBS test protocol for
slow pitch was made available
to the manufacturers on May 15,
2012. ASA has developed a new
certification mark for bat models
manufactured for future use in the
ASA game of softball in 2013 and
beyond. The new certification mark
will look like the (ASA Shield) and
will be used for slow pitch only.
ASA will continue to perform
random testing of all approved
models to verify compliance of the
approved bat performance standard.
Throughout this process we
have come to the conclusion that it
is inherent that we move forward
with field and lab studies to develop
a new bat standard for fast pitch.
ASA has completed significant field
studies in the fast pitch game both
in the college and the JO game with
regards to batted ball speed (BBS).
In October of this year ASA has
expanded its field studies to include
a swing speed study for JO players
in 14U to 18U. The data collected
at this field study, and future fast
pitch swing speed field tests, will
provide important science to further
the development of a swing speed
formula, to be applied to a new fast
pitch bat standard specific to the
fast pitch game.
Additional studies by Dr. Smith
and the WSU lab this past year
included testing the performance of
light weighted bats vs heavier bats
with the 52/300 ball. The results
determined that there was no effect
of bat weight on the relative bat
performance between the 52/300
and 44/375 ball. The lab continues
to research bat rolling and other
methods to help identify bats that
have been rolled. Dr. Smith is in
the development stages of two
promising techniques to identify
rolled bats in play. The hope is
this new technology will create a
unique signature when a rolled bat
is examined in the lab which will
enhance the compliance efforts
with bat tampering.
Some of the priorities for the
Equipment Committee and Dr.
Smith’s lab in 2013 are:
1) Manufacturer compliance
with ASA Bat and Ball Standards.
2) Continued use of Trackman
to monitor game conditions at
major tournaments in the JO game,
Women’s College World Series, the
Border Battle, as well as the ASA
National Championship Series.
While field studies are expensive
and time consuming, they are
necessary to ensure our laboratory
testing is representative of game
conditions. Dr. Smith’s lab has also
acquired much of the equipment
needed to conduct the field studies.
2012 Homerun Limits
Adult Slow Pitch
WSP HR Rule
Open-Unlimited
C-4 HR Excess Out
D-2 HR Excess Out
Coed
C-4 HR
D-2 HR
Excess Out
Excess Out
Masters
MSP HR Rule
35-4 HR Excess Out
A-10 HR Excess Out
40-4 HR Excess Out
B-6 HR Excess Out
45-4 HR Excess Out
C-4 HR Excess Out
D-2 HR Excess Out
*(NDASA-Rec Division’s-2 HR-Excess Out)
This substantially reduces the cost
of the field studies for ASA.
3) Continue to study the data
collected at fast pitch field tests to
develop a new performance test
for fast pitch bats. The new tests
will use a fast pitch ball (instead
of SP ball) and incorporate swing
and pitch speeds representative of
the fast pitch game. The science
will assist the development of a bat
standard that is representative of the
fast pitch game.
4) Continue to work on the
problems with bat tampering and
develop procedures and scientific
techniques to identify rolled bats.
5) Dr. Smith has been working
for a number of years to develop accurate softball and baseball models
to test the effects of ball impacts on
humans. The WSU lab has recently
purchased a human model (developed by Toyota for automobile
crash simulations). Dr. Smith has
hired a bio-mechanical engineer to
impact the human model with the
softball model. This will provide
information on the severity of impact for different controlled impact
scenarios, as well as help quantify
the effect of injury on ball designs,
such as the new 52/300 ball.
We appreciate the work of Dr.
Smith and his WSU lab, members
of the Equipment Committee as
well as Craig Cress, Ron Radigonda, Rich Cress, Kevin Ryan and
the ASA staff for all the work 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.
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.
Dominic Pardino Jr., Fargo – Unsportsmanlike conduct,
suspended indefinitely, two year probation follows reinstatement.
Todd Kalpakoff, Fargo – Altered bat, two years suspension
2010 & 2011, NDASA/ASA Play, five years probation starting
1/1/12
Dustin Talley, Mandan – Illegal participation, suspension
through 7/1/11, probation 2011, 2012 & 2013
State Tournament No-Shows Without Notification
WSP Rec III West
Entire Team Probation 2013
The Bombers - Mandan
MSP Rec III East
GF Service Master
GF Dakota TV/Vaaler Ins.
Entire Team Probation 2013
MSP Rec III West
Captain Freddies - Mandan
Johnny’s Bar - Minot
Entire Team Probation 2013
MSP Rec IV West
New Town Dirty South
Bismarck Fsota Farms/Pioneer SeedEntire Team Probation 2013
Probation
Player with No/Show probation in 2013 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.
REV-D
$89.99
Shoes, apparel,
bags and
equipment.
18-under, $10 off
shoe purchase
Rosters due when
season opens
Team Managers and
League Representatives
are reminded
that team rosters are
due to be turned in the day
the team plays its first game.
No changes can be made
to the roster after
June 12, 2013.
Only dealer in the
Bismarck-Mandan area
to offer high quality
Tanel® Softball Shoes.
Located in the lower level of the Dakota Foot and Ankle
Clinic 1802 Allison Drive • Bismarck, ND
Open Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. or by appointment.
Evenings and weekends available.
1-800-358-3338 or 701-751-2443
www.happysolesfootwear.com • www.tanel360.com
13Wahpeton, North Dakota
20Slowpitch
Softball Tournaments
MEN’S
Check
Date
Sun., April 28
Tourney
Spring Classic
Teams/Class
5 Class C,D
5 Rec I, II
5 Rec III, IV
Format
RR
Fee
$90
Sat., June 22
Wahpeton Invitational
8 Rec III & IV
3 GG
$150
Fri., July 19
Summer Classic
8 Rec III-IV
3 GG
$90
Team Name:
Classification:
Coach’s Name:
Email:
Coach’s Address:
Home Phone:
Work Phone:
Cell Phone:
Fax:
Payment guarantees your team a place in the tournament
Send to: Wahp-Breck Softball
Phone: (701) 642-2811
304 5th St. South
Fax: (701) 642-5053
Wahpeton, ND 58075
E-mail: woppark@702com.net
16 –
Softball News Spring 2013
T
Tharaldson
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T
Tharaldson
Ethanol is a proud supporter
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Fueling freedom right here in North Dakota
T
Tharaldson
Ethanol
3549 153rd Ave SE • Casselton, ND 58012
3
((701) 347-4000