IMPORTANT UPDATES FOR THE 2020 SEASON

Eagledale Little League Families:

We hope this email finds you well and staying safe. Our Board of Directors met to discuss how we will be able to move forward with the 2020 Season. As you know the Governor’s Back on Track plan allows recreational sports to resume in Phase 4, which begins June 14^th for the state of Indiana. It appears based on the latest press conference from Mayor Joe Hogsett that Marion County will be about two weeks or more behind the rest of the State on each phase of reopening. Furthermore, our Little League diamonds are on Park property and after speaking with our Indy Parks representative they have informed us that we may not be allowed to use the park for Little League activities until July 1, 2020.

We have decided to postpone the beginning of our Season & practices to begin no earlier than July 1^st. We will have at least a 2 week practice period that will include team practices as well as combined scrimmages. We plan to run the season for 6-7 weeks through mid to late August. If we find out that we will be allowed to start earlier than July 1^st we will move up the start date for practices accordingly.

We do plan to have a uniform hand out and pictures on June 27^th. There will be no team pictures, only individual player’s pictures taken.

We will most likely play some double headers on Saturdays for most divisions. All double header games would have a time limit and only 4 innings instead of 6. We would give at least 30 minutes between games, if not longer. We also may incorporate some modified games that Little League has suggested.  For more information please visit: https://www.littleleague.org/university/articles/alternate-methods-of-play-for-regular-season-games/

We have come up with several ideas that we will implement this season to keep your players safe but still having fun. Some examples include:

• We will utilize the spectators area and bleachers in order to social distance our players while the player are on offense waiting on their turn to bat – families will be asked to spread out along the outfield fence lines
• Umpires will not be placed behind the catcher, they will call balls and strikes from the field behind the pitcher (at least 6 feet away)
• All shared equipment will be sanitized between uses
• Concession stand will be opened for prepackaged food and bottled drinks only
• Restrooms will be checked, cleaned and disinfected every hour, or more frequently if needed

Once our revised Safety Plan has been completed and approved we will share all of the details with our members.

Usually we are wrapping up the regular season in mid-June and playing District or State All Star tournaments in July. We understand that postponing the Season may interfere with other summer plans for many of our player’s families. We will be emailing out a form later this week for those who would like to cancel their registration. If you would like to cancel please complete the form and let us know if you would like a refund or a credit to your account to use for next season. Please do not email, call or message on Facebook for a refund. We must have the forms completed in order to issue any refunds or credits. We will need this form completed and returned no later than June 1^st.  We must order uniforms 3 weeks in advance and will not be able to offer anyone a full refund once the uniform order has been placed.

Please continue to watch your email and our Facebook page for updates and feel free to email or message us with any questions or concerns.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding during this time. We hope to see you all on the Baseball and Softball field again soon. Until that time comes please stay safe!

Eagledale Little League