Column -- guest or staff

Masters Director Message

Jan. 1, 2002 – Jerry Jackson

The USSSA National meeting was held November 11-17 in beautiful, but rainy, Daytona Beach, FL. This was the first national meeting since we adopted the two-year rulebook. The association made many changes. These changes will continue to make the USSSA Association a great softball association.

Every year I present several awards. This year, as always, I presented 2001 world tournament hosts with plaques thanking them for supporting the masters program. I also recognized Ms. Wanda Lanham of the Sandbagger newspaper. Her newspaper coverage of many of the mens' and womens' senior world tournaments has been outstanding. I also recognized Mr. Jim Hanna, manager of the BBC 35,40,45 & over team that won all the world tournaments this year. WOW, three world titles in one year! To the BBC players and Mr. Hanna, great job gentleman. Jim Hanna, the masters program manager of the year, will be inducted to the Michigan Hall of Fame in March.

The last award I presented was for the Masters Program Director of the year. This year the award went to Mr. Murl Skalla of Denver, CO. Murl has been a big supporter of the masters program for years and has been a huge asset to me over the years. Murl hosted the men's 35 & over world in 1998 and last year Murl and his staff hosted the largest ever Men's Senior World Tournament. Thanks Murl for your friendship and support over the years.

The Masters Committee met on Tuesday, November 13. There were 15 committee members from across the country present at the meeting. In the past, the masters committee has met twice. In the first meeting we would discuss the 35 to 45 and over age groups and in the second meeting we would discuss the mens' and womens' seniors programs. This year we only had one meeting to discuss all the masters/seniors programs. I want to thank all the committee members for their hard work this year. The following changes were made in the masters/seniors programs for the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

For the past four years, the women's senior program has been run as a pilot program. Because of the success we have had in this program, the committee felt it was time to make the women's seniors program a permanent program in the masters/seniors programs. This was approved by the board of directors and the many rule additions needed for the women's seniors program will be added to the rulebook. We also approved a new division for the women's seniors program. Starting in 2002 we will have a women's 45 & over division. We feel that there is a great need for this division, but until we know for sure, we will run this program as a pilot program for a couple of years.

One of the reasons for the success of the women's seniors program is the tournament's great location. The people in Gallatin, TN have done an outstanding job hosting this tournament. Gallatin will have the chance to continue to see this tournament grow as it will host the women's seniors' world tournament again in 2002 and 2003.

The next divisions discussed were the women's 35 & over and the men's 45 & over programs. Both of these programs are doing great and no changes were made to either program. The committee did discuss the importance of having the world tournament in a warm climate. The 2002 women's 35 & over and men's 45 & over will be held Sept. 27-29 in Lexington, SC.

In the men's seniors program, we added the men's 70 & over division as a permanent program and made one courtesy runner rule for the men's seniors program. The courtesy runner rule for all seniors divisions is: In the men's 50,55,60,65,70 and women's 50,55,60,65 and over divisions, a courtesy runner may be used at any time. The courtesy runner may be any player on the team roster. The same courtesy runner may not be used more than once per inning, and any courtesy runner caught running more than once or running when it is his/her turn to bat will be declared out.

The committee also discussed the format of play for the men and women's seniors program. In these programs, we guarantee every team four games at the world tournaments. Each team will play two seeding games and then go to a double elimination tournament. This is the format that works the best and will be used at the world tournaments.

The biggest change that was made by the masters committee was in the men's 35 and 40 & over programs. The committee dropped the major division and we now have only ONE DIVISION OF PLAY in the men's 35 and 40 & over programs. There is no longer any restriction on what class of player a team can have on its 35 or 40 and over roster. The only restriction is the roster restriction rule and it reads: A men's 35, 40, 45,50,55,60,65 and over team may only have players on its roster that live in the state the team is registered in or any bordering state. The Division Vice President and National Director must approve any exception to this rule. The home run rule in the men's 35 and 40 & over programs will be three home runs per team, per game. This is a great rule change for these programs. For the past three years, we have not had more than four or five teams participate in the 35 and 40 & over major division at the world tournament. We could no longer ask the host of the tournament to purchase another awards package for four or five teams. Also, a number of people have complained that the class "B" player was being left out of the masters program because they couldn't play in the "AAA" division. With the roster restriction rule, everyone who meets the age requirement can play, and the home run rule will keep the teams balanced. I think this will make for a better competition and more teams at the world tournaments.

One thing I would like to ask of all the master teams is to make sure you are registered as a master team. If the person you are registering with doesn't know you, then they may not register you as a masters team. So, please help me and make sure your team is registered properly.

Our web page is www.usssa.com. Anything you want to know about a team, tournament or program you are participating in can be found on the web site. You can register your team on line and put your roster on line. I would recommend that you put your roster on line. It's a much clearer copy and a great way to manage your team. Also, if you need an I.D. card, you can get the application on line. Go to usssa.com, click softball, on the left side of the page click forms, then go to masters player and click. Fill out the application and mail it to national office. It takes about two weeks for the national office to process and return. Remember that you must have a player ID card to participate in the men's seniors' world tournament. No ID cards will be issued at the world tournament.

If you have any questions, please contact me by email or phone (listed above). Remember our motto in the masters program: "YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO PLAY."