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Real name:
Dave Dowell
Location:
Sacramento, CA
Division:
Men's 70
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| Dec. 3, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Bats Discussion: New bat rule clarification. ju25 ... I missed the "Happy New Year" for this season and gave you erroneous advice. I have been (correctly) advised that our new bat rule, which took effect November 1st, requires ALL bats to have a SSUSA stamp or say "SSUSA approved" on them. So, the old USSSA bats are NOT legal if they do not have a SSUSA stamp. My apologies for the confusion. |
| Nov. 30, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Spring Worlds YES |
| Nov. 29, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: TOC dMON ... All divisions play on Friday through Sunday ... Wednesday and Thursday are other events that make the TOC a full five days if you want it to be ... Congrats on qualifying and Good Luck! |
| Nov. 29, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: TOC The list is available from the link near the top of the Tournament page of this website ... The link is: https://seniorsoftball.com/multimedia/2024_toc_qualified_teams_(2023_season)_r9.pdf |
| Nov. 29, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Spring Worlds No ... The Men's and Women's 40-Masters and the Women' 50+ and 55+ Senior divisions will be held in Bullhead City ... |
| Nov. 28, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Appeals Board Hi Steve. YES, a player may appeal a suspension. Here's what is relevant for such an appeal, in the same order as your questions: [1] There is no formal written appeal procedure. This is by design to allow the appellant wide latitude in formulating a response that's unrestricted by any specific format. The SSUSA office determines who will hear the appeal and provides them with the "case file", which remains confidential during and after the appeal. [2] Of the appeals I have seen, all of them have been in a narrative written format addressing any or all of the following: (a) contesting or clarifying the factual accuracy for the alleged conduct resulting in the suspension, (b) disputing the severity of the factual issues alleged, and/or (c) asserting that the "penalty" is not appropriate for the nature or severity of the alleged "offense". We have seen other additional appeal theories, but those three comprise the most frequent avenues of approach. [3] The suspended individual receives a letter and/or an email informing him of the basis for and the period of proposed suspension. That letter also states and establishes the start of the thirty (30) day period within which an appeal may be made and must be received by SSUSA. [4] All appeals are heard and decided by a three-person Appeal Board comprised of independent SSUSA National Directors who were not present at the tournament where the basis for the suspension arose. Presuming that your inquiry is from an incident in Phoenix recently, the Appeals Board will not include anyone who worked at the 2023 Winter World Championships. [5] The Appeal Board does not meet physically, so an appearance by an appellant would be complicated, but it's neither officially "permitted" nor "prohibited". I have been on a few Appeal Boards, and we have always exchanged email correspondence and had phone conversations, as appropriate, in reaching a decision. The Appeals Board provides SSUSA with their written decision at the conclusion of their review, which is then conveyed in writing to the appellant. [6] There is no specific completion time requirement on the part of the Appeal Board, but resolution as soon as practical, while giving it the highest level of due diligence is important. I have never seen an appeal extend beyond 30 days after the process starts; and [7] Our only other advice is to stress the importance of meeting the initial 30-day time frame to inform SSUSA and submit the actual appeal to them. Secondary advice would include a suggestion that if your appellant thinks something might be relevant, by all means include it. Third-party statements of relevant and supportable facts are welcome. Since we do not consider these appeals publicly, I am going to close this thread. You know how to reach us for any follow-up questions. Thank you and good luck. |
| Nov. 28, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Appeals Board Steve ... Are you asking about the process for a team rating appeal or a disciplinary action ruling appeal? ... I'll take a swing at it if you can clarify ... Thanks ... |
| Nov. 20, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Player rating 9 ball ... There are a lot of variables and a few "ifs" in your post ... Please call the Sacramento Home Office today at (916) 326.5303 and ask for an eligibility/roster person ... They'll take care of your questions right away ... Thanks ... |
| Nov. 20, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Winter Worlds Scheduling Problems There's also the potential (undesirable) consequence that a team playing four (of the five-games scheduled format) on Friday faces elimination from the tournament in their first game of the day on Saturday ... Playing five in 24 hours and being on the way home as early as 9:30 AM Saturday morning isn't going to be anyone's preferred schedule ... Due to the drop down to a four-game guarantee dictated by the weather, a handful of teams did depart after one game Saturday, but at least it was mid to late afternoon in almost all cases ... |
| Nov. 19, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Winter Worlds Scheduling Problems Oh, this is a FRIDAY complaint ... Well, that makes it a bit simpler to explain ... All five parks pushed the theoretical maximum of six teams per diamond after we had to discard the Legacy Park option ... They are 4-field complexes, and we balanced the team loads at C. Chavez (22), D. West (23), Papago (22), R. Mofford (24) and Sahuaro Ranch (21) pretty well ... Then it's just making sure the games demand (which in a 5-game guarantee format equals 3.2± per team) fits the game-slot inventory ... In your 17-team bracket, it was obvious that only the #1-Seed was going to get Friday evening off ... Unless you were 2-0 with strong runs-allowed numbers, you were going to be playing Friday and should maybe have planned your time away from the park accordingly ... It was also completely by design to have the 50-Majors slotted into the late seeding rounds ... With their 7-team division, the mathematics prevent playing four games at a time, so they were set up three-wide at 2:00 and 3:30 PM, with only the single games in your division filling out those two rounds ... There's another little twist most folks probably don't think about: Those specific games (for teams #2, 4, 5 & 10) were placed there strategically so that no team would be at a disadvantage because they had to play three games in a row if they seeded themselves into a 5:30 PM bracket game ... That protective scheduling is not by accident ... So that's how and why Friday came together like it did in what we believe was perfectly laid out ... I'd do it again exactly the same way, with or without the assistance of a Computer Science intern with, very likely, exactly zero knowledge or experience in such matters ... Thanks, Bruce, for commenting and providing a context to allow us to explain what we do! |
| Nov. 19, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Winter Worlds Scheduling Problems No worries, BruceAZ ... I don't take it personal because the real culprit was Mother Nature ... She's tough to get a response from, and it's unreasonable to blame adverse weather consequences on the tournament staff ... She deprived everyone at Rose Mofford of the first 16 games slots of the day being played before the actual start time at 2:00 PM ... But that still beats the other venue in the NW quadrant of the Valley ... Sahuaro Ranch Park, less than 8 miles away, suffered a complete rainout and ZERO games played ... Today, you can expect it to be sunny, with a high near 74° ... Good luck!! ... |
| Nov. 18, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: WINTER WORLD'S • Adverse Weather Update UPDATE • Play was canceled at Sahuaro Ranch Park in Glendale and Saturday games/divisions were moved to other facilities for both Saturday and Sunday in the case of Womens's 40-AA and Men's 40-AAA finals ... The revised Master Games Grid (except for Desert West on Saturday) has been posted for the weekend play ... Please contact your Field Director(s) for more specific information ... Thank you! |
| Nov. 18, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: WINTER WORLD'S • Adverse Weather Update WINTER WORLDS WEATHER DELAY • Substantial overnight rains in the metropolitan Phoenix area have caused delays at all five facilities on Saturday morning ... Contrary to some of the dis-information floating about, there have been NO CANCELLATIONS OF SATURDAY PLAY ... We are currently working on modifications to the bracket schedules and will post them here as they are completed ... Please CONTACT YOUR FIELD DIRECTOR for the most current reliable information ... Thank you! |
| Nov. 17, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Tourney Results Truth in advertising advisory: I had nothing to do with it. Stephanie and the on-site Directors deserve ALL the credit for a job well done. Thanks, Louie for speaking up! |
| Nov. 17, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Downloading New Player Registration Card Cal ... Please call the Sacramento Home Office at (916) 326-5303 during normal business hours in the Pacific time zone and ask for Shelby ... She can email you a replacement digital card immediately ... |
| Nov. 17, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: New Ratings Home Landing Page Manny ... We're going to go ahead and leave those teams in the system so we don't flush all of the player history and applicable ratings data for those players who are still active at older age divisions ... Thanks just the same for the idea ... |
| Nov. 15, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Midwest Championships Hi Doug ... Sorry I missed this one and it slipped by ... It's highly unlikely that the date will change after it's been published ... There are a lot of other "dominos" in the line, so it's not as simple as it may initially seem ... Hopefully the weather will be acceptable, and we hope you will provide us with an update after it ends ... Thanks for your insights and good luck this Season ... |
| Nov. 14, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Question for DD There's no formal rotation plan for specific weekends for the 50/55's and the 40/60's groups, although there were some years it worked out that way ... The current decision to stick with the 2023 arrangement for 2024 (and likely into the foreseeable future) is based on the field supply/games demand allocation geometry for those groups ... And that's impacted by the reluctance of Sparks to accommodate our games demand by deferring their local leagues on the second weekend ... They don't run those leagues over Memorial Day weekend, which allows us unrestricted (and favorable) scheduling ... The best "fit" is the way it shows for this Season ... Good luck ... |
| Nov. 12, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Rose Mofford Sports Complex City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation personnel tell us that full concession/snack bar services will be available at Desert West, R. Mofford and Papago Parks in both sessions ... The "traditional" food trailer vendor will be at C. Chavez as they have for a decade or more, and Gidget & Family will be at Sahuaro Ranch as usual in Session #2 ... |
| Nov. 10, 2023 DaveDowell | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: 40's & 50's Winter Worlds Schedule - AZ This (Friday) afternoon ... In final review as we type ... |
