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Online now: 2 members: TABLE SETTER 11, kotonk; 66 anonymousDiscussion: RAINOUT IN ISA NATIONALS IN BRIDGETON MO
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| Aug. 3, 2008 breeze53 Men's 65 57 posts | RAINOUT IN ISA NATIONALS IN BRIDGETON MO While it was a nice little tournament, it left a lot of teams with a bad taste for ISA. It rained for a hour 8 to 9 AM sometimes hard. With no effort to try to get the fields playable, the powers in charge cancelled the tournament about 930 or 10 AM. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Courious: Did any team get even one game in? What will happen now? That sure leaves both sides left out in the mud. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 Boog34 Men's 50 21 posts | This is one tournament that we will probably not go back to after this BULL!! They would not do anything to get the fields ready after one hour of rain. The teams pay a lot of money to play in these tournments wth entry fees and airfare and hotels. It was real sad that they could not work on the fields. I heard several players volunteer to help get the fields ready. This decision was made by 9:30-10:00am We were guaranteed 5 games and only played 4. We should get some kind of a refund for the one game we did not play. These fields could have been played on by noon at the latest. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 smooth01 Men's 50 128 posts | We were scheduled for the first game on our field at 9:00am Sun. and we never played, also, on Sat the fields were prepped in the morning and were never drug again all day,so you can imagine the shape the infields were in by late afternoon and evening.This was the second year in a row for these field conditions, so keep this in mind come your tournament selections for next year. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Having done fields for 13 years as a keeper of them, (5) I know what it takes. Taking what you said about the time (about an hour) it rained and how hard. (hard) (say even 15 min), It would take roughly 5 hours to do it properly and that is if you had the equipment some dry dirt and preferrabgly extra personal. (2-3) Lots of back breaking work without the proberequipment and forget it, if just a shovel and rakes. Then you may get lucky and play on muddy fields and risk screwed up ankels and more. Been there did that many times. roseville last year was one, but not rain, 'twas re done fields. After the fields are "playable' you lost almost a days playing so that schedule is screwed, and your still going to be out probable 2 games. Though you might get the others in, would that have been worth the risk of a couple torn achillies fron slipping cornering around 2nd or 3rd...? The loss of everyones expences, sucks, I agree, Try to read to see if this condition warrents rebates or something.. though I doubt it, if like other assns... good old fine print. You may want to check history for rainy areas before going to these locals. A good source is the faimers almanic and on line weather sites that keep stored info. Good luck. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Nothiong like running aroound a muddish field churning up all that "soil" only to leave in your running path those clods of dirt. Great for making those lovely smooth ball hops. lol Went to St. G, UT a couple of years ago and missed a day due to rain, & I know it comes there unexpectedly. Played another year there, in the rain (light) it wasn't called. Same for Stockton, CA this year. Rained, had crappy fields, we still played. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 T-44 9 posts | first time at this tournament and probably the last. lot of money to play on practice fields, and the rainout was a joke. the director of this one needs a class on common sense. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Not knowing particulars on who "actually controlled" the fields, I'll try to make one point. The tournay director is 'responsible' for the playing contitions, (playing on good fields as well as those that may cause injuries). However the majority of the time the "crew" that works the field is city controlled, and if they weren't around you'd been out of luck anyway, trying to get that one in shape. There are parks that the "crew" controlls wheather you play as well under those conditions. Reno is one messed up place for that. They cancelled one about 3 years ago when I know for a fact if would have been playable within an hour, by one person with only a rake. Either that or the water around home and second was a foot deep. lol Perhaps if managers get written statements as to what will happen if ...happens, is in order... If that "if" is covered in the rules they publish great, if not, ask. You deserve that much. But remember there is more to the "blame game" than meets the eye. Been there, went through that, as well. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 smooth01 Men's 50 128 posts | This was a WORLD Tournament,,The directer of this tournament should have been prepared and had a back up plan and a ground crew (which he didn't have) for any rain delay,We all have been around long enough to know when fields are playable and when they aren't, and don't need to be told by someone who lives in Calif, if the fields in St Louis were playable and what to expect. Those fields were solid and only needed the water pushed off and they would have been dry in an hour. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Only speaking from actually doing it. If the forcast was for inclimate conditions, yes, he should have had a plan. Maybe he had a hidden agenda, but it's over, just remember it for next time, I would. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 bullet Men's 55 146 posts | May i add a few words to this.As far as the rain,it rained hard for 15 min,i talked to a few of the umps,who said they were good fields to dry,i doubt that.I was in St Louis on Wed of last week and it rained,the fields were still wet and muddy Fri morning.ALSO there was MORE rain coming on Sun. My problem with this tourney director were the "extra fields".They were bad,one field had a 270' fence,it was high though.An those plastic fences,i went over a part of the "snow" and came within a foot of getting one of the post in my side.I feel they would have been better off not even having any fences on these fields and just run everything out. One more thing why was not all of the seed games done on Fri.Teams had to show up early on Sat just to find out they wern't going to play till the afternoon.The other side our teams was given 5 min warning of our game time,and the umps would give us NO warm up time. Oh well just another senior tourney,and to many screw ups |
| Aug. 3, 2008 hitman Men's 70 339 posts | We had just the opposite at the NSA WORLD SERIES in Gadsden last week. We did have a delay on Friday but were told 2 hour delay which was right on time. Also had rain overnight and early morning and was told a short delay which was kept. Fields were hand worked to remove water then drug and diamond dry applied. Fields were also drug after EVERY game and relined. At the end of tourney over $500 was collected from the teams that played and donated to the ground crew who were a bunch of college kids making minimum wage. Well run trourney with fields well taken care of and good umps. Thanks, NSA and Joe Cothran God Bless, The Hitman # 13 EXPRESS |
| Aug. 3, 2008 Gekle BUilders Men's 50 204 posts | WE WERE AT THE ISA TOURNAMENT ACUALLY IT WAS A VERY COMPETITIVE TOURNY.FOR THE MOST PART I THINK MOST TEAMS GOT (5) GAMES IN.SOME OF THE ONES WHO DIDN'T HAD FIRST RD. BYES.OR WERE WAITING TO GET THEIR THIRD LOSS BEFORE HEADING HOME.POINTLESS GAMES AT BEST.THE MAJOR DIV. HAD THE WINNER OF THE LOSERS BRACKET GAME AND CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES LEFT UNPLAYED.BIG GAMES NONE THE LESS.BUT BASICLY THE ONLY THING LEFT UNDECIDED WAS WHO WOULD FINISH 2ND OR 3RD.BASED ON THE FACT THAT RARELY DOES A TEAM COME FROM THE LOSERS BRACKET TO SWEEP THE UNDEFEATED TEAM IN A DOUBLE HEADER.NOT TO SAY IT DOESN.T HAPPEN.BUT IT'S NEVER HAPPEN TO ME.AND I BELIEVE THIS WAS TRUE IN MOST DIVISIONS THAT THE CHAMPIONS HAD ALREADY WON THE WINNERS BRACKETS?NOT A BIG FAN OF TERRYS BUT IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT THOSE FIELDS IN A LOW AREA WOULD NOT BE PLAYABLE ANY TIME SOON PUSHING BACK THE SCHEDULE TO THE POINT WERE PLAYERS WOULD START MISSING FLIGHTS AND OTHERS GETTING HOME TO LATE TO GET TO WORK AND LOSE SOME MORE MONEY.I THINK IT WAS A GOOD TURN OUT OF GOOD TEAMS.RAIN IS NOBODIES FAULT SO I HARDLY THINK TERRY IS TO BLAME.WHEN I WAS CONTACTED I WAS IMFORMED THAT THE GROUND CREW HAD CANCELLED PLAY NOT TERRY.A BUMMER BUT NO MORE OF A DEBACLE THAN WHAT HAPPENED AT THE MIDWEST TOURNY. WHEN IT WAS REDUCED TO A SINGLE ELIM.BRACKET AND ALL THE FRIDAY LOSERS WERE STILL IN THE TOURNY SUNDAY.TEAMS THAT GOT BYES FRIDAY ALSO GOT BYES ON SUNDAY AFTER NEVER PLAYING A GAME.VERY STRANGE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES.DIDN'T LIKE IT BUT WILL RETURN NEXT YEAR HOPE FOR BETTER WEATHER RUDY IS A GOOD GUY AND PUTS ON A GOOD TOURNY.LONG LIVE THE G MEN. |
| Aug. 3, 2008 Gekle BUilders Men's 50 204 posts | SORRY ABOUT THE DOUBLE POST DON.T KNOW WHY IT HAPPENS.BUT ONE LAST THING ON THE FIELDS THE OLDER DIVISIONS PLAYED ON IN ISA TOURNY I WOULD HAVE TO AGREE THAT IT WOULD BE UPSETTING TO TRAVEL THAT FAR TO PLAY ON THOSE FIELDS THEY DIDN'T LOOK PLAYABLE DRY FOR THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND THEIR FRUSTRATION |
| Aug. 4, 2008 JTS2 Men's 55 88 posts | The director of this ISA tournament was the same guy making the decisions at the Midwest championships at Champaign a few weeks ago and they did the same thing. They had no plan for the rain and made no effort to get the fields ready after the rain but made sure to let everyone know that if it rained they would go to a single elimination tournament. It rained out almost the entire sat and it worked out well for the tournament directors. With the old schedule they were scheduled to be done at 7:00 on sun night. With the new schedule they got done at 2:00 on sun. Almost no teams got there 5 games and no one was given a refund. Sounds like the tournament dicectors in both tournaments made some extra money because of the rain. Why do you think they were so quick to cancell the games ant not make the effort to get them going. We made the decision not to go back to this tournament after last year when they put AAA, Major and Major plus in the same tournament and the director said he just wanted to make sure everyone got to play and he got to keep our $550.00. .DO NOT GO TO THESE SO CALLED MICKY MOUSE WORLD TOURNAMENTS. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 jc24 96 posts | We were in the 55 AA group that got put down on the LOWER diamonds and they were TERRIBLE, #4 especially, we had to play ALL OUR GAMES on this field, outfield had craters, LF area had to be filled with dirt. fences were 3ft.mesh, infield was terrible for Friday games...Sat morning they did drag it...grass in the outfield was OVER UR SHOES, NOT CUT for Friday or Sat....I saw Diamond #3 and #5....terrible...only got to see the NICE COMPLEX cuz that is where we had to register... If ...we pay $400+ to play out there...we ALL SHOULD get to play on the NICE COMPLEX....EVERYONE should play on the 1-5 diamonds...a game or so...give all of us a chance to play at the NEW COMPLEX... All the ISA umpires for our games did a REAL NICE JOB of calling the games, getting out from behind to make any close calls...THANX...!! Trump balls were fine and fly'n good..!!! I have NO IDEA how they decided winners, 2nd place..somebody that has the INFO...put the winners, etc,,, Nice to meet some more new guys on the circuit...Good to see ya...Dale S...from Monster Softball... JC24 Dayton Legeneds 55s. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 Stoney Men's 60 43 posts | I live 10minutes from the fields and had no Rain,Just bad luck I guess....Really bad for me as I had a couple of hits in this tourney... I was totally surprsed when I arrived to the park that it was cancelled and I was told that they tried to work on one field at the main complex and gave up and that the lower fields were a lot worse and to loose those fields would mean that loser bracket games would be cancelled or decide by a coin flip which I wouldn't have liked either because you still dont get to play.I'm a rookie this year and in all 4 tourneys that I played so for there has been screw-ups,So maybe we should look higher up the chain of command and see what we ALL can do to get this changed,after all without us BALL PLAYERS there is no SSUSA. On a better note CONGRATS to winners as I missed all of them at the park and if nothing else I meet some very nice ball players. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 Fred Scerra Men's 80 542 posts | I have to disagree with tait to a certain point. We played in Columbus, Oh last month in a SPA tournament and we had heavy thunderstorms and rain the night before the finals. Person in charge of fields said don't worry about it. If I had to we could do all 31 fields in 2 hrs. We had an 8 AM game and the field was in great condition when we got their. I do have to agree though it depends on the person in charge of the fields. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 Corky Men's 55 451 posts | Jc Corky here. All I can tell ya as fact is that Chicago Bobcats won the 55AAA. Not sure who placed 2nd and 3rd. In the 50AAA it went: Brickyard - Indianapolis Sports Print/ Sting - Missouri South Florida Heat _ Florida Butch(Travel Lodge) told me that they placed 2nd to Gekle in the Major Wish we could have played it out |
| Aug. 4, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | Fred S: I was speaking from doing fields alone, had no "crew" which makes a difference. As does type of field, clay, clay with gypsum, sandy loam, sports mix, is there good a drainage bed below the soil that is above... Lots of factors.... But with any, you need to take care of it, if it rains. If the parks have money, big drum rollers that act like a sponge are nice, Never used one but have seen them in action. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 JOHN BOB Men's 60 76 posts | Maybe TD took the easy way out, I know the lower 4 fields did not drain that well and were very bad if he get the main 5 fields ready than who gets to play, that opens up more controversy all fields were very wet. My problem with this Tourney other than we played real bad as a team was TD going to 1-1 count on 2rd day of tourney giving the reason( because of the heat) . Its always HOT in St Louis the 1st week of Aug and most like to play this great game in Hot weather ! Also games did not start till 9 am central time why not start earlier get as more games in before it gets real hot |
| Aug. 4, 2008 missouridave Men's 60 166 posts | I played in the tourney. I live in St. Louis and play in a league at this complex. The way the fields were handled during Saturday (no dragging all day) and the cancellation on Sunday was unacceptable. I have written a note to the City of Bridgeton on this issue. By the way, the director in charge, Mr. Jackson, is a problem at almost every tournament he runs. The balls we used were also the worst we have seen at any tournament this year. I would like to apologize to all the teams who traveled to St. Louis for this tournament. Although I live in St. Charles it makes all of St. Louis look bad, Unless I can get assurances from the director or the City of Bridgeton that they have a plan for rain and will maintain the diamonds during the tournament, we won't be back. For those of you commenting about the diamond conditions who were not here, playing on those fields every week (and we are 14 inches of rain above normal through July), the five main dimaonds could have been playable in an hour or two if they had crews to work on them. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 porkchopinacan 1 posts | What a joke! Showed up at 9 for bp & 10:15 game. By 9:30 tourney was cancelled. As a St. Louisan my apologies to all the out of town teams. Play at bridgeton on Wed. nights in senior league. Best complex in St. louis area to play. Now the bad news , Its a city run park first , last & only. They only know how to run leagues. They have no clue when it comes to MAJOR tournaments. Senior players deseve the best because we have put in our time, effort, love of THE GAME & money for more years than anybody including some so called director$. When will they learn that the players take care of them & not the opposite? Maybe when most of us don't show up for this tornament next year including our local teams. Sorry Jerry Jackson seen it before won't see it again. PS. Hmm... Did the Sunday evening leagues play at Bridgeton? I would bet they did. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 missouridave Men's 60 166 posts | Here is the response from the City of Bridgeton: Thanks for taking the time to let me know your concerns regarding the ISA Senior Softball Tournament this past weekend. I will forward your comments and concerns, along with this response, to the Mayor and the Bridgeton City Council as you have requested. First I would like to apologize for the information that you received with regard to why the remainder of the tournament was cancelled on Sunday. The decision was made based on the following information. I spoke with the tournament director, Jerry Jackson, at 8:45am and indicated that it was the ground crews belief that fields 7-11 would not be playable until approximately noon, possibly 1:00pm, and fields 3, 4, 5 would probably not be playable on Sunday at any time. With at 37-44 games (depending on the "if" games) remaining on the schedule, and all seven divisions still having games to be played, the tournament director made the decision to cancel the remainder of the event. He did not feel it was possible or fair to play certain divisions while cancelling other divisions in order to get some divisions completed. The original schedule had games scheduled to begin at 9:00am - 3:30pm. With games being pushed back 4 hours and using all 8 fields, the last game times would have been slotted for 7:30pm. I am aware that the option to shorten each game via the pitch count was an option, however due to losing three of the eight fields game times still would have been late into the night and some teams had voiced their concerns with regard to flights later that night. This however was a tournament matter and decision, not a complex decision. With regard to dragging each field following the games, this was a decision made by the tournament director as to how often the fields would be drug. At no time was there a request, either during the event or prior to the event, to schedule addition setups for any field other than the initial setup for the day. However, I was at the complex for the duration of the event and would disagree that the fields were in horrendous condition at 7:30pm. The balls that are used are also a decision made by the tournament director, and not the complex. As you noted, the balls that were used this past weekend are different than the balls that are used for the Bridgeton leagues. I do not know what specifications are in place for the softballs that must be used for an ISA Senior Tournament. Again, thank you for letting me know your concerns. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to give me a call or send me another email. John Bell Athletic Supervisor City of Bridgeton 314-209-BMAC |
| Aug. 4, 2008 gb69 Men's 65 51 posts | Thank You Jerry Jackson !!! |
| Aug. 4, 2008 Rhinos33 5 posts | the best way to get the message to these people is to demand a partial refund. if not that, then refuse to play at their tournaments .only when they have an incentive to complete the games will they put out the effort to do so. every corner is cut, no scorekeepers, 1 umpire, balls left in the sun at 95 degrees, not dragging the fields, etc , etc. this could be a huge tournament with a little planning and consideration for the players. also why the 0-0 counts??? everyone stands there with the bat on their shoulder and takes until they have a strike. just a waste of time and keeps games behind, our 11:30 game was over at 4pm friday. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 JOHN BOB Men's 60 76 posts | missouridave, I think Bridgeton Complex is one of the best in the Midwest and being that I'm a life time Redbirds fan I always have enjoy going to St Louis. We did not play on the fields that had temporary fences they looked dangerous to me and field 8 the sun is in batters eye's late pm overall great Complex. I was told the late start 9 am was the Complex's rule, can this be changed ? if Tourney had started 1 game earlier 1st & 2rd day that's 18 games less that would have to be played on Sunday. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 slomo 47 posts | The Bridgeton Complex is outstanding, especially compared to what we in STL had prior. I agree the 3 lower fields weren't very good but they were OK. No team should have had to play all their games on the lower 3 though. Our team played all but one there. In our division (60 AAA) the competition was severe. The Michigan Express was by far the strongest 60 team I've EVER seen at any 60 level and I played in the TOC. Why they are AAA is a mystery to me and to the other 60 teams (Major included!) I spoke with. But that is what it is. Overall I thought the Tourney was going pretty well till Sunday Morning. A 30 minute downpour destroyed what I hoped would be a good experiece for senior ballplayers from around the country. Everyone I spoke to in STL was hoping this tourney would continue to grow as it has for the last 3 years because we haven't had a complex worthy enough to host a good senior event, We now have that complex and I am afraid this tourney may die because of the bad vibes, some valid, some not so valid, expressed here. I'm no expert on this (just a senior jock like you guys) but I would have worked on the main complex ( 6 well draining fields) and maybe start back up by noon. Go to a 2-2 count so batters MUST swing at anything close. I think games would move pretty quickly with that format. The WX was beautiful after the initial downpour so the fields got better as the day went on. Would that have satisfied everybody? No way because, as in any tourney there were mismatches which insured hurt feelings. All I can say is STL could be a great place for a senior tourney, with it's central location and now a nice complex. But if you don't have everybody on the same page and the unexpected happens (which it usually does!) chaos will follow. On behalf of my fellow St Louisians we thank you for coming. I wish your experience in our city had been as close as possible to perfect as can be. Don't know where you should place the blame if it came up short (Mother Nature, TD, Fields, competition, senior moment crabbiness, all of the above!) but all our local teams wish to thank you for coming and hope we are able to host another Senior tourney in the future. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 JR Cincinnati 3 posts | I am not disappointed so much with the rain and field conditions as I am w/ the scheduling of fields in this so called world tournament in St. Louis. You can't do much about the weather conditions. Even if they had a ground's crew,it would have been late Sunday before things would of rapped up. My concern is that we drove 5 hours to basically play 4 games on what amounted to a practice field ( field 4). The outfield was terrible with wet spots filled in with sand, low spots, and a 4 foot high net fence with iron poles every 15 ft stuck in the ground for support. Very dangerous to say the least. it would of been nice to play at least one game on the good fields. So, whoever was responsible for the field selections,next time remember that the AA team's money,time and opinions are just as good as the other divisions. Mr. Jackson and ISA ,you really blew your image at this tournament. Thanks. |
| Aug. 4, 2008 Leoslocks Men's 60 45 posts | I was at the field watching the front come in. Very scary clouds and lightning and we saw possibly 2 inches of rain in about 40 minutes. Very nice complex but totally lacking in support. No grounds crew. The fields were not worked during the tournament. http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4365/bridgtoncomplexsl6.png Twenty minutes after the rain I took the standing water shot. I had traction walking through the water. The ground was still firm. http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7629/standingwaterym1.png I have seen worse conditions and better efforts to get fields ready for common league games. [quote]I spoke with the tournament director, Jerry Jackson, at 8:45am and indicated that it was the ground crews belief that fields 7-11 would not be playable until approximately noon, [/quote] If two people per field worked the fields, they would have been playing at 10 AM. I watched the two grounds crew leave the complex at 7:45 as I arrived for BP. There was no Grounds Crew..... To avoid a continual rant about the situation, I will cut to the chase. I will not go back to Bridgeton for any tournament because of the incompetent, self serving attitude dumped on me after the rain. |
| Aug. 5, 2008 JTS2 Men's 55 88 posts | Jerry Jackson is the biggest problem with this tournament. His attitude is that he is always right and if you disagree with him he goes off. He is in it for the money and he will sacrifice the lower class teams by putting them in with higher class teams and make them use fields that are inferior. Teams you have been warned. Do not go to this Mickey Mouse World Tournament again. We as players need to take control of our game. |
| Aug. 5, 2008 JimS Men's 60 12 posts | I think ISA and BMAC did the best they could. I spoke to Jerry Jackson several times over the weekend and he was a gentleman and tried to help me in any way he could. That goes for his wife Amy and other members of his staff as well as the staff of BMAC. Mother Nature is in charge of the weather and the BMAC had 2 inches of rain dumped on it the Wednesday before the tournament so Sunday morning's rain was on ground that was still soggy from the previous rain. It's one thing to push water off a field and say go play and another to face the liability issues of todays tort system. My team, Michael's Force 4, is looking forward to returning to this tournament next year |
| Aug. 5, 2008 Leoslocks Men's 60 45 posts | http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/7096/hardinfieldrc5.jpg [Quote]Mother Nature is in charge of the weather and the BMAC had 2 inches of rain dumped on it the Wednesday before the tournament so Sunday morning's rain was on ground that was still soggy from the previous rain.[/quote] The above linked picture was from a Friday afternoon game. The ground is already rock solid. Many are in turf shoes to avoid the stress of cleats on concrete. Not much for cleat marks there. You can spin the situation to suit your needs but the caviler manner in which this tournament was dismissed is unacceptable to mature adults. Mismanaged tournaments in other associations led to this great opportunity for ISA to build a solid Senior following. The end result was the same old school profiteering at the expense of the players that love to play the game. One constructive point would be to include an Inclement Weather Policy instead of a disclaimer about how they will keep all the money. Actually having a grounds crew would have been an improvement at this tournament. Having a crew on call should be a viable option for such a large tournament. The more teams at a tournament, ($$$$.00), the greater support. Offering a voucher for lost games due to weather would be a win win situation as this would ease the pain and encourage continued support. We (Monster Softball out of Memphis) played 4 games but left 6 on the table. The Guaranteed 5 Games has lost its credibility. |
| Aug. 6, 2008 Jawood Men's 50 943 posts | Come to Phoenix for the World Tournament. It will be perfect in October! |
| Aug. 7, 2008 idahoreb Men's 60 62 posts | Better yet. If you ever get the chance to play in the Reno/Sparks, Nevada area and they are using the Golden Eagle facility, make sure you attend. Best facilities for softball in the world, bar none. Look it up on line for info. All field turf fields and great weather. SSUSA events and great tournaments. |
| Aug. 11, 2008 Corky Men's 55 451 posts | To bad the whiners got all the attention and the winners got no props. WHERE'S THE LOVE (please take no offense to the whiner comment, it just rhymed lol) |
| Aug. 11, 2008 rabbit Men's 70 319 posts | Good job Corky, in winning the tourney, and now that you have won this one,They will move you up , and I want to be the first one to welcome you and the Brickyard to 50 Majors, you will find it has a lot of good teams to play, and wont have to play the same teams all the time, Good Luck, Rabbit |
| Aug. 12, 2008 Corky Men's 55 451 posts | Rabbit Hopefully not till next year. We just got by in Champaign by 1 run in the IF game and Bridgeton was rained out. Caught some luck. You know we cant hang with you guys I think what we do in Dalton will be the deciding factor. see ya soon |
| Aug. 13, 2008 breeze53 Men's 65 57 posts | I think that alot of people are missing the point. Not taking in consideration of the time off work, the hassles of flying, getting things in order, so you can leave, and entry fees, our team spend at a minimum of $6000. { airfares, car rentals and motels } That brakes down to $1250 a game. Then to blow off the tournament, with no effort to get the fields ready tells me, as a team we have to rethink traveling any distance to play. Or maybe your team has the money to blow and do not have anything better to do than spend all day Sunday waiting on their planes to leave. What is next, a hour rain on Saturday afternoon, or morning, are they going to blow off the whole tournament because there will not be enough time to get the games in? I understand that sometimes mother nature his her way. But we as a team from now on will be alot more diligent on tournaments we play. Before this tournament we asked, what bats are we able to use, what type balls are going to be used, and what are the conditions of the fields? Now we will add, what is your plan in case of rain? Do you have a ground crews, or a backup plan of any kind? Maybe, just forget any tournament that is not driveable or that is not out west. Maybe the west is the best. Bob |
| Aug. 15, 2008 the wood Men's 65 1123 posts | Breeze53: I have not missed your point and I dare say that there are others that fully understand it. You have every right to ask the TD about their weather contingency planning. If you (global 'you') were traveling a long distance to the FL and/or Gulf Coast to play, would you do so during the hurricane season (just an example)? Perhaps you would only after careful consideration of the available weather information. This element is as important to a team's level of enjoyment as the number of teams, condition of fields, format, type of balls/bats, etc. It's YOUR money and ultimately it's YOUR 'fun index' that matters most. I do believe that you erred on the conservative side as it relates to travel expenses. We just went to Nebraska (from So Cal, AZ & NV) and the hard costs (airfare, hotel & rental car) had to be over $9k. And, as you pointed out, this includes none of the other stuff... time off work, walking around $, meals, etc. We won't make ANY more trips w/o knowing how they intend to handle weather issues. BW |
| Aug. 15, 2008 Lecak Men's 60 1026 posts | BW and BF(Breeze 53) from where I sit this may turn into one of the most important topics that SPA, SSUSA and the others address. We the MOB have voted several times this year to forego tournaments in what we deemed as less than desirable spots in the USA due to potential weather issues. It is just way to expensive to make a mistake. I believe the days of schedule it and they will come is over. BW you and I have had several failed attempts at gathering teams of our choosing in different areas, with controlled costs such as UMPS etc. I still think this is a good idea and I will continue to "bug you" in 2009. Also as a member of the advisory board I will forego bat and ball issues, HR limits and playing rules for some sanity amongst the ruling folks as it relates to the high cost of getting to their tournaments as one of my topics. We skipped Tulsa (SPA) and the recently held Lincoln Nebraska event primarily due to high cost and the uncertainty of the weather conditions in those locales. A very wise businessman once told me it takes years to get a customer and 5 minutes to lose one. Some of these ruling bodies are on the 5 minute clock where I sit. My and a few others opinions. |
