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Online now: 5 members: Dick6, Kurtybird, Nelson8, TABLE SETTER 11, kara4sure; 120 anonymousDiscussion: 2010 SSUSA Tournaments in Lacey WA RAC
| Posted | Discussion |
| Dec. 6, 2009 ShaneV Men's 55 393 posts | 2010 SSUSA Tournaments in Lacey WA RAC Mark your calendars for SSUSA Events at the Regional Athletic Complex, Lacey WA! All classifications and ages welcome. Dates and facilities may be expanded where needed. April 17-18 2010 June 12-13 2010 July 9-11, 13-15, 16-18 2010 August 21-22 2010 Classic Rock at the RAC September 25-26 2010 October 9-10 2010 ShaneV |
| Dec. 6, 2009 Stretch14 Men's 50 202 posts | Shane, you da man. Thanks. |
| Dec. 9, 2009 Stretch14 Men's 50 202 posts | Is July 9-11, 13-15, 16-18, a World or National tournament Shane? Thanks. |
| Dec. 10, 2009 JamesLG 420 posts | Shane: Great job putting this together and we know this tourney will be organized and the fields are first class. thanks: James |
| Dec. 11, 2009 ShaneV Men's 55 393 posts | We have all the right people involved for 2010. This is by no means something I could do alone! Each tournament will likely have a different director AND the support of the whole group. All will likely be qualifiers. I don't want to jump the gun but it is true that the July event and possibly the September event will be Championship tournaments. We are out "West" and in a "State". (hint, hint ;) ShaneV |
| Feb. 11, 2010 ShaneV Men's 55 393 posts | I don't have my paper yet but I've heard there is some confusion on the Washington Series. The dates above are all good for SSUSA events at the RAC in Lacey WA. We'll have complete and correct information available soon. Please stand by... ShaneV |
| Feb. 11, 2010 leftyodoul Men's 65 106 posts | Shane - Can you enlighten me as to why the decision was made to put in grass outfields as opposed to making it all turf? Here in the Northwets we have a lot of tournaments rained out on grass fields. I have been told that Lacey drains well but sometimes it is so slick that the conditions are dangerous for play. Seems to me that all new Complexes should be 100% turf. Having a National Qualifier in April on grass fields is very risky. It would be a shame to have teams travel from California to be rained out. |
| Feb. 12, 2010 Jawood Men's 50 943 posts | A wild guess .... Cost! Would have been great!! |
| Feb. 12, 2010 leftyodoul Men's 65 106 posts | I would agree that initial costs would be far greater, but when you think about all of the maintenance costs over many years the disparity in cost narrows considerably. Additionally, you end up having very few weather related cancellations and you don't have to deal with all of the headaches involved in rescheduling, etc. It's just a much better situation for the park, the umpires and all of the players. |
| Feb. 13, 2010 Jawood Men's 50 943 posts | Totally agree with you, leftyodoul. Living in Washington, you should know they (city, state government) never do anything with the future in mind! Just enough to get by in the present. |
| Feb. 13, 2010 ShaneV Men's 55 393 posts | "Nothing is completely bad, or completely good." There is nothing I appreciate more than a perfectly prepared natural softball field in perfect weather conditions. I don't recall how many millions Lacey and Thurston County spent on this new facility but in my opinion they could not have done it better. I prefer the combination of artificial infield and natural grass outfield. I've played on all artificial in Medford, Reno and locally and I just think real grass is an important part of the game. So is dirt but it's a problem as you point out. Here in the NW I doubt there is a dirt infield playable even for practice, and there won't be until April or May! We've practiced 4 times this winter at the RAC already and though the grass has been wet and slick, and it's not growing currently, I still prefer it. The April Qualifier was originally planned for Russell Rd in Kent. Last year we got lucky and the weather was great. Chances are this year it could get messy in Kent in April. At the RAC we'll play unless there's lightening. When we played in Medford in 2008 in September, it wasn't that warm but that outfield was 10-15 degrees warmer than the average air temperature. Also the heat coming up from the turf made it tough to see the ball in some cases. In 2009 at Golden Eagle we stopped a game for about an hour while it poured about an inch of rain! As soon as the rain stopped, we started play again. Nice! The drainage in the outfield at the RAC is very good. I umpired a CSSA tournament last October in the rain and it went surprisingly well. IMO we are so fortunate to have such a great facility to call home in Thurston County. We have league sessions scheduled March 3rd through September. We have played March-April at Skyhawks for years and the weather and field conditions have always been difficult. ShaneV |
