The executive and captains of the GCMFL met briefly on Sunday February 11th 2007 at the Kanata Sports Club. Present were three executive members, with six of the twelve teams represented by at least one person.
The treasurer (Duane Bromley) reported that we currently have a bank balance of $1749. Our debt to the city for 2006 diamonds has been paid, so our outstanding debts are to the members who lent money to the league in 2006 to keep it afloat (approximately $8700). The $1749 balance includes registration fees for 2007 from 27 players.
Sponsorship was discussed - CMG and Bent Grass will not be returning as sponsors, and one or two others may not return as well. Dan Murphy mentioned that The Brig is under new ownership (but the same management) and would be a good candidate. The new location of "The Works" near Core Park was also mentioned as a possible sponsor.
Registration topics such as advertising and registration incentives were discussed. Long-time GCMFL player Jim Marko is unable to play in 2007 but wanted to help the league and paid his $150 registration anyway. At his suggestion we're going to use his fee as a raffle prize - anyone who wishes to can pay an extra $5 at registration time and they'll be entered into the raffle. The winner will get their $150 registration fee back courtesy of Jim.
Other fundraising ideas were discussed next, and all were in agreement that late April would be a good time to host and event; the teams are all set and the season is only a week or two away, so everyone is thinking about the upcoming season and eager to get started. A poker night similar to the event held in December was at the top of everyone's list since it's simple to organize and doesn't require any special facility. With Bent Grass not returning as a sponsor, holding the event at KSC might make more sense. Stay tuned for more specifics.
Enrolment and the question of what to do if player numbers are down after the 3rd registration date was discussed. Contraction to 10 teams and playing with 11 players per team were both discussed as possibilities, but in the end it was decided that we'd have to wait and see what kind of shape we're in when registration is done. Two teams are also in need of new captains - KSC and Amsted, though Terry Aiken has indicated that he'll stay on as Amsted captain if no one else is interested.
The "new blood" rule was discussed and captains were reminded that they can bring in 1-3 new players directly to their team. They can only bring in more than one if they're protecting fewer than six - the protected count plus the new player count cannot exceed seven. New players bypassing the draft must be registered and paid in full by the end of the third registration date, i.e., by March 4th at 6PM. They must also indicate on their sign-up form the team on which they'll be playing.
The starting time for the captains meeting on March 18th was set for 6PM. The pitcher selection will take place at 7:30PM, so pitchers should be present and ready to draw numbers for 7:30.