Up-coming events throughout the Central Region include

  Regional/World Series umpire recommendations due  November 1

  DA/ADA Seminar Indianapolis  November 6 and 7

  District 11 Appreciation Banquet  November 14

  Player Agent Workshop  Indianapolis December 5

Contact your District Administrator for more details

                   The Volunteer

The volunteer is one with a heart so sincere,

No task too large, no task too small

Who will help with anything at all.

Who will be there in the morning light,

or help in the dark of night

The Volunteers, our extra hand,

on whose future our children stand

Never anyone so dear as a Volunteer.

   by Margaret A. Francis

THE TOURNAMENT SCOREKEEPER'S PITCH COUNT IS THE OFFICIAL ONE, NOT THE TEAM'S.  IT IS THE MANAGER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK WITH THE SCOREKEEPER EACH INNING TO VERIFY THEY AGREE WITH THE SCOREKEEPER

    LINDA SANFILIPPO, DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR

Up-dated affidavit forms for both baseball and softball can be downloaded from this site.  There is also a new tournament enrollment form and tournament milage report which can be downloaded.

The sites for the 2009 District 11 All star Tournaments are as follows.

      9-10 Tournament--Hosts: Belmont and Hinsdale

     10-11 Tournament--Hosts: Hinsdale and Westmont

     11-12 Tournament--Hosts: Westmont and Belmont

     Junior Tournament--Host: Burr Ridge/Willowbrook

    Senior Tournament--Host: Lemont

     Big League                 --Host: Bolingbrook

Bold print indicates locations of semi-finals and finals

To be eligible for tournament participation, the following must be accomplished no later than JUNE 9, 2009

  1.  Charter in the divisions you have tournament teams

  2.  All required waivers submitted and approved prior to June 9, 2009

  3.  All regular season rosters submitted to LLB

  4.  Fees incurred by league must be paid

The districts who will host the 2009 sectional tournaments in which District 11 will compete are as follows:

  9-10 YR BASEBALL--District 15;  10-11 YR BASEBALL--District 11

  LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL--District 9;  JUNIOR LEAGUE BASEBALL--

  District 15;  SENIOR LEAGUE BASEBALL--District 15; 

  BIG LEAGUE BASEBALL--District 10

  9-10 YR SOFTBALL--District 20;  10-11 YR SOFTBALL--District 15

  LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL--District 9;  JUNIOR LEAGUE SOFTBALL--

  District 20;  SENIOR LEAGUE SOFTBALL--District 19

The new tournament affidavits for both baseball and softball can be downloaded from this website in the handout section.

The Little League International Tournament Committee has made the following modifications to the 2008 Tournament Rules and Guidelines in baseball.  These changes are in effect as of today.

  Participation in Other Programs--The rule that prohibits players from participating in non-Little League programs (dual participation) once Little League tournament play has begun, has been recinded at all levels of play for baseball.   However, the local Little League retains the right to dismiss a player from a tournament team if the player repeatedly misses games and practices.

  Big League--The maximum number of players that can be named on a tournament affidavit is now 17 (increased from 15)

  Senior League--The maximum number of players that can be named on a tournament team affidavit is now 16 (increased from 14)

In the case of the first item above, it remains Little League International's position that a local Little League should expect that players it selects for this honor will make playing for the Little League Tournament team their priority

For the other two items, the maximum number has been increased because of the nature of play in these divisions.  With players in these age groups having jobs or other responsibilities, this gives managers more flexibility to ensure that games are not delayed or forfeited because of the lack of players

District 11 District Administrator, Linda Sanfilippo, has been elected to the new position of Assistant State Coordinator at the Spring meeting of the Illinois District Administrator Assocation.

More Information can be found on this subject.

Listen and watch Jim Thompson's webinar which aired on Thursday, December 13

There are also free tips for coaches and parents

Ronald Reagan once quoted "one of the scariest things a person can have happen is someone saying...I'm from the government and I am going to help...".  This holds true with the proposed bat ban in the state of Illinois.  Please contact your legislaters immediately to show your opposition.  With the holidays coming up, parents may buy the child an expensive bat and find out later it cannot be used.  Go to the handout section of this website for a copy of the legislation.

Little League Baseball and Softball is offering a direct link from the Little League website, www.littleleague.org, to ChoicePoint's VitalChek program to provide an express birth certificate service.

VitalChek is officially authorized by the United States government to safely and conveniently provide a copy of your child's birth certificate.

Since an original birth certificate is one of the primary proofs of age and identification this program allows for parents to receive a valid copy  of the certificate without delay.

Go to the front page of the Little League webiste and click on "Obtaining Birth Records"  Click the link to Vitalchek to order the certicate.

QUESTION:  For leagues that traditionally place a large number of 12 year olds in the Minor Division, how will they accommodate the extra 12 year olds who must now move up to the Major Division?

ANSWER:

  First, such leagues are doing a disservice to the children of the community, since they are pre-determining the number of 12 year olds who are capable of playing in the Major Division, without giving them a chance to prove themselves in a tryout.

  Second, the answer is to expand the number of Major Division teams, which gives more children a chance to compete and excel at a higher level (and to be eligible for selection to the Major Division All-Star team).  The total number of teams in the local league will not change, since the 12 year olds who are "moving up"would have been on Minor teams anyway.

  A league that expands its Major Division solely because of this new regulation, and goes beyond 10 teams in the Majors, is NOT automatically required to field two All-Star teams.  If factors such as the total population in the league boundaries, competing programs, the size of the other leagues in the district, et., are such that a split is not required, the league (by action of the Charter Committee in Williamsport) should be able to continue fielding one All-Star team.

Little League's museum in South Williamsport, PA will be highlighted in a PBS presentation titled "Off-Beat Museums of Pennsylvania.  This presentation will be aired during the month of November on all PBS stations in Pennsylvania.

A web-site related to this production can be viewed by logging on to www.wqed.org/daves and clicking on the link for "Offbeat Museums".  Pictures of the museum and web exclusive video clip that include deleted scenes are included on the link.  This should be available after November 11th.

The new Regulation V.1 reads:

  The selection of players for the various teams within a league shall be in compliance with the Little League Draft Selection System as detailed in the Operating Manual.  NOTE:  All candidates who are league age twelve (12) must be drafted to a Little League Major Division team, or to a Junior League team.  Exceptions can only be made with written approval from the District Administrator, and only if approved at the local league level by the Board of Directors and the parent of the candidate.

  The purpose of this new regulation is to ensure that local leagues are using the Minor Division as a training ground, and not keeping capable 12-year-olds from "moving up"

Does your league offer online registration for your families?  If not, check with your league president or district administrator for details.  Active.com offers this service through all eteamz sites.

CLICK HERE to view history of Little league showing tournament results from around the state.