To: WCBA Local Associations
Re: Communication Regarding Player Grandfathering Resulting from Participation in the 2020 Baseball Season
The Western Counties Baseball Executive understands that the 2020 baseball season is one that is extremely unusual given the impact of COVID-19 on provincial, municipal and baseball operations. Now that the province is beginning to open up, and both the province and Baseball Ontario have allowed for team sport practices to begin, we have been considering the impact on our locals. We know that several locals have shut down operations for this season, or may be considering that possibility depending on the progress of opening in the province and their municipality. Thus there may be players that reside in “closed” locals that would appreciate the ability to practice with a local that has not yet made the decision to close.
The OBA rules would allow this to happen, without the need for a release. However the WCBA constitution is also impacted by this situation. For the 2020 season the WCBA Executive has decided to suspend Section 11 f), meaning that if a player participates in practices or games with another local due to the fact that their local association did not provide baseball operations this season due to COVID-19, that such participation will not count as one of their two years outside of the their home local from a grandfathering perspective. Thus for players that played outside of their home local in 2019, this season would not be considered year 2 under 11 f), nor would it be considered year 1 if this is the first season that they played outside the local association.
It is recommended that the home local and receiving local use a document to confirm the temporary transfer of the player. A sample Permission to Practice form is attached (and available on the website).
As an Affiliate, we want to provide the flexibility to allow players the opportunity to practice / play baseball this during this very shortened, unusual season if they so choose, without having a negative impact on our locals for the 2021 season.
I have attached the current checklists for local associations, coaches, players and parents. These are good reminders of the steps that need to be taken by each of the parties. Please distribute these as appropriate your coaches, players and parents. A reminder that all of the necessary waivers must be signed off prior to the first event you hold. OnDeck has all of the waivers contained within it for sign-off electronically if desired, and also includes an attendance tracking tool that you can use. I have attached a link to the web version of the app – it can also be downloaded from Itunes and Google Play.
https://ondeck.baseballontario.com/
If users experience problems with the app or getting a user account set up they may contact Mary-Ann at the OBA office [email protected]
Also, our new website will be kept current with the latest information from Baseball Ontario, and WCBA.
https://wcbabaseball.ca/
As always we wish everyone a safe summer as we experience this unprecedented challenge….
Allan Ebert
President, WCBA