Lightning Baseball and Town of Larkspur Summer Youth Baseball League

Lightning Baseball and the Town of Larkspur have partnered to host a summer baseball league for 2020.  Our goal was simple.  We wanted to create a unique offering that allowed area clubs to recover some of the competition they lost due to the impact Covid-19 has had on the season.  We wanted to host it at a location that would be easy for us to manage the games and the spectators so that we could assemble an experience that was as safe as possible.

The details for this league include:

Location: 

All games will be played at the Larkspur Community Park located at 8850 Spruce Mountain Rd, Larkspur, CO

League Start: June 23, 2020
League End: August 13, 2020

League Divisions:

We are offering the following divisions of play:

·        12U – 6 Team Division  Registration is now closed for this division. The division is full.

·        13U – 6 Team Division  Registration is closed for this division.  The division is full.

League Schedule:

Each age group will be assigned a day of competition.  On that day, every team in the division will play a double header.    An example of what each day of competition will look like is provided below.  We will rotate the schedule so that we fairly distribute the evening game block. 



13U will play games on Tuesday each week of the season.
12U will play games on Wednesday each week of the season.
11U will play games on Thursday each week of the season.

League Championship:

The last week of play will be reserved for league championship tournaments.  These will be single elimination tournaments based on regular season seeding.  The champion and finalist will receive a team plaque to commemorate their accomplishments on the field.  We recognize that school may be starting in some districts at or near the end of the league season.  We do have an ability to schedule the tournament championship on the weekend.  If too many of our teams have difficulty with our current schedule we will adjust the schedule to shift to weekend play on August 9th, 15th, and 16th.

An example of the expected playoff format is provided below:

Umpires:

We will have one umpire per game during the regular season.

Rules of Play-

Our umpire assignor requires that we establish league rules for game officials to enforce.  We will post league rules prior to the season.  They will be aligned with the standard tournament provider rules in the Denver Metro Area (USSSA and CABA).  While we are not affiliated with either of these organizations we know you are all familliar with their rules and adopting them will make sense for this league play option.

We will make smart adjustments to some of the rules to provide you flexibility to add a roster member on short notice.  As long as your guest player is age eligible we will work with you, right up until game time, to ensure you can field a complete team.
 

Team Requirements: 

After you complete the registration process and make payment, you will be sent an email with documents that you will need to complete.  Some of these documents will require parent signatures.  These documents should be delivered to the league supervisor at your first game.  We will have extra forms on site in case anybody forgets to bring them.  

The following represents the list of documents-

Roster Document -

 A full team roster for all players and coaches.

• Name (Players and Coaches)
• Birthdate
• Parent Names for Players only
• Address
• Phone Number
• Email Address
  

Player Waiver (similar to the USSSA waiver) must be signed by parents.

League Fees:

The league fee is $2250 per team.  All fees must be paid by June 19, 2020.  We are requesting you pay by credit card at the time of registration.  Unfortunately we do not have time to offer a "pencil us in option".

Other Policies:

Refund Policy –

Immediate refunds will not be provided if you withdraw from the league or do not show up for your assigned schedule.  If we are able to replace your team in the league you will be provided a refund minus a 10% administration fee.  If we are not able to replace your team in the league no refund will be provided.  It would be our policy to attempt to replace your team in the league so that we can maintain our schedule so we will work quickly using every resource we have in order to find a replacement club.

Covid Refund Policy-

Once league play has commenced, we will have funds committed for most of the league season.  If a public health order curbs our ability to hold league games, we will first issue a refund at the rate of $85 per game not played.  We will then assess our costs for establishing and running the league and will issue an additional refund amount less our expenses.  Our primary goals are to create the opportunity for your teams to play and have a great experience.  We are doing this because we love baseball as much as you do.  We are not doing this to take your money.

Weather Policy-

Weather updates will be posted to the league website found on the Lightning Baseball Academy home page.  We will make every effort to notify coaches and parents of weather impact in advance.  We will also provide each team with a town phone number to call if they need to check the status of the fields during business hours.

Weather Refund Policy-

We have an aggressive schedule and very little room for adjustment.  No refund will be provided for the loss of two games.  A prorated refund will be provided for any games missed above the 2-game limit.  The per game refund for games in this category will be $85 per game.  

Note:  We recognize that many of the teams participating are also travel tournament teams.  We have built this league to accommodate these teams and protect their ability to play tournaments on the weekend.  If your travel schedule impacts your ability to be present for competition, we must be notified in advance.  We will do our best to accommodate schedules but there are a lot of influencing factors to consider (field availability, umpire availability, team availability).  Make-up games will likely be on Monday or Friday during the day.

Don't let one week of schedule conflict deter you from registration.  You can count on us to do whatever we can to ensure you and your opponent are able to play.

 Covid-19 Health and Safety Policies-

• Spectator seating will be managed.  Please notify your parents to cooperate with our league supervisor on-site. Please be courteous with league staff if approached about this concern.  If the league supervisor engages a spectator, it is solely for the purpose of ensure the safety of everybody in attendance.  Arguing or berating the league staff is cause for player and family ejection from that day’s competition.
  
• There is a three-coach limit for each team.
• All players and coaches are required to have their own sanitizing agents (wipes or gel)
• Mask Policy-
  • Not required for players on the field of play.
  • Dugouts will be expanded to provide room for players to maintain social distancing.  Masks are required in the dugout and the expanded dugout area.  Please encourage players to arrive with a folding chair that they can set up in the expanded dugout area.  It is also permissible to set up tents in the expanded dugout area to provide shade for your players.
• No spitting, seeds, or gum are allowed on the field of play.
• Spectators are strongly recommended to socialize only with their family units.  Masks should be worn if they are socializing with people outside of their family unit.  Please be courteous with league staff if approached about this concern.  If the league supervisor engages a spectator, it is solely for the purpose of ensuring the safety of everybody in attendance.  Arguing or berating the league staff is cause for player and family ejection from that day’s competition.
• Seating in the stands will be limited to rows 1, 3, and 5.  Additional buffers will be marked to indicate restricted seating to ensure social distancing. 
• Seating along the fence line will also be managed.  We will use the fence posts as demarcation points.  We will mark areas of the fence that are not open for seating with flag tape.  This applies to all areas of the fence including the home plate area. Below is an image presenting an example of what to expect.

• Coaches are required to wear masks when in the dugout.  Coaches will be permitted to be unmasked while on the field in the first or third base box.  Coaches will also be permitted to station themselves outside of the dugouts along their sideline on both offense and defense. 
• The bench coach should be the only person to handle equipment being returned to the dugout and shall have sanitizing wipes available to clean bats, balls, or other equipment.