Shoreline Players and Families,
I thought I would give you an update on your local Little League and some of the thoughts we are having about the immediate and distant future.
What we have learned since our last email:
The schools will be closed until June 19.This means that we cannot rent the school fields until after June 19.
We, as a community, are still under a Stay Home, Stay Safe order until May 4th. This means that our park fields are not available to us until May 4th at the earliest.
Little League International is strongly advising to not resume operations until at least May 11th. There is not a Little League in the United States that is currently playing or practicing.
Keeping those dates in mind, the Shoreline Little League Board of Directors current thinking is that the only possible way to have a season for the Spring would be to begin practices in mid-May with games starting on June 1st. This time frame is of course contingent on the mandates from the local and state governments. If a Spring season was to happen, a season can be run through the end of July.
Another option that the Board has discussed, is in the event that we cannot return to the field by June we might be able to have a Summer ball type season where the teams and organization is less formal. This would be more of a way to just get kids out of the house for a couple of hours.
I know that at this time it is hard to plan for anything but the league would like to conduct a short survey to gauge interest levels in these options.
Please fill out the survey by Friday, April 24.
https://forms.gle/YBacs9vGbgTtWqRa6
Another thing that has changed in the last few weeks is the economy. Shoreline Little League recognizes the challenges families are now facing. It is our commitment to make sure that families receive value for their registration fees. In the event that a baseball and softball season does not happen at all, there will be options. The League is prepared to either offer a credit towards a future season or issue a refund. Those interested may also choose to donate their registration fees back to the league. I believe the CARES Act will then allow you to write off double the amount if you itemize your taxes (but don’t quote me as I’m not a tax professional).
Please take the time to do the survey for all of your players. Any comments would also be helpful in how we may proceed.
Thank you and Stay Safe,
John Lynch
PresidentShoreline Little League
Resources:King County Public Health COVID Blog https://publichealthinsider.com/
Healthy-Children American Academy of Pediatrics https://www.healthychildren.org/
English/health-issues/conditions/chest-lungs/Pages/2019-Novel-Coronavirus.aspx
WA Department of Health COVID Information https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/CoronavirusKCDepartment of Health COVID Information https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/communicable-diseases/disease-control/novel-coronavirus.aspx