Hilltop 50/70 Baseball Proposal

1. Hilltop 50/70 Baseball Proposal Calendar of events Introduction October 7th Discussion November 11th Final Vote December 9th

2. 50/70 Proposal - Rational Reasons • Bring Hilltop into the next generation of modern baseball post the age change from 5 years ago. • Cal Ripken Baseball incorporated the division change three years ago with immediate success. • Surrounding Districts within Cal Ripken have made the switch leaving little options for tournaments at the 46/60 division. • Little League’s message on September 27th they are moving to a 50/70 division for ages 11,12 and 13 in 2013. • Hilltop now has field space allocation to hold 50/70 baseball at Steel Field and Glendale field. • Player Safety players are older, equipment is better and our field has become to small to handle the progress over last five years. • Player Development goal is a smoother transition from 46/60 to 50/70 to 60/90 than in the past where players went directly from 46/60 to 60/90.

3. 50/70 Proposal – Bench Mark Tournament Options 11 and 12 Tournament options in 2012 at 46/60 12u LLH Memorial Day weekend tournament canceled due to lack of teams. 12u Ridley area tournament that began on June 16th. – participated 11u AMLL area tournament that began on June 19th – participated. 11u/12u NELL tournament ran concurrent to districts at both age groups. – no participation. 12u DHLL tournament from July 7th to July 16th. - no participation - Cooperstown week into States 11/12U DHLL “B” tournament from July 16th to 23rd – no participation. (Note that AMLL, NELL and DHLL are all little league affiliated teams within their district 19) • District 9 - neighbor district in Cal Ripken • Aston Valley, Chi Chester, Unionville, Neither Providence, Brookhaven, BYC • Both 11u and 12u Districts were 50/70. • BYC and Brookhaven each had a “B” team at 12u, so they played a three game district championship to go to states. • Hilltop Defeated Brookhaven 25-0 in States in four innings. • All leagues play in house at 50/70 with the exception of BYC that has both 50/70 and 46/60 divisions as they have 15 total teams.

4. 50/70 Proposal - Rules Rules proposal - taken from UMBA and BYC current rules as guide

5. 50/70 Proposal - Bench Mark Rules • UMBA has eight teams at 11-12 Division • http://www.eteamz.com/UMBA/schedules/index.cfm?iRowShowOverride=5&season=726540&division=271304&cat=1157111&show=full • (Angels, Red Sox, White Sox, Rays, Rangers, Orioles, A’s and Mariners) UPPER MERION BASEBALL ASSOCIATION BOYS MAJOR DIVISION / RULES AND REGULATIONS • All rules for play in the Boys Major Division shall be judged by the UMBA General Rules and Regulations in accordance with the Major League Baseball Rules except for the specific rules listed herein. • Infield fly rule is in effect. • No head first sliding into a base. You can slide back to a base head first. • Bunting is allowed. • Fake bunting is permitted as long as no full swing is attempted. If a player takes a full swing after attempting a fake bunt, the player will be declared out, and if deemed appropriate by the umpire, ejection will be issued. • The Ten run rule will be enforced any time after 4 at-bats by the losing team. • Dropped third strike is in play. Pitchers. • Any player on a team may pitch • If a player throws 75 pitches or pitches in four or more innings, three calendar days rest must occur. He will be eligible to pitch on the 4th day. • A player may pitch in a maximum of six innings per week. • Balks are in affect. Each pitcher will be warned once per game. • Innings pitched in a game declared “no contest”, “regulation game” or “suspended game” shall be charged against the player’s eligibility for the week. If resumed the following week, pitcher of record may continue up to the extent of remaining time for the following calendar week. • Once a pitcher is removed, he may not pitch again in the same game. • No team may use more than six pitchers in a single game. The exception would be in case of extra innings or injury to the sixth pitcher. • Violation of any section of this regulation could result in protest of a game in which it occurs.

6. 50/70 Proposal – Little League Announcement By Communications DivisionSOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.September 27, 2012 Little League International today announced the name of its newest baseball division: The Little League Intermediate (50/70) Baseball Division. The division, the first new program in Little League since 1999, bridges the transition from Little League (46/60) to Junior League Baseball on a full-size field (60/90). It is a league for 11-13 year-olds whose advanced skills permit rules that are closer to conventional baseball, such as leading off bases, pickoff attempts, etc. In the traditional Little League (Majors) Division, a runner cannot leave the base until the pitched ball reaches the batter, so pickoffs are not part of the game at that level. In addition, Intermediate (50/70) Baseball Division games will be played on a field that is not quite as large as a conventional diamond, but bigger than the traditional Little League field. The Little League International Board of Directors publicly announced the creation of the Intermediate (50/70) Baseball Division in its annual spring meeting in May. That decision came after volunteer District Administrators voted overwhelmingly to create a new program for 11-13 year-olds. For the past three seasons, local Little Leagues around the world have chartered 50/70 Pilot Programs, with experimental rule changes along the way to the vote by District Administrators at the Round Table sessions held at various locations around the world early this year. The name of the new division was developed after Little League International consulted with thousands of volunteers and parents worldwide. “We want to thank the tens of thousands of volunteers in leagues and districts worldwide that have helped us reach this point,” Patrick W. Wilson, Senior Vice President of Operations and Program Development, said. “Their valuable input over the past three years has allowed us to create a way for leagues to offer the game to more players than ever.” At the local level, the Intermediate Baseball Division will draw its players from within the same boundaries as the “parent” league. When there are not enough players within the league boundaries to play a schedule within the league, two or more adjacent leagues of the same district may, under certain circumstances, combine to form a single Intermediate League (with recommendation of the District Administrator and the approval of the Charter Committee). Each unit league maintains its own Intermediate Division Baseball Charter. A Tournament structure for the Intermediate Baseball Division has been developed, with play ending in a World Series each year. The site for the first Intermediate League Baseball World Series was announced earlier this month as Livermore, Calif., to be played in August 2013. “We designed the rules for the Intermediate Division to allow for maximum flexibility at the local level,” Mr. Wilson said. “For instance, a local league could place all eligible 13-year-olds in the Intermediate Division, and all 11- and 12-year-olds in the Little League Major Baseball Division. Or, it could permit some advanced 11- and 12-year-olds to play in the Intermediate League.” To be eligible for selection to a local league’s Intermediate Baseball Division Tournament Team (“All Stars”), a player must be the correct age, and must have participated in at least 60 percent of the local league’s regular season Intermediate Division games, with an exception if the player misses games because of school baseball. In the coming weeks, Little League International’s Rules Committee, the Little League Advisory Board, and the Little League International Board of Directors will be meeting to finalize other rules within the new division. Details will be released in mid-November. Intermediate Baseball field dimensions are, as the name implies, between those of the traditional Little League diamond and a standard baseball diamond. For the Little League Intermediate Baseball Division, there is a pitching distance of 50 feet. The distance between bases is 70 feet. The recommended range of distance, during regular season, from home plate to the outfield fence is 200 to 275 feet. Two years ago, Little League provided an online tutorial on converting a traditional Little League field (with base paths of 60 feet) to a 50/70 field – so that the field can be used for both divisions, if needed. More than 340 leagues worldwide have chartered the 50/70 Pilot Program in the past three years.

7. 50/70 Proposal – Q&A Questions from previous discussion(s): • Are all players ready for 50/70 baseball? • Answer: nothing is 100%; however Hilltop has had success moving 6u’s from T-ball to Cadet and 8u from Cadet to Prep in the last five years growing our league. Also, it may help transition players from 46/60 to 60/90 by having this intermediate step. • Can a temporary fence be installed at Steel field? • Answer : No. Steel field is a multi-use facility shared by O’Hara, St. Dot’s and Haverford Township Baseball League. • We can petition the township to have Glendale field enclosed but this is not 100% as it is also a multi-use facility. • The Softball divisions currently do not have fences for minors and majors and have succeeded.