06/03/2026
Thank you to all of the players who responded to our survey. Key takeaways were that the present scheduling of 5 games in three days received much more support than going to a 5-day event; driving to another field if we can find one close to the complex would not be a huge issue IF it means that more teams can attend; our umps do a good job overall; our welcome bag items seem to be a hit; and the present process of a lottery for teams seems to be the fairest way overall. All that being said, we will be sending out the team inquiry in a couple weeks, which will give us a good indication of how many teams/divisions we'll be dealing with so that we can set the dates. We have reached out to Enka High School to see if they would let us use their diamond, but have not heard back yet. Unless we can add that field we're stuck with 6 teams per division in 2027 and that would include the 70+ group - 8 teams and using the smaller field was not popular. Managers should watch for the email to indicate that they want to participate as it will determine who gets invitations.
There were a couple of suggestions that we will research: dry-fit, polyester tees instead of 50/50 blend; limiting the number of Elite players who also play on Open team rosters to three per open team; making all 60+ and the 65+ divisions 6-game playoff style instead of round robin.
Those who commented about concessions, field conditions, etc. - we do not control those issues. Please keep in mind that this facility is predominantly weekend-use, and heavily booked with tournaments from mid-March until the end of October and we're fortunate to have them allow us to use it on the weekdays. That leaves little time while we're there to do a lot of upkeep on the fields but Gary and his crew work very hard to maintain it. The concession stand is closed during the week and she has other responsibilities, so for her to staff it and get it open for us at all is a convenience for us that we're grateful for.
More information as we have it will be sent out at the earliest we can so that players/managers can plan for 2027. You can also keep an eye on our website for current news.
Again, we are extremely grateful to ALL of our players, managers and fans for your support of this event. We plan on doing whatever we can to make it better each year and get more teams involved. Thanks for your suggestions and thoughts - we take them to heart.
K&R
