Many of you are already aware that during Governor Holcomb’s daily briefing on April 2, he issued Executive Order 20-16 which closed schools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year specifying, “Schools shall not conduct in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year, and school buildings shall remain closed.”
In our case, it has been clarified that “buildings” includes all facilities – including the pavilion, concession stand and restrooms – and grounds as a whole, thereby including the Huntertown baseball and softball diamonds as they are part of Huntertown Elementary grounds.
Since schools and their facilities are closed through May 29th, the Huntertown Lions 2020 Baseball and Softball season will not be able to begin until May 30th.
More than anything, we want to get our kids outside and back to enjoying life. And there’s no better way to do that than playing baseball and softball in the summer!
While it is our desire to still provide a full and complete baseball and softball season for our families and their children, we will not sacrifice the safety of our children and their families to do so.
“So, what is the plan?”
To borrow the statement from the NBA, “Nobody knows what happens next, because nobody knows where we will be as a nation in fighting the coronavirus in six weeks, 10 weeks, or even September. Not Adam Silver, not Dr. Anthony Fauci, and certainly not politicians or pundits. As Dr. Fauci puts it well, ‘The virus determines the timeline.’”
That said, assuming we are able to use our facilities starting May 30th, and assuming social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders all expire by then, we will start the season on Monday, June 1st and use the Month of May to finish preparing for the start of the season so we are ready to go on that date.
Here is our updated schedule:
May 3rd: Registration will officially close at the end of the day
May 4 - 17:
- We will assign ALL team players, coaches and sponsors*
*We will not have any evaluations or drafts this year and will assign teams based upon past evaluations and pre-existing familiarity with the players
- We will finalize the regular season game schedule based on final # of teams
May 18 - 22:
- We will conduct virtual coaches’ meetings (meeting details will be sent to the coaches)
- Team rosters will be emailed out
May 30: Huntertown Diamonds Service day to prep the diamonds
June 1 - 13: 2 Week Practice season
June 15 - August 1: Regular season (7 weeks, 12 games). There would not be a tournament week this year.
This new schedule is a proverbial “line in the sand”. Should social distancing guidelines, stay-at-home orders or anything else arise that puts the health and safety of our kids and families at risk beyond June 1st, we will cancel the season and provide refunds.
Hopefully this provides some definitive answers in this time of uncertainty and change so that you can make concrete decisions and properly plan your families’ lives.
“Can I still register?”
We realize that some families have been waiting to register until some of the uncertainty of the situation subsides. So, we will continue to keep registration open through May 3rd.
Register Here
“What if the new schedule doesn’t work for us or if we still have concerns?”
We also realize that this new schedule may not work for everyone and may cause significant conflicts due to family vacation, other extra-curricular commitments or whatever the reason.
And finally, we realize that even if the politicians, pundits and health officials all say, “It’s all clear”, some families will still have uncertainty about putting themselves in close-quarters with others and be uncomfortable with having their child play this season.
So, for any family that needs to withdraw their child/children, we are allowing you to do so by the end of day on May 3rd. You will have the opportunity to request a refund or donate your registration to the Huntertown lions Club.
As a not-for-profit, all of our revenues come from registrations and sponsorships. These revenues not only cover our operating expenses (including facility upkeep, equipment and umpires just to name a few examples) and improvements (such as the new fencing and LED lights), but ultimately, they allow the Lions Club to serve you, our neighbors, in whatever capacity you need at the time you need it – installing handicap ramps, service animal assistance, catastrophic medical hardships, youth programs, educational scholarships, reading programs, vison testing, and the list goes on.
If you need to withdraw, please click here and fill out the form no later than May 3rd. May 3rd allows enough time to determine if any changes or extensions in the guidelines or protective orders would cause the cancellation of the season, yet also allows us to know exactly how many kids are playing ball so we can properly set-up teams, schedules etc.
If you have any other questions or concerns please email me at [email protected].