Archive for the ‘ISC-II’ Category

2009 ISC Media Guide Due Out Soon

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Sneak Preview of 2009 ISC Media Guide


(Photos on the cover by Maddy)

Here is a sneak preview for our readers of the cover for the 2009 ISC Media Guide. The Guide has been printed and is awaiting binding, then shipping. Delivery is expected the first week of April for US addressees and probably 2nd week of April for Canadian addressees. Watch here at the Morning Brief at Fastpitchwest for details on how to order your copy.

Astute readers might notice that the cover photos are from the galleries at Maddy’s Photos. The large cover shot is The Farm’s Kevin Schellenberg going up high to avoid the sliding Mike Lawton of Aspen Interiors on a force play.

Midland Daily News endorses 2010 ISC bid

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

Our view: Great news for the Midland economy
Published: Sunday, March 15, 2009 3:11 AM EDT
All we can say is … “YES!!”

In the midst of a tough economic climate, it sure was nice to hear the City of Midland is going to host the International Softball Congress 2010 men’s world fastpitch tournament in August 2010.

That’s great news for our economy, with an anticipated $2.25 million shot in the arm for our region.

Retailers are happy.

Restaurant owners are happy.

Motels and hotels will benefit as well.

It’s a win-win-win situation. Lots of local businesses should benefit from this tournament.

Midland has hosted big fastpitch softball tournaments before. In the years 1984 and 1996, Midland hosted world tournaments, like the one that is going to be here in 2010. Midland also has hosted men’s and women’s national tournaments and state tournaments. Midland also has had the women’s Olympic team at Currie Stadium.

We have the experience and know-how locally to make the ISC tournament a first-class production.

Credit should go to Kyle Beane of the Midland Explorers — and the entire Explorers’ operation — for pursuing the idea of a tournament in Midland.

He and fellow committee co-chairman Dave Lach made their pitch to ISC officials, who apparently liked what Midland had to say. Some final details need to be addressed, but the tournament is tentatively slated for mid-August, about the same time as the Midland County Fair.

Coming up this August, Quad Cities, Iowa will host the ISC tournament, so Midland has more than a year to before its ISC tournament, which typically attracts 32 teams from around the world and lasts about 10 days.

For decades, Midland has had a well-deserved reputation for being a community that loves softball.

This honor enhances our reputation, and, probably more importantly at this point in our history, enhances our local economy.

More on the 2010 ISC World Tournament heading to Midland

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

Editor’s Note: More coverage from the Midland Daily News on the 2010 ISC World Tournament plans.

Tournament to boost local economy
projected gain from ISC tournament $2.5 million
By Dan Chalk
of the Daily News
Published: Sunday, March 15, 2009 3:11 AM EDT
The 2010 International Softball Congress World Tournament will have a “tremendous” impact on the local economy and will hopefully return to Midland again in later years, said Jim Peckrul, executive director of the Midland County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Midland Explorers Booster Club is working on finalizing a contract with the ISC to host the World Tournament and two other concurrent ISC men’s fastpitch softball tournaments over an eight-day period in August of 2010 — bringing about $2.35 million of projected revenue to the Midland area.

“This would be one of the larger economic impact events that we’ve had in Midland,” Peckrul said. “If you take a look at the history of the ISC and the number of cities that have hosted this event, this is a tremendous opportunity for Midland.”

Up to 80 teams will be in town during the tournaments, representing more than 1,000 individuals from around the world. And as many as 20,000 fans are projected to attend the games, which will be played at Currie Stadium and the two other softball fields at Emerson Park, and at Redcoat Softball Complex.

Peckrul said the revenue that comes into the area from the tournament will sustain 29 jobs for the course of a whole year, according to figures from Michigan State University and Travel Michigan.

In the past, Emerson Park and Currie Stadium have been the sites of numerous major fastpitch softball events, including the ASA Men’s Major Nationals, ISF World Championships, USA Men’s National Team and Women’s National Team tryouts, and Olympic Softball team exhibition games.

Peckrul noted that not only does Midland offer a great softball venue, but it has a lot of other things to offer to fans who come watch the ISC.

“We’re a sports mecca,” he said.

And if players and fans like what they see in Midland, the likelihood increases that the city could host the event again in the future.

“If you can get (the ISC) to say, ‘We want to come back,’ that’s what we want to try to do,” Peckrul said.

Midland to host ISC in 2010

Saturday, March 14th, 2009

Midland to host ISC World Tournament
By Dan Chalk
of the Daily News
Published: Friday, March 13, 2009 11:03 PM EDT

More than $2 million of potential revenue pouring into the local economy.

Up to 80 men’s fastpitch softball teams staying in the Midland area for the course of a week, and up to 20,000 spectators visiting the city over that time.

Twenty nine jobs to be created locally.

It all adds up to one big economic ray of sunshine headed this way in August of 2010, when the Midland Explorers Booster Club is set to host the International Softball Congress World Tournament and two other concurrent tournaments at Emerson Park and Redcoats Fields.

While the contract is not yet signed, organizing committee co-chairman Kyle Beane said no other city has put in a bid for the tournament, and it’s just a matter of working out contract details with ISC officials.

“There is a mutual agreement between the Explorers Booster Club and the ISC that Midland will be the host in 2010,” said Beane, who also plays for the Midland Explorers men’s fastpitch team. “We’ve got contract details to work out that will be taken care of in the next couple of weeks.”

The ISC World Tournament will feature either 24 or 32 of the best men’s fastpitch teams from around the world. The concurrent ISC II Tournament of Champions will have about 40 fastpitch teams that are just a notch below those in the World Tournament; and the 19-and-under ISC Youth Tournament will draw eight to 12 youth teams from around the world.

Fans will come in large numbers from Ontario, Beane predicted.

“We think a lot of fans are going to come from Ontario, which is still a hotbed for fastpitch,” he said.

Beane is thrilled at the prospect of having the event in Midland, which last hosted a world fastpitch tournament in 1984 and 1996.

“It’s a great feeling, because it’s something that a lot of people have wanted to see,” he said. “We know what kind of venue we’ve got, one of the best in the country. I think a lot of people are going to be really excited that this tournament is finally going to come to Midland.”

The tentative dates for the tournaments are Aug. 14-21, 2010, Beane said. The 2009 tournament is in Quad Cities.

Beane said that after researching and consulting with Jim Peckrul of the Midland County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the organizing committee came up with a figure of $2.35 million as the economic impact of the tournaments.

Beane’s fellow committee co-chairman Dave Lach said the committee determined that the visitors and convention bureau would receive about $9,000 from the 2 percent local tax on lodging during the tournament.

A portion of any profit generated from the tournament will go to the Explorers Booster Club, but most of the profit will go to local teams, leagues, parks and other worthwhile groups as determined by the committee, Lach said.

Beane said the committee of about 25 members also includes softball notables Marty McGuire, Laura Currie, Pete Finn, Jeff Servinski, Gregg Sauve and Jack Starling, among others.

Lach said about 100 more volunteers will be needed to plan and run the tournament.

Lach said the committee is setting out to raise about $25,000 to meet expenses for the tournament, which include paying the city for the use of the fields.

Beane said the committee has already done a lot of planning over the past few months.

“We’ve got logos designed, we’re working on a website. A lot of work is already done; now it’s just time to start executing the plan,” Beane said.

Lach expects that the cost of admission to tournament games will be about $8 per fan per day, and about $20 per fan for the entire tournament.

He said that spectators will also receive coupons for area businesses with their admission tickets.

Darren Zack, Son to be Teammates at ISC II

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

The International Softball Congress is pleased to announce that Darren Zack has been granted eligibility to play in the ISC II division effective for the 2009 season.

This decision keeps a living legend active in the game. The decision was made by a specially convened panel of the ISC Regional Vice-Presidents.

Not only does this give a new set of players an opportunity to say they played with and against Darren, it also enables Darren to have the opportunity to play with his son, Darren Jr. This is a very important factor for Darren because as a young pitcher, he had the opportunity to play with his father.

Other factors that entered into this decision include Darren’s age (48) and very limited opportunities for father and son to play on the same team. Darren’s eligibility is exclusive to the Ohsweken Redmen team from Ontario and is not transferrable to another team should Ohsweken fail to qualify for the ISC II Tournament of Champions. It is also reviewable at the conclusion of the 2009 season.

Ken Hackmeister

Welcome

2009 Red Rock at Carson City Cancelled

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

From the Red Rock Tournament Committee:

2009 RED ROCK at CARSON CITY – CANCELLED

To Fastpitch Players, Teams and Fans:

We regret to announce that the 2009 Red Rock at Carson City Tournament has been cancelled.

While many teams and players expressed interest in the tournament, we did not receive a sufficient number of paid entries by the March 1, 2009 deadline to proceed. In most other years, the tournament hosted 16 teams, with 12 as the target minimum for this year.

Based on the feedback from teams and players, it appears that the state of the economy is affecting everyone personally and that includes the teams and their sponsors. The factors contributing to the cancellation of the 2009 Red Rock at Carson City tournament included:

1. Cessation of operations for 2 Canadian teams and 6 US teams from last year’s ISC World Tournament.
2. Team budget cutbacks of 30%-50% because of the economy and that they had to look to cut back this year. A number of teams advised that they chose to cutback on early season tournaments to save money.
3. Even when teams have the budget to come, some of their players are cutting back on travel weekends due to concern about their job and work attendance, mainly because of all the recent cutbacks and layoffs.
4. Many unfunded or under-funded teams, with most players paying their own expenses, have decided to cut back on travel to conserve money for a trip or two later in the season and to attend ISC World Tournament, the ISC II Tournament of Champions or other major events.
5. To give advance notice to Carson City, allowing them an opportunity to replace Red Rock this year with another tournament in a different class of play.

In addition to economic reasons, we were also informed that with the ISF World Championships in Saskatoon in July, some teams were not beginning play until after that tournament, and therefore, would not be attending early season events.

Your 2009 Red Rock at Carson City Tournament committee made the decision to cancel the 2009 tournament at the March 1st deadline so as not to cause problems with many of the teams prepared to participate and having to purchase airfares.

While we are disappointed, as teams, players and fans may be, we are optimistic that the tournament will be held in the future, so please keep us on your radar, and reserve that first weekend in May.

We will consult with all team prior to 2010, so be sure to watch for future announcements.

Have a great season!

Red Rock at Carson City
Tournament Committee

Summary of ISC Changes for 2009

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

At the ISC Board of Directors meeting in Kimberly, the following changes were approved for implementation in 2009. They appear below in no particular order of importance.

1. ISC II Player Reclassification Request Deadline – Appeals to have current World Tournament players reclassified for ISC II eligibility, must be submitted no later than June 1. See new process for requesting reclassification below.

2. Reclassification and Appeal Form Created – A new form and process for reclassifications and appeals has been created and is now displayed on the ISC Web Site www.iscfastpitch.com Click on Rules & Forms link in the left margin of front page.

A. The initial team request or appeal must be sent to the Regional Vice President.

Decision to be made within 5-business days.

B. Player reclassification requests from teams, denied at the Regional level, may be appealed to the ISC II Reclassification Committee jrwilliamson@foodfacility.com and blairjs@rogers.com and a decision will be made within 5-business days.

C. Player reclassification requests denied by the ISC II Reclassification Committee and all other appeals denied at the Regional level, may be appealed to the ISC Executive Committee by submitting the appeal form and a non-refundable $100 credit card fee and sending it to the ISC Executive

Director. Decision to be made within 5-business days.

D. Appeal decisions made by the ISC Executive Committee are final.

3. PRAWN Age Factor – If a non-PRAWN player makes an ISC All-World team in or after the calendar year of his 45th birthday, that player will be considered a PRAWN for only one year. PRAWN players who have made or make an ISC All-World team in the calendar year of their 41st through 44th birthday may request to be excluded from the PRAWN list in the calendar year of their 46th birthday by providing proof of age to the ISC Executive Director by May1.

The changed PRAWN rules are shown on the ISC Web Site (Rules & Forms) and the 2009 PRAWN list is also on the web site (Tournaments link and scroll down to the bottom of the page).

4. ISC II Move-up Berths – Beginning with 2009 ISC II Tournament of Champions, the top two finishing teams will be provided automatic berths in the following year’s ISC World Tournament (2010), and will not be eligible for ISC II qualifiers or the Tournament of Champions in that following year.

5. Mexico and Caribbean Return to US Regions – For 2009 ISC play, residents of Mexico and Caribbean countries will be attached to US Regions as they were in the 2007 season. Mexico is divided between US West and US Central while all Caribbean countries become part of US East. The revised Regional Definitions will appear on the ISC Web Site and in the 2009 ISC World Championship Guide.

6. South American Player Rep – Due to the number of South American players, now participating in ISC and ISC II play, a South American Player Rep has been named to serve on the ISC Player Rep Committee. Juan Potolicchio has been named to this new position and can be reached at juanpotol@hotmail.com

7. Out of Region Form Discontinued – The Out of Region – Player Letter of Intent Form will be eliminated beginning in 2009. The new process involves having the Out of Region player, send an email commitment to the ISC Executive Director iscken@comcast.net no later than May 1. The team manager is to be copied on the email. On or before May 1, the team manager completes the Out of Region Team Recap Form and mails it to the ISC Executive Director with the appropriate fee. The Team Recap form is displayed on the ISC Web Site (Rules & Forms link).

Sample email commitment from player is simply: “I intend to play the 2009 ISC season with (team name). My home region is (insert region of residence)”. Most player email addresses contain the players name so few if any problems are expected with this new, simplified process.

8. Roster Forms – Beginning in 2009, there are roster forms for both World Tournament and ISC II teams. The difference between the two are the list of email addresses the rosters are to be sent to. Those email addresses appear on the roster forms themselves. Both roster forms are available for downloading from the ISC web site (Rules and Forms). If you’re unable to download, email iscken@comcast.net and request the proper roster and we will email attach it to you. Preliminary rosters for both World Tournament (PRAWN declaration) and ISC II are due by May 1. Rosters can be changed during the season on July 15 and again on August 10.

9. Courtesy Runner Rule – While the ISC generally adopts ASA playing rules, we do have some differences. For 2009, the ISC is rejecting ASA’s new rule that allows courtesy runners for both pitchers and catchers. The ISC rule is: Courtesy runners are not allowed in ISC play.

2009 ISC Qualifiers – Update # 3

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

2009 ISC Qualifiers
February 24, 2009

Canada East Region
Blair Setford, Vice President – blairjs@rogers.com 905-826-2697
World Tournament – 3 + 2 berths awarded from ‘08
ISC II ToC – 7 + 4 berths awarded from ‘08

(more…)

Worth remains official ball of ISC for 2009

Friday, February 20th, 2009

The official ISC ball remains the Worth C120WISC for 2009. Here is information on sources for the ball in both US and Canada.

US Retailer
MVD Sports
Mike Van Dine II
1226 East Main Street
Ashland, OH 44805
419-281-4429 – Store
567-203-9104 Cell
Magicn2@yahoo.com

Cost: $53 per dozen plus shipping

Canada Warehouse
Rawlings – Worth
70 Morton Ave E – Unit 1
Brantford, ON N3R 7J7
519-730-1380 ext 228 – Jason Shipley
jshipley@rawlings.com

It is suggested teams and tournament directors contact their local Worth
sporting goods retailer for the balls. For retailer location information,
contact the warehouse at above address, phone or email.

Cost: Will depend on individual retailer and their location.

Changes to ISC II Ineligible Pitchers List

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

February 17, 2008 – The International Softball Congress is announcing
updates to the ISC II Ineligible Pitchers List.

As of February 15, 2009, six pitchers have been added to the list while five others have had appeals granted to play ISC II. In all reclassification cases, the eligibility is exclusive to the player’s team, is not transferrable and is reviewable at the end of the season. Pitchers added to the list may not appeal for reclassification until the conclusion of the upcoming season.

Added to the ineligible list:

Tyson Barkman
Sean Cleary
BJ Hunhoff
Matt Leahy
Bryan Newton
Andrew Putnam

2009 Reclassifications

Jeremy deBelleval
Scott Evans
Bob Ginger
Rick Lang
Doug Sleep

Teams and players are reminded that appeals for reclassification must be made jointly by a team and player. The appeals form can be found on the ISC website at www.iscfastpitch.com on the rules and forms page. A completed form should be sent to your ISC Regional VP.

The deadline for reclassification appeals is June 1, 2009.

For more information, please contact:

ISC II Vice-President
Jim Williamson
jrwilliamson@foodfacility.com

ISC II Commissioner
Blair Setford
blairjs@rogers.com