Some information, courtesy of our friend, Brett Bresnahan, webmaster for the NAFA site, plus many other fastpitch sites. Congrats to Brett who as of last week, is a proud papa.
[Des Moines, Iowa] – NAFA is pleased to announce a number of items that pertain to the upcoming 2007 NAFA World Series in Des Moines and West Des Moines, Iowa.
The first listing of the 2007 World Series teams list for classes competing in Iowa can be found on the 2007 World Series Website at www.2007ws.nafafastpitch.com and clicking on the “Teams” page.
A reminder that this is an unofficial teams list and does not reflect who may or may not show up in Des Moines. Rather, it is a list of teams that have told their State Director they intend on playing.
If you team is on the list and not attending, or is not on the list and would like to attend, contact your State Director immediately to get the process started.
The State Directors list can be found here.
Hotel information for the Des Moines area can be found here.
The Des Moines Organizing and Host Committee has already setup a number of great hospitality perks for teams and will be adding more as the World Series approaches. Those can be found here.
The 2007 World Series Website will serve as the information point for scores, results, etc. for the 2007 NAFA World Series.
A final list of teams reclassified from last year’s 2006 NAFA World Series can be found here.
NAFA is also pleased to announce the creation of a new class, Class AA-Major.
After it’s 2003 World Series in Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, NAFA decided to take a new direction in it’s classification structure.
The result of this new direction was the creation of the Class A-Major. This classification was created to minimize the gap that was being created between upper level Class A teams and the remainder of the Class A teams who were considered, for the most part, local “town” teams.
Class A-Major was created for those teams in Class A that had grown above the competitive balance of the more traditional Class A teams but not yet ready to compete competitively at the Class AA level.
The result of this decision has been an increase in not only numbers at the Class A and A-Major levels, but an increase in competition as well as a noticeable competitive balance in each class.
Faced with a similar situation the last three years, NAFA will once again take a new direction in its classification structure with the creation of Class AA-Major.
The current status of the Major-level game has forced a overwhelming number of teams that were traditionally Class AAA for NAFA into the category of “Open” based on the need for an Open level pitcher or a handful of “Open” level players simply to compete at the Major level.
This situation has created a decrease in participants in NAFA’s AAA division.
Yet, the upper-level teams in Class AA are not on the same level as the AAA teams that still exist in NAFA, some of which do and do not compete at the ISC World Tournament.
As was the case in 2003 with Class A, the same disparity has risen in Class AA for NAFA.
The upper-level Class AA teams are at a level higher than the teams in the lower, which include teams reclassified from Class A-Major each year.
It is with this reclassification that NAFA will attempt to grow the game by allowing the competitive balance that teams look for to continue to strive each August.
As A-Major currently serves as a bridge between Classes A and AA, Class AA-Major will serve as a bridge between Class AA and AAA.
Approximately 18 teams and 25 pitchers have been reclassified to create Class AA-Major.
Approximately 13 teams and 25 pitchers have been reclassified to Class AA and approximately 15 teams and 30 pitchers have been reclassified to Class A-Major, all from lower divisions.
These reclassifications will result in a new look Class AA division that will look similar to the inaugural Class A-Major Division of play in Hutchinson, Kansas in 2004. The result will be a class of play that will stronger each year.
Lastly, in the coming weeks, look for the website for the 2007 NAFA Masters Zone Championships to be launched.
The Eastern Zone Masters is being held September 8 and 9 in Rockford, Illinois, with the Western Zone Masters being held September 15 and 16 in Carson City, Nevada.
Both Zones will have competition in 35-, 40-, 45- and 50-and-Over age divisions. Eligibility is based on a players age during the 2007 calendar year.
Each team is allowed three (3) players who are three years younger than the age bracket they are playing in, based upon the 2007 calendar year. These players CANNOT pitch in the Zone Championships however.
Brett Bresnahan
breshz(at)minnesotafastpitch.com
http://www.2007ws.nafafastpitch.com
http://www.nafafastpitch.com