Guidelines...Enforcement Responsibilites

Passion4theGame

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agree boss. one bad apple can ruin the whole bunch! i guess we need a dummies guide here to post.

let me start... add if you have any other questions. keep them simple.

1) do parents need to wear mask when watching? yes or no
2) do parents, players coaches any humans need to wear masks when walking around the park? yes or no
3) do coaches need to wear on the field? yes or no
4) do players need to wear masks when playing or warming up? yes or no
5) Do players need to wear a mask in the bench area if 6' distancing cant be accomplished? yes or no?
6) will the umps (field and plate) be required to wear a mask during games?
7) does each team keep track of their own softballs through out the games? separate balls for each team.
8) will TD's provide hand sanitizer at all fields and all bench areas?
9) will gate fees go up to cover these extra costs?
10) will the ump be required to "hold the law" of the fields... see a coach with no mask / does the ump have the right or does he even want to be the guy to "police" the people?
11) will umps use hand signals now more instead of yelling? silent games?
12) are games going to be shorter because the umps might pass out with the lack of oxygen?

please feel free to answer these and add more......

I will answer these questions on my feelings.

1) yes. Parents need to wear mask. (Show your athlete it’s important to protect others)

2) Yes. Mask should be worn in the park at all times. Again protecting others.

3) Yes. Coaches lead by example to their athletes.

4) No. players only need to wear mask while in dugout or wondering around the park.

5) yes

6) yes. Umpires and coaches should wear mask during games.

7) yes. I feel a tram should be given 2 new balls every game and it’s the coaches responsibility it keep track.

8) This is the coach/ organization’s responsibility. If a TD is to supply all that extra stuff they didn’t have budgeted into their fee then the fee needs to go up per team. No fair for them to supply. As coaches it’s on us.

9) possibly. Good point. Again I feel it’s on the coach/ organization to provide.

10) he shouldn’t have to. We are role models and lead by example. Coaching youth athletes is more than the game. We are molding them for adulthood and teaching them how to act and handle situations on and off the field. But to answer if a coach wants to not follow the protocols then most certainly yes.

11) Lol. Gosh I hope not.

12) lol. Let’s just hope they have young or even middle age umps. No geriatric ward umpires. No offense to them some are great but we have ALL had to help an umpire that’s old and past their prime sit down get some water and so on.


Thanks for the little survey. I’m sure some won’t like my answers but that’s ok. On our team we will follow all protocols and lead by example. This is something they will remember and talk about 20-30yrs from now! Make it good memories through this. Easiest way to do that is make sure parents and coaches don’t bitch and say negative stuff about this whole ordeal.
 

DanMaz

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like you answers! only in a perfect world Jeff! lol i hope people stay under control.
 

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My DD brought up a good point. She said 99% of the time between games, the players are eating or drinking something. Can't very well wear a mask while doing this. That pretty much negates the whole wearing a mask when not in the dugout rule. That also goes for parents too. When it gets hot, most of them have some sort of drink in their hand. Doesn't really make sense to wear a mask and pull it down every time you want to take a drink. You'd be touching it all day, which like someone said earlier, is WORSE than wearing a mask.

I'm also willing to go out on a limb and say that when it's all said and done, you will see or hear about more kids/parents/umps get sick from heat exhaustion/breathing problems than from Covid-19. Hopefully common sense prevails and the powers that be realize that if people can sit and socialize at outdoor bars and restaurants without masks, then it's not necessary at youth ball games, as long as they social distance.
 

Passion4theGame

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My DD brought up a good point. She said 99% of the time between games, the players are eating or drinking something. Can't very well wear a mask while doing this. That pretty much negates the whole wearing a mask when not in the dugout rule. That also goes for parents too. When it gets hot, most of them have some sort of drink in their hand. Doesn't really make sense to wear a mask and pull it down every time you want to take a drink. You'd be touching it all day, which like someone said earlier, is WORSE than wearing a mask.

I'm also willing to go out on a limb and say that when it's all said and done, you will see or hear about more kids/parents/umps get sick from heat exhaustion/breathing problems than from Covid-19. Hopefully common sense prevails and the powers that be realize that if people can sit and socialize at outdoor bars and restaurants without masks, then it's not necessary at youth ball games, as long as they social distance.


I agree with you to a point. The clowns at the bars are NOT social distancing from pictures I have seen.

I can drink from a straw without removing my mask or touching my face if need be.

I do believe we may have an issue with heat exhaustion. More than most.

the thing that really bums me out is no team coolers. I provide water and Gatorade for our athletes every tournament. I want to be sure they are staying hydrated. I Would like some clarity on this one.
 

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My DD brought up a good point. She said 99% of the time between games, the players are eating or drinking something. Can't very well wear a mask while doing this. That pretty much negates the whole wearing a mask when not in the dugout rule. That also goes for parents too. When it gets hot, most of them have some sort of drink in their hand. Doesn't really make sense to wear a mask and pull it down every time you want to take a drink. You'd be touching it all day, which like someone said earlier, is WORSE than wearing a mask.

Once their game is over the players become "spectators" until their next game... Spectators are not required to wear masks.
That is what leads me to believe that the players are only required to wear masks while in the dugout area where they can't social distance.
 

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See all the mask touching is the worst thing you can do. That is why it's better not to wear one

But if the umpire isn't touching anything else, touching the mask in between innings isn't going to hurt anything. I like the idea of teams controlling the balls, no need for the umpire to touch them.
 

mroby5172

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I will answer these questions on my feelings.

1) yes. Parents need to wear mask. (Show your athlete it’s important to protect others)

2) Yes. Mask should be worn in the park at all times. Again protecting others.

3) Yes. Coaches lead by example to their athletes.

4) No. players only need to wear mask while in dugout or wondering around the park.

5) yes

6) yes. Umpires and coaches should wear mask during games.

7) yes. I feel a tram should be given 2 new balls every game and it’s the coaches responsibility it keep track.

8) This is the coach/ organization’s responsibility. If a TD is to supply all that extra stuff they didn’t have budgeted into their fee then the fee needs to go up per team. No fair for them to supply. As coaches it’s on us.

9) possibly. Good point. Again I feel it’s on the coach/ organization to provide.

10) he shouldn’t have to. We are role models and lead by example. Coaching youth athletes is more than the game. We are molding them for adulthood and teaching them how to act and handle situations on and off the field. But to answer if a coach wants to not follow the protocols then most certainly yes.

11) Lol. Gosh I hope not.

12) lol. Let’s just hope they have young or even middle age umps. No geriatric ward umpires. No offense to them some are great but we have ALL had to help an umpire that’s old and past their prime sit down get some water and so on.


Thanks for the little survey. I’m sure some won’t like my answers but that’s ok. On our team we will follow all protocols and lead by example. This is something they will remember and talk about 20-30yrs from now! Make it good memories through this. Easiest way to do that is make sure parents and coaches don’t bitch and say negative stuff about this whole ordeal.

Like your answers and 100% agree.
 

Softydad

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My DD brought up a good point. She said 99% of the time between games, the players are eating or drinking something. Can't very well wear a mask while doing this. That pretty much negates the whole wearing a mask when not in the dugout rule. That also goes for parents too. When it gets hot, most of them have some sort of drink in their hand. Doesn't really make sense to wear a mask and pull it down every time you want to take a drink. You'd be touching it all day, which like someone said earlier, is WORSE than wearing a mask.

I'm also willing to go out on a limb and say that when it's all said and done, you will see or hear about more kids/parents/umps get sick from heat exhaustion/breathing problems than from Covid-19. Hopefully common sense prevails and the powers that be realize that if people can sit and socialize at outdoor bars and restaurants without masks, then it's not necessary at youth ball games, as long as they social distance.
So as a comparison if I am understanding the new softball "rules-guidelines" correctly you're allowed to go to a restaurant like Roosters between games and all 10 girls on your team can sit at the same table together with no masks, sitting literally right beside each other eating and talking etc...obviously not wearing masks, as long as your table is six feet from the next table, but a group of girls outside in the breeze and sunshine between games have to wear a mask and stay 6 feet from each other between games...that's completely ridiculous and stupid... like almost every single rule these state govt's have come up with. These governor decrees from on high vary widely from state to state, mostly based on the governors specific politics... most of which make no sense at all and are completely arbitrary.

So while at bat, the girls in a dugout that is much bigger than a restaurant table are required to wear masks...and umpires in 90° have to wear a mask outside in the breeze and sunshine...even though all studies are showing transmission of the virus to be very unlikely outside for obvious reasons, but you can go inside to a table in a restaurant and sit together with your team...hmmm...got it.

Who were the geniuses representing softball on this supposed "youth sports committee" who thought this was a good idea and didn't bother to point out the hypocrisy of these things to the governor?
 
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Well Softy Dad since you want to be a name caller, I was on the committee as a representative. There was a chairperson that put together the checklist of items prior to the health dept. officials getting involved. Things like mandatory face coverings for everyone was on a best practices list but not necessary to attend an event. Coverings for players between innings/games and officials was never mentioned nor on the initial list sent over to discuss on our first conference call with the health dept on the line also.

I was originally contacted by the chairperson as someone to represent softball on the committee. My name was given to him by someone else who currently is a softball coach who works in the Restart Ohio dept. I could have politely declined as I thought about doing because frankly I didn't know what influence my word would have on folks who were going to have the final say anyways. When we first submitted these guidelines, they were nothing like what was posted. Again the health dept was going to have the final say.

Once the Health dept got involved, things starting changing and fast. There was a woman who might have been Amy Acton's second or third in charge that was leading the way. The first thing she wanted done was a mandatory temp check along with several questions regarding health for every person there including players, spectators, umpires, and park staff. I interjected and explained a scenario of which if I had an 8 am game time on 8 fields with 16 teams, there was no way this could be done in any timely fashion. She also wanted us to log this and notate it for every person there. Again something that is not achievable. Plus I do not feel comfortable asking someones minor children health related questions nor do I want to violate any HIPPA laws by putting someones health items on main street for all to hear. Fortunately she dropped that notion but not without a fight from the 4-5 other health dept officials on the call.

After this initial call with the health dept folks on the line, we got an email 3-4 days later with the check list of items and they were much different than what we had submitted. The face covering items were all over the documents including for officials. I had my head umpire poll some of our officials on how they felt if this was the only way to play this year and if they were willing to do it. I sent off an email to the chairperson objecting mainly to the face coverings for the officials because that is the only part of this that I had major concerns about. The players wearing them between innings someone else had sent him an email about so there was no need to be redundant about the issue.

Second and last conference call with the health dept folks and more of the same with more restrictions being added back in. The gentleman who objected to the players wearing them in between innings said his peace on why this was not the best idea and the meeting moved on. This time when we got to the officials, I interjected with what I seen the main reasons why this was not good for our folks who works these games. Some of which was heat in places with turfed fields and how much hotter it gets on those fields along with the girls can go off the field every half inning but the umpires can not. Duly noted and on to the next item. We were thanked for our input and not much more was said about any time line or final draft to the public. When the guidelines came out, it was the first time any of us on the committee had seen the final print. Again this was not the initial guidelines we had submitted a few weeks back when this started.

May 14 and the Governor makes the declaration that low contact sports including baseball and softball can resume again and my phone and email blow up the rest of the afternoon into the evening and continued thru the next day until the guidelines came out. When I seen them, the facial coverings were on the players between innings and still on the officials. I wrote an email to the chair board pleading my case about the coverings for officials to be reviewed and spelled out the reasons again why this was not good for any official in the sport. I have not heard back other than thanking me for my input and that it would be forwarded to the committee of health dept officials who have taken over the process from here on out.

Also Softy Dad this was a professional committee with professional people on it. There was a rep from the PGA of Ohio, reps from Parks and Recs depts, reps from a couple of the largest youth programs in Ohio for baseball and softball, reps for summer basketball and volleyball programs. Getting loud and animated doesn't go far with folks like this. Letting your political feelings out doesn't go far either. I don't know about you but he who "shouts the loudest" usually gets ignored on a committee like this if they don't get asked to leave first. I felt it was good to have someone represent our game and not have anyone give their political opinions about everything. They have heard that all during this pandemic. They wanted people to calmly voice their opinions and offer constructive input and reasoning that is not sensationalized by personal feelings. Every time I have been involved personally and professionally in a group like that, the level headed individuals got more accomplished. But maybe if asked to do it again, I should get loud and brow beat people with my personal opinions so they "get the point" about how communist it is to be forced to wear these facial coverings in public. But that would be the same thing the people who stormed the statehouse early in the month after the safe-at-home was extended and you see how far it got them.

Softy Dad just let me know what team your kid is on so I can go ahead and drop them from any event we are running. I don't need someone to come out and make a scene the minute we attempt to start back or to be offended if we fail to meet your expectations. At this point in the thread it has stopped being about the kids getting to play this summer to individual opinions and hurt feelings. I do not need an entry in a tournament that bad to make someone so upset with the fact that the governor is letting the kids play a lot earlier than I guessed (I thought July 1 possibly or maybe lucky to play at all the way things were looking for awhile) and under such inhumane conditions as you have pointed out.

One thing you will notice is my name is always on the bottom of my postings. I don't run from what I write. People may not like it or think I am arrogant but I am always trying to be fair and try to do right by this game as much as possible. Just let me know what tournaments of ours you are in so we can drop your team and you can go out of state all summer to play where you think the conditions are more to your liking. I am sure other tournament directors will also read this and be interested in what team/organization you are representing or a part of just out of curiosity. Thank you for your team name in advance.
 

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Well Softy Dad since you want to be a name caller, I was on the committee as a representative. There was a chairperson that put together the checklist of items prior to the health dept. officials getting involved. Things like mandatory face coverings for everyone was on a best practices list but not necessary to attend an event. Coverings for players between innings/games and officials was never mentioned nor on the initial list sent over to discuss on our first conference call with the health dept on the line also.

I was originally contacted by the chairperson as someone to represent softball on the committee. My name was given to him by someone else who currently is a softball coach who works in the Restart Ohio dept. I could have politely declined as I thought about doing because frankly I didn't know what influence my word would have on folks who were going to have the final say anyways. When we first submitted these guidelines, they were nothing like what was posted. Again the health dept was going to have the final say.

Once the Health dept got involved, things starting changing and fast. There was a woman who might have been Amy Acton's second or third in charge that was leading the way. The first thing she wanted done was a mandatory temp check along with several questions regarding health for every person there including players, spectators, umpires, and park staff. I interjected and explained a scenario of which if I had an 8 am game time on 8 fields with 16 teams, there was no way this could be done in any timely fashion. She also wanted us to log this and notate it for every person there. Again something that is not achievable. Plus I do not feel comfortable asking someones minor children health related questions nor do I want to violate any HIPPA laws by putting someones health items on main street for all to hear. Fortunately she dropped that notion but not without a fight from the 4-5 other health dept officials on the call.

After this initial call with the health dept folks on the line, we got an email 3-4 days later with the check list of items and they were much different than what we had submitted. The face covering items were all over the documents including for officials. I had my head umpire poll some of our officials on how they felt if this was the only way to play this year and if they were willing to do it. I sent off an email to the chairperson objecting mainly to the face coverings for the officials because that is the only part of this that I had major concerns about. The players wearing them between innings someone else had sent him an email about so there was no need to be redundant about the issue.

Second and last conference call with the health dept folks and more of the same with more restrictions being added back in. The gentleman who objected to the players wearing them in between innings said his peace on why this was not the best idea and the meeting moved on. This time when we got to the officials, I interjected with what I seen the main reasons why this was not good for our folks who works these games. Some of which was heat in places with turfed fields and how much hotter it gets on those fields along with the girls can go off the field every half inning but the umpires can not. Duly noted and on to the next item. We were thanked for our input and not much more was said about any time line or final draft to the public. When the guidelines came out, it was the first time any of us on the committee had seen the final print. Again this was not the initial guidelines we had submitted a few weeks back when this started.

May 14 and the Governor makes the declaration that low contact sports including baseball and softball can resume again and my phone and email blow up the rest of the afternoon into the evening and continued thru the next day until the guidelines came out. When I seen them, the facial coverings were on the players between innings and still on the officials. I wrote an email to the chair board pleading my case about the coverings for officials to be reviewed and spelled out the reasons again why this was not good for any official in the sport. I have not heard back other than thanking me for my input and that it would be forwarded to the committee of health dept officials who have taken over the process from here on out.

Also Softy Dad this was a professional committee with professional people on it. There was a rep from the PGA of Ohio, reps from Parks and Recs depts, reps from a couple of the largest youth programs in Ohio for baseball and softball, reps for summer basketball and volleyball programs. Getting loud and animated doesn't go far with folks like this. Letting your political feelings out doesn't go far either. I don't know about you but he who "shouts the loudest" usually gets ignored on a committee like this if they don't get asked to leave first. I felt it was good to have someone represent our game and not have anyone give their political opinions about everything. They have heard that all during this pandemic. They wanted people to calmly voice their opinions and offer constructive input and reasoning that is not sensationalized by personal feelings. Every time I have been involved personally and professionally in a group like that, the level headed individuals got more accomplished. But maybe if asked to do it again, I should get loud and brow beat people with my personal opinions so they "get the point" about how communist it is to be forced to wear these facial coverings in public. But that would be the same thing the people who stormed the statehouse early in the month after the safe-at-home was extended and you see how far it got them.

Softy Dad just let me know what team your kid is on so I can go ahead and drop them from any event we are running. I don't need someone to come out and make a scene the minute we attempt to start back or to be offended if we fail to meet your expectations. At this point in the thread it has stopped being about the kids getting to play this summer to individual opinions and hurt feelings. I do not need an entry in a tournament that bad to make someone so upset with the fact that the governor is letting the kids play a lot earlier than I guessed (I thought July 1 possibly or maybe lucky to play at all the way things were looking for awhile) and under such inhumane conditions as you have pointed out.

One thing you will notice is my name is always on the bottom of my postings. I don't run from what I write. People may not like it or think I am arrogant but I am always trying to be fair and try to do right by this game as much as possible. Just let me know what tournaments of ours you are in so we can drop your team and you can go out of state all summer to play where you think the conditions are more to your liking. I am sure other tournament directors will also read this and be interested in what team/organization you are representing or a part of just out of curiosity. Thank you for your team name in advance.

Well Softydad, soon you'll be out of tournaments to play-in. I am still waiting for your team name as well.
Thanks
 

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Softydad

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Well Softy Dad since you want to be a name caller, I was on the committee as a representative. There was a chairperson that put together the checklist of items prior to the health dept. officials getting involved. Things like mandatory face coverings for everyone was on a best practices list but not necessary to attend an event. Coverings for players between innings/games and officials was never mentioned nor on the initial list sent over to discuss on our first conference call with the health dept on the line also.

I was originally contacted by the chairperson as someone to represent softball on the committee. My name was given to him by someone else who currently is a softball coach who works in the Restart Ohio dept. I could have politely declined as I thought about doing because frankly I didn't know what influence my word would have on folks who were going to have the final say anyways. When we first submitted these guidelines, they were nothing like what was posted. Again the health dept was going to have the final say.

Once the Health dept got involved, things starting changing and fast. There was a woman who might have been Amy Acton's second or third in charge that was leading the way. The first thing she wanted done was a mandatory temp check along with several questions regarding health for every person there including players, spectators, umpires, and park staff. I interjected and explained a scenario of which if I had an 8 am game time on 8 fields with 16 teams, there was no way this could be done in any timely fashion. She also wanted us to log this and notate it for every person there. Again something that is not achievable. Plus I do not feel comfortable asking someones minor children health related questions nor do I want to violate any HIPPA laws by putting someones health items on main street for all to hear. Fortunately she dropped that notion but not without a fight from the 4-5 other health dept officials on the call.

After this initial call with the health dept folks on the line, we got an email 3-4 days later with the check list of items and they were much different than what we had submitted. The face covering items were all over the documents including for officials. I had my head umpire poll some of our officials on how they felt if this was the only way to play this year and if they were willing to do it. I sent off an email to the chairperson objecting mainly to the face coverings for the officials because that is the only part of this that I had major concerns about. The players wearing them between innings someone else had sent him an email about so there was no need to be redundant about the issue.

Second and last conference call with the health dept folks and more of the same with more restrictions being added back in. The gentleman who objected to the players wearing them in between innings said his peace on why this was not the best idea and the meeting moved on. This time when we got to the officials, I interjected with what I seen the main reasons why this was not good for our folks who works these games. Some of which was heat in places with turfed fields and how much hotter it gets on those fields along with the girls can go off the field every half inning but the umpires can not. Duly noted and on to the next item. We were thanked for our input and not much more was said about any time line or final draft to the public. When the guidelines came out, it was the first time any of us on the committee had seen the final print. Again this was not the initial guidelines we had submitted a few weeks back when this started.

May 14 and the Governor makes the declaration that low contact sports including baseball and softball can resume again and my phone and email blow up the rest of the afternoon into the evening and continued thru the next day until the guidelines came out. When I seen them, the facial coverings were on the players between innings and still on the officials. I wrote an email to the chair board pleading my case about the coverings for officials to be reviewed and spelled out the reasons again why this was not good for any official in the sport. I have not heard back other than thanking me for my input and that it would be forwarded to the committee of health dept officials who have taken over the process from here on out.

Also Softy Dad this was a professional committee with professional people on it. There was a rep from the PGA of Ohio, reps from Parks and Recs depts, reps from a couple of the largest youth programs in Ohio for baseball and softball, reps for summer basketball and volleyball programs. Getting loud and animated doesn't go far with folks like this. Letting your political feelings out doesn't go far either. I don't know about you but he who "shouts the loudest" usually gets ignored on a committee like this if they don't get asked to leave first. I felt it was good to have someone represent our game and not have anyone give their political opinions about everything. They have heard that all during this pandemic. They wanted people to calmly voice their opinions and offer constructive input and reasoning that is not sensationalized by personal feelings. Every time I have been involved personally and professionally in a group like that, the level headed individuals got more accomplished. But maybe if asked to do it again, I should get loud and brow beat people with my personal opinions so they "get the point" about how communist it is to be forced to wear these facial coverings in public. But that would be the same thing the people who stormed the statehouse early in the month after the safe-at-home was extended and you see how far it got them.

Softy Dad just let me know what team your kid is on so I can go ahead and drop them from any event we are running. I don't need someone to come out and make a scene the minute we attempt to start back or to be offended if we fail to meet your expectations. At this point in the thread it has stopped being about the kids getting to play this summer to individual opinions and hurt feelings. I do not need an entry in a tournament that bad to make someone so upset with the fact that the governor is letting the kids play a lot earlier than I guessed (I thought July 1 possibly or maybe lucky to play at all the way things were looking for awhile) and under such inhumane conditions as you have pointed out.

One thing you will notice is my name is always on the bottom of my postings. I don't run from what I write. People may not like it or think I am arrogant but I am always trying to be fair and try to do right by this game as much as possible. Just let me know what tournaments of ours you are in so we can drop your team and you can go out of state all summer to play where you think the conditions are more to your liking. I am sure other tournament directors will also read this and be interested in what team/organization you are representing or a part of just out of curiosity. Thank you for your team name in advance.
Hello Mike, after reading your review of the process I truly appreciate your extremely in-depth explanation as to how all of these things came about and that you're still taking the fight to them and hoping to get some of their ridiculous stipulations to play changed for the better. The fact of the matter is Acton and her minions are drunk on power and they're abusing it.
 

Mdfio

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Hello Mike, after reading your review of the process I truly appreciate your extremely in-depth explanation as to how all of these things came about and that you're still taking the fight to them and hoping to get some of their ridiculous stipulations to play changed for the better. The fact of the matter is Acton and her minions are drunk on power and they're abusing it.


Still want to know the team name!
 

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Mike, great post... (did i really say that?? lol) Ole Softys really making friends.
I have zero interest in making friends on this forum. I appreciate the time and effort Mike/others put into the commitee trying to get things done for the better. I really, really appreciate his exceptionally detailed expanation as to how these new state mandated rules/guidelines transpired, giving all of us a much better understanding of the process that he and others went through to get us to this point after he shared his experience... so I'm appreciative of that. It doesn't change the fact that it makes no sense at all for the state of Ohio to put some umpires at likely more risk health-wise than the virus does by requiring them to wear masks on hot days when it could absolutely cause some bad outcomes (as Mike stated) and requiring kids to wear a face mask in the dugout when the state is fine to let those same 10 girls go sit beside each other in a restaurant after the game, but is going to force them to wear a facemask and stay 6 feet from anyone on the field grounds eating lunch between games...completely nonsensical like 90% of everything our government does in its over reaction to this virus.
 
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DanMaz

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Well Softy Dad since you want to be a name caller, I was on the committee as a representative. There was a chairperson that put together the checklist of items prior to the health dept. officials getting involved. Things like mandatory face coverings for everyone was on a best practices list but not necessary to attend an event. Coverings for players between innings/games and officials was never mentioned nor on the initial list sent over to discuss on our first conference call with the health dept on the line also.

I was originally contacted by the chairperson as someone to represent softball on the committee. My name was given to him by someone else who currently is a softball coach who works in the Restart Ohio dept. I could have politely declined as I thought about doing because frankly I didn't know what influence my word would have on folks who were going to have the final say anyways. When we first submitted these guidelines, they were nothing like what was posted. Again the health dept was going to have the final say.

Once the Health dept got involved, things starting changing and fast. There was a woman who might have been Amy Acton's second or third in charge that was leading the way. The first thing she wanted done was a mandatory temp check along with several questions regarding health for every person there including players, spectators, umpires, and park staff. I interjected and explained a scenario of which if I had an 8 am game time on 8 fields with 16 teams, there was no way this could be done in any timely fashion. She also wanted us to log this and notate it for every person there. Again something that is not achievable. Plus I do not feel comfortable asking someones minor children health related questions nor do I want to violate any HIPPA laws by putting someones health items on main street for all to hear. Fortunately she dropped that notion but not without a fight from the 4-5 other health dept officials on the call.

After this initial call with the health dept folks on the line, we got an email 3-4 days later with the check list of items and they were much different than what we had submitted. The face covering items were all over the documents including for officials. I had my head umpire poll some of our officials on how they felt if this was the only way to play this year and if they were willing to do it. I sent off an email to the chairperson objecting mainly to the face coverings for the officials because that is the only part of this that I had major concerns about. The players wearing them between innings someone else had sent him an email about so there was no need to be redundant about the issue.

Second and last conference call with the health dept folks and more of the same with more restrictions being added back in. The gentleman who objected to the players wearing them in between innings said his peace on why this was not the best idea and the meeting moved on. This time when we got to the officials, I interjected with what I seen the main reasons why this was not good for our folks who works these games. Some of which was heat in places with turfed fields and how much hotter it gets on those fields along with the girls can go off the field every half inning but the umpires can not. Duly noted and on to the next item. We were thanked for our input and not much more was said about any time line or final draft to the public. When the guidelines came out, it was the first time any of us on the committee had seen the final print. Again this was not the initial guidelines we had submitted a few weeks back when this started.

May 14 and the Governor makes the declaration that low contact sports including baseball and softball can resume again and my phone and email blow up the rest of the afternoon into the evening and continued thru the next day until the guidelines came out. When I seen them, the facial coverings were on the players between innings and still on the officials. I wrote an email to the chair board pleading my case about the coverings for officials to be reviewed and spelled out the reasons again why this was not good for any official in the sport. I have not heard back other than thanking me for my input and that it would be forwarded to the committee of health dept officials who have taken over the process from here on out.

Also Softy Dad this was a professional committee with professional people on it. There was a rep from the PGA of Ohio, reps from Parks and Recs depts, reps from a couple of the largest youth programs in Ohio for baseball and softball, reps for summer basketball and volleyball programs. Getting loud and animated doesn't go far with folks like this. Letting your political feelings out doesn't go far either. I don't know about you but he who "shouts the loudest" usually gets ignored on a committee like this if they don't get asked to leave first. I felt it was good to have someone represent our game and not have anyone give their political opinions about everything. They have heard that all during this pandemic. They wanted people to calmly voice their opinions and offer constructive input and reasoning that is not sensationalized by personal feelings. Every time I have been involved personally and professionally in a group like that, the level headed individuals got more accomplished. But maybe if asked to do it again, I should get loud and brow beat people with my personal opinions so they "get the point" about how communist it is to be forced to wear these facial coverings in public. But that would be the same thing the people who stormed the statehouse early in the month after the safe-at-home was extended and you see how far it got them.

Softy Dad just let me know what team your kid is on so I can go ahead and drop them from any event we are running. I don't need someone to come out and make a scene the minute we attempt to start back or to be offended if we fail to meet your expectations. At this point in the thread it has stopped being about the kids getting to play this summer to individual opinions and hurt feelings. I do not need an entry in a tournament that bad to make someone so upset with the fact that the governor is letting the kids play a lot earlier than I guessed (I thought July 1 possibly or maybe lucky to play at all the way things were looking for awhile) and under such inhumane conditions as you have pointed out.

One thing you will notice is my name is always on the bottom of my postings. I don't run from what I write. People may not like it or think I am arrogant but I am always trying to be fair and try to do right by this game as much as possible. Just let me know what tournaments of ours you are in so we can drop your team and you can go out of state all summer to play where you think the conditions are more to your liking. I am sure other tournament directors will also read this and be interested in what team/organization you are representing or a part of just out of curiosity. Thank you for your team name in advance.

Thank you Mike!
All we can do is focus on tomorrow as we see things changes daily. this has affected everyone in many different ways. we appreciate all your input, support and updates.
 
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