ASA Introduces Rule Changes, New Executive Position For 2009
In early November, the Amateur Softball Association released their list of playing rule changes for the 2009 season. Among the highlights to look forward to in the coming year....
- Implementation of the 1-1 count in all adult slow pitch (except Master & Seniors)
- Increase in the home run limit in numerous classifications and elimination of the "½-inning ending out" penalty in Men's Class D
- Addition of a Class E/Rec classification and a corresponding national tournament
For more information on these rule changes and how they affect play here in North Dakota, please contact association President Dick Gulmon.
ASA also created the position of Director of Coaching Education and named Mike Candrea of Tuscon, AZ as the first to hold the position.
"His duties will include content oversight of the ACE (Achieve, Certify, Educate) Coaching program, writing monthly articles describing various coaching experiences, online interview segments with responsiblesports.com, regional coaching and athlete clinics, speaking engagements, developing a practice planner and other duties as assigned."
More information of the announcement can be found on the ASA website, asasoftball.com.
Sperle, Spindle Tops in 2008
With only the Coed tourney remaining, the 2008 North Dakota state tournament schedule has nearly reached its conclusion. Fargo Sperle Masonry/First Class Mortgage emerged victorious at the top of men's slowpitch as champions of the Division I tournament in Fargo. The champs pulled off the remarkable feat of avoiding elimination after dropping their very first contest of the weekend. On the women's side, Fargo Mr. Spindle claimed the top spot by winning the Class C tournament in Wahpeton. A list of other 2008 state champions can be found on the State Champions page.
National Tourneys In North Dakota
Our state is privileged to have the opportunity to host a pair of national ASA tournaments this year. The first will be the Men's Masters 40 & Over Fast Pitch National Tournament in Minot beginning Wednesday, August 20th. That will be followed the very next week with the Men's Class D Slow Pitch Northern National Tournament in Bismarck, which gets underway on Thursday, August 28th. The winner of this 11-state regional tourney will advance to the Class D National Championship Tournament in Oklahoma City later in the year. Congratulations and a special thanks to those associations for representing North Dakota and the NDASA on the national stage. More details as well as tournament brakcets (when available) can be found on our National Tournament page.
JO Teams: Register Players Online
Managers
of all North Dakota Junior Olympics teams are strongly encouraged to
register each of their players and coaches online at
RegisterASA.com.
registered. The registration also establishes insurance for all those
registered. Check out the Junior Olympics
page for more information.
2008 Hall of Fame Inductees
|
Harry Blaskowski Valley City |
Ron Geffre Mandan |
Eugene Hayes Emerado |
Steve Revland Moorhead MN |
Tim Tweiten West Fargo |
The Hall of Fame Selection Committee elected five new members for enshrinement in 2008. The new inductees officially became members of the Hall in a ceremony and banquet at the Gladstone Inn in Jamestown on April 19th. Click here for more details on these great contributors to amateur softball in the state of North Dakota.
As of the 2008 season, nine bats that had been "grandfathered" in and approved for ASA-sanctioned play are no longer approved. This includes the popular Miken Freak and Easton Synergy 2. Click here for more information on approved bats.
Welcome to the new NDASA.org
The North Dakota Amateur Softball Association is pleased to unveil not only a new design but a new direction for our web site. Our hope is that this site will be a great reference tool for North Dakota amateur softball players and managers statewide thanks not only to pertinent and useful content but timely updates at well.
Some of the new features that will be implemented are as follows:
- Not only will all of the state's invitational tournaments be listed every year, but the Men's and Women's Slow Pitch tourneys will also be listed by classification. For example, clicking on "Rec I" under the Men's Slow Pitch header will list only those tournaments Men's Rec I teams are eligible to enter.
- State tournament pairings, in addition to being mailed to team managers, will be posted and updated as necessary.
- Links to the web sites of some of our local associations will be added to the League Representatives page.
- The Minutes page, which will list highlights from various association meetings as well as post a link to the official minutes.
In April 2008, the executive committee selected RC Courtright of Jamestown to become the new Webmaster of NDASA.org. RC has played slowpitch softball since 1991 in Jamestown, West Fargo and Fargo. Visitors to our site are encouraged to provide any feedback and suggestions to RC at webmaster@ndasa.org. Messages intended for other representatives on NDASA should check out our contacts page.