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| July 14, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Altered bat? You're joking, right? Absolutely altered. |
| July 12, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Brackets See you soon, Mike |
| July 12, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Brackets Classics 15, or anyone else that is wondering where to stay- We are using 5 parks/ 16 diamonds in Loudoun County and all of them are 15 minutes (or less) from the hotels on the Route 28 corridor. I've stayed at all of the hotels listed on the tournament page and would give a thumbs up to each. They all have food, drink & grocery options within a mile or so. |
| July 9, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Tournament map Answer: Nothing. It's not a mileage marker. The first pin location put on the tournament map was assigned the #1. The second pin was assigned the #2, etc. |
| July 9, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Tournament map Red "pins" are tied to parks and green "pins" are tied to hotels. Click on any of them and the property name & address will appear. You can use that info to find out how far 2 properties are from one another. |
| June 26, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: CT Masters Tournament All- I think a little understanding of what the Connecticut Masters Games is / does would be helpful here. They are a non-profit group that hosts MULTIPLE sports promoting an active senior lifestyle. A scaled down version of the Huntsman Games, they offer a mix of team (softball, basketball, volleyball) and individual (archery, pickleball, bowling, cycling, swimming, table tennis, etc) sports. They are run primarily by volunteers and college interns. The goal of keeping seniors active is consistent, but the organizers change quite frequently- All of these folks have some knowldege each sport, but they are not experts in all of them. That said, I'll address a few other points that have been raised- FORMAT- The tournament was advertised as a 4 game guarantee. Traditionally, that means 2 pool into DE. In this case, it didn't mean that (for reasons that I'll explain below), but all teams were given the opportunity to play 4.... some chose not to play their 4th game. OVER-BOOKING- In the 7 years that I've been scheduling the CT Masters, S2 has never had this many entries. Two fields have always been sufficient. The management team didn't fully understand how scheduling worked and took too many teams. Agreed. When the over-booking was brought to their attention, we looked for additional fields in the area and learned that they were not available. (I explained this to dwniel on the phone on Sun) DOUBLE ELIMINATION / SINGLE ELIMINATION- 13 teams participated in S2 of this tournament. Giving all teams the traditional 2 seed / double elimination format would have required 13 seed games and 25 bracket games. That's a total of 38. We had 26.... The format you're requesting would have resulted in: MON- first games at 8:00am / last games at 9:30pm TUE- first games at 8:00am / last games at 6:30pm I've been doing this long enough to know that most 65, 70 and 75 yr old teams would frown upon this- I guess you're the exception. SHORTENED GAMES- See paragraph above to understand why this was required. WE DIDN'T GET WHAT THE OTHER TEAMS GOT- You're 100% correct. Your games were played at 60 minutes, plus the open inning, which is 5 minutes less than the rulebook calls for. Due to heavy rains on Friday, and Saturday, and again on Sunday the teams from S1 played games with 45 minute time limits, with the 5th inning being open. Exceptions were made in the championship games on Sunday at Moody School but your team got MORE than the others did. CONCESSIONS / WATER- CT Masters / CSMG is heavily dependent on donations to keep afloat. In the past, local grocery stores would donate burgers & dogs for the staff to cook. Sounds like that may have stopped. Water in dugouts hasn't been a thing since COVID. It's not a "new" thing, nor was it unique to this tournament. QUICK OBSERVATION- Sports Complexes in the south / sunbelt were built in a master-planned manner. In the Northeast / New England region, they have neighborhood fields. Two totally different concepts. As regional residents, this shouldn't be new information to you guys. I'm sorry that you guys feel like you drew the short straw. My experience with the staff at CT Masters is that they are good people who look to do right by the senior community. I assure you that they weren't looking to create an unhappy customer base. |
| June 24, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Columbus Indiana Scott, On the surface, what you're asking for sounds reasonable. The problem is 1) that SSUSA isn't building the schedule and 2)has no input on changes that may occur after the fact. If teams are added, or dropped the schedule here becomes irrelevant. If there are weather delays or issues of that sort, the schedule posted here becomes irrelevant. Since ISA is solely responsible for running that event, you should get all info from them. This greatly reduces the chances for confusion. Not the answer you were hoping for, but it is the right way to proceed. Tim |
| June 3, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Don Brooks / Crabtown Classic wrap-up 75 teams was a tournament record for the Crabtown Classic and I couldn't be happier to continue hosting the tournament that Don Brooks started over 2 decades ago. You laid the foundation for senior softball here in the east, sir. I'm just here maintaining it for you. Wednesday night rain resulted in a 3-4 hour delay on Thursday. HUGE thanks to the AA County Parks Dept for their efforts to get us going. I'd also like to thank the teams for their patience while the field staff did their thing. Once we cleared that hurdle, Mother Nature gave us spectacular weather. [ Thank you ma'am. ] To the umpires who covered 214 games on 11 diamonds- Claude, Hockey, Randy, Robert, Bob, Lillie, Scott, Chere, Anita, Tim, Craig, Jimmy, Doug, Rod, Ray, Mike, & Chip- You did a fine job on the field and deserve higher praise for your customer service skills. Trish, Todd & Dave.... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Full, detailed results are posted on the tournament page. Here's a summary of results 75 Gold - Northern VA Force 75s Syracuse Cyclones 75s JAG-One / Jersey Masters 75s 70 Gold - (IF GAME) Spring Ford 70+ Northern VA Force 70s (played 5 games on Championshipo day) JAG-One / Jersey Masters 70s 70 AA (IF GAME) West Chester Wild Robinson's Furniture 65 Major Empire / Monroe Hudson Valley Cyclones 65 AAA (IF GAME) Spring Ford 65+ Monocacy Brewing Co. (4-1 on Championship day, including an IF game loss) Northern VA Force 65s 55-60 Major Finance of America 55s High Street Bucs 55s NoVA Force 60s 55-60 Silver Anchor Mechanical 60s Harford Financial Group 55s Your Bath & Kitchen 60s 50 Platinum (IF GAME) PulseChain.com/Juno Walkoff 50s Rough Ryders 50s 50 AAA (IF GAME) Arooga's / Old School FFE 50s EIS / Fradken Law 40 Platinum Detwiler Roofing Racehorse Tavern Dilly, Dilly! 40 Major Motion / Edge HVAC Lead Foot Grays Gigantes / O.C. Women 50s (IF GAME) Shots Fired Unfazed Lew's Crew Women 40s (IF GAME) Lady Legends (lost 1st game on Sun morning, then won 5 straight) Vintage Fear No One |
| June 3, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Albuquerque I don't know if there are additional parks in the ABQ metro area, but we would have needed them if more teams came on the weekend. S2 requires 124 games to complete and we have 125 available game slots. 8am first games and 8pm last games on Friday & Saturday. 8am first games and 5pm "IF" games on Sunday. Good luck to all teams- |
| May 31, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Land of Enchantment Bracket Bougie- That correction has been made. Johnny44- You didn't specify which team you're with, but clues lead me to believe we're talking about 70 AA seeding games (?). If so, I was able to get you out of that DTX vs DTX matchup. I've sent a revised schedule (with an effective date of 5/31) to SSUSA staff and asked them to post on receipt. I've further asked them to send an email to managers instructing them to check out the revisions. Changes only affect a couple of divisions, but it won't hurt for everyone to eyeball their own pages. |
| May 31, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Land of Enchantment Bracket There's no need to call the office. I wrote the schedule for LoE. There are 60 teams entered with 39 playing a 5gg. The park says we can't start games before 8am, or after 9pm on any day..... Every field is in use for every potential game slot on Friday and Saturday (last games start at 8pm on those nights). The FIRST available game slot is 5pm on Sunday afternoon. Regarding seed game opponents... my apologies for not realizing that teams from TX, NM, and CO play each other regularly. Enjoy the tournament everyone. Stay hydrated and be safe. Tim |
| May 22, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Back Foot in Front of the Mat You don't have to attend the annual meetings to get a rules item on the agenda for discussion. Just send an email to the office explaining which rule you'd like to see changed. A number of people do this each year. |
| May 20, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS I've gotten used to seeing you show on Sundays. Sorry that it didn't happen yesterday. Congrats to your guys. |
| May 20, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Atlantic Coast Championship Compliment and Criticism I explained this a number of times over the weekend but it sounds like the message didn't get through to some- or the story changed as it had been passed from one party to the next... First- The red stitch Baden Fire ball is the only ball that SSUSA brought to Raleigh. We DID NOT sell 2 types of balls or offer some teams red stitch and others black stich. HISTORY of the black stitch ball.... The manufacturer drop-shipped balls to the Tidewater Classic back in March. The shipment included a mix of red & black stitched balls. We (tournament staff) didn't realize this until mid-way though the check in process. At that point it was too late to go go back and swap them out. We also didn't have enough balls to complete the tournament using red or black balls. We were forced to go with it and use / sell / play with what was available. AUTHORIZATION of the black stitch ball... I told teams at the Tidewater Classic that I didn't want to be the guy who took someone's money for balls, then said that they couldn't use them. I explained that those teams who had Tidewater leftovers would be allowed to use them here in the east for the next few tournaments until we cycled though them. My expectation was that we'd soon be out of them and it wouldn't be a big deal. That's exactly how it played out at the First Responder benefit, the Battle of the Roses,and the Maryland Classic. Teams have used a combination of red & black stich balls and there hasn't been any issue. For whatever reason it became a bug-a-boo this past weekend in Raleigh. I made a decision at the park in March and stood by it. People are welcome to disagree with the way I handled the ball situation and that's ok. It's part of life. GOING FORWARD- Black stitch balls = BP balls. Leave 'em in the bag. Tim |
| May 19, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS ACC RESULTS FROM S2 60 Major 1. Estes / Rheem 2. Carolina A's 3. Diamondblade Congrats again to Drew Pearson (Carolina A's) on your Senior Softball National HoF Induction. 60 AAA 1.GRC / TC Backer 2. Raging Mummies 3. Alliance / Scrap Iron 55 Major Plus 1. BPA / Miken Worth 2. Excel Masonry 55 Major 1. Backside 55s 2. Walkoff 55s 3. Born Free 55 AAA 1. GA Renegades 2. Holy City Hitmen 3. Alliance / Scrap Iron 55 AA 1. Harford Financial 2. Longshoremen 50 Major 1. Roebell Painter 2. HRS 3. AST 50 AAA 1. Broughton Farms 2. That 50s Show 3. FFE 50s 40 Major Plus 1. Killman's / Lewis Lawn Care 2. HDI 40s 3. Suncoast 40s 40 / 50 Platinum 1. Suncoast (50 Major Plus) 2. ShinBiscuits / Potomac Sports (40 Major) 3. Sake 40 AAA 1. Smokin' Aces 2. Black Kings 4. Y'all Next Closing notes- Thank you to the Walnut Creek Softball Complex staff for an AMAZING job of field prep and old fashioned effort Zeb- without your team, there was no tournament. Umpires... We had a few late call out but those who showed up did an outstanding job. Your game knowledge and effort were 2nd only to your attitude.... You were fantastic. To the teams who are looking for somewhere different to play, put Raleigh on your 2025 schedule. 6 hour drive ahead, so I'm headed home. Paperwork will be sent back to SSUSA with complete, detailed results. Thanks all! Tim McElroy |
| May 15, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Raleigh weather update for WED We are ON TIME at Walnut Creek this morning. |
| May 14, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Raleigh weather update for WED 4:40pm Revised schedules have been sent to all S1 managers. Check your inbox. Tim |
| May 14, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Raleigh weather update for WED CORRECTION- Tuesday play is canceled. Wednesday / Thursday schedules are being revised. Tim |
| May 14, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Raleigh weather update for WED 12:10pm update All WED play is canceled at Walnut Creek. We'll give this rain a few hours to move out, then work with the Parks Dept to formulate a recovery plan. Managers should expect the next update at 6pm (local time) tonight. Tim McElroy |
| May 14, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Raleigh weather update for WED 11:00am update We are in a weather delay, hoping for a break- All 10:30am games will start / resume at 1:00pm today. Old time / New time 10:30 = 1:00 12:00 = 2:30 1:30 = 4:00 Please share this info with your teammates. If anything changes I will text managers again. Tim McElroy |
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