Winter Haven Senior Softball

BOARD MEETING TODAY
The board of directors put out a suggestion box after the season was over and there were 8  suggestions that were reviewed during the board meeting today. Below is a recap of that review.

Suggestion. 1. Eliminate the outfield boundary line.
Response 1. The outfield boundary line has been removed from the American League and the board feels the line should remain in place in the National League to benefit our older members.

Suggestion 2. Outfielders should not be able to throw out batter/base runner going to first base.
Response 2. This happens mostly in the American League. The board feels that due to the competitive nature of the game, this suggestion should not be implemented.

Suggestion 3. Eliminate the infield fly rule.
Response 3. The rules committee is looking to revise the infield fly rule to comply with current ISA rules. The board does not feel the infield fly rule should be eliminated.

Suggestion 4. No walks during pickup games.
Response 4. The current WHSS rule does not allow intentional walks during pickup games. The rule will remain in effect.

Suggestion 5. On Field A, outfielders must stay on the dirt track until the ball is hit.
Response 5.  This suggestion will be implemented for the 2019 season.

Suggestion 6. Change league to seven inning games. Do away with the international tie breaker rule that put the last out on second base when there is a tie ball game.
Response 6. The board will poll the players after our winter players arrive and see what they want to do. We do play seven inning games in the summertime when the heat index is unbearable. The international tie breaker rule will remain in place as a method of speeding up the games.

Suggestion 7/ If there is a dominate team in either league after three weeks, redistribute the talent.
Response 7. The board will be looking closely at the draft procedures to try and eliminate a dominant team.

Suggestion 8. Hire paid umpires for each game and raise the league fees to pay for the umpires.
Response 8. The board is not sure where we would get qualified umpires for our morning games. The board would not want to pay someone to umpire when we have quite a few members that do a pretty good job of volunteering to umpire. We will offer umpire training for those members who are interested and we will work with the team managers to try and make sure they have several qualified players to umpire during the games.

The Board wishes to thank everyone for their suggestions. The suggestion box will be set out again in October and any suggestions received will be reviewed in our November board meeting.