Meeting Minutes

Team Insurance Fees

The RMSA Board met on October 7, 2008 and came up with two options for the $50 insurance fee that was levied this past season.

• Option 1: Refund the $50 to individual captains.
• Option 2: Apply the $50 to that team captain's team registration fee for next season.

Player Suspensions

Josh Powell and Kevin Reiss will be suspended for the first week of the season as a result of being ejected in their final game of last season.  Each player must pay a $20 reinstatement fee before they will be allowed to play. 

In addition, the Central Valley Umpires Association has decided to suspend Pete Civitelli for the 2009 season.  The RMSA will abide by the CVUA's decision in this matter.

Team Insurance Fees

The City of Rome Recreation Department (Rec. Dept.) has mandated that the Rome Men’s Softball Association secure a formal Insurance Policy for the 2008 season. In order to keep our team sponsorship fees set at the original cost of $375 per team, the Rec. Dept. was/currently is in the process of working with our Association towards allocating city funds to cover and/or off set this financial burden placed on our league. As of today, Thursday, May 29, 2008, an agreement or settlement has not been met or reached. To ensure that our league can continue to play out the remainder of the 2008 season, the RMSA Board has no other option but to secure these funds through our Association, thus increasing each team’s sponsorship to $425 per team for the 2008 season. Until the Rec. Dept. allocates these necessary funds to our Association, the Board must set forth and enforce the following policy:

• All teams are required to deposit an additional $50 into to the league by Thursday, June 19th at 3 pm.
• The money received will be held in trust by the Board for an unspecified period of time until our Association and the Rec. Dept. can reach an official agreement regarding their insurance requirement issues.
• ALL TEAMS WILL BE FULLY REIMBURSED IF THE FOLLOWING EVENTS TAKE PLACE:
• The Rec. Dept. allocates the necessary funding to cover our Association’s cost of Insurance for the 2008 season or the Rec. Dept. decides to place the cost of insurance onto our Association after we reach and pasted the midway point of the season (after week 6).
• The RMSA Board WILL NOT buy insurance for the 2008 season, set forth by the Rec. Dept. that late into our season. Thus, each team will be reimbursed IN FULL their additional $50 fee they deposited into the league.

      
2nd Annual RMSA Open Tournament

• The Board established its prize money pay-outs for this year’s tournament
• 1st Place winner - $800
• 2nd Place winner - $400
• 3rd Place winner - $200
• Team Entry fee will remain at $200 per team
• Tournament Format
• 12 team
• Double Elimination
• 3 pitch
• All ASA & RMSA Rules will apply. 

 Assignments

Bill Menter

• 2ND Annual RMSA Open Tournament
• Secure Food and Beverage Vendor
• Reserve Haselton-Wright Park for the weekend of June 21 - June 22, 2008
• Contacting Jim Guy about the following field arrangements:

• Field Maintenance
• Mowing
• Dragging and lining fields
• Setting up Outfield fence
• Securing tables and chairs
• Secure Port-a-john from Eggan

Mike Kohli

• 2ND Annual RMSA Open Tournament
• Ordering Trophies (1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, two Co-MVP trophies for 2008,
  One Co-MVP trophy for 2007)
• Order T-shirts for the RMSA to sell
• Write up a small Tournament Blurb for the following publications:

• Rome Observer
• Rome Sentinel (Diamond Dust)
• Utica Observer Dispatch
• My Home Town Sports                          

Brandon Lovett

• 2ND Annual RMSA Open Tournament
• Secure Tournament Sponsor from RiteAid

• Secure Tent from RiteAid

• Provide 4-Wheeler to drag field throughout tournament
• Provide outfield fence

Rob Barone

• 2ND Annual RMSA Open Tournament
• Update Website

• Update Forms
• Registration Form
• Waiver Form
• Create Online Tournament brochure

Financials

Updated Finance Report was submitted by Brandon Lovett, Treasurer and reviewed by the Board. The 2007 Budget, with a remaining balance of $577.37 is now closed and has been forwarded to the 2008 Budget.

Rome Men's Softball Financial Report: View Report

2008 Anticipated Expenses

Umpires

Softball Balls/Equipment

Insurance

ASA Registration

Pay Pal

2008 Sponsorship Fee

Tournaments

City Tournament Dates Finalized

2nd Annual Rome Mens Softball Association Open Tournament

Rule Changes/Modifications

• The Rome Men's Softball Association Board of Directors has decided to follow both Utica and Kirkland's lead regarding their new bat rules for the 2008 season. Composite Bats are no longer permitted for play in the Rome Men’s League.
  
  Finalized bat rules for RMSA are as follows:
  
  • Aluminum Bats Only
  • Aluminum Barrel and composite handled bats are allowed
  • White Steel bats are allowed
  • Titanium bats are NOT allowed
  • No Stamps from ASA needed
  • No Mizuno Bats of any kind
    
• Again, only aluminum bats are allowed
• If anyone has any questions or concerns about the RMSA bat ruling, please contact Bill Menter, RMSA President at (315) 219-3240.

The RMSA fully embraces the Rome Recreation Departments mission statement:

The mission of the City of Rome Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Activities is to provide diversified recreation programs and facilities for all our citizens in a safe and enjoyable environment.

RMSA feels that Men’s Softball in Rome, NY is the premiere adult recreational activity with nearly 400 participants. RMSA strongly supports this statement and believes that by following the lead of many local softball associations by banning composite bats, that we are protecting the interest of our participants and spectators, by providing a safe and enjoyable environment.

Rosters

Score Sheets

Uniform Policy

Dedication

End of the Year Banquet/Picnic

Community Outreach

Assignments

Billy Menter

Mike Kohli

Brandon Lovett

Rob Barone

• Rome Men's Softball Financial Report: View Report

• Sponsorship fee will be increased by $10 per team. 2008 Fee will be $375 per team.
  • Deadline for submitting Sponsorship fee will be Thursday, May 1, 2008
  • Payment received after our May 1, 2008 deadline will increase the Sponsorship fee to $400. That fee must be paid in full by the start of week 1 (Week of May 11). Fee must be received prior to week 1 games to be eligible to participate in league play
  • Methods of Payment include:
    • Cash
    • Check
    • Credit Card (Pay Pal)

RMSA Calendar

Key Dates

RMSA League Realignment

The RMSA Board has set the following goals/structure for the 2008 season.

Note: 10 regular season games (9 Head to Head; 1 position week; 11 total guaranteed games). Last two weeks are comprised of Divisional Playoff games…a tournament playoff format within the division. All Teams qualify for this interdivisional tournament. Tournament winner will get an automatic bid to the City Tournament. Top 4 teams in each division's standings qualify for the City Tournament. City Tournament breakdown: As many as 15 teams, as few as 12 teams.

Rosters 

• Rosters must be turned into the league by Thursday, May 1, 2008.
• The Maximum # of players allowed on a roster is 18.
  • A player can play 3 nights a week, but only on 1 team per night.
• A player must choose one team to play with in the City Tournament

Additional Notes

• The Board has done away with playoff rosters. The roster that is submitted to the league on May 1 st is your playoff roster. When fielding players for a team in the City Tournament, team captains will play with players that meet the following requirements:
  • The player is on the original team roster submitted to the league on May 1 st.
• The player meets the requirement of having played in 3 completed games for their respective team. (forfeit does not count as a complete game played)
  
• Any changes made to a roster after May 1 st must be submitted, reviewed and approved by the Board. The Board reserves the right and the authority to make any changes and will do so strictly on a case-per-case basis.

Official Rules

 Tie Breakers

• Head-to-head
• Total runs scored head-to-head
• Total runs against head-to-head
• Total runs scored
• Total runs allowed
• Playoff game

Suspensions

• If a player is ejected from a game he automatically incurs a mandatory 1 game suspension the following week. Before a player can be reinstated and be eligible to play again, he must attend a mandatory hearing before the RMSA Board of Directors.
• Suspensions beyond the mandatory 1 game suspension can and will be determined by the RMSA Board of Directors on a “case-per-case” basis.

Forfeits

• Official score for forfeit will be 7-0
• Teams forfeiting two games will be eliminated from league play.

Limited Flight Balls

• Board rejected playing with limited flight balls. We will continue to use the same balls (.44 Core) that we have used for the past 3 seasons.

One team per night policy

• Board has instituted a “one team per night” policy.

Make up games

• Board decided to use an actual dated calendar with the games that are to be played that night. For example, if week 5's games are cancelled we will start the following week as week 6. We will not push weeks back anymore. All games that are cancelled will be made up during our make up week if necessary.

Uniform Policy

• Board is requires all teams to buy and wear uniforms or shirts of similar color with numbers on the back.

Alcohol and Tobacco

• In accordance with City of Rome Regulations, alcohol and tobacco are not permitted in or around the field of play. Use of these products on city property can result in expulsion from all city facilities and events.
  
  

Assignments

Mike Kohli

• Book Common Council Chamber for two RMSA League Meetings
• Thursday, April 17, 2008
• Thursday, May 1, 2008
• Contact sign shop to have signs made for league's website

Brandon Lovett

• Build Suggestion/League Mailbox to be installed at Haselton Park
• Create a Pay Pal account for RMSA Treasury.
  

Rob Barone

• Update Website
  • Update entire website (Homepage, Rules, etc…)
• Roster Forms
• Captain Forms
• Player Waiver Form
  
• Spam (download software to protect against)
• Photo bin
  
  
• Contact Maria Dantzler
  • Incorporate Women's league section on website