2006 BASEBALL AGE DETERMINATION DATE

As President/CEO, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Babe Ruth League, Inc. International Board of Directors, Commissioners, League Presidents and the league officers, managers, coaches, volunteers, and sponsors, for the hard work and dedication each of you put forth in making the 2005 season a huge success for the total program.

Over the past several years Babe Ruth League, Inc., in conjunction with USA Baseball and its affiliated members, has been researching and studying the age determination date for youth baseball. A major issue facing our sport today is the loss of youth athletic participation and the seeming decline in player participation after the 10-year-old and 12-year-old age brackets. Changing the age determination date to April 30th will benefit our sport by keeping more players in programs longer; players being better prepared for the transition to conventional-sized fields; and there being no diminished eligibility for players. According to research, 95 percent of all the leagues in the United States have begin regular season play by April 30th. Moving the age determination date closer to the beginning of the season means a vast majority of the players will be of an age appropriate to their division at the start of the season. Players born in the three-month period (May, June and July) are impacted by the age determination as they will be gaining an additional season of eligibility in their current division.

We have been receiving many inquiries about the new age determination date of April 30th which takes affect beginning with the 2006 baseball season. The best way to explain this is that whatever a player’s age is on or before April 30, 2006 is the player’s league age for the 2006 season.

Due to the change in the age determination date, Babe Ruth League, Inc. will be adopting a new local league option, the 12-Year-Old Swing Player Option for those 12-year-old players who are more skilled and experienced (similar to the 15-Year-Old Swing Player Option currently offered by our program). Beginning with the 2006 season, the Cal Ripken League President may elect to permit a 12-year-old player to play in a 13-15 league. In fact, such a player will be able to play in both the Cal Ripken and 13-15 leagues at the same time. For the tournament season, the Cal Ripken League President will decide on which tournament team this 12-year-old player participates. The player must meet all eligibility requirements for the respective division in which he participates. A player can only participate on one tournament team in any given year.

With your assistance, Babe Ruth League, Inc. looks forward to continuing to improve our total program. In the near future our commissioners and leagues will be receiving surveys from Babe Ruth League, Inc. It is important that you complete the surveys and return them to Babe Ruth League, Inc. The importance of surveys is to measure what matters and obtain the popular vote of our membership. It lets us know which services offered to our leagues are appreciated and need no further enhancement and which services require a focus for improvement. Babe Ruth League, Inc. is proud of its many policies that are in effect for the betterment of the program. Goals are the plans for our future, and we take pride in setting goals as a group.

As always, we appreciate the suggestions and recommendations submitted from our membership. Our goal has always been, and will continue to be, to keep as many players as possible in the great games of baseball and softball and to make it a fun and memorable experience for all eligible players.