All,

After a couple of phone calls with a couple of presidents, it dawned on me that we have a few Board of Directors between the two districts where they have NOT sent anyone to Districts before. I am very excited about this as it means we have more leagues stepping up and operating as they should in the Little League universe! This is very good and I am VERY proud of the work that you all are doing! It is the right thing to do to send teams to Districts.

Let me take a second here to outline what and why of the books…

More than one president was unaware of the documentation necessary to send a team to Districts, and why there is documentation to do this. Most folks think a tournament is just sending in money and a team to play… not the case with Little League. Little League has some pretty strict rules on prepping a team for tournament play in what is called the “International Tournament”. There is a lot of work by the tournament host, the leagues, and the players and coaches that to play the District, and International Tournament.

The “District” level of tournament is the first level of the “International Tournament”. It’s where the road to Williamsport starts. All Divisions of play above Farm Division (6-8 year olds) have a tournament cycle. Minors, or sometimes call AAA, 10-11, Majors, Intermediate, Juniors, and Seniors all have tournaments that are part of the “International Tournament” cycle. Majors and above go beyond State to Regional and World Series tournaments. Ages below majors stop at “State”.

The most infamous tournament is the Majors tournament which is aired each year on ESPN, but both Softball and Baseball Majors Division and above actually play to a World Series… and the World Series in Little League is the ONLY TRUE World Series in Baseball. It is the most competitive tournament in all of baseball as it spans the world and thousands of teams.

When you enter a team into the District tournament, you are attempting to play as far into the tournament cycle as you can. The younger divisions stop at “State”… however the Majors and above go beyond State. Many other baseball programs begin to fail when they try to approach the level of competition and skill as is demonstrated in this cycle. The Little League teams soon surface to be some of the best baseball teams in all of youth sports. It’s not easy to be part of this cycle, yet each year more than 7700 leagues begin the “Road to Williamsport” at Districts. By using this tournament cycle as part of your hometown league heritage you can build excitement, drive, and grit into your players, coaches, volunteers, and parents… by ignoring this cycle, you have a tougher time attracting parents and volunteers… It’s a big deal to compete well in this cycle and many players yearn to be selected to an “All-Star” team once the reputation of the league attending this tournament develops positively.

So to keep integrity in this cycle, there is documentation required of each league, manager, coach, and player. This documentation is put into 3-Ring Binders each tournament season and the “Book” travels with the team. Each team participating in the tournament is required to have this documentation book It contains all the necessary documentation for the team, league, and players to verify their eligibility in the division they are competing in. This book is delivered to the tournament director, and District staff ahead of the tournament level you wish to participate in.

It’s best to deliver the book early to tournament officials so in case something is incorrect, the League’s player agent will have time to get the correct information prior to their scheduled start time. If the documentation is missing or incorrect, the player, coach, manager or league may be disqualified from tournament play and all the preparation and anticipation by the players is wasted… so getting the documentation correct is important.

So what is a “Tournament Book”?

It is the collection of information required to determine the eligibility of each player and team entered into the International Tournament.

This book will follow the teams as they go through the tournament cycle.

What does it contain?

The Book should contain several components:

A Map showing the league boundary, and a marker identifying the address within the boundary for each player. This is automatically produced if your league is using Sports Connect (it’s free!) to manage players, coaches, and schedules. It has an automatic interface to Little League.
Affidavits for each player, including any medical release forms
Team affidavits or documentation as required by Little League (see links below)
Address verification for each player (see links below for details on how to fill out these verifications, what qualifies as verification and so forth)
Waivers for the team, players, managers or coaches as applicable (as an example, school waivers can be used as address verification – again – see the links below). There are several waivers that can be applied for. As another example, “Out of Boundary” Waivers for players that participate in a league where the player does not live in any incorporated Little League boundary, but does play in a league that does have a boundary nearby. There are many waivers that can be applied for.
Any other documentation (such as pitch counts that are transferred to the next level of tournament play – as an example if your team wins District they are then required to play at State. The pitch counts for District are carried to State so the appropriate time of rest etc is required before the pitcher can pitch in the State tournament). Any disqualifications for coaches, managers, or players are also transferred with the book to State or higher levels of the tournament.
Birth Certificates (originals, not copies) must be in the book. Don’t worry, the books are kept safe, and the Birth Certificates returned to the teams once the team has been eliminated from the tournament. But copies do not suffice. There is other documentation for proof of player age that is acceptable. Please see the links below. The birth certificate is usually the best form however, and some of the other documents are less easy to obtain. They tournament is required to have the appropriate aged individuals playing in each bracket. As an example you don’t want a 14 year old playing with 10 year olds… not fair at all. So to prove it, you need the appropriate authentic documentation. This is especially important as the teams advance past districts as managers and leagues are pouring over any perceived rule infraction they can find… More than once an opposing manager has requested the Tournament Director to review proof of age when a 12 year old with a moustache took the mound in a managers State game.

What is the best way to organize my book?

The documentation is best organized in a 3 ring binder with plastic insert sleeves. One sleeve for all the league documentation (maps, roster, etc), and one sleeve for each player that contains all their documentation. So if you have 12 players, you would have 13 or 14 sleeves in your binder. Make sure your book is appropriately labelled on the spine and cover. It should say something like “Piney Creek Little League Majors All-Stars 2022” as an example.

When should I turn in my book?

You should get your book to your ADA or DA as soon as possible before the tournament. This year, we are accepting books starting TODAY (6-20-22). The tournament(s) start in one week from today. The last day you can turn in your book is Sunday June 26^th at noon. If you turn your book in at noon on the 26^th, only gives you a matter of hours to do any corrections before the first games start.

What happens to all the documentation and my book?

The tournament officials review each piece of documentation in the book when you turn it in to them. They verify each piece. The tournament director then keeps the book in a safe place at or near the playing fields in case there is any protest about any player and their eligibility. IF a team is eliminated, the book is returned to the manager for delivery back to the team, parents, or league official. If the team prevails and wins the tournament, additional documentation is added by the Tournament Director, ADA, or DA, and the book is given to the manager of the winning team for the tournament. The book then travels up to the next level of play (state tournament, regional, or World Series), and the book is turned over to the tournament director there. The process is repeated until the team is eliminated or they have become champion at the highest level of play their division has (state for some, world series for others).

For preparing the book, here are some details and links:

https://www.littleleague.org/tournament-resources/tournament-affidavit-faq/

https://www.littleleague.org/university/articles/steps-for-completing-the-little-league-international-tournament-affidavit/ (video)

https://www.littleleague.org/tournament-resources/

https://llwadistrict9.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019_Affidavit_Process_D9.pdf (VERY HELPFUL!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlsYfYMlbk4 (Another Video)

https://www.littleleague.org/forms-publications/#new-and-updated (lots of different forms)

https://www.littleleague.org/help-center/international-tournament-faqs/

https://www.txdistrict13littleleague.com/Default.aspx?tabid=2738481 How one league does it

Please have your presidents and league player agents review this information – it contains all that is needed to accurately prepare the “book”…

How can I turn in my book now?

In District 5 and 13 there are ways to get your book turned in early. The DAs and ADAs (District Administrator and Assistant District Administrator) can take books starting today. Their contact numbers and emails are below to get in touch with them to turn your book in. The Tournament Directors will be able to accept books starting on Friday, June 24^th at noon, but that’s starting to cut it close.

To turn your books in any time this week:

DA – JP – 509-288-0141, jarel@jpiworldwide.com , or drop them off at 2310 N. Swing Lane, Liberty Lake Wa. 99019 (between the hours of 8:30 and 4:30 Mon-Fri).

ADA Dist 13 – Stacy Ashcroft , stacyashcroft09@gmail.com , 509-294-5341 (Cheney)

ADA Dist 5 – Brennan Moore, br3nnan.moore@gmail.com , 509-499-7827 (Dayton)

You can also call the DA or ADAs ANY TIME for questions, help, etc.

You can also turn the materials in on Friday the 24^th to the Tournament Directors

Liberty Lake – Steve Raab, Steve Raab president@riverviewlittleleague.com

Asotin County – Rachel Rinard or Craig Stein Rachel Rinard rachel@sylvanfurniture.net, Craig Stein 'Craig Stein' cjstein66@yahoo.com

Again, reaching out early is the key to a smooth tournament experience!

This is probably the best cycle of tournament in all of youth sports. Teams spend all season preparing to enter this cycle. It showcases how well leagues operate and how they train their coaches, managers, and players to be competitive, sportsmanlike, and good baseball players. In both districts we are striving to improve the District level of playing experience each year. This year is a big year for both districts and lets all work together to make it a great experience for the players and families!

Regards,

JP DA W5/13