Finally the 2020 season can start!

Please stay safe in these difficult times!

Slo-pitch tournaments are allowed but are restricted to 8 teams per division with no cross-over or intermingling of divisions.
RSPA tournaments will be virtual in every possible aspect (other than the playing of the games).
The first RSPA tournament is scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, August 22-23 with Coed D, E & F and Mens D, E and Mens 50+.

LATEST NEWS - July 28: Ontario will announce that the GTA can go to Phase 3, which means that leagues and tournaments in Toronto/Mississauga can start as early as Monday, August 10.
RSPA coed (7M-3F) league will start Monday, August 10 and RSPA tournament will offer Coed E, D and F, and Mens D and E and Mens Masters 50+ on Saturday-Sunday, August 22-23.
LATEST NEWS - July 18: SPN cancels Provincial Championships.
Both SPN and SPOA have announced that the 2020 Provincial Championships have been cancelled.
SPN announces 2020 Provincials cancelled
During Phase 3, all outdoor gatherings and events are limited to 100 people.
No team or player from a Stage 2 Public Health Region may travel to play in a Stage 3 Region. Leagues may compete as long as the league contains no more than 50 players and does not permit its teams to play against teams outside of the league OR if the league is larger than 50 players the league must divide its teams into groups of 50 or fewer players and does not permit teams in different groups to play against one another or against teams outside of the league.
Tournaments are subject to the same travelling restrictions and maximum gathering numbers as outlined previously in this document.
As soon as it is announced that the GTA region has been changed to phase 3, RSPA will offer both coed rec league with a maximum of 4 teams per division, and will offer mens and coed tournament with divisions of 8 teams.
RSPA tournaments will be almost virtual with limited or no contact.
RSPA COVID TOURNAMENT GUIDELINES:
1. All contact will be email or cell phone.
2. Teams confirmed must have:
- Two contacts with email and cell phone number.
- Team roster must be submitted and registered with SPN.
- All players must be registered with SPN.
- Team rep must confirm that all players are symptom free, and have not travelled in 14 days.
- Roster must contain player contact info in case Covid symptoms have been reported.
- Payment or deposit must be made before schedule is issued.
- Full payment must be made before start of second game.
- All payments must be electronic – no cash or cheques.
- Initial schedule and rules will be issued by email.
- Schedule changes and updates will be issued by text to cell phone.
3. There will be no check in required at headquarters.
- Teams must supply own scorepads or pick up at headquarters.
- Balls and bases will be supplied by the tournament.
4. Scores will be submitted by teams by text.
5. Sunday schedules will be issued by email and text.
6. Awards may be picked up at headquarters (one team rep to pick-up, one team at a time).
7. Face masks will be highly recommended with the following positions MUST wear a mask – batter, catcher and umpire.
8. Tournament play will be by recommended guidelines – see more to follow.


LATEST NEWS - July 13: The province of Ontario (BUT NOT GTA) will go to phase 3 as of July 17.
The GTA (Toronto/Mississauga) is being held back to a future date TBA. Stage 3 will allow outdoor gathering limits increased to a maximum of 100 people, BUT will be subject to physical distancing of at least two metres with people from outside their households or social circles. How can you play ball and still adhere to social distancing?
Plus this little blurb I found buried in the information:
Leagues must contain no more than 50 participants total. If participants in a league exceed 50, the league may divide into smaller groups of no more than 50. Players are not yet permitted to play against players outside of their league or group.
So if phase 3 for GTA is pushed back 2 weeks, that would be July 24 the most optimistic start. Season not looking good for GTA.
RSPA tournament July 18-19 is cancelled. First tournament will be 7 days after province allows.
SPN has sent out a survey to teams that entered the 2019 Provincial Championships to see if they can salvage the Provincials. This is a copy of the SPN facebook post:
Our slo-pitch season is quickly evaporating as the summer calendar moves forward, and knowing that our annual Provincial Championships is a mere 8 weeks away, we are reaching a critical decision making milestone. I’m sure that everyone appreciates that an event the size of the Provincial Championships requires months of planning and preparation, and while we’ve had lots of extra time on our hands this season, not knowing the Provincial Government guidelines for Phase 3 is posing some serious challenges as an organizer for an event this size. First and foremost is the consideration for our members, and their safety. If the Provincial and Municipal Governments do not feel it is safe to host events or return to play at this time we must respect these directives. We will not try to find solutions to gathering numbers by manipulating labels or altering an event into “event’s” to meet guideline numbers. We have created a survey that will be emailed to each team contact from 2019 participating teams to complete, and this information can provide us with very valuable information to shape the September events moving forward. The traditional Provincial Championships as we all know them, will not likely be in the cards for the 2020 season due to the necessary restrictions that we will have to follow, however, we are working on options based on the feedback that we receive from the survey along with the Government Phase 3 guidelines and the City of Brampton and Niagara Falls. Further details regarding the September events will be made available in the next few weeks. We recognize that some members are very eager to get out and compete, while other members have chosen to forgo participating this season. We respect everyone’s personal decisions! Thank you to all of the front line workers who have been working to get us all through this pandemic. Thank you to our members who have hung in there with us through this colossal challenge. We miss you, and look forward to resuming play when it is safe to do so! Trish Harrow Rodic.

LATEST NEWS - July 7: A lot of teams are out practicing and are itching to play ball, but still only allowed up to 10 players (and that includes both teams). Ontario (and the GTA) has to get to phase 3 allowing team sports before league or tournaments can happen. The cities (Toronto and Mississauga) cannot change their status until the provincial govenment allows it. Toronto and Mississauga were both looking at starting July 20, but now I have heard that may be pushed back to July 27. Any league that says they are starting before then or before Stage 3, is incorrect and will not be allowed to play.
LEAGUE: All I can say is that if any GTA league is running, then RSPA will run - at least some sort of league schedule, even if it is only pick-up ball. RSPA with 180 teams will have the best shot at some sort of league schedule.
TOURNAMENT: Mississauga has banned all tournaments until at least September but Etobicoke has not cancelled yet.
RSPA 2020 tournaments will be more "virtual" than ever before: no physical check-in, electronic payment, schedule issued by email and text, report scores by text, etc. RSPA tournament headquarters are in Etobicoke on the Etobicoke-Mississauga border (Irish Shebeen) so we usually use both Mississauga and Etobicoke parks but we will be using only Etobicoke parks - mostly Centennial Park. And that is only if: - Etobicoke allows tournaments to run. - Ontario and GTA allow gatherings of over 30-50 people.
If the July 18-19 tournament is not allowed to run, we will reschedule to the first allowable date.
LATEST NEWS - June 22:
Province of Ontario has extended the state of emergency until July 15, and will not allow gatherings of more than 10 people. Certain select ball diamonds will be open but still not allowing more than 10 people. Can we play 5 on 5? The RSPA/SPN umpire clinic has been rescheduled again date TBA. Slo-pitch season is in jeopardy but still hoping that we can get some games in.
LATEST NEWS - June 18:
I had set a schedule of June 15 for starting on getting back to ball. However, Ontario emergency measures for GTA including Mississauga are still at Phase 1 (phase 2 for non-GTA Ontario), and we need to be at Phase 3 for slo-pitch leagues. (Mind you my initial schedule was to push the league start back by 2-3 weeks.) As posted previously, Mississauga has cancelled all slo-pitch tournament permits until at least September, and have not yet made a decision on league cancellations (or have not responded). The city of Toronto has not yet made a decision on either league or tournament permits but my contact at city parks feels that it is unlikely that July slo-pitch would be a go as the province has to progress to phase 3 before the city can consider opening up to league ball.
And what sort of restrictions would be required to participate in on-field activities? Do we all have to wear masks? A whole new slant on "protective equipment". So many questions, so little info. Will we draw circles on the dance floor at the banquet like Trinity Bellwoods Park? And don't ask me about which stuff I am joking as I am not putting LOL behind everything I post.
I am still hoping that there will be some sort of ball this season but I cannot even begin to plan or even ask team reps about the status of their team and players. I know that when the restrictions open up, most teams and players will be ready to go.
We will look at accomodating whole returning teams, new teams, partial teams needing players, merging teams and even individual players looking for a temporary home. This is despite the fact that most GTA leagues have already cancelled their season.
CSPL has set a deadline of June 24 and I know that nothing will be resolved by then.
I have sent out a new email to team reps to update them. And I have redone my email list so forgive me if you are getting emails and you are no longer a team rep. PLEASE DO NOT UNSUBSCRIBE. Just send me an email and let me know.
And my favourite line - Please let me know if you do not receive this email.

LATEST NEWS - June 8: Ontario emergency measures extended to June 19, which means no gatherings of more than 5 people, which kind of puts a damper on both league and tournament slo-pitch. Ontario still records more than 200 new cases and more than 20 deaths every day. Toronto alone has recorded over 900 deaths and Mississauga/Peel almost 300 deaths related to the corona virus. While most cities have opened parks, all team sports are still banned. COVID-19 self-assessment: Take the Covid-19 self-assessment if you’re worried you were exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms.
LATEST NEWS - June 1: SPN has updated their 2020 Release of Liability Waiver form (which is a mandatory requirement for all participants) to cover the Covid-19 situation. Official Slo-Pitch National page on updated waiver form.
LATEST NEWS - May 30: The City of Mississauga has just announced that there will be no permits for slo-pitch tournaments (or any other permitted event with more than 50 people) until at least September 7. No word yet regarding league play but Mississauga permits are cancelled until July 3, with absolutely no gatherings including practices, league meetings, etc. The City of Toronto permits are cancelled until July 1 with no word different on tournament permits, but it is probable that they will follow suit.
The City of Toronto has cancelled all league permits up to and including June 28 and the City of Mississauga up to July 3.
SPN has cancelled/postponed all 2020 SPN National Championships.
For official Slo-Pitch National page on SPN National Championship postponement.
SPN Provincial Championships TBA depending on municipal and provincial guidelines.
SPN has posted recommendations for League and Event Management Return to Play along with Game Related Suggestions.
For full announcement and detailed suggestions:
Slo-Pitch National Covid-19 Recommendations For League and Event Management Return to Play
Note that this information is a national response and some provinces are more open than Ontario.
NSA has posted something similar with some silly rules: NSA Canada releases guidelines for the return of slo-pitch leagues
Slo-Pitch National has introduced the Double Play Deal for all 2020 carded umpires. The “Double Play Deal” will offer all 2020 carded officials, membership for both the 2020 and 2021 slo-pitch seasons. Double Play Deal for all SPN 2020 carded umpires
Toronto hac cancelled the Exhibition confirming that the Covid reach extends into the fall.
Toronto has opened SOME parks - but NOT sports fields. Closest thing to open is the golf courses.
I will send out an email but probably not until mid-June to determine how many teams are returning, and how many are willing to play some sort of season this year, and that is only if they allow us to play.

What will league slo-pitch look like for 2020?
There will be all kinds of rules like safe-distancing, no celebrations. Exactly the opposite of what slo-pitch is all about - bringing people closer together. Anybody with a runny nose will be shunned. If you get down and dirty expect to be sprayed with Lysol.
And the financial aspect of the game will be a nightmare. How many players will still be able to commit to another financial obligation.
So many company teams where players have lost their jobs or people who are just getting back on their feet.
Because we have to remember that this is not about players, it is about people.

As I said before, we will send out an email in mid-June and tell team reps that it's time to start contacting players and finding out who and how many are returning. Toughest part is that if the team rep is unable to commit then the team will have a difficult time getting reorganized. We will probably resort to ad hoc teams merging and borrowing players from other teams.
If parks open the first week of July then it is probably going to take two weeks to get teams organized and some sort of schedule out. Usually regular season ends and playoffs start middle of August (because all the teams make the playoffs) which would only leave 4 weeks for a regular season and 4 weeks for playoffs. Mississauga parks all close down the middle of September. We can apply for an extension but we were denied last time we asked for an extension. One obvious step is to reduce the number of teams that qualify for the playoffs, only advancing half the teams (like most other leagues).

FIRST PRIORITY: Our first priority is the safety of all the league members. Our next priority is the continued success of the league.
LEAGUE FEES: NO IDEA. We will try to reduce league fees as much as possible and offer delayed payments in order to ease the financial burden on the team reps and the players. I know that many teams will lose players due to financial constraints. And I know that many company sponsored teams will lose their sponsorship and I would like to work with them to see their continued registration.
FIRST RSPA LEAGUE MEETING FOR TEAM REPS:
We will try to conduct as much of the league meeting virtually and on-line - confirmation, payments, info submission, etc. Anything that needs actual physical contact (balls, rulebooks, etc.) can be delayed until the start of the season.
TOURNAMENTS: Mississauga cancelled all tournament permits until September 7. Toronto has not cancelled tournament permits yet.
RSPA OPEN PRACTICES FOR NEW PLAYERS: Probably start open practices July 5 (optimistically). But I am betting that a lot of teams will be looking for new players. RSPA will look at a lot of options, from merging teams that have lost too many players, or temporarily placing players until their original team is back up and running.
RSPA/SPN UMPIRE CLINIC THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020: All SPN umpire clinics have been cancelled and the RSPA/SPN umpire clinic is rescheduled to tentatively THURSDAY, JULY 2 at Diamond Beach (if it is open).
RSPA needs SPN carded umpires for recreational coed slo-pitch league. We will train and card. You will be eligible to umpire any SPN league or tournament. RSPA pays: $45 single game; $70/$80 double-header; $100 3-gamer 6:30-11:00 pm.
Get out get some exercise, have some fun and earn some extra cash.

I hope that everyone is keeping SAFE for yourself and the people around you.
Randy Warren, President, RSPA.

RSPA Coed (7M-3F) Slo-Pitch League looking for new teams 2020!

2020 Slo-Pitch National Official Slo-Pitch Rule Book in PDF now available at: 2020 Slo-Pitch National Official Slo-Pitch Rule Book

Rulebook Changes:
Rule 2 Sec. 6: All players may wear a glove or mitt of any size, including a “trapper” style glove.
Rule 2 Sec. 9A, STG&OR Sec. 8 A: All those participating in a game shall wear the adopted TEAM UNIFORM, and must wear shoes, and shall wear properly. Manager/Coach or team representative when on the field, shall wear the adopted full uniform, shoes and if appropriate, jacket, which should include the teams emblem or similar attire that matches the colour code of the team, which can will readily identify them as a member of the team.
Effect: Sec. 9 A: Manager/Coach or team representative shall be asked to dress properly. If they refuse they will be removed until they are dressed in accordance with the team uniform. Protest is not allowed for the uniform rule.
STG&OR Sec. 1 F: Any Manager/Coach or team representative or player who is ejected from a game by an umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct shall automatically be suspended for his or her next schedule game. If the ejected person is registered to participate on more than one team, they may not participate for any other team until they have served their automatic suspension. His/ her actions will be reviewed by the tournament committee for further possible penalties or sanctions. Ejections which are not considered unsportsmanlike conduct, the automatic suspension for his or her next scheduled game will not apply.
SPN Policy Changes:
STG&OR Sec. 2 A Example: A player MAY compete, on one Masters division 35+ team, one Seniors division 50+ team, one COED team and one single sex (Men’s or Woman’s) team in the same sanctioned event, if registered as per (i) above. Example: A player may not compete in single sex (Men’s/ Woman’s) “A” and “C” nor may a player compete in Coed “B” and in Coed “E”. A Senior player may compete on one team in 50+, 60+ and 65+ in the same sanctioned event.
STG&OR Sec. 2 D: PLAYERS MAY BE REQUESTED TO PROVIDE PROOF OF IDENTITY. SUFFICIENT PROOF OF IDENTITY MAY BE TWO PIECES OF IDENTIFICATION (ONE OF WHICH MUST HAVE A PHOTOGRAPH ATTACHED) BOTH BEARING PLAYER SIGNATURE FOR COMPARISON PURPOSES. THESE TWO PIECES OF INDENTIFICATION SHOULD BE RECENT WITH THE PLAYER’S CURRENT NAME AS USED ON LEGAL DOCUMENTATION. NOTE: THE TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE MAY, AT ITS DISCRETION, ACCEPT VISUAL VERIFICATION OF IDENTITY FROM SLO-PITCH NATIONAL. RECOGNIZED PERSONNEL AS PROOF OF IDENTITY IN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES ONLY AND WHERE THE PLAYER IS UNABLE TO PRODUCE TWO PIECES OF IDENTIFICATION AS DEFINED ABOVE WITH REASON ACCPETABLE TO TOURNAMENT COMMITTEEE.
STG&OR Sec. 10: Manager/Coach or team representative are responsible for ensuring the final scores once posted are correct. Manager/Coach or team representative of both teams must verify that the score on the home team’s official scoresheet is properly submitted. Any discrepancies in scores must be brought to the attention of the tournament convener immediately.
Official SPN web site: 2020 Slo-Pitch National Rulebook and Policy Changes

SPN/RSPA Slo-Pitch Umpire Clinic Rescheduled Again Date TBA

RSPA needs SPN carded umpires for recreational coed slo-pitch league. We will train and card. You will be eligible to umpire any SPN league or tournament. RSPA pays: $45 single game; $70/$80 double-header; $100 3-gamer 6:30-11:00 pm.
You will become a fully sanctioned SPN umpire, eligible to umpire any SPN league or tournament in Canada.
Clinic cost is $110 and includes: SPN umpire card, rulebook, hat, instruction clinic and umpire test. GOOD FOR TWO YEARS.
If you have already written the SPN test you may attend the RSPA umpire clinic for free.
If you attend the RSPA umpire clinic, we will guarantee umpire bookings of at least your clinic cost
    (we cannot guarantee parks or nights).
RSPA is an adult recreational, coed league, with parks in Mississauga-Etobicoke, Monday to Friday, weekend tournaments available.
Contact Randy Warren, accent@slopitch1.com
Get out get some exercise, have some fun and earn some extra cash.

• Team Rep Appreciation Gift & Appreciation Draw • Team Draws • Free Pitcher •