No Softball in Illinois this Summer?

[TXJames44]

any new updates in Illinois?

 

[Cougars]

any new updates in Illinois?

Looks like entire state will reach the governors "Phase 3" next Friday. That allows for groups of 10, so teams could practice with some kind of "split squad" setup. Unless something changes with the Phases, would still be about June 26th before games could be played (groups of 50).

 

[CoachJD]

Looks like entire state will reach the governors "Phase 3" next Friday. That allows for groups of 10, so teams could practice with some kind of "split squad" setup. Unless something changes with the Phases, would still be about June 26th before games could be played (groups of 50).

Yeah, things are promising.

I am slightly worried (from a softball-playing standpoint) that Chicago is going to take a little longer, or that they won't allow the park district fields to be used, but it certainly appears that if things keep trending in the right direction, there will be some kind of season.

 

[juliefox_24]

So still a chance for Demarini in Chicago starting 7/8?

 

[Cougars]

Yeah, things are promising.

I am slightly worried (from a softball-playing standpoint) that Chicago is going to take a little longer, or that they won't allow the park district fields to be used, but it certainly appears that if things keep trending in the right direction, there will be some kind of season.

I think the park district thing could end up being the biggest hurdle. We might end up with teams finding ways to practice, but not having fields to actually play on. Whether that is because the districts don't want the liability, or just not having the staff to organize/maintain the fields.

The park district where I live just furloughed 40% of their full time and 95% of the seasonal workers (total of over 500 people). Also, postponed all of this years capital projects.

Our org has 1 school district field and 3 park district fields that we use. The school has said we can use it as soon as Phase 3 is official. However, none of the park districts (3 different ones) have returned our calls/emails yet. Might work out fine in the end, but very uncertain right now. Short term, the org is working on a practice schedule for June 1-15 that has all 12 of our teams sharing time at the 1 field.

 

[mudrunner]

DD’s team started doing split squad outdoor practices last week. Unfortunately Last fall we all decided to stay closer to home for tournaments this year. We have had our first three Illinois tournaments cancelled. As of right now our first Illinois tournament is tentatively the end of June in Springfield. We are on a few waiting lists for some Missouri tournaments but those are not looking too promising.

 

[CoachJD]

DD’s team started doing split squad outdoor practices last week. Unfortunately Last fall we all decided to stay closer to home for tournaments this year. We have had our first three Illinois tournaments cancelled. As of right now our first Illinois tournament is tentatively the end of June in Springfield. We are on a few waiting lists for some Missouri tournaments but those are not looking too promising.

Not getting on your DD's team or if it's safe or not, but since we're discussing the different phases and possibility for opening up, I think it's important to note that those split squad outdoor practices they've already been holding are in violation of the stay-at-home order. Again, not judging or scolding or anything, but holding those practices doesn't actually indicate we are more likely to get to play games or hold tournaments.

 

[The Man In Blue]

From Springfield media (soccer focused):

Local youth sports plan restricted practices in Phase 3

The state is just over a week away from most likely transitioning to Phase 3 of Gov. JB Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan. This would allow groups of 10 or less to gather in one area. However, the governor's guidelines left a lot people wondering about summer sports: since fields are so large, is...

newschannel20.com

The state is just over a week away from most likely transitioning to Phase 3 of Gov. JB Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan.

This would allow groups of 10 or less to gather in one area.

However, the governor's guidelines left a lot people wondering about summer sports: since fields are so large, is it 10 people per field or 10 for each half of the field?

"We are certainly working with IDPH that summer sports, to the extent that we can do it with 10 or fewer people, we want to make that happen," Pritzker said.

Sangamon County Department of Public Health Director Gail O'Neil said as long as everyone is following social distancing guidelines and actual inter-squad games are not going on, fields can be split in half and shared.

O'Neill confirmed there should be enough room to hold two groups of 10 on a soccer field if everyone is spaced out.

It will be up to individual sports leagues to determine exactly how they want to proceed, but they must follow safety guidelines, O'Neill said.

...

O'Niell said full competition for summer sports leagues is not expected until Phase 5 of Restore Illinois.

What is interesting is that SASA uses the same complex as LOLJOS in Springfield. I had been told the hold up would mainly be from the University not allowing people to use it (the fields are leased from the University of Illinois).

Last update I had for Springfield was no May tournaments. I’ve not heard much since I notified them I would not be available to UIC should they resume. Last notice I had was the May cancellations. I’ve not heard of anybody trying to schedule umpires for June at all.

We do also have a smaller, privately owned facility (Spartan Park). There is no way in heck they could follow any guidelines on social distancing, etc. (Not that anybody actually seems to care about things like that.)

 

[The Man In Blue]

Bloomington appears to have canceled all events through June. (I really love working there!) https://www.bngsa.org/traveltournaments

Interesting — looks like they were going to do NO admission charges at the gate this year!

 

[The Man In Blue]

DD’s team started doing split squad outdoor practices last week. Unfortunately Last fall we all decided to stay closer to home for tournaments this year. We have had our first three Illinois tournaments cancelled. As of right now our first Illinois tournament is tentatively the end of June in Springfield. We are on a few waiting lists for some Missouri tournaments but those are not looking too promising.

What is the problem in Missouri? I know they started a few weeks ago but are having a hard time finding places that will let their fields be used.