Announcement

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SPRING SEASON - UPDATE AS OF MARCH 16, 2020

Posted by Fernando Martinez on Mar 16 2020 at 04:57PM PDT

Good Evening All,

As many have already seen, Little League International has released an update that follows the most recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With that, we will be delaying the Spring season until early May, with more updates to come as we get closer.

I know at this point there are many questions coming up about season length, number of games, allstars, etc. I assure you that we are working through all those same questions internally and will post updates as soon as possible. Today I requested our website company to clear all the currently loaded schedules, and will be uploading a new revised schedule as we set the dates. Of course there will have to be some modifications with a shortened season, but I believe we can get everyone a fair amount of games considering the circumstances. We will take advantage of every possible game slot and get teams as many games as possible, likely playing regular season into early June.

I encourage everyone to keep working with their kids at home in anticipation of getting to start back up, and wish everybody good health in these tough times. It’s like they have said, “we’ll never know if we overreacted, but we will know if we didn’t do enough.”

Below is the most up-to-date message from Little League International

Best,
Fernando

Fernando A. Martinez, Ph.D.
GHLL Executive Board, President

UPDATE AS OF MARCH 16, 2020:

This is much bigger than Little League®.

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is rapidly changing the way that we, as global citizens, think, act, gather, learn, and live our daily lives. And, yes, that also means how we play Little League.

With the most recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Little League International Board of Directors and staff is now strongly advising all its local Little League programs to suspend/delay their Little League seasons through no earlier than Monday, May 11. We implore you to follow this recommendation and suspend all Little League activities through no earlier than May 11.

We recognize that this is the heart of the traditional Little League season, and we share in the great disappointment that many are feeling surrounding this additional pause in the 2020 season. However, it is our hope that by doing this, we will all play a small, but important part in flattening the curve in the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

We will continue to consult with appropriate medical advisors, government health officials and our volunteer leaders around the world, and we are committed to doing the best we can for the safety and well-being of our players, families, volunteers, and fans.

As this situation evolves, Little League International is committed to sharing the best guidance possible for all of our 6,500 leagues in more than 84 countries. It is our sincere hope that we can find ways to bring everyone back to the Little League fields this season, whether that’s later this spring or throughout the summer.

Currently, Little League International is working through all possible scenarios for the 2020 Little League International Tournament and tournament eligibility for our leagues and players in our various divisions of play.

Little League will continue to provide additional guidance on the impact of delaying the season and has developed a series of FAQs available at LittleLeague.org/Coronavirus. We are committed to sharing information as it becomes available on issues like player eligibility and tournament participation, charter and insurance status for the year, and A Safety Awareness Program plan deadlines.

We also will be sharing guidance on how to resume operations when appropriate, best practices for handling the financial implications, and how you can communicate with parents and families in your communities about this delay in Little League activity. This information will continue to be developed and shared on LittleLeague.org/Coronavirus and through all of our communications methods.

There are countless resources available, and we urge you to follow the information available through World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), your state’s public health department (click here for a listing of state public health departments), and other county and/or local authorities including precedents set by area school districts and government agencies.

We encourage you to stay in touch with Little League and share any additional feedback or questions from your local communities by emailing SeasonUpdate@LittleLeague.org.

Thank you all for your support, understanding, and community leadership.

We will be thinking of our global Little League community during this difficult time.

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