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Changes from Spring to Summer, 2019

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Thanks for playing, everyone! In our efforts to constantly improve our league, we have made a few small changes to the game rules for Summer League. These changes have been made based on feedback from players and umpires and they are designed to make the game more enjoyable for everyone.

  • Batters will start with a 1-1 count. This will speed up the game, allowing games to play more innings and get players in the field back to their water bottles faster.
  • Batters will receive a Courtesy Foul on the 2nd Strike. If you hit a foul with 2 strikes, you’ll receive one “free” foul ball. After that, the next foul ball is an OUT.
  • Less restrictive defensive requirements in the event of a missing Female player. If a team is forced to take an OUT every inning because they do not have 3 or more Females, that team may still play a Female at Catcher on defense. Previously, both Females were required to play in the field, with a Male playing Catcher.

That is it! Relatively minor changes, right? As we grow, we hope we’re getting closer to a more permanent rule structure. If / when we make another change, we will continue to explain our rationale for the changes and promise to always consider they player’s interests when we structure our game.

Because we reduced the number of regular season games from 10 to 9, we’re also guaranteeing that everyone will also play a Playoff Game!

  • Two tournaments: Championship (Top 8) and Consolation (Bottom 8)
    • Week 1: First Round games for both Tournaments, 4/each, 8/total
    • Week 2: Final Four and Championship Games for both Tournaments, 3/each, 6/total

As always, Teams will earn $50 bonuses for their charities for every Playoff win! This year, all of the Consolation Games will be worth the same amount as the Championship Games! That means we will have TWELVE games that will have $50 on the line for charity, plus TWO MORE Championship Games with $200 up for donation. There will be a total of $1,500 on the line for the Summer Playoffs, overall, so it should be a pretty fun finish to the season!

2019 Player Waiver: [ddownload id=”4608″]

Donation Drive #2 – Dog Toys for Hope Animal Rescue

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Donation Drive #2 - Dog Toys for Hope Animal Rescue!

Donate your dog toys to Hope Animal Rescue this weekend!

 

I hope everyone had a great bye week and got to spend some time with their family. Our sock drive was a big success a few weeks ago, so I’m excited about our next donation drive this weekend! It looks like we are going to have some trouble with the rain, but we can at least pretend it’ll happen for now. If we get rained out this week, both of our events will be rescheduled.

DOG TOY DONATION DRIVE: The team that donates the most dog toys to Hope Animal Rescue this week will earn a $25 bonus donation towards their team sponsor’s charity. Any type, size, or style of dog toy will be accepted. If a dog is supposed to chew on it and use it for fun or exercise, it counts as a dog toy. Items must be new or lightly used, with at least ~75% of its usable life still left. Donations will be accepted at the field until the last out of the last game of the day.

VEGGIE DAY: Dig It Farm will be out at the fields this weekend with a free serving of veggies for all players! They should have some extra produce to sell to fans and players if you want more locally grown, fresh picked veggies to take home with you. Their Spring CSA is just getting started and the Summer CSA starts in a couple months at $10/week. Highly recommended!

Hope for good weather!

Weekly Promotions During the Regular Season

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All 8 of Our Non-Profit Sponsor Organizations

During each week of the season, we will try to hold weekly promotions that encourage players from all teams to come together and support one of our causes. This will give players a reason to learn about each organization in the league and understand why the work they do is important. We hope the concept will help bring the players from different teams together under the same common goal of helping the Durham community through softball.

To encourage participation and give players another way to help all of the causes in the league, we will host a contest to reward the team that collects the most of a particular item each week. During each promotion, a Prize Pool will be set and the top 2 donating teams will earn a portion of the pool for their charity.

Specific dates are still TBD, but here are the details of the feature weeks we have planned so far:

  • Central Piedmont Community Action
    • Two Clothing Drives – one for Socks and one for Coats – to support the CPCA’s Clothes Closet project. Any pair of socks and any type of coat made for humans will be accepted, regardless of size. Items must be new or lightly used, with no stains/holes/rips/tears.
  • Hope Animal Rescue
    • Dog Toys – Any new or lightly used Dog Toy will be accepted.
  • Meals on Wheels
    • Nutrition Bars – Any low-sodium, healthy breakfast / nutrition / granola bar will be accepted.
  • STEM in the Park
    • Brain Food – All individual-sized bags of pretzels, chips, trail mix, goldfish, peanuts, etc. will be accepted.d.
  • Girls on the Run of the Triangle
    • Colored Pencils / Markers – Any new, unused box of colored markers, or any new or lightly used box of colored pencils, will be accepted.
  • Housing for New Hope
    • Bath Towels – Any new or lightly used bath towels, including hand towels and bath mats, will be accepted.

Donations will be accepted at the field by the umpire until the last out of the last game of the day.

We appreciate your help! We hope this encourages more direct giving and participation so all of our teams can support a sponsor even if they aren’t on their team. Where possible, weeks will be sponsored by other local businesses who support our mission and want to give back to the Durham community.

Durham Softball Supports the CPCA Clothes Closet

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We are proud to announce a new partnership with Central Piedmont Community Action, Inc‘s new Clothes Closet project!

The CPCA “makes a difference in the lives of economically disadvantaged people that need jobs, nutrition, and housing comfort across six North Carolina counties, including Durham. Their work in Durham is focused around a Community Services Block Grant program that assists low-income families and individuals, including the working poor, move from poverty to self-sufficiency and better lives for their families. Services are intended to help participants achieve employment, adequate income levels, and stable and secure households.”

A new program the CPCA is developing at their 1007 Broad Street location in Durham is a Clothes Closet for low-income individuals and families whose income is below the Federal poverty guidelines. This Clothes Closet will allow qualified participants to come to the agency and receive clothing for their family in times of need.

That’s where Durham Softball comes in!

During the season, we will host two clothing drives – one for SOCKS and one for COATS – to support the CPCA’s Clothes Closet project. To encourage involvement from our players and make a little friendly competition, Teams will compete against each other to donate the most items. The team that donates the most items each week will earn earn a bonus donation towards their team sponsor’s charity.

Any pair of socks and any type of coat made for humans will be accepted, regardless of size. Items must be new or lightly used, with no stains/holes/rips/tears. The two weeks that these events will be hosted and the budget for the team bonuses are still TBD and will be announced in March. Donations will be accepted at the field by the umpire until the last out of the last game of the day.

Clean out your closet and support two charities at the same time! We think this is a great way to use our league for good and help the people of Durham while playing a game.

For more information, contact us!