The following is the newsletter mailed December 29, 2004

2005 Sign-Ups for Baseball, Softball, Tee-Ball and Lacrosse Underway

Lacrosse 

Registration closes February 12th for 2005 lacrosse.  Registration forms are available at the DYA office and on-line at dya.com. 

The office is located at 4285 W. Dublin Granville Road, next to Tommy’s Pizza.  It is an unmanned office, but applications can be picked up, filled out, and dropped off at the office, where they are collected twice daily. The front door is open Monday through Friday between approximately 8:00 am and 2:30 pm  During January the office will be open on Saturdays from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm to drop off applications.

Equipment fitting for all participants in boys leagues for grades 3 through 6 and players in grades 1 and 2 will be at Sells on January 22nd and 29th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm  Persons who signed up at the office or mailed registrations should plan to stop by to pick up equipment on January 31st.  See details of equipment needs on page 3.

Baseball, Softball, Tee-Ball

Registration for the 2005 baseball, softball, and tee-ball season closes February 14th.  Registration forms are available at the DYA office and on-line at dya.com. 

Sign-ups will also be conducted Saturday, January 22nd at Indian Run from 9:30 a.m until noon and on Sunday, January 30th from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm at Sells.

Sign-up sheets are available on-line and at the office during the same hours posted for lacrosse (see details to the left).

With over 2,000 applications expected for baseball, softball and tee-ball please sign-up early to guarantee your spot.  The current schedule calls for the formation of leagues and teams beginning mid-March for baseball, softball, and tee-ball. 

Please note there are no changes in fees for 2005.  Fees for most leagues have not changed since 1994.  However, the late fee for signups after the deadline has been increased to $25 (see below).  If you are one of those 300 who were late last year, sign up now.
 

Fee for Late Applications to be Increased in 2005

The board of directors for Dublin Youth Athletics voted at its December meeting to increase the charge for late registrations from $10 to $25. The purpose of the late fee is to encourage timely sign-ups for DYA programs.

Sign-up periods are announced one year in advance of sign-ups, are communicated in local newspapers, newsletters published twice annually, sent home on school flyers, and posted on the DYA website.  Still in 2004, more than 800 applications are submitted after the respective deadlines.  This year approximately 400 of a total of 1,400 applications for basketball were submitted after the deadline.

The volunteers who run these programs work very hard to get all students who want to play enrolled in the program.  This has resulted in working and reworking leagues right up to the last minute to get the large number of late enrollees in. 

When the late fees were first initiated several years ago, the timeliness of sign-ups improved dramatically and the management of the leagues was much more predictable in terms of setting league sizes, obtaining facilities and equipment, etc.  The effects of a $10 late fee have since worn off and the board has moved to increase the late fee in hopes of achieving more timely, and thus, more manageable enrollment of players.

 
Please Help Take Care of Basketball Facilities

The basketball program enjoys significant use of school gymnasiums for games and practices throughout the season.  Your cooperation in helping maintain facilities is of great value in preserving the facility availability from the schools in the future.

There are several recurring problems that your help will alleviate.  Please remember that no food or beverages are permitted in the gyms.  Problems with spilled soda pop and coffee make the floors unsafe for players.

Please keep siblings in the gym with their parents during games.  There have been reported incidents of damage caused by unattended children or bouncing balls in the commons.

Players, please remember to carry your court shoes into the gym.  Wearing your gym shoes from the parking lot tracks dirt and moisture onto the floor.

Thanks for your cooperation. 
 

Preliminary Baseball/Softball Schedule

Practices 
Elementary schools and Avery Park usually at 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm or 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm Monday through Friday.  Practices begin the week of April 11th, except the Pony and Senior Pony leagues, which begin mid-May.

Games 
League play begins the week of May 8th.  Starting times on weekdays are 6:00 pm or 6:15 pm.  Saturday games in June begin at 11:00 am.  Some Saturday afternoon/evening games begin on May 2nd.  No regularly scheduled games Sunday.

Season  Generally, one or two practices per week until May 7th.  Generally one or two games per week (may   have three scheduled in rare occasions).  Fourteen games scheduled for Tee-ball, Coach Pitch Base-  ball, and Coach Pitch Softball.  Season ends July 12th for these leagues.  For all other leagues the   regular season schedule includes 14 to 16 games plus a post-season tournament.  The season is   scheduled to end July 18th.  There are no games scheduled Memorial Day weekend (Friday-Monday),   May 27-30 or July 4th weekend, July 1st through July 4th. 

Note:  Rescheduling rained out games has been a difficult proposition in recent years.  Arranging times on Sundays when teams can field enough players, finding umpires, etc. has been a problem for our volunteer commissioners and umpire coordinators.  To help minimize the problem of rescheduling games a new format was adopted in 2000 during the regular season and modified for the 2005 season.  More games are added to the regular season and rained out games will not be made up. 

2005 Sign-Up Schedule

Following are the dates or targeted time frames for sign-ups for the respective year 2005 programs:

January 22nd and
January 29th
Sells Middle School Commons
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm both days

January 22nd
Indian Run Commons
930 am to noon
and
January 30th
Sells Middle School Commons
430 pm to 630 pm

End of April, Beginning of May

Beginning of May

September 10th

Check the website at dya.com or local newspapers as the target time frames approach for the specific times and locations of the golf, volleyball, and basketball sign-ups.

Refund Policy

Refunds of fees will be provided only if requested in writing and received prior to the formation of teams.  Requests for refunds should be directed to DYA, 4285 W. Dublin Granville Road, Dublin, Ohio  43017 and include a self-addressed envelope. 

In prior years, and especially during the basketball season, a number of players dropped out of the leagues for various, often good, reasons.  However, many parents failed to make their intentions known until after teams were formed, even though the decision had long since been made.  This left several teams short of players in leagues that were not full or had no wait lists.  In too many cases this created an unnecessary hardship on the remaining players and coaches.

In an effort to encourage more timely notice of intent not to play, late notifications, defined as notice after teams are formed, are no longer eligible for refund. 

Lacrosse

The DYA Lacrosse program is for students in the first through sixth grades of the current school year. 

The DYA Lacrosse program will be structured this year to include a first and second grade co-ed league, a 3rd-4th grade boys division, a fifth-sixth boys grade division, a girls division for 3rd-4th grade girls, and a fifth-sixth grade girls division    Final league structure will depend on the number of participants signed up and the number of coaches signed up.

The season will last from March 20th through May 15th.  No activity over spring break.

Practices are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the evening at 5:00 pm (6:00 pm after Daylight Savings begins.)  Games and clinics will be held on Sunday afternoons.  The schedule will include teams from other communities.  Fifth and sixth graders will have the opportunity to play on a travel team in the Ohio Cup at season’s end.

All sessions will be held at various Dublin School facilities, to be announced when contracts are finalized.  The coaching staffs at Coffman and Scioto High Schools will conduct Sunday clinics.

No experience is necessary.  Everyone will play.  The league is designed to teach the sport to players and parents.  No contact in grades 1 and 2.  Stick checks only are allowed in grades 3 and 4.  Minor body checking in grades 5 and 6 is permitted.

For boys divisions, grade 3-6, helmets, shoulder pads, and protective wear for goalies will be provided by DYA for use during the season.  All helmets, shoulder pads, and goalie protective wear will be returned at the end of the season.  A $125.00 check will be required as deposit for this equipment use.  The check will not be cashed unless the equipment is not returned on time.  Remaining equipment - sticks, gloves, arm pads, black nylon game shorts, mouth piece, rubber molded cleats, practice balls, and protective cup - will be the responsibility of the player.  For co-ed division grades 1-2, a $45 deposit is required for equipment use of gloves.  Players in this league need only provide a stick.  DYA has arranged for local vendors to be at sign-ups to sell other needed equipment.  For girls divisions, protective eye wear and girls sticks are needed.  Girls goalie equipment will be provided by DYA.

The final sign-up day at Sells Middle School is January 29th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

IMPORTANT:  The program will be limited to the first 350 players who sign-up.  In the event the program has more applicants than spots available at the close of sign-ups on February 12th, a lottery will be used to select participants.  Children of program directors and commissioners, who volunteer significant time to assure the program’s existence, will be included in the program and exempted from any lottery process.

Registration fee:  $90 for registrations for boys grades 3-6, $30 for grades 1 and 2, and $30 for girls leagues if received on or before February 12th.  Registrations received on or after February 13th will include a $25 non-refundable late registration fee.

Parents are needed to coach and leagues depend on parent coaches.  Training sessions will be provided by DYA to teach the basics.
 

Co-ed Volleyball

The co-ed volleyball program will conduct its sign-ups for the fall 2005 season before the end of the school year.  The volleyball season begins practice the first day of school in August.  Sign-ups will be held in early to mid-May.  Please check the web site, dya.com, or check the Dublin News and The Villager for details as sign-ups approach.  Registration will close June 14th and teams will be formed in August.

Players who intend to tryout for girls’ school teams are encouraged to sign-up in May.  That way they can guarantee a spot to play DYA volleyball if they don’t make a team or decide later not to tryout.  Any player who makes her school’s fall volleyball will have her registration fee refunded.  As is the case in all DYA programs, registrations received after the deadline are accepted subject to space available in the program.
 

Elections

The annual election of officers and directors for Dublin Youth Athletics will be held during the Annual Meeting on January 20, 2005 at the 1919 Building.  Ballots are available at the office or on the web site. Ballots are also available by request by sending a self-addressed envelope to DYA, 4285 W. Dublin Granville Road, Dublin, Ohio 43017. Requests for mailed ballots must be received before January 15th.

Each parent of a DYA participant is entitled to vote. Ballots should be submitted in a sealed envelope with the child participant’s name marked on the outside of the envelope for purposes of determining eligibility of voters. Once eligibility is confirmed, envelopes will be opened and ballots counted under the supervision of Joe McKinley, Treasurer of the Board of Directors.

Pants Sales

Baseball pants will be sold at sign-ups for baseball, softball, and tee-ball.  Pants are priced at $10 for youth sizes and $12 for adult sizes.  All proceeds benefit DYA baseball, softball, and tee-ball programs. 

 Pants will also be sold during limited hours at the DYA office.  Please check dya.com for hours.  Only regular hours for pants sales are Mondays 830 am to 1000 am in January through March 15th.
 

Jerome Girls Invite DYA Teams

Friday, January 7th Dublin Jerome High School will host DYA Night for the girls’ game against Franklin Heights.  All players in DYA jerseys will be admitted free.  Game time is 615 pm for the junior varsity with the varsity game scheduled to immediately follow (approximately 745 pm).
 

Scioto Boys Invite DYA Teams

Friday, January 14thDublin Scioto High School will host DYA Night for the boys’ game.  All players in DYA jerseys will be admitted free.  Game time is 600 pm for the junior varsity with the varsity game scheduled to immediately follow (approximately 730 pm).