I.          I. Beth - Wood All Star Teams

Following regular Season play, the Beth - Wood Baseball League (B - W), comprised of participants from both the Towns of Woodbridge and Bethany, participates in numerous friendship as well as competitive All Star Tournaments throughout the State of Connecticut in their respective age groups.  The B - W also participates in Babe Ruth League sanctioned State Tournaments, which is a specific requirement of our Charters.  The All Star season begins mid-June and lasts until sometimes during the first week in August.

The B - W fields competitive All Star “A” Teams for Boys 9’s, 10’s, 11’s, 12’s; the existence of each Team at each age group is solely dependent upon the availability of both Players and Managers / Coaches.
 
The B - W will also field an All Star Team(s) for Boys 8's in a statewide Friendship Tournament that we have been hosting the past several years; this Tournament has grown in popularity among other Cal Ripken Towns in the State of CT and we expect it to continue for several more.  The 8's would then be subject to these same Policies without exception.

The B - W will also form less competitive and restrictive All Star traveling “B” Teams for Players 9 - 10 and 11 - 12 years old, which has proven to be extremely successful.  These Teams will only be formed based on the availability of both Players and Managers / Coaches.  These Teams would have the opportunity to play in local Friendship Tournaments in the surrounding area to give those Players not selected for the All Star “A” Teams noted above or can not make the total commitment required for the “A” Teams a chance to play competitive baseball in the summer but more importantly to have fun and stay involved in the game.  The Manager of each Team would also be able to select those Tournaments in which they wish to participate in. 

II. Selection of All Star Managers

The B - W Executive Committee is responsible for accepting nominations from those Managers / Coaches within their respective League Divisions who wish to become Managers for specific B - W All Star Teams.  Managers and / or Coaches within the B - W or others wishing to be a Manager of an All Star Team must submit a letter of interest together with the applicable Nomination form to the B - W President no later than Saturday (April 11, 2009) for consideration.  A mandatory meeting will be held with all of the Boys Minors and Majors Managers / Coaches the week prior to the selection of All Star Team Managers to review these Policies with them and carefully explain the guidelines set forth under these Policies for All Star Play.  At this time, a Manager and / or Coach may also want to express his / her interest in managing the 9 / 10 or 11 / 12 “B” Teams as well.

From these letters of interest / Nomination forms, the B - W and Executive Board will then select the Managers of the All Star Teams based upon the respective Manager’s / Coach’s Team record, his / her length of service within the B - W and if said Manager / Coach has previously managed and / or coached B - W All Star Teams in past years.  More importantly, the B - W Executive Board want to ensure that each Manager who is selected will properly represent the Towns of Woodbridge and Bethany in all the Tournaments they play in, not only to obtain invitations to return the following year but more importantly be a positive influence in leading their respective All Star Teams.  The B - W Executive Board plan to make their selection of All Star Managers the following week (by April 20, 2009) ; by selecting them early on, this will allow those Managers to start planning ahead accordingly as well as to start play in a Sunday Travel League during the months of April and May.

It is also understood that even though someone may have managed an All Star team in the past does not necessarily grant them an automatic Manager‘s slot for another Team in the future.  Note that only a Manager will be selected for each All Star Team ; NO Coaches will be assigned to any Team, so the Manager will “draft” his Coaches from the pool of available and interested Coaches after the Players are selected.  ALL Managers and Coaches who participate in All Stars MUST have a current background check performed in 2009 (on file with a B - W League Official) as well as satisfactorily completed the on-line Coaches Certification course provided by Babe Ruth League, Inc., without exception.

By the third week of May, the All Star Manager would be responsible for the scheduling and holding try-outs if the number of nominees for their respective “A” Teams exceed the number they would normally carry (usually 12, depending on the circumstances).  If try-outs are deemed required, the selection process would be carried out by the All Star Team Manager and two (2) impartial members of the Beth - Wood Board of Directors, who will attend the try-out to observe and fairly rate all of the participants and work closely with the Team Manager to make the final selections for their Teams.  If for some reason one of the above-mentioned League Representatives is unable to attend said try-out, those who are present will conduct the try-out and select the Team accordingly.  If both Representatives are unable to attend, then the try-out will be re-scheduled to a more convenient date.

If try-outs are necessary, once the All Star “A” Team roster is filled, that Team’s Manager would offer up to 2 - 3 Players who were cut the opportunity to become Alternates on that Team (refer to Players below for a description of a Team Alternate).  It is also to be made clear that a Manager may NOT bring up any other Player to participate on the All Star “A” Team who neither did try-out nor was nominated because they could not conform to this All Star Policy unless their participation approved in advance by both the Beth - Wood President, without exception.

It is also understood that an “A” Team Manager can not bring up an Alternate from a “B” Team to play on that Team unless the “A” Team will be short Players (i.e., a total of 8), at which time the “B” Team should release that Player.  If there happens to be a situation where both the “A” and “B” Teams may be short Players (i.e., “A” Team has 8 and “B” has 9), then the “A” Team would take priority and the “B” Team would have to allow him / her to play for the “A” Team.

To become an All Star Manager is a huge commitment that requires the Team Manager’s complete dedication for the entire duration of the number of Tournaments their respective Team is scheduled to participate in that year, as determined by the Beth - Wood Executive Board (this may change from year to year based upon the Tournaments available).

For the “B” Team Manager when he / she is selected, if there is an adequate number of Players interested in playing on this Team, there could also be a need to hold try-outs should the number of nominees exceed the maximum allowed of fifteen (15) Players per Team.  These try-outs would then follow a similar format to those noted above for the “A” Teams with (2) impartial Board Members being present.  The final “B” Team Rosters will require approval from both the Beth - Wood Executive Board.

III. Selection of All Star Players

Managers and / or Coaches will only nominate those Players on their regular season Teams that they believe would aptly contribute to the success of their respective All Star “A” Teams.  There is no limit on the number of Players a Manager or Coach may nominate from each Team, as long as they are considered to be of All Star caliber.  In some instances there may be Managers / Coaches who may not have any All Star caliber Players to nominate in specific age groups, which is acceptable.  Players should only be nominated based upon their ability demonstrated on the field and not through a popularity contest.

Managers and / or Coaches may also nominate Players at this time who cannot commit to the specific terms of this All Star Policy (i.e., “total commitment” policy) but would like to participate on the “B” All Star Teams if that playing opportunity becomes available if the “B” Team is formed.

To be eligible to participate in All Stars, Players who are nominated can NOT miss more than 25% of the League scheduled games (unless there is an injury or illness, for which you will need to produce a doctor’s note).  Team Managers / Coaches will NOT nominate any Player who fails to meet this specific requirement.   

The B - W will develop and distribute copies of All Star Nomination forms to all Managers at an All Star Policy Review meeting to be held in early-May. Each Manager will be then required to complete and return these forms to the B - W President for each Player they wish to nominate from their respective Teams.  These forms must be mailed and received no later than (date to be determined) for said Players to be eligible to participate.

Prior to nominating their Players for the “A” Team, each Team Manager / Coach will be requested to investigate whether or not said Players (and more importantly their Parents) are also willing to commit for the entire All Star season.  That means a total commitment to this Team without ANY days off of All Star play during the entire All Star Season (period from mid June through the first week in August) ; the Team Manager will have the discretion of allowing a day off for a special event (i.e., a Wedding) or injury but none will be allowed for vacation.    

If a Player is unable to commit, then he / she would only be eligible to participate on the B - W All Star “B” Teams accordingly,  which will have no restrictions on time missed due to camp or vacations.  Parents’ signature will also be required on either one of the Nomination forms to make it valid. 

In the event that the number of actual final nominations from all the Team Managers / Coaches exceed the actual number of Players that an “A” Team would normally carry, then the respective All Star Manager (together with 2 impartial members of the B - W Board) would hold mandatory try-outs over a period of 1 or 2 days, where each Player would be carefully observed and evaluated.  Following try-outs, under the close guidance of these B - W Board members, the respective Manager would then make the final selections for their Teams and inform the Players accordingly.

Managers / Coaches can only nominate Players for the specific All Star Team that their ages fall in ; Players can NOT be nominated for a higher age group (i.e., if a Player is a baseball 10-year old, he / she can only participate on the 10’s All Star Team). 

In addition, once a Player has been nominated and formally selected to participate on a specific All Star Team (i.e., an 11-year old Boys Team), he / she must stay with that Team for the entire duration of that All Star season.  They will NOT be allowed to move up to assist another Team (i.e., the 12-year old Boys Team if they happen to be short a Player).  

It is also to be understood that by agreeing to participate in All Stars, the respective Players agree that they may not play in every game or play a specific amount of innings during each game.  It is at the sole discretion of the Team Manager to decide who does and does not play during any given game and where and when they will play.  The B - W recognizes the importance of trying to have all Players participate in every game but also recognizes that during certain game situations or Tournaments, the Manager has the option to play his best Players to win that specific game.  

Being nominated to become an All Star Player is an honor all by itself, even though a Player(s) may not be chosen as a member of that specific All Star “A” Team he / she tried out for.  However, they may be given the opportunity to become an Alternate for that Team.  This means they would be invited to attend “A” Team practices whenever they are held and at times when the Team is missing a Player or 2 due to either injury or a scheduled vacation, they may be asked to fill that Roster spot to travel and play with that Team.  Alternates will be required to purchase their own All Star uniform and will be an integral part of that Team, however fully understanding they will not travel to nor play in every game.

In a case where a Player accepts a position as an Alternate on a particular All Star Team, that Player would also be able to participate on the “B” All Star Team as well, so he / she could get as much playing time as possible during the summer (being allowed to play for both Teams).  It is understood that this Player will first commit to play on his / her “B” Team (practices and games) unless released by his / her Manager to play on the “A” Team.

In addition, if a Player accepts his / her Manager’s nomination to participate on an All Star Team, attends try-outs and / or is selected as a Player for that specific traveling competitive “A” Team, then that Player is fully committed to play with that Team for the entire All Star summer season.  This is a total commitment that must be made to that Team or else the system as established is no longer valid.  Should that Player opt to back out (i.e., to play on another traveling or another type of Team or chose not to play at all) despite these warnings, then there is no other recourse for the B - W but to bar that Player from participating not only on a B - W All Star Team the following year in 2010 (including the possibility of the regular Season as well).

Should there be an 8-year old All Star Team, any 8’s who participated in the Boys Minors as well as in the Rookies Divisions would be eligible to be nominated by his respective Team Manager and participate on this Team. 


IV. Costs 

It is understood that all Players who are successful in being chosen to participate on an All Star Team will be required to split the actual costs incurred by that specific Team.  This includes costs for the All Star uniform, umpire costs and various Tournament entry fees.  For example, if the total costs to play in three (3) Tournaments plus uniforms amount to $2,700. and there are 12 Players on that Team, each Player would therefore be responsible for paying their share totaling $ 225. 

The All Star Manager for that Team will be solely responsible for collecting the funds from each of the Parents and getting these expeditiously to the B - W Treasurer to deposit, so the Tournament Fees / Uniforms / etc. can be paid by the B - W accordingly.  We require that each “A” Team Manager collect up front by the end of June an amount of $ 225. from each Player to help defray the initial costs incurred by the B - W for uniforms and Tournament fees (for the “B” Teams, the initial cost would be $ 150. from each Player).  If there is found to be a balance owed after All Star play, the Manager shall then collect such additional funds from his Team and deliver it to the B - W Treasurer no later than August 15^th.  If the actual costs are less, then a refund will be issued accordingly.

The respective Team Managers shall also be responsible for contacting the B - W Treasurer at least a week or so in advance when Tournament Fees are required to be sent out to avoid any last minute problems and shall forward a copy of their respective Tournament entry form clearly identifying said cost for verification as well for the League’s records.

2008 WFBL All Star Forms

2009 All Star 'A' Team Manager Nomination Form

2009 All Star 'B' Team Manager Nomination Form

2009 All Star 'A' Team Player Nomination Form

2009 All Star 'B' Team Player Nomination Form

2009 All Star 'A' Team Parent's Consent Form

2009 All Star 'B' Team Parent's Consent Form

(8 - Year Old Nomination Forms to Follow)