Fall 2020 Soft Court Meeting Minutes
8/21/2020
Fall 2020 Soft Court Meeting MinutesAugust 21, 2020
The Women’s Soft Court League of Birmingham held the fall meeting virtually on August 21, 2020, at 9:30am. All club representatives were present except Brook Highland Racquet Club, Greystone Country Club, Greystone YMCA, Pelham Racquet Club, The Club @ Lake Cyrus and Trussville Racquet Club. All level coordinators were present except 5.3. All officers were present. There were 23 members in attendance including officers.
President, Meredith Vinson, welcomed everyone to the virtual meeting and called the meeting to order. Janet Simonetti, Secretary, called roll. The President asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the spring meeting as posted on the website. Motion made to accept minutes by Lavonda Keel, seconded by Kelly Miles and approved.
Treasurer Melody Debardelaben presented the financial report. Since the Spring, we began the season with $14,937.48. Expenses included $2100.00 for website renewal, $7630.00 for refunding spring fees and $425.63 for the fall meeting and officer’s gifts. Fall fees collected were $6,860.00. Total cash balance is $11,379.06. All refund checks for the Spring 2020 season have cleared. A motion to approve the Treasurer’s report was made, seconded and approved.
Meredith announced there were no winners for the spring season since the season was not completed. Any move downs approved for the spring will stand for the fall season. A few additional move down requests have been submitted for the fall season due to club changes.
Meredith reminded club representatives to make sure the Fall 2020 Match Day Helper and COVID club requirements were forwarded to the team captains.
Vice President Kelly Miles reported that 98 teams were scheduled for the fall season. The schedules will be final by end of day. The season will begin September 8, 2020.
The following new business was discussed:
• LETT requested a donation of $3000.00 from Women’s Softcourt League. A motion was made by Tracy Crutchfield and seconded by Annemarie Wilson. The motion was approved.
o Related discussion about equipment donations for LETT was answered by LaVonda Keel’s recommendation to visit the LETT website.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:44am.
The following email prefaced the meeting:
On Wednesday, July 15, 2020, 10:10:28 PM CDT, Meredith Vinson
Hello to all Club Reps!
If you are NO longer the club representative PLEASE reply with the name of the Club and the new representative.
It’s time to register for Fall Softcourt Season. The 2020 Fall Enrollment Form is now available on the website, but is also attached to this email. Please read this entire letter as there is a ton of important information in it.
THE DEADLINE IS 5PM FRIDAY, JULY 31st, IN OUR HANDS, NOT POSTMARKED.
Before the usual information is provided, there are some very important changes for Fall 2020 that need to be shared first and foremost. As fall tennis leagues begin to open, several have been working together to anticipate any issues that may arise during these crazy times. Also, understanding that each facility may be operating under their own set of rules and guidelines or be impacted by ordinances in their county, a short survey is attached for Club Reps / Pros to complete regarding what each of their families have implemented. This form should be included with the team registration forms. The information from these surveys will be compiled into a one page spreadsheet that will be then emailed to all participating team captains and posted on website so players will know whether they need to bring face masks, own water and towels. Many thanks to LITL for sharing this form with Softcourt to help organize Fall league play!!
Also, there will be NO LUNCHES / SNACKS PROVIDED for players by hosting Home facility. At this time, it's best to be prepared and bring your own snacks in order to cut down on points of possible contamination / large gatherings.
Lastly, we are all excited to be able to play tennis this Fall so let's be more kind to our fellow teammates and opponents should Covid-19 become an issue with teams and rescheduling matches. We want everyone to stay healthy and safe!
Below you will find some reminders to help you with this process.
PLEASE NOTE-TIMELY RESPONSES ARE IMPERATIVE TO THIS PROCESS. We have 2 other leagues (LITL and USTA) that wait to schedule after our league, so we must have your forms by July 31st in order to get the scheduling done so that they may get their schedules completed.
1. Registration is now open through July 31st. Please pass this information on to your Club Pro. The responsibility of registering teams ultimately lies on the shoulders of the Club Rep so please take note - even if you delegate some or part of this job to your pro or captains YOU are responsible for making sure that all of your teams are online by July 31st. I have attached instructions for doing this and you can also access them on our website under rules and forms. The Club Reps must enter the teams onto the website before the captains will be able to get into the website and build their rosters. Your club ID number will remain the same and the website will assign a new ID number for each team. Please make sure you take note of that number as they change each season. All teams must have a minimum of 8 players and may have a maximum of 16. Each Captain must have a valid cell number and email address online. Please do not use club numbers or club emails for Captains.
2. The fee per team is $70.00 and must be included with your enrollment form. All checks need to be made payable to Women’s Softcourt League. The enrollment form is attached. Please send it and your checks to:
Kelly Miles
3209 Arbor Hill Trace
Hoover, AL 35244
3. Please remember when inputting rosters online, if you have any new players to add, you must contact your Level Coordinator to have them added to your Club Roster. This helps to avoid duplication of player names. Also, PLEASE make sure all players at your Club are dues paying members of your Club in order to participate. Any questions about this can be directed to me.
4. Our Fall meeting will be held on FRIDAY, AUGUST 21st via Zoom (a meeting ID will be sent closer to time) All Club Representatives, Level Coordinators, and Officers are expected to attend. If you are unable to attend please let me know - there will be no packets or prizes awarded for spring season due to Covid-19 interrupting this past spring season.
5. If you have any business or items for the Agenda, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can add it to the agenda. I will do my best to keep the meeting to 1 hour. (All requests should be in writing and emailed, no phone calls or texts).
6. The official start date for Fall Season will begin Tuesday, September 8, 2020. However, please note that ALL dates are target deadlines and could be pushed back further due to future State of Alabama shut downs as a result of Covid-19.
7. Please make sure you adhere to our court availability rules when completing your enrollment forms. If you have 2 teams playing on the same day-you must have 4 courts, 3 teams - you must have 8 courts, etc. Also remember to take into consideration any other leagues that may be playing as well. You must list your exceptions on your forms in order to have them considered for scheduling. If you have any questions about this, please let Kelly or me know and we will do our best to help you. Kelly’s email is pkmiles@bellsouth.net. Again, questions need to be in writing or email, no phone calls or texts.
Looking forward to another great season, please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Thank you so much for your volunteering for this position (even if you were "volunteered").
Thank you,
Meredith Vinson
President
2020 Women’s Softcourt League
vinson1956@att.net
205/215-5509
cc:
Kelly Miles
Janet Simonetti
Melody DeBardelaben
LaVonda Keel
Level Coordinators
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Simonetti, Secretary