Attached below is the practice schedule for the month of February and into the first week of March. As of this moment, it appears we will begin playing games on Friday, March 5th. Our opening ceremonies will be Saturday, March 6th. Once we have the game schedule done you will receive your schedule for team pictures. Photo packs will be handed out at the team coordinator meeting at Patty's house later this month. Please make sure you have a representative from your team present at the team coordinator meeting.
To see the schedule, click on the attached file link below.
CACTUS CANTINA TO HOST FUNDRAISER FOR ASAM FAMILY (Read)
OCASA Parents
Cactus Cantina, the local favorite watering hole, and Orangecrest ASA are teaming up for a two-day fundraiser for Kylie and Blaine Asam.
As many of you know, their parents and brother were killed in a tragic accident the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Kylie had just played in the Strike Out Hunger Tournament the day before the accident. She'll return for the 2010 spring season, and we want her and Blaine to know that we're here for them. So click on the attached file below and take it with you to Cactus Cantina on Tuesday, February 23rd or Wednesday, February 24th. Give the cook in the house an evening off for a good cause.
And a big thanks to Loretta Costa for coordinating and setting up this event. It's people like Loretta that make our Orangecrest community the best.
Click on the attached file to see this year's uniform color combinations. Our teams are named after local and west coast college programs. We encourage your child to explore the college for which her team is named after.
Still working on color combinations for t-ball. Should have them available some time next week.
The Riverside City Council on Tuesday approved service fees for field usage at all of the parks in Riverside, like many of the surrounding cities in the Inland Empire. Under the fee schedule the city will begin charging all Riverside recreational users $1 per hour for non-lighted hours per field and $3 per hour for light usage per field.
"Obviously, no one likes to see added expenses when you're trying to run a recreational league like Orangecrest ASA, which uses two fields 7 days a week," said president Robert Schmidt. "But in this case we supported the measure. Currently, Park and Rec is in debt as much as four million dollars on its lighting bill. So, if we want to continue to operate a recreational program that the community can be proud of the board thought it was important to show Park and Rec and the City Council that we're all in this together."
Schmidt said the executive board will meet on Monday (Jan. 18th) and begin brainstorming ways to cover the cost without reducing games or practice time.
"Playing is why the girls sign-up," said Schmidt. "You can't get better playing once a week, so reducing the number of games the girls play is not an option in my mind. We will find a way to cover the cost and keep the lights on and girls active in the game of softball, I promise that."
What is being passed on to the recreational leagues in Riverside covers only about five percent of the city's cost, said Schmidt.
'In meetings with Park and Rec we were allowed to brainstorm on ways to help the city keep the lights on," said Schmidt. "All of the usergroups (that showed to the meetings) understood the problem and worked to come up with a fair plan - one that would help the city and yet easy as much harm to the programs in Riverside. It wasn't easy by any means.
Under the agreement with Park and Rec there is room for an additional 5 percent increase each of the next two years.
"My hope is that things will get (economically) better and that we won't see that third increase. I think the second increase we can't ignore, but hopefully we don't see that third one. But if we do, we'll find a way to keep the lights on for the girls."
In case you know anyone who might be interested in supporting the league with a booth during our March 6th Opening Day Event - Celebrating Our Daughters Through Ball.
Click on the attached file below for vendor application.
I'm happy to announce that we've placed an order for two wireless scoreboards, which will be installed on Field 5 & 6 by the end of February. Thank you to Riverside Park and Rec (Ralph Nunez) and city councilman Paul Davis on their help in getting these approved. It was a long process, but we've placed the order and look forward to having them for the 2010 Season.
Also thanks to Aaron, owner of Burke Electric, for overseeing the project and installing the scoreboards. You assistance is in measurable. Also thanks to treasurer Jerry Norris for coordinating the project.
We're currently soliciting businesses who might be interested in advertising on the scoreboards. We're looking for a 3 or 5-year agreement. If you're interested, please contact either Jerry (JDNorris@rceo.org) or Robert (Robert.Schmidt@rcc.edu).
The OCASA Board of Directors have finished developing our 2010 Spring Calendar. We will be holding sign-ups the next two Saturdays as well as three Saturdays in January (9th, 16th, 23rd). Orangecrest ASA will be no longer be offering payment plans beginning with the 2010 Spring Season. The league will be able to begin accepting credit cards and debit cards during on-site sign-ups.
Tryouts for non-property players and players moving up a division will be on Saturday, January 30th. PLEASE NOTE: We will not be doing sign-ups on this day. Players who sign-up late (after January 23rd) will be given a priority number and will be placed as spots become available. We CAN NOT stress enough the importance of not waiting until the last moment. We anticipate high spring numbers, and with just two fields to accommodate the girls we may need to cap sign-ups. So, don't put off signing up for the spring season.
On-Line Sign-ups will begin on November 22nd. Please do not fill out an on-line form unless you plan on completing the payment process, thank you.
We will be offering coach pitch T-Ball (4) through 18U programs in the spring. We will not assemble our high school teams - 15 through 18 years of age until after the high schools have done their final cuts, so those players will have a different cut-off for sign-ups. We're contacting the high schools to get their cut date.
Click the attached file below to view the Spring Calendar.