Dear MRLL Community,
On March 12th, McCormick Ranch Little League’s volunteer Board of Directors announced that in conjunction with Little League International’s recommendation, that it had decided to exercise an abundance of caution and implement a temporary suspension of all league activities until no earlier than April 6.
Since that announcement, Scottsdale Unified School District announced that its district’s schools will remain closed through March 27th. Great Hearts Academies had made a similar announcement and then the Governor and State Superintendent released a joint statement calling for schools to be closed through Friday March 27th. Therefore, all AZ public schools will not reopen before Monday, March 30th. At the same time, we have received notification from SUSD and the City of Scottsdale, that all of their school/city fields are closed. They will remain closed till April 5th.
On Monday of this week, based on the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Little League International Board of Directors and staff is now strongly advising all its local Little League programs to suspend/delay their Little League seasons through no earlier than Monday, May 11. And with the updates today from the state health officials, and the announced additional social distancing precautions, including closures of bars/restaurants, etc. it appears that our temporary suspension will likely extend past April 6.
This is obviously much bigger than Little League®. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is rapidly changing the way that we, as global citizens, think, act, gather, learn, and live our daily lives. And, yes, that also means how we play Little League.
We recognize that this is the heart of the traditional Little League season, and we share in the great disappointment that many are feeling surrounding this additional pause in the 2020 season. However, it is our hope that by doing this, we will all play a small, but important part in flattening the curve in the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
We will continue to consult with appropriate medical advisors, government health officials and we are committed to doing the best we can for the safety and wellbeing of our players, families, volunteers, and fans.
It is our sincere hope that we can find ways to bring everyone back to the Little League fields this season, whether that’s later this spring or throughout the summer. Currently, Little League International is working through all possible scenarios for the “All-Stars” season (i.e. the 2020 Little League International Tournament) and tournament eligibility for our leagues and players in our various divisions of play. Our local MRLL volunteer Board has also been meeting and brainstorming ideas around different scenarios where we may be able to salvage some of this Spring season.
Granted, in a typical year, we’d always want to have our season wrapped up by May 16th, but this year is anything but typical. We will continue to monitor our local schools and the state’s leadership to help inform our decision-making. At this point it’s too early to make a definitive announcement about what MRLL will do beyond April 6, but we wanted to keep all of our coaches and families informed of our latest updates.
We are currently working on different scheduling scenarios and how and when we might be able to distribute the personalized uniforms for all our players in the Tee, Farm, Minors and Majors divisions. As soon as some of the plans become clearer, we’ll let you know.
Until then, we encourage you to stay in touch with McCormick Ranch Little League and share any additional feedback or questions for our local community by emailing [email protected].
Thank you all for your support, understanding, and community. We will be thinking of our MRLL community during this difficult time.
Sincerely,
MRLL Board
Ward Huseth Rachel Boyer-Shuman Bremen Bennett Gene Montemore