Dear Freedom Little League Families,

I write to you with a heavy heart to let you know that the Freedom Little League Board has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 spring/summer league.

Thank you to everyone who completed the online survey; we received valuable feedback, including that many families wanted to forge ahead and play ball this summer. However, in addition to the safety of the players and families, there were many factors that would have made it very difficult to run a league. Those include the shortened season, the summer heat and monsoon, the State and International Little League guidelines and protocols for resuming (see: https://www.littleleague.org/player-safety/coronavirus-update/season-resumption-guide/best-practices/organizing-playing-watching-games/), securing cleaning supplies (disinfectant, sanitizer and wipes) and the possible lack of opponents given that most other leagues in Tucson have already canceled their seasons. That said, Rincon Little League (https://tshq.bluesombrero.com/rinconll) is still planning to run its league, and Freedom players can transfer to that league for this summer without a waiver. If you're interested in this option, you can contact them directly at: [email protected].

We look forward to a big "fall ball" season that will likely be played more like a spring season and hope that you will consider signing up in August. Twelve-year-olds who normally would have aged out will be eligible to play in the fall. We can only speculate and hope about the evolution of the pandemic and where we might be in the fall. But the time between now and then will help us prepare and be ready to implement any required Little League safety protocols.

Like so many other organizations, businesses and families (including some of you), the financial fallout of the pandemic will impact Freedom Little League. We rely on registration fees and sponsorships to fund the entire season. Although we would like to give every family a full refund, we simply don't have enough money in our bank account to do that. By March we had already incurred many costs for the spring season, including Little League International charter fees, insurance, field reservations, league advertisements, new equipment and uniforms (which can be used in the fall). Some portion of these league expenses will be refunded or carried over to the fall, but not all them. Therefore, we will retain $20 from each registration to cover those expense and are providing three options for the remainder:

1. Refund: a $100 refund for families that paid the full $120 registration fee ($79 for those that paid the early bird price of $99). A check will be mailed to you.

2. Credit: a $100 credit, which can be used toward the fall 2020 or the spring 2021 registration. The fall ball registration fee will likely be $100.

3. Donation: a $100 (or any other amount) tax-deductible donation to Freedom Little League, a 501c3 non-profit organization.

Please fill out the following form to indicate which option you'd like to choose:

https://forms.gle/F48ZpsrL1JaUQ37i7

We will process requests as quickly as possible, but please be patient since we're all volunteers. On that note, please consider volunteering this fall. We'll probably need a lot of help, and there will be no better time to chip in and get the kids back out on the ball field.

Take care and be well,

Grant Williams for the Freedom Little League Board