The Upper Moreland Little League Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Spring Season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. At this point, it seems clear that Montgomery County residents will not be able to participate in organized team sports under the Governor’s phased reopening plan until our county moves to GREEN status under the current health/safety directives.  Unfortunately, our county has yet to move to YELLOW, and the Commonwealth has yet to determine/publish the full criteria to move to GREEN.  

While it is agonizing to cancel the season, our duty is to act in the best interest of our league families’ health and safety. We do hope to be able to organize a 2020 Fall season that closely resembles our normal regular season format, which could begin later in the summer. The UMLL board plans to use this time to prepare for future play by learning the necessary precautions for prioritizing the safety of our players, coaches and community. Additional information will be provided as/when we are able to develop a plan to move forward.  Stay tuned for more information via our website, social media outlets and organizational emails.

The UMLL Board has established the following refund policies for the cancellation of the Spring 2020 season. 

Parents/Guardians

The league is asking that parents/guardians complete the following GOOGLE FORM and choose an option below:

Option #1: Parents/Legal Guardians will be refunded the cost of registration, less the following expenses already incurred - Refund ($110)

• The cost of any jersey/insurance purchased on behalf of a player ($45) will be withheld from your refund.  (Jersey’s will be available for pickup at the LL once we are able to reopen)

• Operational costs incurred by the league (equipment, field/complex maintenance, complex operating costs, etc.) will be absorbed by the league’s retained savings, which funds capital/equipment and additional services/expenses.

• Any processing fees (credit card transaction fees, Sports Connect processing fees, etc.) would be subject to refund by the Little League preferred Sports Connect vendor.

• Payment Plans: for those parents/guardians on payment plans that have been paused, you will receive the portion of your payment made, minus the $45 cost that UMLL has retained for uniform/insurance expenses.

• Late Registrations/Unpaid Registrations: The league will refund late fees paid for Spring 2020 registration in addition to the $110 refund.  We will be contacting parents who have not paid any registration fee, asking them to kindly pay the $45 cost, as their uniforms/insurance have been created/paid.

• Additional child reduced registration – UMLL has approved the decision NOT to hold back uniform/insurance costs for 3rd/4th registered children.  

Option #2: Parents/Legal Guardians: The league would kindly accept any refunds to be used as a donation to the league. 

• Given the unforeseen circumstances our program has, and continues to be faced with during this pandemic, any donation is greatly appreciated. Those donations can be partially tax deductible, and may have increased with the Federal CARES Act. (More info can be found HERE )

• These donations will be utilized to help maintain the facility and ensure its longevity for  many seasons to come.

Sponsorships

Our incredible sponsors are an integral part of our UMLL community.  Our organization proudly celebrates our sponsors during our opening ceremonies each year, throughout the season and most importantly on every jersey that our children wear for their games.  Not only do our sponsors graciously donate each and every year, they work with our organization to complete updates to the complex and capital projects like the roofs on our buildings, replacing fences in back of our batting cages and replacing our parking lot lighting.  UMLL was poised to add some additional sponsor signage this season and was in the planning stages of a sponsorship celebration day. 

We also understand the financial impact that the (COVID-19) pandemic has had on many of our sponsors.  Some have had to shut down for periods of time while others have had to significantly modify the way they do business.  We recognize that some sponsors may have had to rethink their donations as their business models have needed to adapt to the current conditions.  As we all continue to feel the impact of this “change in normalcy” our organization will continue to celebrate those sponsors on our social media platforms.

That said, the UMLL Board of Directors has agreed to the following:

1. Our intention with sponsors is to carry your sponsorship over to the 2021 season.

2. Any sponsor wishing to receive a refund instead of carrying over to next season, please contact our Director of Sponsorship, Kirsten Leo, and we will work to refund your sponsorship fees for the Spring 2020 season.

FAQ

How has UMLL arrived at a refund of $110 from a registration cost of $155?  How are other local leagues able to completely refund their registration fees?

• Upper Moreland Little League is a wholly self-funded organization that receives no funding from local/state or federal budgets.  The league relies on the registration fees we collect, sponsorships and donations to ensure that the league can fund all of our operations at the UMLL complex. In addition to complex operations (utilities, field/complex maintenance, property insurance, etc), the league funds our snackstand operations, post-season tournament operations, and player transportation/lodging/meals for our teams that move forward into State/Regional postseason tournaments.  

• The UMLL Board has a fiscal responsibility to ensure that our league stays financially stable, allowing us to provide the youngest members of our community the ability to play baseball and softball for many years to come.  Our organization diligently manages our expenses and provides a monthly summary during our Board Meetings.  Prior to the COVID-19 complete shutdown, the E-Board had been working diligently to manage our spending by delaying/cancelling snack stand start-up expenses,  delaying/cancelling our waste management monthly pickups, and  actively trying to find any/all other opportunities to manage  our cash-flow.

• Our charter/insurance expenses were due January 1st to Little League International, and our uniform expenses were finalized in February due to the lead time needed to deliver our jersey specifications (size/name/number/team/sponsor).  Our vendor/sponsor, Kampus Klothes, has been able to work with their vendors to return socks/pants that were purchased, which helped limit the overall expense for each player to only $45.