• The immediate concern is all about the draws. Clubs are still trapped in the ‘silly season’ as club attempt to finalize their teams. It is sad to say that not all the clubs have any consideration other than attempting to win a competition or play in a comfortable standard. It is reasonably obvious that clubs are looking at what they do not have rather than what they have in relation to other clubs / teams when it comes to grading. There is no way to sweeten the bitter pill than to admit this season’s Under 14 playing standard is extremely poor… the representative team proves that. It cannot be compared with last year’s standard nor the years before; certainly there are no players of the ability of Zack Shepherd, Hayden Bray, and Tim Wakefield in this age group this year. The Under 12 competition also is not as robust this year with Castle Hill having the bulk of better players. To its credit Castle Hill recognize this and have entered two teams into Douglass League. Kellyville, despite lacking the depth has also nominated a team into first division... yet others with much more ‘firepower’ opt for the comfort of second division. That is unfair not only to Kellyville in Under 12 but Quakers Hill in Under 14 and Castle Hill in both Under 17 and Under 14. Yet these clubs accept their responsibility to provide first division teams wherever possible. Obviously I am not happy with the gradings requested and have attempted to even up the gradings based on nothing else than this year’s standard. That is the sole criteria of any grading – comparable with the current season standard-not what happened last year! Some are going to be unhappy with the structure of the competition but whatever is decided upon will be both the best and the fairest for the Association as a whole.

• The last of the Level 0 courses for the year will be conducted on Sunday 27th September. Nominations are to be forwarded direct to Greg Robinson. It will be an all day course, commencing at 8am.

• We are through the first two weeks of the representative season. The draw for Hills has so far been ‘soft’ – the three teams remain undefeated. However, there is a much harder test, particularly for Under 14 and 16, on 20th September when Hills host Ryde at Kellyville.

• Judging on the response to the request for umpires for the round against Greater West we are going to struggle for Umpires in representative games this year. Against Greater Western we had to ask that they supply umpires. If you know of anyone that is prepared to umpire any of these games then please have them contact me.

• By the end of this month we will be offering specialist training of young pitchers and catchers on Tuesday evenings at Kellyville. Participation initially will be by invitation. It will not include representative players.

• The first part of the assessment of players seeking Dispensation went reasonably. Overall there are 32 applications-most of these being received after Thursday. What that did was not allow us to schedule the various ages at different times and some parents and players were left to wait until the other groups were assessed. Personally I believe that all players should be assessed at the same time wherever possible as it allows the benefit of direct comparison of players in the same age group. Most applications were transport problems; need to make up numbers of teams or late registrations who could not be fitted into teams in correct age groups. There were a number of players seeking to play up in age however to my way of thinking most failed to demonstrate any real ability to warrant being granted dispensation. It just causes another problem next season or the season after. It is obvious that clubs did not read the Policy. There is a clause that states that it is unlikely that first time players are unlikely to be granted dispensation where they are seeking to play up in age.

• As advised last meeting- we have outgrown the Boardroom at Rema Industries. We are meeting tonight in the Sport and Recreation clubrooms at Fred Caterson while we continue the search of a permanent venue.

• The Rules night was well attended with over 100 people in attendance. The T Ball and Mod Ball Rules and coaches Training day was a ‘flop’ with only five people attending – all from Castle Hill. I guess it means coaches know it all and need no assistance. One point that did come out of the day was the absolute frustration of the coaches attending of the failure of Umpires to enforce (and in some instances not even know) the rules of the age group they were umpiring. It was agreed a few months back that T Ball requires knowledgeable and strong Umpires. Believe me when I say the term” It is only T Ball – so why worry” will not be accepted this year.

• For the new clubs in Hills the Conference Rule sheets for the particular age and Conference are to be attached to the team’s scorebook… again from a straw poll of five people none of them had access to the Conference Sheets last season. A copy of all Conference Sheets is to be maintained in the Club’s canteen.

• The Executive is recommending that the Youth League competition is re named the Under 17 Barry Shipley Youth League. This is consistent with the Hills’ Policy of naming competitions after people who have made a considerable influence with establishment or ongoing success of Hills. In life Barry never sought or wanted recognition – however, his family has asked that Hills recognize Barry’s involvement in the establishment of Hills

• Where are clubs at with players on ‘Waiting Lists’? It seems the two ages that clubs are ‘short in’ are Under 12 T Ball and Under 14. Baulkham Hills and Castle Hill can accommodate players in Under 12 T Ball while Schofields need Under 14 players.

• The draw is going to be difficult to achieve a true home and away draw. The problem is Sutton with two Under 16 teams playing Saturday. Sutton can only accommodate a single game when Under 16 are on Diamond 1. Clubs are requested to consider playing, at least some, games as twilights on Friday night. These games would not be scheduled until November. The alternative is to play the Winston Hills’ home games at a neutral venue. Same with Cashmore South and Kellyville. Similarly I am unsure how Castle Glen will cope with Castle Hills’ 20 teams and only four available diamonds (excluding Under 16 teams).

• We need more teams in the Competitive Under 8 to make that competition viable. At present there are four teams – three of which are from Castle Hill. It is difficult to understand why the proposal was voted in; IF Clubs had no intention of supporting it!

• The Hills’ representative teams for season 2009/10 are:

• Under 12 Guy Burgess, Lachlan Campbell, Liam Gilchrist, Patrick Holme, Daniel Howlett, Mitchell Inskip, Julian Parmanov, James Roberti, Tom Roberts, James Sammes, Issac Whatson, Dylan Wiggins, Dylan Wright.
• Under 14 Jackson Bugdalski, Matthew Cantrell, Bryce Clarke, Justin Dawson, Joel Dyer, Dean Frew, Sean Jones, Jordan Lindsay, Ben Mawbey, James McCallum, Cameron Power, Michael Robinson, Mitchell Williams, Mika Zammitt.
• Under 16 Jacob Adams, Jake Austin, Jake Bohan, Eden Cattell, Harrison Garrett, Jordan Greenlees- Brown, Josh Guyer, Ryan Herbert, Jordan Kerry, Zack Shepherd, Matthew Olson, Drew Whittaker, Dominic Woodward

The Secretary’s report was accepted.

Mr. Schmidt advised that there was no meeting in August as both Mrs. Barnier and Mr. Yard were in Europe with the Under16/17 team

• Mr. Whatson advised that there will be no meeting in September as there was no agenda items submitted – so the Chairman cancelled the meeting.

• There have been three breaches in Under 12 representative competition.

• We have not heard from Ryde regarding Henry Woo being selected in the SJC team when ineligible. Henry is continuing to play.

• JLSC had not met since the Hills Meeting in July.

• Statement of Financial Position was presented.
• Payments were approved.
• Debtors and liabilities were disclosed.

Youth League - the recommendation to change the name of the Youth League competition to Under 17 Barry Shipley Youth League was approved unanimously.

Under 8 competitions - .Mr. Whatson advised that the ‘in house’ competitions in Under 7 and Under 8 age groups are a threat to Hills in a number of areas – reduces our player numbers, therefore reducing the income of the Association. More importantly it threatens the structure of the Under 8 competitions. Mr. Yard stated that the problem with Under 8 is that the competitions offered are trying to be all things to all people – with nothing available to support which alternative works best. Mr. Schmidt advised that the Under 8 competitions is numerically the strongest in Hills. For Hills to retain its playing numbers it needs to field 25-30 Under 8 teams per year, that is a lot of recruitment to be achieved each year.

Dispensations - Mr. Yard advised that the assessment of players applying for dispensations was carried out last Saturday and the meeting of the Dispensations Committee will be conducted on Thursday 10th September, 2009. Mr. Yard stated that he was disappointed with the clubs’ organization toward dispensations. On the Thursday before the nominated dispensation assessment day there were 13 players requiring assessment – two days later there were approximately 25 players at Castle Glen to be assessed. This resulted in the parents/players being forced to wait as the dispensations were assessed in age groups. Had we known that there were so many players, we would have advised parents of the time their child needed to be there. Mr. Yard was also disappointed that not all players attended the one venue as was the original intention. It is far easier to assess players (and get decisions correct) if the assessors can make comparison of players – rather than being seen by different assessors at different locations.

Development - Mr. Power queried the age that development was being offered. Carlingford would have players aged 11 and 12 years of age. Mr. Yard stated that the initial intent was for next season’s Under 12 prospective representative players to attend.

Grounds – Mr. Yard suggested that some clubs need to be able to better utilize their grounds otherwise they ‘run the risk’ of losing the grounds to other sports.

Players Market – Mr. Niemi advised that Castle hill has two Under 10 players available. Mr. Schmidt reminded clubs that the Hills Rules allow for a maximum of 12 players per team – yet several clubs exceed this number.

T Ball, Mod Ball Coaching/Instruction Day - Ms. Foley advised that the course was no advertised on the Hills website. Mr. Yard agreed that the course was not advertised, but clubs had to be aware of the course, as it was included in the advice of future events for the last two months.

Kenko Balls – In response to a question regarding which Kenko balls are to be used, Mr. Yard advised that the dimple ball would be used while ever there are stocks.

Umpires for Representative games – Ms. Foley suggested that a possible solution to the shortage of Umpires at representative level would be to pay the umpires for officiating at games. Ms. Foley suggested that the umpires be paid $40 per game. Umpires would need to be accredited and approved by Hills;’ Executive for appointment. The fee would be levied against the parents. Mr. Yard stated that he did not think it was a problem that money would solve. Hills already recognise the umpires that officiate in representative games– in the past we have paid the fees of umpires re-accreditation courses and certainly recognised those umpires each year. There was a motion that Umpires who officiate in representative games be paid $40 per game. The motion was carried.

Orange Blossom Festival - Ms. Foley suggested that Hills use the Orange Blossom Festival to promote baseball/T Ball. Mr. Schmidt stated that he supports the idea, however each year we forget about it and run out of time. Mr. Yard advised that in past years clubs have provided players for the Orange Blossom March. The time of the Festival is ‘not good’ for Hills as it always clashes with the start of the season.

Baseball NSW fees – In response to a question as to whether the Baseball NSW fees had increased, Mr. Schmidt advised he was unsure as there is nothing on the web site.

Rules – Mr. Schmidt advised that the copy of the Rule Book on the website is not the final one. The rules are still a ‘work in progress’. Mr. Petrone asked whether first division players play up an age in third division. Mr. Schmidt advised that the rules prevent it and have done so for a considerable time.

End of year Presentation Night – Mr. Yard supported the proposal as a means of ‘keeping in touch’ with people no longer actively involved in Hills.

Representative players – There was a thought that Hills’ representative players should play first division within Hills.