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| Little League Institutes Nationwide Sex
Offender Registry Checks Other rules also changed for 2007 season WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (Sept. 13, 2006) – The Little League International Board of Directors has voted to mandate checks of the National Sex Offender Public Registry for managers, coaches and other volunteers who come into regular contact with players, it was announced today by Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League Baseball and Softball. The National Sex Offender Public Registry, coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice, is a cooperative effort between the federal government and the states that host public sexual offender registries. The registry, which became available in July 2005, features a web-based search tool allowing the user to submit a single query to obtain information about convicted sex offenders in nearly every state. It now includes all states. Use of the registry is free and available to anyone with an Internet connection at http://www.nsopr.gov. “Little League commends the Department of Justice and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on taking this important step,” Mr. Keener said. “Little League remains committed to providing its volunteers with the means to make Little League a safer program for children.” Little League, the largest organized youth sports program in the world with more than 2.6 million players and 1 million adult volunteers, became in 2003 the first national youth sports program to mandate checks of state sex offender registries for its local leagues. Pop Warner Football later adopted the same mandate, but no other large youth sports programs have followed suit. “We again call on all other youth sports organizations to take this important step in protecting children,” Mr. Keener said. While the Department of Justice National Sex Offender Registry is a great improvement over individual state sexual offender registries, Little League International strongly recommends that leagues utilize ChoicePoint to perform background checks. ChoicePoint currently conducts a nationwide check in all states except Hawaii and South Dakota. More information on the newly mandated background checks, as well as information on using ChoicePoint for more extensive background checks, can be found at the Little League web site: www.littleleague.org. The Little League International Board of Directors adopted the change at its meeting during the Little League Baseball World Series on Aug. 25. Other changes adopted for the 2007 season at that meeting are listed below. • A regulation reinforcing Little League’s residency requirements, stating that a player who does not reside within the boundaries of a local Little League must have written permission from the Little League International Charter Committee before being permitted to participate. • A regulation mandating the use of pitches delivered to determine pitching eligibility in all baseball divisions. Previously, eligibility was determined by innings pitched. This information was released to the public on Aug. 25. (Story here: http://www.littleleague.org/media/pitch_count_08-25-06.asp) • A rule in the Little League Softball Division (for girls ages 9-12), mandating the use of the 12-inch softball. The 11-inch softball remains in use for the Minor League Softball Division (for girls ages 7-12). • A rule that makes the following changes to the bat specifications in the baseball divisions:
• An International Tournament rule allowing a player in the Big
League Baseball or Big League Softball regular season programs to be
eligible for selection to a tournament team if he/she was on a
roster during at least one-half of the regular season. Previously,
the rule only permitted eligibility if the player actually
participated in one-half of the games. This was changed because the
Big League divisions do not have a mandatory play rule for the
regular season. The Big League Baseball Division is for players
16-18 years old, and the Big League Softball Division is for girls
ages 14-18. For more information contact Little League International |
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