What are World Series Aunts and Uncles?
Each team is assigned an Aunt/Uncle/Cousin family (World Series Volunteers) who help guide the team through world series week. They work with the Team Advocate, Manager, and coach to plan the week’s activities and give guidance on World Series protocol and commitments.
What does an Aunt/Uncle/Cousin’s family do?
Each team Aunt and Uncle can take on various responsibilities, it is up to each volunteer to decide how much or little they want to do for their team.
Here is a list of suggestions that teams enjoy Aunts and Uncles doing for them.
- Cheer for your team
- Introduce the team to the World Series Committee (if you’re with your team and see a Committee member, just introduce them, Players really never know who is in charge and who is running the tournament).
- Assists in finding additional practice field locations. Some teams want to practice more and some teams don’t like the practice times we assign them. If that happens we usually suggest you take them to Crestwood Park / Kirkland Middle School. You can always find an open field in those locations.
- Get with another Aunt/Uncle and do a 2 team dinner (if free time allows it) at Everest Park. JSWS gives each coach cash to feed players the meals we do not provide. If 2 teams combine the money and go up and get some Costco Chickens and salad it makes for a special time of bonding between players from different regions of the USA / World. (Coaches have more than enough money to pay for that).
- Recommend local restaurants to eat lunch/dinner (that will feed the team for the per-diem provided). Managers are given per Diem (cash) for each player, for each meal, while at the JSWS at the mandatory managers/coaches meeting.
- Some Aunts and Uncles have been known to throw a barbecue at their home or at a park at some point during the week for their team.
- If the team has a day off you may offer to act as the team tour guide, to local Seattle tourist attractions, like Pike place market, space needle, Ferry Boat rides, etc. Each team has very limited free (Non-JSWS) time to be tourists, so being organized is the key to seeing the most (FYI – Don’t freak out if you get buzzed by an F-18 Hornet – The Blue Angels will be in town for the Annual Seafair Hydroplane Races on Lake Washington Starting Thursday 8/3/2023).
- Attend the World Series Awards Dinner (Thursday night).
- It is each team’s responsibility to do their own laundry, however, some Aunts and Uncles may choose to assist with this.
- While we are here for the players and coaches, occasionally a player’s parent might need some advice about where to find something or where to eat or what are some fun things to do in Seattle.
In the end, Aunt/Uncle/Cousin Families are here to help teams win and help make the world series experience, a memory that will be remembered forever.
A Note to Parents
We have teams come to the World Series from all ethnic, social and economic environments. We’ve had the snooty wealthy teams, that thought making the girls stay in our 4.2-star hotel, was beneath them and we’ve had teams so poor, the entire team shared one bat. Our priority is for the girls to have a safe and healthy environment to meet, socialize and make friends with softball players from around the globe.
The World Series is for the Girls, not for the parents. Making friends from around the world will be one of the most rewarding experiences the girls will have at JSWS. We have former players from 20 years ago that will meet with the teams and talk about how they created lifelong friendships and memories during their 7 days at the JSWS.
Some players will have to come out of their comfort zone, to have a memorable JSWS experience. Some Moms will have to let go, so their player can have a memorable JSWS experience. After 20 years of doing this, we know one thing for certain… If you are a parent that hangs around the team, your child will gravitate toward you and miss out on the true World Series Experience.