We had something happen at the last 50's tournament that must not ever happen at one of our FHC tournaments.  Our umpires work very hard at their craft through our regular umpire clinics and our mandatory Regional Clinics as well.  We are all human, however, and sometimes we may not agree with a call or decision.  That is understandable, but when the game is over, it is over, and so should the emotions of the Players and Managers.  We had a Player follow the umpires to the parking lot, thinking that they were protected from any penalty there.  There were heated words exchanged, and thank goodness the umpires had the calmness to go back up to the Site Director and fill out a report of what transpired.  As your Chairman, I want to be perfectly clear on this.  Managers, please tell your Players that they are never to go into the parking lot after umpires, make contact with them in a threatening manner, or carry their own problems with them to their regular league play.  If we find that this is a carryover from one of our FHC tournaments, the penalty will be just as harsh as it would be from our own fields of play.

 

For some time now we have had some confusion on whether or not a team can play down to a lower age bracket so they could get credit towards eligibility to the State Tournament.  An example would be a 60's team that plays in a 50's tournament.  The wording in the By-Laws has also changed in recent years, so the FHC Board of Directors has decided to let you Managers vote on this once again.  You will vote at the 60 and up tournament on March 7 at the Boombah fields.  There will be a Manager's Meeting at each of the Hubs, and you will be able to vote there.  The question will be:

 

At this time there is a Team minimum of 6 required tournaments played by a 50's or 60's team in order to qualify for the December state Tournament. 

 

You'll vote for one of the following at the March 7-8 tournament:

When you get an opportunity, please congratulate our 2019 Hall of Fame inductees.  They are Juan Alicea, Greg Hazel, Steve Levin, Jerome McCoy, Rocky Scott, Clyde Smith, and Greg Wacha.  We are proud to call them all Hall of Famers.

 

As time goes by, we lose many of our own FHC family members.  We try and recognize those who have passed on, and we would like to continue that practice.  If you know of someone who was a FHC member that has passed away, please contact me or any of your Area directors, so we can let membership know.  God bless and good luck.

 

Mike Knowles
Chairman FHC