2012Cal Ripken 9 and 9/10

MississippiState Championship

TournamentJuly 5-8

Gulfport MS

PO Box 1513Gulfport, Ms 39502

2012 Mississippi Cal Ripken 9 and 9/10 Year Old

State Championship TournamentWelcome participants!

The Gulfport Youth Sports Association, aka GYSA, is very proud to act as your host for the 2012 Mississippi Cal Ripken 9 year old and 9/10 year old State Championship Tournament. GYSA welcomes you to Gulfport MS and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Congratulations on your accomplishments this season. We hope you enjoy your visit to our hometown of Gulfport, Mississippi. We wish your team the best of luck in the tournament and we also hope that you find time to enjoy a few of the other things the Mississippi Gulf Coast has to offer.

At any time during your stay, please feel free to talk with any of our tournament host officials for more information on any aspect of your stay here with us. We hope you have a great tournament and we also hope you have a memorable and enjoyable experience here on the coast!

Scott BarnesGYSA President

Important Information:

All tournament games and practices will be held at the Bayou View Sports Complex located on Hewes Avenue in Gulfport. The physical address of the ball fields is 4300 Hewes Avenue, Gulfport, MS 39507. This address can be used as a mapping point for traveling purposes.

There will be no formal opening ceremony involving all teams. There will be a prayer, Babe Ruth Creed , and flag raising and National Anthem before the first game.

Host Hotel: (SEE ATTACHED MAP) Our host hotel for the tournament will be the Hilton Garden inn, 228-863-4996, in Gulfport located at 14108 Airport Road in Gulfport, right across the street from the airport and just blocks from the ballfields. We have a block of rooms reserved at $109 per night and reservations must be made by July 10 to get the negotiated room rate on any of the blocked rooms. There will also be a limited number of rooms blocked at the Hilton’s sister property, the Marriot Residence Inn just across the parking lot from the Hilton. Because the Residence Inn is an “all suite” hotel, those room rates will be slightly higher. Because this tournament is being held during the high season for coast hotels, reservations must be made by as soon as possible.

Check In/ Credentials: There will be a mandatory check in and credentials check beginning at 2PM on Thursday July 5. There will also be a manadatory coaches meeting that will take place at 6PM Thursday, July 5. Credentials check and coaches meeting will take place at the Board Room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gulfport (SEE ATTACHED MAP). Each team manager shall be responsible for providing credentials (proper letters from commissioners, state officers, insurance forms, rosters & certificates) upon check-in. Teams will not be allowed to participate if their credential packet is not complete

In the event the host hotel is unavailable for any reason, here is some additional hotel information:

Holiday Inn Airport 228-679-1700Fairfield Inn 228-822-9000Days Inn 228-864-5135Comfort Suites 228-678-9001

All four of these hotels are 5 minutes from the ballfields. Again, please book as early as possible as hotel space will be limited during this busy tourist time on the Gulf Coast.)

You may also visit www.visitmscoast.org or www.gulfcoast.org for more information on hotels and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Games begin: Friday July 6 with championship play ending on Sunday, July 8.

We will post any breaking news or other pertinent information on our website at www.gulfportyouthsports.com .

Tournament Officials:

State Tournament chairperson: Scott Barnes hootie609@aol.com 228-323-5536

Assistant State Tournament chairperson: Angie Simmons asimmons1120@gmail.com 228-860-7859

District 6 State Commissioner Jason Streetman coastappraiser@att.net 228-324-2277

Other information:

Entry /gate fees:Tournament pass $15Daily pass ages 13 and up $5Daily pass ages 7 to 12 $3Age 6 and under FREE

All players and up to three coaches per team free

NO OUTSIDE COOLERS WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE PARK. Each team will be allowed one TEAM cooler in the dugout.

Once the bracket is received from the State director, it will be posted on our website, www.gulfportyouthsports.com.

GAME CONDUCTAll games will be played under rules and regulations covered in the Professional Baseball Rule Book, Rules and Regulations of Babe Ruth Baseball. Brackets for the State Tournament will be drawn by the State Commissioner and will be available upon check- in. Bottom of bracket will be Home Team. The on deck circle closest to your dugout will be the one used by your team.

Games will be kept moving at all times. No unnecessary delays or mound conferences, etc., will be permitted. Have a backup catcher to warm up pitcher between innings if catcher is not ready.

Anyone ~ players, managers or coaches acting in an unsportsmanlike manner shall be removed from the playing field or the ballpark immediately and disqualified from the tournament. If a player is ejected from the game he must leave the ball park accompanied by an adult. If his parents are not present he will be accompanied by his

manager or coach. Payers shall wear full uniforms according to baseball rules. While in uniform, neatness is a must. When you are at the ball park your shirt tail must be tucked in and your cap worn properly with the bill in the front. When taking the field for your games no warm up or hitting shirts allowed. Coaches must wear matching jerseys and matching pants/shorts.

Protective headgear must be worn at bat and on the bases. Equipment-bats, gloves, helmets, etc.- shall be stacked neatly in their proper places at all times ( inside the dugout).

Only players, coaches, managers, and batboys shall be in the dugouts. Players and coaches must stay inside the dugouts. Offensively, two coaches are allowed to be in coaches boxes. Masks w/throat protector will be required at all times when warming up the pitchers whether on the field or in the bullpen.

No team will be allowed to kneel or stand along baseline and watch other team warm up. No tobacco products will be permitted on or near the playing field, dugout, bleachers, walkways or restrooms. Smoking and other tobacco use is only allowed in the parking areas well away from the fields.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

The State Commissioner shall have the authority to remove any player, coach, or manager for actions detrimental to Babe Ruth Baseball. Any misbehavior or misconduct on or off the field could cause the disqualification of a manager, coach, player or the entire team from the tournament.

The tournament is under the jurisdiction of Mississippi Babe Ruth League and the State Tournament Director.

The protest committee shall have the final authority in all protest. A rules violation is the only thing that can be protested (judgment calls are not to be protested).

The protest committee shall consist of the acting tournament director and one parent (not a coach) from each participating team. That parent needs to be indentified on the lineup card that is turned in prior to the game.

Players must be in uniform and at the field one (1) hour before their scheduled game time.

There are 6 batting cages at the facility that can be used prior to each game.

Practice field schedules will be available at the tournament if desired. Please see tournament director for availability and assignment.

Teams using a bus or other outside transportation should make arrangements for the transportation to be available upon elimination from the tournament.

REQUIRED CREDENTIALSFOR STATE TOURNAMENT

_____Any Letter of Waiver received by the League_____Copy of District Tournament Champion Letter of Eligibility_____Copy of League Accident Insurance Policy_____Copy of League Liability Insurance Policy_____Tournament Team Roster Certified by League President_____Birth documents of all players (Babe Ruth ID card, original birth

documents or a notarized copy of the original with a raised seal.)_____Complete set of Consent for Treatment forms (4 sets of originals) for

all players on Tournament Roster. _____Two (2) black and white or two (2) colored photographs (5x7 or 8x10)

of the team with names of players, manager and coaches listed on a separate sheet of paper (front row left to right, back row left to right,

with team name at top). One copy of the photo will be mailed to the Regional site and one copy mailed to Headquarters.

_____Team information packet (several copies). Your State Official running your State Tournament will mail one copy to the Regional site and one copy to Headquarters.