Athletic Committee
History & Background
Early 1990’s There
were two commissions: a baseball
commission and a softball commission comprised of coaches from the respective
leagues. These were combined into the
current Athletic Committee to create consistency between baseball and softball
and also add include basketball.
The
current Athletic Committee’s primary functions/accomplishments have been to
assist staff in:
- Developing a Ballfield Rental Procedure
- Defining the Adult Registration Process
- Developing a Lightning procedure
- Establishing the sportsmanship philosophy
- Developing player draft procedures
- Determining Tournament Protest Procedures
- Accessing and recommending changes in the girl’s
softball program:
o In
2000 to flatten pitches
o In
2001, committee recommended moving toward fast-pitch play with input from
coaches
o In
2007, combined slow and fast-pitch into one league and utilizing the fast-pitch
format.
- Formed a sub-group to assist in geographic
regionalization of programs.
In 2003 the Athletic Committee
Bylaws were updated (attached).
Current meeting schedule:
- 3-5 regular meetings per year as needed.
- 3 special request meetings per year to review,
interview and recommend special requests related to basketball, baseball
and softball.
- Assists in team placements (skills assessments)
for basketball, baseball and softball.
- Evaluates coaches and players in leagues as
requested by staff.
Current Committee Structure:
- Chair
appointed by PRCR Advisory Board
- 5
non-coaching Members appointed by the PRCR Advisory Board
- 4
coaching League Representatives nominated and voted by coaches in the
leagues.
- 1-2
Teen Representatives
- Staff
liaison: PRCR staff from Athletics
Division
Challenges of
Committee:
- Current
meeting schedules are not consistent with the other Committees
- Based
on new Sports Venues being built and more other sports being played on
Town fields, the scope of the Committee need to be expanded beyond just
serving Town programming.
- The
coaches work closely with staff therefore decreasing the need for League Representatives. These positions were designed to
communicate and consult the coaches in the respective sports leagues.
Moving Forward
- Many
of the current responsibilities (coaches’ evaluations and special request
reviews) can be served with groups developed as needed.
- Broaden
scope to serve in an advisory role for all sports
- Review
sports facility needs for all sports and make recommendations in the park
planning process.
- Assist
staff in event recruitment and planning by working closely with the Cary
Sports Alliance
- Replace
the League Representatives with regular members (preferably from various
sports interests)
- Remove
the restriction of “non-coaching”
Steps to Implement
Change
- Update
the Athletic Committee By-Laws
- Policy
148 Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources
Committee Structure Policy and Code Chapter 2, Article V. Boards,
Commissions and Authorities Amendments to reflect the member
representation
- Continue
to meet the rest of the current term with a focus on assessing the sports
needed based on geographic groupings (West, Central/North & South)
- Revise
the duties and description of the Committee for recruitment of volunteers
to serve future terms.