Dear GBYBS Family,
During this unprecedented time, we have been doing our best to navigate the uncertainty of youth sports in our community. We have made guesses about when GBYBS could resume local league activities but have never had anything concrete to share. We have been in regular contact with the Gresham Barlow School District, the City of Gresham and our local & national Babe Ruth Organization as well as checking in with other leagues and youth sports organizations. No one knows when we will be allowed back on the field and as hard as it is, we felt it was time to make a tough decision.
Tonight, the GBYBS Board approved the cancellation of the 2020 recreational season. This announcement is hard to write and send to all of you. In fact, several of you have been waiting for a returned email or phone call from me. I am truly sorry for the lack of response and will be doing my best to get back to each of you throughout the next week. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
I'm sure the next question on your mind is regarding fees you paid for the 2020 season. Over the next few weeks, we will be applying a credit to your player account which can be used for any future GBYBS season or camp. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide 100% credit due to expenses already paid that are associated with league admin & charter fees as well as insurance and uniform costs (if applicable). We are hopeful that some of those costs will be able to roll over to the next season and if so, would allow us to reduce some of our registration fees in 2021. 8th grade Babe Ruth players will receive a refund check in the mail by mid June along with our very best wishes for you to continue playing baseball at the high school level next year and beyond.
Minors, Majors & Babe Ruth players will still receive their jerseys. As much as we would love to hold these over to next year, each uniform was made with your players' name on the back along with color/sizing according to the 2020 season. TeeBall, PeeWee and Rookie players that registered by Feb 29th will also still receive their 2020 GBYBS Sweatshirt. Details are listed below regarding a pickup window during the weekend of May 30th so that you can stop by Main City Park to pick up your player's sweatshirt or jersey. Coaches, this is also a great time for you to turn in any gear that you had received for the season.
Thank you to everyone in our upper divisions that had started selling our league fundraising items before the season was postponed. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accept or fulfill any flower basket orders this year and will need to officially end our other fundraising efforts. For those with pepperoni sticks left over, we kindly ask that you return them to us. Our vendor has graciously agreed to allow us to return any unopened packages with only a 10% restocking fee. We are grateful for any funds raised through the selling of pepperoni sticks which will help us offset the restocking fees as well as our flyer and envelope costs. Fundraising items and money can be turned in at Main City Park the weekend of May 30th.
As we work to close out "the season that never was" we hope you will join us in looking forward to an amazing fall-ball season.
Sincerely,