Frequently Asked Questions
1. Will my child be safe?
Even in the absence of the coronavirus, baseball and softball are inherently risky activities. Participating in the summer season will undoubtedly increase your family’s risk of exposure to the covid-19 coronavirus and other infectious diseases. The board is working with a group of medical professionals in our Altamont community to put in to place covid-safe protocols that conform to local, state, and federal guidelines. Each family will need to determine if the increased risk of participating in Altamont activities is acceptable. We will require that an infectious diseases waiver be signed for each player who participates in Altamont activities.
2. What safety protocols will be implemented?
These have not yet been finalized. We are using the state’s “All Together New Mexico: Covid-Safe Practices for Individuals and Employers” as one of our guiding documents. That document is available in the “Links” section of the “Coronavirus Info” page on our website at www.altamontll.org. When protocols are finalized and agreed upon with the county, that document will be posted to the “Coronavirus Info” page and distributed to our families.
3. What will the season be like?
We are currently working with the Bernalillo County Parks and Recreation Department to re-open the Altamont Complex. We expect activities to be held there. We are working with the county to have running water back at the complex in early June, though that date may slip. We will not restart before running water is available. It is a 15-day process to get the water back on, tested, and approved for usage. We also need to get approval from the county's Emergency Operations Center and Legal Department. We have already begun working all of those issues but cannot give a date for when they will be completed.
Much beyond that, we simply do not know. New Mexico is currently in Phase 1 of the state’s re-opening plan. In that phase we are limited to groups of 5 kids with 1 adult working together. We can have multiple groups spaced apart on the field, but those groups cannot intermingle. Games are expressly forbidden.
Restrictions may loosen in Phases 2 and/or 3, which are tentatively scheduled for early June and early July. Phase 3 allows groups up to 100. When and if the metro area would transition into those phases is very much an open question. What the restrictions would be for youth organizations in those phases is unknown as well.
We do not yet know how many games will be played, if any. The season may consist of a couple practices a week for the summer, potentially into the early fall. It is also possible we may be allowed to play games in either Phase 2 or Phase 3.
For softball, the situation is muddled by our need to play against other leagues. How many other leagues field teams, what those team sizes are, etc. are currently unknown.
4. What if the season is shut down again?
If the season is shut down again, the board will re-evaluate refunds again. We may or may not issue refunds at a later date. If the board does decide to issue refunds, the value may be reduced relative to those being offered now.
5. Why are full refunds not available?
The season was stopped just a week before our first game was scheduled to be played. We already paid for chartering, insurance, uniforms, equipment, field maintenance, utilities, and other expenses. Since we had a partial season before the shutdown, we are forced to provide a partial refund.
6. How were the refund amounts determined?
The board determined refund amounts based on available funds. Amounts were set such that the league will have enough funds to operate through the end of the year and be able to pay insurance by January 1st, 2021. We do not want to risk a lapse in insurance.
7. Are the refund amounts fair?
Our base registration fee is $125 for the first player. Families pay more up front but can recover $60 from candy sales and $40 by working for two hours at our Field Cleanup Day. Other families save money by registering early and getting the $15 per player “Early Bird Discount”. Others register late and incur a fee associated with that. The board did not account for either this discount or fee in determining refunds.
For baseball players, the league incurred a cost of $38 for the MLB jerseys and hats. The refund amount of $50 per player, in addition to the $38 for the jersey and hat, brings the value of the refund to $88.
For softball players, the refund is higher to reflect the lower cost of the jerseys, which are not MLB-licensed.
8. Why can’t I apply my refund for credit next year?
We use Sports Connect, which Little League International strongly encourages, for our online registration system. Their tool does not currently allow for credits to be applied for future seasons. The board chose to simply issue refunds.
9. Why can’t I get a refund back on my credit card?
We use Sports Connect, which Little League International strongly encourages, for our online registration system. Their tool is not set up to handle bulk refunds back onto credit cards. They are currently working to add this functionality, but feedback from leagues going through this process has been very negative thus far. The system is labor-intensive, buggy, and incurs a credit card transaction fee. The board instead chose to issue checks.