Hello LWAA Family,
I hope everyone is well and staying safe during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. You are missed, and I know that you miss youth sports very much. We want to get back to normal as soon as possible but remain diligent as we work together as a community to beat this.
The season is officially on pause. Since every sport started practicing and registration was closed, we had officially started our Spring season when the Covid19 changes took hold. LWAA is a 501c3 non-profit all volunteer organization; we do not receive any government funding, nor do we have a corporate profit structure Everything we do is based upon registrations and some sponsor support. A good portion of the monies paid have been spent for the Spring Season.
- Little League Baseball requires us to pay a charter fee in December for the upcoming year and these fees include insurance and registration fees to Little League.
- For every other sport, every player and coach are required to have insurance and that is one our largest expenses of the year.
- Uniforms were already ordered and delivered to us and ready to hand out.
- We purchased quite a bit of new equipment for all our sports.
- Volleyball is a brand-new sport and we had to buy everything new.
- Initial field building and maintenance was paid, and maintenance is ongoing to keep the fields playable for when we can return.
- We paid gym rental fees, so the kids could start practices.
- Other various expenses
So, we will hold out as long as we can, before making a final decision on the Spring Season.
Our plan at this moment, is to resume activities as soon as it is safe and is allowed, which will be determined by Governmental guidance and the Clover School District. As we all know, the "when" is not clear now, but the LWAA Board has agreed May 11th as our target date and extending season to June, if necessary. If we cannot be on the fields by this date, we are looking at the following options:
- Defer entire season for all Sports to the Fall (Depends on partner organizations)
- Cancel the Spring Season and issue partial credits for any future LWAA sport
We will continue to put maximum effort into whichever option is appropriate and provide your child with what our Board feels is the best option, but it still depends on two things; if it is safe for players and families and if it affords our kids the opportunity to play and get as many games as possible.
The threat is real, and our continued vigilance is needed to reduce the negative impact and frankly to save lives. We need to be strong and make sure we are all doing our part and the LWAA Board will continue to review opportunities and ideas to work to keep our kids safe and provide support to our LWAA families as needed.
These are tough times but know that we are all in it together and your LWAA board is here for you. Our next board call will be April 26th, so we will pass along more information after that as we get closer to the May 11th date. We appreciate your patience until a decision is made.
Thank you for being a part of LWAA Family and please stay safe and take care of you and your families!
Jeff Grayson
LWAA President