THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409280115
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 21 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATRICIA HUANG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
It's not whether you win or lose; it's how you play the game.
With that in mind, the Chesapeake Parks and Recreation Advisory Board is preparing to conduct its annual public hearing on the athletic rules and policies that govern the city's approximately 1,700 athletic teams.
``This is a parent's chance to recommend any changes he may want,'' said Walter C. Brown, the department's athletic supervisor. ``We keep a log of significant problems that we have with the rules throughout the year, and this is the time when we deal with them.''
About 5,800 adults and 16,000 youth participate in the Parks and Recreation Department's eight year-round athletic programs.
Five percent of the adult leagues also have residents of other cities participating in them. This year, one issue to be discussed at the Oct. 6 public hearing will be a policy regarding non-residents who have been suspended for misconduct by an athletic program in their home city.
For the youths, an issue of concern involves a rule about missing practices. Over the past year, the city's volunteer coaches have had differences interpreting the excused and unexcused practices mentioned in the rule, Brown said. As it stands now, he added, coaches are required to have the approval of the recreation staff before suspending a child for even one game.
The idea is to give everyone a chance to play, especially the 5- and 6-year-olds, who make up the youngest teams of the Tiny Tots Soccer Program. Seven-year-old girls can join the youngest softball teams, and 17- and 18-year-olds make up the department's oldest youth leagues in the Super Senior Program. Some other sports include flag football and tackle football, cheerleading, adult co-ed volleyball and basketball.
Placing emphasis on rules and skills, no scores are kept for the youngest teams. There are no strikes and no outs. ``We don't want to put that kind of pressure on them,'' Brown said.
This year no big rule or policy changes are expected to be made, although there may be minor modifications to refine some rules, Brown said.
``Generally, we don't have many complaints because we feel our rules are very fair,'' he said. Still, Brown encourages parents and coaches to voice their opinions on playing changes or updates.
The new rules and policies will be voted on by the advisory board Nov. 3 and will become effective at the start of the 1995 basketball season. by CNB