To find out more about Little League, click here to see a
PowerPoint presentation entitled “Where the Dream Begins.”

Today, when it comes to recreation and sports, it seems like children have more choices than ever – whether it’s team sports, individual sports, or just playing video games.

The same is true for a community trying to decide which baseball and softball program they will have. Which program is right for your community?

Below are just a few of the reasons Little League Baseball and Softball is the program of choice – by far – for more communities than any other youth sports organization in the world. Once you’ve seen these reasons,  send your request online or print out a form to fill out and return to us, and we’ll send more information right away.

“Playing in front of thousands of people, it was like ‘Wow!’ It was just amazing. … It’s something I will never forget.” – U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey star Krissy Wendell, on playing in the 1994 Little League World Series in Williamsport

“I could still recite the Little League Pledge today if you asked. It says win or lose, always do your best. That’s what I learned most from Little League Baseball.” – Gary Carter, Baseball Hall of Fame catcher

“Years ago, when I was playing on those dusty Little League fields in West Texas, I never dreamt I’d be President of the United States. … One of the things I did dream about, though, was making it to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the Little League World Series. … I equate Little League Baseball with good families.” – U.S. President George W. Bush

• It’s affordable –  The annual charter fee is only $16 per team (reduced from $18 per team in 2007). For most Little Leagues, the cost of belonging to the World’s Largest and Most Respected Youth Sports Organization is less than 2 percent of the local league’s budget.
• It’s easy – Chartering with Little League is really very simple. For many leagues, the chartering process takes less than two weeks.
• The World Series – A true World Series is played in four divisions of baseball and four divisions of softball, with four other tournaments advancing to state level. And ALL EIGHT World Series tournament championships are televised nationally on the ESPN family of networks. (Can ANY organization make that claim?) Making it to the granddaddy of all youth sports world championships, the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, happens to 16 communities around the world each year.
• Instant recognition – The words “Little League” have symbolized the very best in youth sports for more than six decades. Little League is played in more than 70 countries, and all 50 U.S. states. This year, at least 49 Little League Baseball and Softball games of the International Tournament will be televised nationally on ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC. No other youth sports organization comes close.
• Little League pays YOU for travel – The local league pays a one-time fee of $75 per team at the start of the District Tournament each year, and NO other fees after that, even for teams that make it to the World Series. In fact, Little League reimburses the local league $1 per mile (one round trip) when a team advances beyond district. For teams at each of the eight World Series tournaments, all expenses are paid by Little League.
• Insurance – When purchased through Little League, accident insurance fees range from $18 to $48, per team, per year. The liability insurance fee, when purchased through Little League, annually ranges from $101 per league to $30.30 per team for leagues with more than 14 teams.
• FREE rule books – Each league receives two free Little League rule books for each team chartered. Little League also supplies free materials for establishing constitution, by-laws, committees, etc.
• Always on duty – Little League has a free, full-time rules interpretation service by telephone and e-mail.
• Umpire Registry – For the men and women in blue, belonging to the Little League Umpire Registry is a way to keep up with the very latest news in rule changes and interpretations.
• Training – Little League offers clinics and seminars at various locations around the country each year for league officers, managers/coaches, and umpires.
• Rule changes – Through the Little League International Congress, local league volunteers have a democratic voice in changes to the rules and regulations.
• Challenger Division – Little League has a Challenger Division for physically and mentally challenged players, giving every child a chance to be a Little Leaguer.
• Boundary protection – No Little League program can “raid” players from another Little League program. In fact, the same rules and regulations apply to all chartered Little Leagues worldwide.
• A healthy combination – At its core, the purpose of Little League is to provide a safe, fun, wholesome combination of recreation and competition to players ages 5-18 through regular season play among local teams. For those players whose skills are more advanced, the Little League International Tournament provides the largest sports tournament in the world, with more than 40,000 games played each summer on the road to the various World Series tournaments. (Compare this to “travel ball” or “elite teams” for which parents pay exorbitant amounts of money, and players get burned out.)
• Education programs – Little League offers a variety of easy-to-implement programs for local leagues that help keep children safe, and make the game more fun for everyone: A Safety Awareness Program (ASAP), and the Little League Manager/Coach Education Program, just to name two.
• Child protection – Through the innovative Little League Child Protection Program, Little League was the first national youth sports organization (and remains the ONLY national youth baseball/softball organization) to mandate background checks on managers, coaches and other key volunteers. But it doesn’t stop with a mandate. Little League provides leagues with advice on how to perform the checks simply, and affordably. In fact, through a partnership with ChoicePoint, and thanks to a television contract extension with ESPN, Little League provides each chartered Little League program with 80 FREE background checks of its volunteers. That’s a savings of more than $1 million each year for local Little Leagues.

Every one of the benefits above is available ONLY to chartered Little League programs.

If you are interested in taking advantage of these benefits, just send your request online or print out a form to fill out and return to us, and we’ll send you information on how your baseball and/or softball league can become a real Little League.

Or, you can reach Dan Velte, Little League Director of League Development, at 570-326-1921, Ext. 223, or you can e-mail Dan at dvelte@littleleague.org.