Energizing its focus on providing baseball and softball opportunities for young athletes, Little League to discontinue the Big League Baseball and Softball divisions, providing offerings for children 4 to 16 years old
Since its founding in 1939, Little League® International has paved the way in creating opportunities for children to have an organized sporting activity in their community. Continuing the organization’s efforts to provide local league volunteers and families with the best support and structure for operating local Little League programs, the Little League International Board of Directors approved the restructuring of its baseball and softball programs, dissolving the Big League Baseball and Big League Softball divisions, and capping participation in the Little League program for children 16 years old.
“Little League strives to continue to find new ways to support communities around the world and provide a healthy, fun sporting experience for children around the world,” said Stephen D. Keener, Little League President and CEO. “Over the past few years, our Little League parents, volunteers, and local league and District Administrators have expressed that Little League can best serve their communities through efforts focusing on the youngest levels of the games, providing the structure and support, so that boys and girls can develop their on-field skills while learning valuable life lessons.”
Over the past decade, the landscape of youth sports, specifically youth baseball and softball, has shifted, where more opportunities exist for teenagers, especially for players 17 and 18 years old, than ever before. As such, Little League International, at the urging of its local league volunteers, parents, and constituents, began to look at the structure of its entire organization to ensure that it is providing the best support for its local Little League programs. Throughout the winter of 2016, Little League engaged its District Administrators and other local league volunteers in a biannual review of Little League rules and regulations, where an agenda item on restructuring the teenage divisions of the Little League Baseball® and Little League Softball® programs was discussed, and ultimately voted on. A majority of the voting body of volunteers approved the measure that Little League should restructure its teenage divisions, eliminating one level of play for both baseball and softball.
After a thorough review, Little League International made the recommendation of dissolving the Big League divisions in both baseball and softball and capping participation in the Little League program at 16 years old. With direct input from the Little League International Board of Directors Executive Committee, and Little League International Board of Directors Operating Committee, which includes the nine District Administrators who serve as Field Directors, the Little League International Board of Directors approved the restructuring at their August 26, 2016 meeting. Beginning with the 2017 season, the Little League Baseball and Little League Softball programs will focus its emphasis on providing opportunities for children 4 to 16 and eliminate the Big League Baseball and Big League Softball divisions for regular season and tournament play.
“Historically, the Big League divisions, and specifically participation of children 17 and 18 years old, has made up less than one percent of the entire Little League program, and has not seen any significant growth or decline over the past 15 years,” said Mr. Keener. “When thoroughly reviewing all our offerings, the Little League International Board of Directors felt that this restructuring was the best way to focus our efforts where the Little League program came make its most positive impact at the younger levels of the game.”
The restructuring is the latest action in Little League International’s efforts to enhance opportunities for its youngest participants and provide more children the opportunity have a quality Little League experience. In 2013, the Little League Intermediate (50/70) Baseball Division was launched for children 11 to 13 years old to provide a better transition for players going from the Little League field to the conventional baseball field. Little League has also created its new Tee Ball program focusing on fun, fitness, and fundamentals, and has begun implementing a new Age Determination Date for the Little League Baseball program, as part of its concerted efforts to provide more opportunities for children to develop as players and learn the important life lessons of teamwork, dedication, and fair play at a young age. Also, starting with the 2017 season, Little League International will begin separately chartering Coach Pitch, to be able to better serve this important transition from Tee Ball to the Major League (Little League) division.
As part of this restructuring, Little League International will also relocate the Senior League Baseball World Series from Bangor, Maine, to Easley, S.C., which had previously served as the home of the Big League Baseball World Series. The Senior League Softball World Series will remain in Lower Sussex, Del., which also hosted the Big League Softball World Series since 2013.
“For 15 years, the city of Bangor has been a wonderful host of the Senior League Baseball World Series, and words cannot express our sincere gratitude to our Tournament Director Mike Brooker, his fellow volunteers, and the entire city for their support,” said Stephen D. Keener, Little League President and CEO. “Equally, Easley has an incredible volunteer staff, led by Tournament Director Jon Humphrey, and support from the city. When reviewing both locations, Easley offers dormitory housing, with support from Clemson University, and is a more central location, with easier transportation options for all participants, families, and fans. This was an extremely difficult decisions given that both sites have fantastic facilities and volunteers that support our tournaments.”
Little League® International Restructures its Teenage Divisions
Why the change?
Little League International consistently evaluates its program to review how it can best serve the local volunteers as they provide the structure and leadership for Little League programs in their communities. As youth sports continues to evolve, so does Little League. Today, there are more opportunities than ever before for 17- and 18-year-olds to participate on an organized baseball and softball teams. This has made it difficult for volunteers to administer and support Big League Division regular and tournament seasons in both baseball and softball.
Historically, 17- and 18-year-olds have made up less than .5 percent of overall Little League participation, and has not seen any significant growth or decline over the past 15 years. Big League Baseball and Big League Softball has only accounted for 1 percent of all teams, 3 percent of all leagues, and 2 percent of all tournament teams. Little League International’s numbers mirror that of the entire youth baseball and softball industry.
In recent baseball and softball participations studies, participation peaks around age 7, where most children are participating in just one organized program. Focusing on the youngest divisions of play, where participation in a community program is at its highest level, Little League will be able to provide more resources, training, and skill development for those just learning to love the games of baseball and softball.
How was the decision to restructure the Little League Baseball and Softball teenage divisions reached?
Little League International, at the urging of its local league volunteers, parents, and constituents, began to look at the structure of its entire organization to ensure that it is providing the best support for its local Little League programs. Throughout the winter of 2016, Little League held meetings with District Administrators and Assistant District Administrators in all nine of its regions, both in the United States and internationally, to discuss rule and regulations changes, one of the items on the agenda was restructuring the teenage divisions of Little League Baseball and Softball.
The main finding of the discussion pertaining to the teenage divisions of the Little League Baseball and Softball program was that District Administrators and Assistant District Administrators felt that the Little League Baseball and Softball offerings should be restructured and a level of play be eliminated. This measure was then voted on by Little League District Administrators, receiving a majority of that vote. The Little League International Board of Directors, at its April 2016 meeting, approved the measure for the Little League International staff to create a plan to restructure the teenage divisions of Little League Baseball and Softball and eliminate a division.
After a thorough review of the entire program, it was found that while the Big League divisions of both baseball and softball receive the same amount of resources, participation at that level makes up less than 1 percent of the entire organization. Little League International staff presented the plan of restructuring the Teenage Divisions to the Operations Committee and Executive Committee of the Little League International Board of Directors. After this review process, the plan was then approved by the entire Little League International Board of Directors at its August 2016 meeting.
What will the structure be for the 2017 season?
The structure of the Little League Baseball Teenage Divisions will be as follows:
• Little League Intermediate (50/70) Baseball Division: Players 11 to 13 years old.
• Junior League Division: Players 12 to 14 years old
• Senior League Division: Players 13 to 16 years old
Little League Baseball players’ league age for the 2017 will be determined by the following age chart:
Match month (top line) and box with year of birth. League age indicated at right.
Note: This age chart is for BASEBALL DIVISIONS ONLY, and only for 2017.
The structure of the Little League Softball Teenage Divisions will be as follows:
• Junior League Division: Players 12 to 14 years old
• Senior League Division: Players 13 to 16 years old
Little League Softball players’ league age for the 2017 will be determined by the following age chart:
Match month (top line) and box with year of birth. League age indicated at right.
Note: This age chart is for SOFTBALL DIVISIONS ONLY, and only for 2017.
With the elimination of the Big League Division, how will Little League focus its efforts on the younger divisions?
In 2012, Little League International initiated a research effort to fully evaluate the program. One of the key findings of this effort was that Little League can have the most significant impact providing opportunities for its youngest age groups. The new structure of the Little League program will help create resources, enhance opportunities, and provide greater support for children at these levels of play. For 2017, this includes separately chartering the Coach Pitch division, which will allow Little League to provide expanded support for players, families, and volunteers of players at that level, which has traditionally been chartered within the Minor League Division. Little League also looks to expand its efforts surrounding its Tee Ball Program focusing on fun, fitness, and fundamentals, enhancing its Coach Pitch Program, and bolstering the free coaching and administration resources for its volunteers through Little League University.
Little League International will also be actively pursuing the goal of providing more opportunities for younger participants in the Little League International Tournament, either through additional levels of play at the 8- to 10-year-old and 9- to 11-year-old tournaments for both baseball and softball, or through expanding the number of teams at our Little League Baseball and Softball World Series tournaments.
How will this impact the Little League International Tournament and the Little League World Series Tournaments?
With the elimination of the Big League Division, beginning in 2017, the Little League International Tournament will provide opportunities at 11 levels of play in baseball and softball: 8- to 10-Year-Old, 9- to 11-Year-Old, Little League (10- to 12-year-olds), Little League Intermediate (50/70) Baseball (11- to 13-year-olds), Junior League (12- to 14-year-olds), and Senior League (13- to 16-year-olds).
The Little League, Intermediate (50/70), Junior League, and Senior League Tournaments will all conclude with a World Series tournament. In 2017, Little League will relocate the Senior League Baseball World Series from Bangor, Maine to Easley, S.C., which previously hosted the Big League Baseball World Series. The Little League International Tournament Committee thoroughly evaluated both sites, which have outstanding local leadership, community support, and have operated fantastic tournaments. In making this very difficult decision, Easley, S.C., is more centrally located with more transportation opportunities for teams, families, and fans to easily travel to the tournament, and, working with Clemson University, offers dormitory housing for its teams, and has multiple fields at its complex. The Bangor Community has been wonderful hosts of the Senior League Baseball World Series for 15 years, and Little League emphatically thanks Tournament Director Mike Brooker and all his dedicated volunteers for their support of Little League and the Senior League Baseball World Series. All funds raised over the years to support the tournament in Bangor will be returned to Maine District 3 Little League to use for their local league operations.
The 2017 Senior League Softball World Series will continue to be held in Lower Sussex, Del., which has also hosted the Big League Softball World Series since 2013.