Update 5/12/20:

WHLL Members:

            Wade Hampton Little League has made the very difficult decision to cancel the Spring 2020 season.  Many factors have weighed into this decision and it is not one we have come to easily.  It is our understanding that Northwest LL and Blue Ridge LL have also opted to cancel their Spring seasons.   At this point, we still do not know when a restart of the Spring 2020 season  would be possible due the fact that our fields remain shut down.  We understand that the longer we delay the restart of a Spring season the less we will be able to make of it for our players and members.  Due to the extended suspension period and continued field closures we feel we are pushing the limits already as far as what we can salvage of the Spring 2020 season.  We at WHLL want to make the most of each and every season and we believe that unprecedented circumstances have made that an impossibility for Spring 2020.   

  As we await further information as far as field openings, WHLL officials will begin making preparations for the Fall 2020 season.  Our hope is to get players and teams back out onto the field sooner than later and to possibly extend Fall activities, by way of an earlier than normal season start, to make up for some of the lost time from Spring.  Our intent is to begin the Fall registration process early and allow teams to have more pre game-season practices than would normally be allotted in the Fall.  We will have more details on potential start dates once fields are opened which we pass along to our current membership.  PLEASE BE ADVISED that WHLL intends to waive Fall 2020 registration fees for members currently registered for the Spring 2020 season who 1) maintain their uniforms from the 2020 Spring to re-use for Fall 2020 AND who 2) apply their Spring refund allotment (as outlined below) to their Fall 2020 registration. (WHLL will re-use Spring 2020 uniforms for Fall 2020 to limit costs for the benefit of returning registrants.  The full amount fee waiver for Fall 2020 will only apply to those who re-use their uniforms from Spring 2020. If a new uniform needs to be purchased for a returning Spring 2020 registrant, due to damage, loss, etc. that costs will be charged to the registrant)        

SPRING 2020 REFUNDS          

            Based on the cancellation of the Spring 2020 season WHLL has initiated a refund policy for current Spring 2020 registrants which may be claimed in one of two ways:

1. Current Spring 2020 registrants may request an immediate refund of the allotted refund amount via email request to the League ([email protected]) and a check will be issued; OR
2. Current Spring 2020 registrants may defer refund and register for Fall 2020 at no cost provided they maintain and re-use their Spring 2020 game uniforms.  For those who defer to Fall, an option will be provided on the website as part of the registration checkout process whereby they can claim their eligibility, as a Spring 2020 registrant, to incur no charges for their Fall 2020 registration.      

We have calculated refund offerings for Spring 2020 based on the registration fees charged less the operating costs incurred by the League prior to the suspension period.  For those not returning for Fall 2020, the refund amounts that will be issued are as follows:

            Baseball (All divisions except TB)   $145.00 (registration fee) - $73.30 (costs paid per player) = $71.70

                        Baseball (TB division)                       $95.00 (registration fee) - $71.30 (costs paid per player) = $23.70                   

                        Softball                                               $145.00 (registration fee) - $72.90 (costs paid per player) = $72.10     

For your information, the cost per player used in the calculations above are detailed in the chart below:                       

SPRING 2020 SPONSORS

            WHLL appreciates all of its sponsors and donors.  All sponsorship advertising offerings to Sponsors/Donors who made League contributions for Spring 2020 will be honored through Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. We greatly appreciate the patience and cooperation of all of our WHLL Members and Families throughout the suspension period and we look forward to seeing all of you out on the field again very soon.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

WHLL Board

UPDATE 5/1/20:

WHLL Members,

Effective today, Little League International has cancelled all 2020 regional and international World Series Tournaments.  The announcement can be viewed on Little League’s Facebook page and their website at www.littleleague.org. 

The May 11, 2020 activity suspension period is still in effect at this point.  LL Int’l has instructed local leagues to follow all State and Local guidelines when it comes to getting back on the field after May 11^th to resume their 2020 regular seasons, sans tournaments.   Greenville County has not made any firm decision, to date,  as to when or if fields will be opening for the resumption of Spring activities which also puts us in a stand-by position.  It seems that the County is waiting on further mandates from State officials on social distancing, which are scheduled to be announced later this week.  Once those announcements are made the County should be in a position to further decide on field opening schedules and guidelines. 

At this point it is falling to the local Leagues in the various State Districts to determine if they even want to attempt a Spring Season or just postpone until Fall.  At least one District in the State has cancelled their Spring, a decision that was made upon schools being shut down across the State for the year.  SC D7 will support whatever its leagues decide when it comes to pre-emptive season cancellations; however, no D-7 Leagues have cancelled Spring seasons so far and are still awaiting further decision from State and Local officials.  Since WHLL does require inter-league partnership to have games, our ability to resume will be dependent upon other Leagues resuming play as well.  Communications remain underway with the other Leagues in our District that we play to determine their positions on resuming the interleague schedule and our plan for doing so once we are permitted.   

 So here’s where we are now…

                WHLL is still under suspension until May 11, 2020, in accordance with LL Int’l  and SC D-7 mandate.   If Greenville County or SC D-7 make any further mandates restricting or prohibiting a return to play after May 11, 2020 we will cooperate with those mandates as well and will inform the membership of the same.  A WHLL refund policy has been agreed upon and the details of that policy will be presented to  the membership and put into effect after the current suspension period.   WHLL is still operating as if a full regular season of games will be played after the lifting of the suspension, with the understanding that any possible tournament play afterward would be limited to local District Tournaments or possibly State Tournaments, if those could be arranged in time.

     More definitive information should be forthcoming and we will keep the membership informed as more decisions are made in the next week or so.  Thank you and we continue to appreciate your patience and cooperation as we continue to hold out through this unusually difficult time.

UPDATE 3/16/20:

WHLL Membership:

Wade Hampton Little League has just received word from SC District 7 that pursuant to the latest advisement of Little League International, the suspension period for the 2020 Spring Season has been extended through May 11, 2020.  At this point it is our understanding that Little League International is still intending to hold all international tournaments and, therefore, local Leagues, including WHLL, still intend to complete a full regular season in preparation for those tournaments, once the suspension is lifted.   Please continue to bear with us as we continue to wait through this suspension period.  We will continue to update you as further information comes to us from LL Int’l and SC D-7.

Please be advised that all baseball and softball activities for WHLL will remain suspended through May 11, 2020.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

WHLL Board

Original Message:

Little League International has released its recommendation that due to growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19, a coronavirus, local Little Leagues suspend all activities for the Spring 2020 Season until April 6th.  To ensure the safety of our players, families, members,  and fans Wade Hampton Little League  is hereby suspending all baseball and softball activities in compliance with the recommendation of LL Int’l.  This decision is not limited to WHLL, as SC District 7 officials are requiring that all D-7 Leagues suspend activities.  Administrators from other State Districts have been in discussions and the Little League suspension recommendation is expected to be mandated statewide.

No Greenville County fields will be available for use for practices, games, or other League activities for the duration of this suspension period.

As of now, this is only a temporary suspension and we are hoping to return to all regular activities after 4/6.  As always, it is our intention to provide all of our players and family members with a full, enjoyable, and quality Little League experience and we will make every effort to make that happen for this season once the suspension period is lifted.  Throughout the suspension period we will be monitoring the recommendations and instructions of Little League International and SC District 7 as to how to proceed with the 2020 Little League season and we will do our best to keep our membership informed of what decisions are being made by our League’s governing bodies. 

We do not yet know the impact this suspension will have on the Little League Tournament season and we will pass along any information we receive from LL Int’l in that regard as it becomes available.  As for or regular season games, we will be in contact with our inter-league play partners (Northwest and Blue Ridge) to develop a plan to best manage and complete our game schedules once we are permitted to return to the field.

The safety and welfare of our players, families and other membership are always the highest priority and of greatest concern to WHLL.  As we do expect, at this point, to resume and complete the 2020 season once this suspension is lifted, no refunds will be processed during the suspension period.  Many of the major administrative fees and costs the League incurs annually have already been paid out and we do not yet know the full impact of this suspension on the season and our League.  We ask now for your patience and cooperation as we wait out this suspension period.  Please hang in there with us and we will re-evaluate refunds once we have a better idea if any further delays will impact our ability to complete our season.   

Thank you All, and be safe!!

Sincerely,

WHLL Board