To: Program Directors

Date: July 28, 2004

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.  I'm writing to alert you as to some exciting developments in the world of youth basketball.  In the process of getting organized for this coming Winter's basketball season, several of the heads of some of the Connecticut town basketball organizations thought it would be best to establish a separate CT league, representing Fairfield County. 

The Fairfield County Basketball League [FCBL] will be essentially the same as last year for those teams that participated in the TCBL and will be made up of town based teams with some minor differences in the rules . We still expect to have an interstate championship versus TCBL’s New York based winners.  One of the most appealing aspects of the league is that we have sufficient participation to separate the divisions by strength (A/B/C) so that teams can find the right level of competition and yet also have the option of playing outside their division.

The League will have a fully functional website for each team and program.  The site will not only have your schedule and standings, but can also be used to send automatic email reminders, schedule changes, program announcements, official scheduling, on-line registration , and even  individual player stats and more for the truly ambitious.

More details on the league will come when school is back in session and as the season approaches, but here are some important dates you may wish to mark on your calendar:

·      Sept 15             Program (Town/Organization) Representative Meeting.

·      Oct   15            Team Application Due

·      Nov 1-4            Scheduling Meetings (Rosters/Birth Certificates  Due)

·      Nov  20            Season Starts

·      Feb  27             Season Ends

·      Mar 5-6;12-13   Playoffs  Round 1/2; Semi/Finals

Other To-Do’s

·      Gym Scheduling - should include tryouts (mid Oct), 9 home league game dates plus March playoff weekends.

·      Advise coaches/managers of Nov 1-4 scheduling meeting dates.

·      Have players bring Birth Certificates to tryouts to avoid the hassle of collecting them after the fact.

·      Plan public notice of the tryout dates (newspaper, brochure, etc.)

·      Advise players/parents of play-off dates during sign-up.

·      Get non-patched ref's patched.

I'll be in touch with further details in the near future.