[Sportsandrec] Beep baseball regs

[Ashley Bramlett]

Thanks for the info Jennifer; sounds like you have some good pr strategies 
going.  Here we have a range of players from preteens to middle age adults.

You said
"It is difficult to run straight to the sound source 100
feet away without much practice, but it's what we must do to get base
running times that will beat out the swift fielding out there."

So its not just our players that have difficulty running
straight toward the sound; the base is 90 feet away but that's enough at the 
beginning to throw some off.  For me the closer I am to the sound the 
straighter I can run since I'm hearing the target nearby.

Hope the tournament goes well.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jennifer Boylan" <jaboylan at gmail.com>
To: <sportsandrec at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 3:45 PM
Subject: Re: [Sportsandrec] Beep baseball regs


> Hi Ashley and Others Interested,
> The NBBA rules can be viewed at www.nbba.org/rules.  These are the rules
> governing tournament play.  Of course, the adaptations you are making may 
> be
> necessary for the group you're working with and I think anything that's
> getting people out and moving, improving their mental and physical 
> condition
> and building their confidence and skills (which can be translated to other
> aspects of life, such as employment) is a great thing.  These are the 
> rules
> that govern competitive beepball.
>
> Base-running (straight and with no assistance) is one of the drills we 
> work
> on at practice.  It is difficult to run straight to the sound source 100
> feet away without much practice, but it's what we must do to get base
> running times that will beat out the swift fielding out there.  Usually 
> the
> first few steps will bring you close enough to hone in on the sound and 
> plow
> directly through the base, making adjustments as you get nearer.  The best
> runners can hit the base in under 5 seconds, and you usually have no more
> than 6 or 7 seconds at the most to get there before a ball is fielded 
> unless
> you can slam the ball out over everyone's heads or hang a fair fly ball up
> in the air long enough to get most of the way to the base.  A ball must go
> at least 40 feet to be fair, since no fielders will be running into where
> the pitcher, catcher and batter are situated to field a ball.  Some 
> runners
> take out the pitcher because they've not straightened out their line to 
> the
> base by that 20 foot point.  This usually only happens when that sighted
> pitcher has turned to watch the flight of the ball and fielders and does 
> not
> focus back on the runner in time.  Pitchers have the option of wearing a
> catcher's mask and other protective gear usually reserved for catchers
> because of their proximity to the home plate; in my experience, most are 
> too
> macho to take advantage of this.  In our 2007 World Series, a bat broke 
> and
> the jagged barrel imbedded itself in the pitcher's leg, disabling him for
> the rest of the tourney.  He left with multiple pins in his leg.  So the
> ball, bat and runner can all be hazardous to the pitcher.
>
> Spotters are the sighted in the outfield who are allowed to call out one
> zone number where they believe the ball is headed and then are not allowed
> any further communication to aid fielders other than "Stop!" when a
> collision is imminent or "Down!" when a line-drive is about to hit someone
> in the head or face.  If two spotters give a zone number or any spotter 
> adds
> any information to the original call, the runner automatically gets his 
> run
> as a penalty.  Similarly, the runner may not be coached in any way or he
> will be out.
> Fielders are allowed unlimited communication, trying not to drown out the
> sound of the ball and avoid collisions and interference with each other. 
> We
> say things such as "by me" or "over me" to indicate where the ball is in
> relation to ourselves and "coming" to alert others we are in pursuit.
>
> I really hope we can get the Vegas tourney going.  It would be great to 
> have
> a regional tournament on this side of the country for a change.  Denver is
> the closest team, and now the Arizona Southwest Slammers, so we would love
> to compete with qualified blind opponents more than once a year.  Teams 
> must
> be registered with the NBBA by March 1 to participate in tournaments; this
> is also the deadline for regional tournament info to be in to list on the
> NBBA's website.  Past tournament info is up unless updates are in, and 
> those
> locations are fairly consistent year to year.
>
> Beepball is co-ed, and players usually range in age from teens to 60+.  At
> the competitive level, there are only about 8 female players and we have 3
> of them!  We are always hoping to have more youth involved, but haven't 
> had
> much success communicating with the schools.
> Recruitment is difficult for the reasons we've already stated.  We have
> players that attend the local community college who tell every new blindie
> they meet about our sport and team.  Same with the Community Blind Center.
> We try to get local media coverage.  I have put info out on lists such as
> this and a teammate has done the same on the CCB list.  The NBBA's PR
> department is trying new ways to get info out.  My co-captain and I are
> assembling info to send out to blind centers in California to invite them 
> to
> take up the sport, provide players and at least come view a practice or 
> the
> World Series to see what it's all about.  We are involving the local Lions
> Clubs and have looked for volunteers in the Parks & Rec and city league
> softball leagues.  I'm hoping one day to have enough players to have two
> teams here to play each other...we have a ways to go there.
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