Update to the 2019 Little League Regulation 1(c)9

The background check laws in your state require that all local Little League® programs complete additional action(s) beyond the requirements set forth by Little League's Regulation I (c) 8 and 9.

Simply processing background checks on the required volunteers is not enough. It is incumbent upon the League President and the Board of Directors to thoroughly assess the criminal history of each volunteer and make a responsible judgment on behalf of the children and fellow volunteers in the league when deciding to approve their participation in the league.

There has been an update to the 2019 Little League Regulation 1(c)9 regarding who can participate as a volunteer.

New this year, if an individual appears on the National Sex Offender Registry the league must immediately contact Samantha Mahaffey, Little League International's Security Manager, before assuming any role with the local league. This update has been put into effect to add another layer of protection for all Little Leaguers®.

• Little League Regulation 1(c)9 also states: A league shall not permit any person to participate in any manner, whose background check reveals a conviction for, guilty plea, no contest plea, or admission to any crime involving or against a minor. A local league must conduct a nationwide search that contains the applicable government sex offender registry data and nationwide criminal records that is comparable to J.D. Palatine, the preferred background check provider of Little League International.

2019 Volunteer Application

Developing a Safety Plan

Developing a Safety Plan for your league doesn't have to be difficult. It just takes a little time, research and implementation and before you know it you have reduced injuries in your park and saved your league money!

Benefits to creating and updating a Safety Plan:

Cash credit for leagues who take the Little League AIG Insurance for player accident coverage
Chance to win $500
Chance to win a trip to the Little League World Seris
Chance to win a Musco Light System for a 200' field

Need help? Contact our Southeastern Region Safety Officer, Gary Kay at gkay100226@aol.com.

ASAP Newsletter

Little League and it's partner, Musco Lighting, have been producing the ASAP Newsletters for many years. ASAP Newsletters from 2011 forward are available on the Little League website.

The Newsletters are full of safety tips, reminders, information on how all 50 states compare to each other with safety plan submissions, as well as "Common Sense From the Field" tips submitted from leagues across the country.

View past ASAP Newsletters

West Duluth Little League Takes Concussion Testing to the Next Level

Components of your ASAP Plan

Registration Form

The ASAP Plan contains 16 items, all listed on the Registration Form. The Registration Form must be submitted with your plan in order that Little League can identify the proper league.

Item #15 is new for 2018: Submit an idea you implemented to help promote or improve your safety plan.

The Plan and the Registration Form may be submitted to Little League through the Data Center. Note: If submitting your materials through the online system, the actual registration form as shown here, is not uploaded - it is part of the process.

2018 Safety Program Registration Form

Facility Survey

You need to check your park to be sure it is safe to play in. Things change over time and need to be checked out.

The best way to complete your facility survey is to download last year's Little League Facility Survey from the Data Center and then head out to the park to fill in the survey. You can then enter the information online through the Little League Data Center. Once it is entered into the Data Center, your information is saved and only needs to be updated annually. Note: you may complete the Facility Survey online without having to upload the actual forms below.

2018 Little League Facility Survey (PDF)
2018 Little League Facility Survey (Excel) - 5 pages, check tabs at bottom

Safety Plan

Create a Safety Manual for your Managers and Coaches. Give them a guideline to use in the case of injuries and emergencies.

Your plan might include:

Where to seek shelter in bad weather
Where to locate your AED
How to administer CPR while waiting for emergency services
How to avoid heat injuries

Basic Safety Plan - Simple

Detailed Safety Plan - 2014 National Winner

Create a Safety Manual for your Concession Workers. Provide guidelines for safe food handling and storage.

The USDA Safe Food Handling Fact Sheets give lots of tips that can be included in your Concession Manual.

Player and Volunteer Data

A part of your ASAP (A Safety Awareness Plan) is the submission of player and all volunteers data or rosters. This data is uploaded into the Little League Data Center in a specific format. This data does not have to be submitted at the same time as your Registration Form, Safety Plan and Facility Survey, but it must be uploaded by the submission deadlines in order to receive your league credits on insurance or the district credits.

April 2: Deadline for districts to have all league plans approved in order to receive district incentives
April 16: Deadline for all league plans to be submitted online or postmarked in order to earn incentives

The following spreadsheets can be downloaded from the Little League Data Center, completed and then uploaded back to the Data Center to complete the requirement to submit player/volunteer data.

Little League Roster Spreadsheet
Player Registration Data Spreadsheet
Manager/Coach/Volunteer Data Spreadsheet

After filling in your spreadsheet, click the "Export" button on the sheet and save it to your computer with a file name you can easily find later. The "Export" button creates a Text File that is used to upload data to the Data Center. Once you have created your "myleague.txt" file, it is ready to upload to the Data Center. Log into the Data Center with your League ID and Password, go to Manage Registration Data/Rosters, click the appropriate "Upload ... Data" button, Browse for the Text File you saved to your computer, choose either "Add or "Replace from the box, then hit "Import."

Remember: The first step is to populate your spreadsheet and "Export" it to your computer. The second step is to retrieve that text file when you are in the Data Center and "Import" it to Little League.

Additional Resources

CDC: Heads Up Concussion Training and Information

SafeSport: Originally available only to U.S. Olympic governing bodies, SafeSport training is being made available to other organizations beginning spring of 2018. The site will provide training resources for organizations to keep athletes safe from abuse.

Lighting Survey: Have a qualified technician check lighting levels on the field. Musco Lighting may be able to help you check your lighting levels. Contact Rob Staples, rob.staples@musco.com, or Jeremy Jordan, jeremy.jordan@musco.com.

Equipment Check: Make sure your equipment is safe and not in need of replacement. Check helmets for cracks and missing padding, check catcher's gear, check bats for cracks/dents and correct size for the playing division. Throw out damaged equipment. Remember that Composite Bats are not legal unless they are on the Little League approved list.

Fundamentals Training for Managers and Coaches: Make sure they have the proper tools to teach the players! Contact your local high school to see if they will train your coaches. Use the videos at Little League University.

Safety Training for Managers, Coaches, Umpires, Concession Workers, etc.: Be sure everyone knows how to handle emergencies. Contact your local fire department, paramedics, police department, hospital, doctors for first aid, CPR, AED training.