Dome update

Good morning,

November is nearly here and it is almost time to turn the clocks back and start thinking about winter, snow, cold temperatures, and the start of the 2022-2023 Senior Dome Softball season. The RMSDS committee has been in contact with Michael Sheggeby, the RCTC dome director, to find out when setup for the dome should take place and when we could possibly start planning for the start of our season. Michael's current answer is that the dome should be set up by mid- to late- November... We will cross our fingers and pray to be in the dome by the first week of December.

We will operate the league in the same format we have used in previous years. Monday mornings will consist of an extended batting practice followed by a scrimmage/game for all players choosing to play. We begin warmups and batting practice shortly after 8 AM, and will begin our scrimmage/game at 9:30. We are then finished up and out of the dome by 11 AM. Monday mornings are structured more for the senior recreational players looking to stay active through the winter months. In prior years, we did the same batting practice/scrimmage schedule on Fridays also. Fridays were dropped last year due to low player numbers available to play on Friday mornings. If we could have 20-25 players commit to playing Friday mornings, we could possibly look at adding Fridays back into our dome schedule.

Wednesdays will again consist of drafted teams playing scheduled games with a short warmup/batting practice taking place before the first game. We start at 8 AM with batting practice, and games begin at 8:30 AM. Our game day schedule will be determined by the number of players and teams we have, and we try to have each team play two games each day. We are usually finished with games by noon or shortly after. Players wanting to play in the Wednesday league games will declare themselves eligible to be drafted for each session, and the season will be split up into several sessions with a draft taking place prior to each session. In the same manner as the RMSS summer league, the Senior Dome Softball winter league will focus on fun, fitness and fellowship.

There will be a player survey coming soon to all players email inbox asking you to respond as to which days you are planning to participate. Your responses will help our committee determine how to arrange our Monday practices, Wednesday game schedule, and number of teams and managers needed for the Wednesday league.

Players are required to fill out and submit a player registration/waiver form prior to participating in practices or games. Attached is a pdf file of the player registration/waiver document. This document may be completed and then returned as per the instructions shown on the bottom of the pdf page.

Mark the date of December 16th, on your calendar as the day for the annual RMSS "Go to Bat" day for the Salvation Army Red Kettle event. This date will correspond with the Mayo Clinic match event allowing RMSS to double our contribution to the Salvation Army. If the dome is up, we plan to have the red kettle set up at our Monday and Wednesday days in addition to having a Friday batting practice/scrimmage/red kettle event for the entire RMSS family. If the dome is not up by that time, we will get together with Charlie Brannon to schedule a "Go to Bat" for the Salvation Army Red Kettle event at Charlie's Eatery & Pub again this year.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you in the dome soon! Also looking forward to another fun and successful Senior Dome Softball season! 

Senior Dome Softball Coordinator

Jim Goodman