BERKELEY OVER 66 MEN'S FRIDAY MORNING SLOW PITCH SOFTBALL LEAGUE

To Our Ballplayers

We’d like to wish all of you a very happy, healthy, and safe new year. This email informs you that on January 20 we will activate our registration button for the TM Berkeley Friday Senior Softball League for the spring-summer 2026 season.

REGISTRATION LINK IS ON THIS WEBSITE PAGE, IT IS UNDER "REGISTER ONLINE". CLICK THE LINK AND FILL OUT THE FORM, ONCE COMPLETED AND YOU CLICK ON THE SUBMIT BUTTON  YOU WIL GET ANOTHER WINDOW  WITH THIS STATEMENT IN A BOX  PLEASE CLICK THIS THIS LINK TO COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION, CLick on the link to complete the regisgration process

This league plays doubleheaders every Friday morning and is an all-draft league – new teams every season. We expect the season will open on April 24, and the regular season should conclude by mid to late July (depending on the number of rainouts), with playoffs concluding by mid-August. Players must be 66 years old or older in 2026 to be eligible. The registration button for the 2026 season will be activated on our website (www.leaguelineup.com/berkeleyover68), and the first 90 players registered and paid will be guaranteed to be in the draft if we have enough for six teams; if we have less than 90 but more than 75 registrants signed up, then the first 75 players registered and paid will be guaranteed to be in the draft, and we will have five teams; if we have less than 75 but more than 60 registrants signed up, then the first 60 players registered and paid will be guaranteed to be in the draft, and we will have four teams. As part of the Registration process, you will be asked to list the Friday’s you expect to miss because of a planned vacation or for a personal commitment. Remember that it’s just a 10 week season (plus playoffs) so if you expect to miss more than two or three weeks, consider whether it makes sense and is fair to your teammates to sign up.

Our draft will take place in late March or early April. Our history indicates that most players register in the first 3 weeks of the registration period, and then additional registrants trickle in. However, some players wait until the end of the registration period to pay. In the past, we have had an influx of checks in the last week before the draft, with some players who registered early not getting into the draft because their payments were received after the cutoff number had been registered and paid. Those registered players who do not get into the draft will be put on a waiting list and called on to replace players who drop out because of injury or for any other reason. So, if you intend to play this summer, you should register and pay as soon as you can. The league will send updates in February and March to let you know where we stand regarding registration numbers. If you register and pay but decide before the draft that you can’t or don’t want to play, you can drop out and get a full refund. After the draft, players who drop out will receive a refund from their replacement player taken from the waiting list (based on the number of regular season games the replacement player will be eligible to play), assuming a replacement player of the same ability is available. Our budget assumes 15 fully paid players per team.

In this league, everyone on the roster at the doubleheader will be in the batting lineup and will play at least six innings in the field (assuming they are there for both games).

The cost to play this year is $75. Costs have increased since last year, the biggest increase being that Matt Blatt will no longer be buying our shirts which run between $12-$15/per player (depending on shirt size). In addition the cost of umpires has increased by 11% and the cost of balls has also increased along with SSUSA Team Insurance increased by 15.6% Only payments mailed in will be accepted – hand-delivered cash or checks will not be accepted. As we did last year, we will present each member of the regular season first-place team and each member of the playoff championship team a championship jersey to commemorate their successful season (if the same team comes in first and wins the playoffs, the players will get just one championship jersey).

WITH OUR TREASURER AWAY FOR A FEW MONTHS, MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO “BSSL” FOR $75 AND MAIL TO OUR ACTING TREASURER:

Steve Drogin

18 Frank Drive

Manahawkin, New Jersey 08050

CHECKS WILL NOT BE DEPOSITED UNTIL WE HAVE 60 PLAYERS REGISTERED AND PAID.

We look forward to our upcoming season and Steve hopes to play with or against you during the spring and summer. In the meantime, be well and stay safe.

NOTE:  Qustions regarding the league csn be directed to either Steve Drogin or Garu Avenoso.   Issues or questions regarding online registration process should be directed to Mike Singer at singemi43@gmail.com  or 732-580-0633

Steve Drogin (Former Commissioner and Acting Treasurer)

201-320-2451

steve.com@verizon.net

Gary Avenoso (Commissioner)

732-581-8740

gary.avenoso@gmail.com