2009 Notsos MASQUEERADE Party, Friday July 24th, Goodhandy's Nightclub - We want to see your skills off the field - whether you excel at highland dancing, air guitar, lip synching, drag, slam poetry... you name it, we will showcase it. We want to have at least one submission per team - sign up as a crew, or nominate a group/solo act from your team! Just have your info into us by Midnight, July 12th by emailing the performer's names, teams and a short description of the act to Lauren Ash laurenmash@gmail.com & Jen Crawford Jennifer.e.crawford@gmail.com. Playing the spoons may have got you nowhere in real life, but here at Notso, you too can be a star! For more event info, visit: http://www.goodhandys.com/pictures/july24-09.jpg
Upcoming Social Events
Karaoke at Blue Moon, Sunday July 12th, Blue Moon Pub - They're opening up early for us at noon, and the karaoke will get underway between 2:30 - 3pm, depending on when you're warmed up! Kitchen and bar will also be open at noon to help you fuel up for your showstopping performance. Blue Moon is located on Queen Street east: http://maps.google.ca/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&q=blue+moon+toronto&fb=1&split=1&gl=ca&cid=10975679147062294937&li=lmd
Fetish on the Field & Dirty Bingo, Sunday August 9th, field / O'Gradys Sailor uniform gathering dust in your closet? Those high knee socks & plaid skirt haven't seen the light of day in a while? Have a penchant for wearing leather in the middle of the summer? Sunday, August 9th, Notsos invites you & your team to warm up for the Church Street Fetish Fair (which is the very next weekend!) by sporting your gear to the field! We'll follow it up with a rousing game of Dirty Bingo at O'Gradys, where you can be sure the prizes will be in accordance with the theme of the day :)
Weather updates
Rain or shine, there are various ways to know for sure that games are on for Sunday. There's a league Twitter line that you can check out available at http://www.twitter.com/notso/ that also displays the most recent Twitter update directly on our homepage at www.notsoamazon.com. This weather line will be updated by 8:30am every Sunday, regardless of what the weather is doing
Ump Love...
It has occurred to the collective this year that not everyone is familiar with the league's umpire program, hopefully this note will help clear up what the program is and how you can help us continue the tradition.
Who are the Notso Umpires?
They are players (or sometimes ex-players) of the league, (just like you) who have been asked to help out because of their skill level and game knowledge. Most have taken the Softball Canada Umpiring course and all of them have been trained by our head umpires. They are on the field for hours every Sunday in order to umpire your game and also play in their own.
What would happen if we didn't have our own umpires?
If we lose our umps or fail to develop new ones within the league, we will be forced to change the nature of the league by getting carded umpires or by adopting “self-pitching” game play.
Why not hire "carded" umpires?
Carded umpires cost more than double what we currently spend and would drive up registration fees. They are often older men with little patience for the relaxed learning environment we provide. They strictly adhere to Softball Canada rules and would limit the freedom we have in deciding for ourselves which rules are best for the league. We would have no choice in which umpires we use and worst case scenario could end up with an umpire that resents having to ump for a very recreational queer league. We firmly believe carded umpires would drastically change the Notso experience.
What about self-pitch and no umpires?
Many recreational leagues are "self-pitch", which requires no umpires because you pitch to your own team. As recreational as Notso is, we try hard to maintain the integrity of the game and having to switch to “self-pitch” will take a lot away from the pitching and hitting aspect of the game which so many of us love.
I love Notsos, how can I help?
1. Leave the game on the field. Umpires are members and therefore also part of our social program. If an ump arrives at the bar to find they have made enemies of an entire team due to an earlier game call, it won't be long before they quit umpiring so they can just have fun like the rest of us.
2. Give new umpires patience and support while they develop their skills. If a teammate missed a play or made an error, you wouldn't get mad, yell or hold it against them, would you?
3. Aggressive behavior or any form of disrespect will not be tolerated. Unsportsmanlike conduct towards ANY member of the league including umpires could result in game suspension.
4. If your team is unclear about a rule, the rep or mentor may approach and ask the ump for an explanation. They may NOT however, stop the game play in order to question an ump's judgment just because the team simply disagrees with the call.
5. Umpires are not robots (though it might be cool if they were). They are humans with one set of eyes. Understand they will miss some calls and occasionally make mistakes, but it is their job to make those hard call and we must respect their decisions. The umps are watching from a different view and we have no way to know what they actually saw. Remember every call is in favor of one team, so each and every call has the potential to disappoint or anger one team.
6. Complaints or concerns regarding an umpire's behavior, abilities or calls should be written out and officially submitted by your team rep or mentor to the collective for review.
7. A little love goes a long way. Do a team cheer for your ump or even simple thanks at the end of the game. And if you are really supportive, feel free to hump an Ump (they really love that!)
Notsos exists in order to connect members of the community by providing a positive space to participate in physical activity and generally just have a little fun together. At the end of the day, if the nature of our umpire program prevents you from enjoying what Notso has to offer, you may prefer to play in a stricter environment with a more competitive league.
Thanks for supporting our umpires and helping create a positive environment for all of our members.