Calling All Bat Girls

Hi everyone,

PLEASE READ THIS EMAIL IN FULL – especially the Batgirl Duties.

As there is a lot of information to pass on, I am summarizing everything below and will send separate emails at the appropriate times with more detailed info on some of the individual topics. If you have a question for me, please put the topic in the subject line along with the word “Batgirl”. It really helps me to prioritize (i.e. “see”) your emails and keep things in organized chaos J. If you do not, I may not see your email at all. This year, I also need you to cc my lovely assistant, Janine, at johara@shaw.ca. I know I’ve said this many times, but there are almost 100 batgirls, so that is a lot of emails with many subjects to sort through. If you email me with a question that is addressed below, your email will be lower on the priority list to answer, so I strongly suggest keeping a copy of this email – save it to your phone, print it, screenshot it, whatever it takes to have a copy handy over the next few weeks.

Batgirl Duties:

The following is a list of most of the information you will need for your upcoming role as a batgirl. I will send out reminders, updates, and more detailed information on some of the items below (i.e. team photos, fill-in positions) at a later time.

All batgirls MUST wear a batting helmet. You cannot go on the field without it!
Bring your glove, bat, or just your whole ball bag, so you can warm-up and/or practice with your team. Ask to warm-up/practice with them if they don’t ask you. Remember, a lot of these teams have never had a batgirl and may not know what to do with you.
Hustle on and off the field at all times – no dawdling! I cannot emphasize this point enough.
Remember that when your team is finished batting (3 out) – get that bat off the field!
You may be approached by Alex (former batgirl) and/or Chloe (in her last year as a batgirl), and/or Sharon (never a batgirl – but she’s a mom), who are all helping me this year, to give you some pointers, especially for the new girls. Don’t be offended, but please take whatever they say seriously – they are there to help you.
You can access the game schedules online at canadacup.com. Game times/diamonds are subject to change, so check this before each game – but better yet, speak with your team, get a contact person/number, and give the team manager your info. Please make sure you are at the ball diamond at least ½ hour before the start of each game (at least an hour before the first game to find and meet your team as they will be practicing offsite). If you are warming up with your team, then speak to them to find out what time you should meet. Most teams practice at least one hour before their games. You are strongly encouraged to participate in all warm-ups and practices. Your team will inform you where they will be warming up before their games (ask them about this if they don’t come to you first) as the warm-up takes place just outside the main parks (i.e. gravel fields at CAP; the unused fields at Sunnyside; and the soccer fields behind the arena at SBC). Please note that the diamonds have been renumbered at CAP and Sunnyside. Diamonds 1-4 at SBC; 5-9 at CAP; and 10-12 at Sunnyside.
Batgirls – if, for any reason, you cannot be at a game, it is MANDATORY you tell me. I will get a fill-in for that game. It is not acceptable to make arrangements with the coach or anyone else for this; you can only make arrangements with me – and I am happy to make them for you J.
Be sure to ask the team what they want you to do, as far as when to go out of the dugout to get the bats, etc. You are all ball players, so I do expect you to know this already.
After each game, it is your responsibility to pick up all garbage in the dugout and throw it out – so you are the last person to leave. If you go into a dugout and there has been garbage left, please let me know. I will know who has left the dugout a mess, so do not leave your team’s garbage for the next team to deal with.
It is also your responsibility to make sure there is water in the dugout. If the water is low, you must advise the volunteer staff (the volunteer tents at CAP and Sunnyside; the info booth underneath diamond 1 at SBC) so they can have it refilled (you don’t have to refill it, just let the staff know), especially for the next team coming in. We do not want these athletes without water. Ask the players if they would like you to fill their water bottles. It’s amazing how a little thing like this will go a long way – they will really appreciate it.
What to wear with the jersey. Your uniform pants are preferable, but if you have black sport shorts (i.e. long, loose-fitting – nothing tight or short-short – no spandex), that is perfectly fine. If you are with a team that gives you a team shirt, by all means wear that instead of your batgirl jersey. Cleats are optional, but not necessary. Runners are acceptable. No sandals or flip-flops.
Entry to the park for ALL volunteers at Softball City is through the SOUTHEAST GATE ONLY. This is behind the outfield of diamond 3. Please do not try to enter through the other gates – you will be turned away. NO EXCEPTIONS. This includes parents with passes and/or any time you access the park outside of your game times. There is only one entryway at CAP, and Sunnyside is free to enter.
I do encourage you to show up an hour early for your first game. Once you meet your team, they may tell you what they expect of you. But keep in mind that a lot of these teams have never had a batgirl before, so feel free to ask them what they would like you to do and/or offer suggestions. You’re basically a “gopher”, so whatever your team wants you to do….well, you do it with a smile, right? And also remember, these teams are here to win a medal – so it’s serious business for them.
Smile! Remember, people are watching. Look up customs of the various international teams who will be here, see what fun facts you can learn, then speak to them about it when you’re getting autographs. Know where the bathrooms and the souvenir stands are. Remember that a lot of our teams are also tourists here and will really appreciate things like that.

Parking:

Parents – free parking over by the arena at Softball City and towards the soccer fields. I have been informed there is construction going on, so you may want to give yourself extra time, especially once the women’s teams are playing, to find a spot.

Fill-ins:

I will be sending a separate email about fill-ins where I will ask only those who want to be on my fill-in list to respond, so that way only those people will be bothered by me when I need a batgirl for a game here and there. Please don’t send that info to me now J.

Sportsmanship:

Good sportsmanlike conduct is expected at all times, on and off the field. Remember, you are representing not only your team, but the Canada Cup, British Columbia, and, most importantly, Canada. Even if you think an umpire made a bad call that cost your team the game, or the other team aren’t sportsmanlike, you still graciously accept your win/loss and congratulate the other team. Parents, this is also to remind you that you are representatives of our tournament as well, so please keep all “public” comments positive. If you have any concerns, contact me and we’ll meet to talk about it.

I also want to remind parents that you cannot hang out behind or around the dugout when your child is a batgirl. Batgirls, if you must speak with your parent and it can’t wait until the game is over, go to them in the stands if they are watching the game – though please only do this if you absolutely have to and wait until your team is on the field and not up to bat, when you’re needed. We want to keep distractions for the team to a minimum. Parents can “hang out” before and after games J.

Parent Pass:

We allot one “general” parent pass per child. This is for entry of ONE adult escorting a batgirl into the park, as we understand it will not always be the same parent or guardian escorting the child to games. If you lose the pass, there will be a $50 replacement charge (the old card will be deactivated immediately). Please do not abuse this card (use it, abuse it, lose it). Both the batgirl pass and the parent pass are good for entry to all parks on all days of our tournament, not just your game times.

Meal Tickets:

You will be allotted one meal ticket/voucher per day (not per game). You MUST get your meal ticket from the park you had a game – BUT, you can use your meal ticket at a different park. Meals at CAP are from the concession. Meals at SBC are from the food trucks. The meal tickets are worth $7, so please use that value – i.e. don’t give a ticket for a $3 lemonade as they will charge us $7. Make sure you spend the $7. There are no meals at Sunnyside, so for any games there you can get your ticket and meal from either the volunteer booth at CAP or the info booth under the bleachers of D1 at SBC.

Team Photos:

The Batgirl is included in the team photo. Schedules will be sent out once we have them, but please ask your team to make sure you’re included – these schedules change a LOT, so your team will always have the most up-to-date info, as they are probably the ones who asked for the schedule change. The batgirl usually has her photo taken separately (which will then be photo-shopped into the team pic), so even if you miss a scheduled photo time, we can fit you in somewhere else – just let me know. There is a charge for these photos.

Opening Ceremonies:

Opening ceremonies will be held on Wednesday, July 18^th, 2018, at Softball City. Batgirls should meet their teams at approximately 4:30pm behind D4 where the teams usually line up alphabetically (there will be signs and people to help). The ceremonies begin at 5:30pm. If your team will not be in attendance, please let me know and we can have you walk in with another team. I strongly encourage everyone to attend this event – this is where you get to see how big our tournament is (91 teams this year!) and what an amazing event you are part of.

Youth Clinics:

Teams: Canada (Monday and Thursday), New Zealand (Tuesday), and China (Wednesday)

Where: Sunnyside Park – 15455 26 Ave, Surrey, BC

When: Monday, July 16, 2018, to Thursday, July 19, 2018, from 9am – 11:30am

Price: $50 CAD per child or $165 for all four clinics.

If you would like to participate in a clinic, please do – I strongly encourage it! They’re great! If you have a game conflict, let me know and I will have someone fill in for you so you can attend the clinic. You get a tshirt, which you can have the team autograph, or bring your own cap/ball/photo that you want the team to sign. Lots of fun!

Tournament Dates:

These are the individual tournament dates, so go check out some other teams when you’re not busy with batgirl duties:

Showcase Select (SS) – July 13-16

Showcase Gold (SG) – July 16-22

Futures Select (FS) – July 13-16

Futures Gold (FG) – July 16-22

Women’s and Elite – July 17-22

Minor Team Ticket Program:

Tell your own coaches about our special team rate – $75 for up to 15 players and 3 coaches any day at the Canada Cup between July 13-22. It makes a great end-of-year party! Wear your uniform jerseys/team jackets and hats so you can be recognized as a team. Our announcer will publicly welcome you during the 5^th inning stretch of each game in the Championship Diamond.(diamond 1).

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I will not be “physically” at all parks during the day during the week, but will be there in the evenings and weekends. Janine and Sharon will be the “adults on duty” during the weekdays. Alex, my daughter, will also be at the park and available to help. Their info is at the end of this letter.

I am available for you to contact me anytime via email (khefferland@telus.net). This is my preferred way of communicating, rather than texts or especially voice calls (so then I’m not one of those obnoxious people yelling into the phone while a game is going on – we’ve all sat beside someone like that, right?). Of course, if it’s something you need to talk to me immediately about, by all means call me (604-789-0236) or text me requesting me to call you right away. I will check my phone constantly, but my volume will be down/off, so you may have to leave a voicemail first (I can read/respond to emails and texts much faster, especially if I’m at work).

So even though all this stuff above has seemed pretty serious, I hope you take this last rule as the most important. It is my one mandatory rule for everyone – HAVE FUN!!! If you are not having fun, you MUST let me know so I can fix that and refer you back to my mandatory rule of HAVE FUN!!! But seriously, if you have any concerns – and I mean any – please don’t hesitate to talk to me. My job is to be here for you, the batgirl, and help you with anything you need, or at least point you in the right direction. I truly want to do what I can to make this experience for you a happy and memorable one, as it should be – because batgirls today are our future Team Canada players!

And please don’t forget to connect with us through one of our various social media outlets:

facebook.com/CanadaCup

twitter.com/CanadaCup

www.canadacup.com

www.instagram.com/canadacup2018

Karen Hefferland
Batgirl Coordinator

Canada Cup International Softball Championship
Phone: 604.789.0236 (c)

khefferland@telus.net

www.canadacup.com

Available at all times for emails/texts/calls – please cc Janine on emails

Janine O’Hara

Assistant Batgirl Coordinator