We want to thank you for your support, we are so grateful to have all of you behind us and know that so many people are petitioning together to help get our kids back to safe game play in San Diego County.  Over the past couple of months, we have been discussing ways to partner with our local Board of Supervisors as they strive to gain back some of our county’s freedoms.  We want to be clear that this petition is in full support of a safe reopening plan following Social Distancing Ballfield guidelines which covers San Diego’s needs and safety concerns.  We understand many people are suffering; financially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually due to the current mandate which grossly effects our children.  It is our responsibility as parents, professionals, coaches, teachers, county officials, leaders, and medical professionals to fight for our counties mental and emotional health along with the safety of our youth.

Thanks to a county supervisors efforts, our children could return to their organized sports programs in a very modified and controlled format.  We are extremely grateful for the support but enough time has passed since the sports soft reopening in June and we need to push for more opportunities to let our children engage with friends, participate in healthy competition and encourage metal and physical growth based on the scientific statistics and following Covid safety guidelines.  In May we hoped to see our counties, states and country return to normal, Triple Crown FastPitch Organization presented a return to the ballfields platform that encompassed stringent safety protocol, beyond adequate social distancing guidelines and statistics that illustrate how our youth softball/baseball fields offer more than enough space to accommodate controlled game play in a safe manner. 

The goal is to see our children get back to normal which they so desire and deserve.  Many are still weeks away from being allowed to attend any type of on campus instruction at school and our children are paying the price.  They are isolated, bored, lonely and need even the smallest level of social interaction.  The modified sports programs have been the only constant for many kids in North and South County San Diego.  Several leagues have been successful in implementing Summer and Fall practice programs which is bringing hundreds of players back to the fields, generating league and community revenue while giving families a safe healthy outlet.  Currently in San Diego the only option available to organized teams is to practice within our stable groups of 12.  The State and city mandate does not allow our teams to engage in game play however our insurances and USA Softball support getting our players back to game play. In contrast, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, and Colorado are allowing their youth programs to participate in safe game play.  California’s overreaching mandate is forcing families to flee to other states to keep their children involved in a sport they love.  To some this is a social outlet, a means to a college scholarship, a safe refuge from an abusive home or simply a fun place to promote their physical health and wellbeing.  

Based on the type of business that are now open in San Diego, Softball and Baseball youth sports programs should be under consideration to return to a formal routine including game participation.  Both games are played outdoors, fields are spread out over acres of land and strict safety protocols and procedures have been put in place.  Let us work together to allow our local youth the opportunity to resume safe game play.  Please consider the abundant benefits; financial, emotional, physical, and spiritually we would see with everyone’s support.  Together we can rally San Diegans to move toward taking the next step of normalcy for our children. We hope that you will participate in spreading the word, your effort to help activate this small change will create a larger than life benefit for our children during these unique times.  As of 9/29/20 county park playgrounds have been cleared to open with suggested guidelines to keep our children safe.  However, these playgrounds do not offer any level of control for temperature testing, sanitization and appropriate distancing like our organized sports have.  An organized and insured program such as youth sports which prioritizes the safety of its participants should have been cleared before unmonitored playgrounds.

We encourage you to share this petition with your family and friends to help build this momentum even further.  Our commitment is to be positively engaged with our Board of Supervisors, Mayor and health officials and we are asking for their support.  Please contact your local and state representatives.  Show your support by signing this petition.  We will not stop until this is done, and as always, we are grateful for your support.  Remember, if we can dine outside, we should be allowed to play outside. San Diego's Coastal soccer clubs were successful in developing a safe game play case study.  We should be doing the same for our Softball leagues and organizations.