Dear Dreamers,
Thank you for your patience as we worked to get information from the City of Toronto with regard to their strategy for parks and facilities moving forward.
Earlier this week we received word from the City of Toronto that all parks will remain closed until at least June 28th, 2020. Meaning that we will lose at minimum the first 9 weeks of the season. We will be receiving a partial refund for these weeks from the City of Toronto at some point in the near future (Craig will let folks know when we do).
As you might expect, there is a chance that restrictions are extended beyond the provisional June 28th deadline and so there is still a chance that we lose all of July, August, and/or the entire 2020 season.
Regardless of what happens, we are committed to forming our teams for 2020 and building those team spaces as pods of solidarity during and following isolation and physical distancing. Below you will find some information and ideas that the coordinating committee has to bring the magic of the field to you in multiple ways and some other technical details that you might want to know.
REFUNDS/LEAGUE FEES
Once we receive our partial refund for the 2020 season, the Coordinating Committee will update players on how much we got back and offer refunds to all players who have paid fees for the 2020 season (whatever percentage of the $2700 permit fee that works out)
We are still keeping in reserve funds for t-shirt printing (if and when our season happens), new equipment and first aid/sanitation supplies.
If you would prefer that the league keeps the refunded fees, we will set up a “solidarity fund” pot that can be used at the broader league’s discretion to fund particular individuals/groups in financial need, support front line workers, and/or political struggles emerging out of the pandemic.
If you feel as though you will need to withdraw from the league for the 2020 season, please let us know and we will refund you your fee and will offer your spot up to folks who are on the waiting list.
NEW HEALTH & SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR 2020 SEASON
We will await word from the City of Toronto who will be instituting health and safety guidelines should parks open up after June 28th, 2020, however, we are calling on all of our various players with medical training, scientific backgrounds, and lived experience to send us advice and suggestions with regards to improve our sanitation and safety post-isolation.
At the minimum, we will institute:
- New policies on shared equipment (including helmets, gloves, bats)
- Hand sanitizer on site and in dugouts to clean equipment before/after use
We welcome all suggestions and continue to do research to get a sense of what might be feasible should the season start.
MUTUAL AID
We are going to work hard to create strong team environments that can act as another social space for you to reach out to teammates and league members for support, social time and organizing!
Each team will be clustered together with a unique team name/identity and an internal chat group to keep folks up to date.
VIDEOS & EVENTS
As baseball weather begins to emerge, members of the Field of Dreamers will begin to create YouTube videos that will help you develop specific skills, learn new rules, and train for the upcoming season!
Any and all videos from league members, subs, and friends of the league especially around baseball/fitness/training/movement work so that we can be physically engaged with each other at least on some Sunday nights!
We will also be rolling out weekly events during the Sunday 8pm-11pm time slots reserved for our league (beginning May 3rd) so if you wish to contribute to one of these, have suggestions, and/or want to be part of the planning please let us know!
Some ideas that have already been floated include:
- Baseball themed movie night
- Name that walk-up song trivia night
- An insider’s look into Field of Dreamer history, stats
- Oral History project on Field of Dreamers
- Learn about the Toronto River’s project!
- Scavenger Hunts
- And more!