Thursday March 28th, 2024
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Questionnaire being sent to 2011 Conference Team Managers/Sponsors

USSSA Softball Questionnaire.  This questionnaire is going to be sent out to all 2011 Conference Managers and Sponsors.  If they return it to me, they will be included in a compiled analysis of the answers while their individual answers will remain anonymous to USSSA.   I will share the overall results with USSSA and SoftballCenter.com readers.

The 2011 season was bigger and better than ever and this questionnaire is just to get a feel for where the teams think improvements could be made.  Tweaks if you will.

Please discuss the questionnaire and help me tweak the questions and answers or suggest additional questions over on the message board by clicking here.

EQUIPMENT

1)  Did opposing Conference teams use shaved bats against your team this year?
    A) Yes
    B) No
   
2)  Should softball go back to using one piece aluminum bats?   
    A) Yes
    B) No

3)  Should there be bat testing at every conference tournament?
   
A) Yes
    B) No


4)  When should bats be tested during a tournament weekend?
    A) First game of tournament, final 8 on Saturday, and again Sunday morning
    B) First game of tournament, 6 PM on Saturday night, and again Sunday morning
    C) First game of tournament, and Sunday morning is fine

5)  What ball should be used on non-baseball fields?
    A) 52/300 ball
    B) 40/325 Dudley ZN Conference Ball is fine

6)  Should an independent firm be responsible for bat testing?
    A) No, USSSA has done a nice job
    B) Yes, an outside firm would be nice

7)  Should bats that fail compression be examined further for alterations?
    A) Yes
    B) No

8)  What should the punishment be for using an altered bat?
    A) 3 tournaments
    B) Remainder of season
    C) One Calendar year
    D) Remainder of season and following season



TEAMS/PLAYERS

9)  Should the number of Major players allowed per Major team be reduced?
    A) No, leave it like it is at unlimited. 
    B) Yes, reduce it by 2 per year until it gets down to 5 starting in 2013
    C) Yes, reduce it to 5 in 2013
    D) Yes, reduce it to 3 in 2013

10)  Should USSSA implement player ratings below the major level?
    A) Yes
    B) No



Tournaments

11)  Should the Western teams have more "double" tournament weekends
    A) Yes it would reduce costs
    B) No

11a) Should Conference tournaments be seeded on points?
    A) Yes, it rewards the teams that support the Conference
    B) No, random draw


 

Conference Championships


12)  Should teams be required to go to the Conference Championships if they qualify?
    A) Yes
    B) No

13)  Do you like the Conference Championships?
    A) Yes
    B) It is ok
    C) No

14) Should the Conference Championship be moved to different locations around the country each year?
    A) Yes
    B) No
   
15) What format should be used for the Conference Championships?
    A) The 2011 format with the losers of the first two rounds falling into their own tournament
    B) Straight double elimination
    C) 3 game guarantee is fine
    D) Pool play followed by single elimination   



'B' World Tournament

16) How should the 'B' World tournament be seeded?
    A) By Conference points like it is now
    B) By USSSA points like it was in the past
   
17) Where is the best place in Florida for the 'B' World tournament?
    A) Fortune Road in Kissimmee, Florida
    B) ESPN Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Florida only using the softball fields
    C) ESPN Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Florida with the stadium as the main field
   
18) Where should the 'B' World tournament be played?
    A) Should be moved around the country every other year and Florida every other year
    B) Should be moved around the country every year
    C) Should remain in Florida every year

19) What is the best weekend for the 'B' World
    A) The weekend before Labor Day Weekend
    B) Labor Day Weekend in conjunction with the Conference Championships
    C) The weekend after Labor Day Weekend
    D) 2 weeks after Labor Day Weekend like it is now
    E) Weekend of the Major



'A' World Tournament

20) Should local host 'C' teams and lower be allowed into the 'A' Worlds
    A) Yes, when you get the host teams in, it makes the bracket so none of the big teams go home 0-2
    B) No, those teams didn't qualify and cause extra games in the heat
   
21) Where is the best place in Florida for the 'A' World tournament?
    A) Fortune Road in Kissimmee, Florida
    B) ESPN Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Florida only using the softball fields
    C) ESPN Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Florida with the stadium as the main field
   
22) Where should the 'A' World tournament be played?
    A) Should be moved around the country every other year and Florida every other year
    B) Should be moved around the country every year
    C) Should remain in Florida every year



STATISTICS

23) Are teams cheating on their stats by counting FC's as hits or not including SAC's or HRO's?
    A) Yes
    B) No

24) Should stats be kept by both participating teams at all conference events on carbon copy triplicate scoresheets with one copy going to an official stat keeper for compiling and posting, one to USSSA for official record, and one to the team?
    A) Yes, stats will be 100% accurate if each game is available to see on the internet because you can see how many outs were made and how many innings played.
    B) No



UMPIRING

25) Is the strike zone different for a Major team vs an 'A' or 'B' team?
    A) Yes
    B) No
   
26) Is the strike zone different for a Major player vs a Non-Major player?
    A) Yes
    B) No
   
27) Should the Conference Umpires be in a rotation behind the plate for all teams and all big games?
    A) Yes
    B) No



OTHER

28) Do you wish another association had a competitive tournament schedule to play?
    A) Yes
    B) No

29) Do you have any questions that you would like to be included in the questionnaire?

30) Do you have any suggestions on how Conference USSSA can be improved?

31) Do you have any suggestions on how softball can be improved?

   
 


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