As a parent, you are a member of Calgary West Little League. Although game responsibilities vary slightly for each division and field assignment, every family in our membership is required to fulfill their volunteer commitment by performing parent duties at their child's games.

Game duties for the Rookie divisions and higher include:

Home Teams:

1. Field Set-Up - Rake and line field and setup bases. 
2. Official Scorekeeper.
3. Unofficial Pitchcounter (N/A for Rookie Ball)

Away Teams:

1. Official Pitchcounter (N/A for Rookie Ball)
2. Unofficial scorekeeper
3. Field Clean-Up. Put away bases. For all diamonds except Optimist Athletic Park.

Game Duties for the Blastball and T-Ball games include:

• Home Teams - Field Set-Up - Rake and line field and setup bases.
  
• Away Teams - Rakes field and puts away bases and equipment.
  
• Dugout for Both teams - Organize the players and manage batting order.
  Parent duties for each game will be assigned by your team Head coach or team parent manager.

CWLL has implemented a Parent Code of Conduct which all parents of children must read and understand prior to their children participating in our league. Any parent guilty of improper conduct at any game or practice will be asked to leave the sports facility and be suspended from the following game. Repeat violations may cause a multiple game suspension, or the season forfeiture of the privilege of attending all games. CWLL has also adopted “Anti-Bullying” and “Sportsmanship isn’t just for Athletes” policies.

CWLL has a grievance procedure that can be issued by parents to address any league related issue.

CWLL Grievance Procedure

STEP 1
Address the issue with your team’s coach or the designated coordinator of your division.

STEP 2
If the issue is not dealt with to your satisfaction; please send the details of your concerns or issues to Jen Derzaph, Player Agent via email to playeragent@cwll.org. The other members of the Grievance Committee are the President and the Division VP’s.

STEP 3
If the committee finds that a person is in contravention of any of the policies, practices or procedures of CalWest Little league, then that person will be informed of such and be given an opportunity to make corrections.

STEP 4
If, after a reasonable amount of time the person refuses or will not confirm to the request of the committee, the Player Agent will take the issue to the Board of Directors who will determine the next course of action.

STEP 5
If the Board of Directors determines that the person will no longer be welcome to volunteer, play or attend at CalWest Little League, they may appeal that decision to the Grievance Committee.

STEP 6
If the Committee feels that the appeal has merit they will take it to the Board of Directors Executive for further discussion and a decision. If the Committee feels the appeal has no merit, the Committee will not accept the appeal and the decision will stand.

All children between the ages of 4 and 16 living or attending a school within league boundaries are eligible to play. Please refer to the home page of our website for a detailed map on the "League Boundaries" page.

Please refer to the "Registration" page on the homepage for additional information and registration fees for the upcoming season.

*Please refer to the Little League Age Chart for the upcoming season.

https://www.littleleague.org/play-little-league/determine-league-age/

Blastball – For 4 to 5 year olds. 4 year olds must register for Blastball division and 5 year olds can register for either Blastball or T-Ball divisions.

T-Ball – For 5 to 6 year olds. 5 year olds can register for either Blastball or T-Ball divisions and 6 year olds must register for the T-Ball division.

Rookie - 7 and 8 year olds must register for Rookie division.

Minor - 9 and 10 year olds must register for Minor division.

Major - 11 and 12 year olds must register for Major division.

Intermediate - For 13 year olds. 13 year olds can register in Intermediate division and/or the Senior division.

Junior/Senior - For 14 to 16 year olds. 

Final assignment of players to Minor divisions and higher will be made after the player evaluation process described below based on the age groups noted above. 

All players aged 9 to 16 in the Minor divisions and higher must go through an evaluation process. The player evaluation process has two primary goals: to place players in the appropriate division based on their abilities, skill level and safety considerations, and to facilitate a fair and equitable assignment of players to teams resulting in evenly matched teams in all divisions. The evaluation of players will be done using a 1-10 scale, with every evaluator scoring each player on their ability to field, catch, throw, and hit a ball. When all the tabulations have been completed, players are assigned to divisions based on their average scores.

It is MANDATORY that all players in Minor divisions and higher attend the player evaluations for their age division. Not attending the evaluation session for their age group may result in the player being de-registered from the league.

Players will be initially evaluated with other players of the same league age. 

Evaluation sessions will be scheduled for the following age groups: 9 / 10 year olds; 11 / 12 year olds; Intermediate/Senior.

The schedule for the evaluation sessions will be posted on the "Player Evaluations" page on the CWLL website. There are no player evaluations for the Blastball and T-Ball. 

Mini-evaluation sessions will be held for Rookie Ball to assist the Division Coordinator in creating balance teams. These sessions will be held immediately prior to spring break.

Some players may be invited to try out for a higher division from their age group (8 year olds in the Minor division and 10 year olds in the Major division) based on their initial evaluation results. In order to qualify for the higher division, they must also attend the evaluation session for the older age group and the following criteria will apply: 

• must have played the previous year in their age division
• must be one of the top players in their age group 
• there must be available spots in the higher division 
• must be recommended to play up and invited to try out for the higher division

League Officials in the higher division will evaluate and determine if the player is capable and suitable to play in the higher division. 

Once evaluations are completed, league officials will use the evaluation results to determine the appropriate division for each player for that season. The selection or drafting of players will then occur so that teams can be set and the game schedule developed for the upcoming season.

6 year olds who have played one year of T-Ball are eligible to evaluate for the Rookie division. Please go to the "Rookie Description" page for additional information.

If your child is not assigned to the division he/she expected, please explain that it’s not necessarily because he/she is not good enough. There could be other reasons including a lack of experience or time playing baseball. There can also be a benefit to not advancing too quickly – the player will gain a firmer foundation and will have a greater chance of having a bigger impact in a lower division. That can build self-confidence that will last for years. For players wanting to play up from their age group, they may also not advance due to the number of available spots in the higher division. In some years it’s not a reflection of the player’s ability to play at a higher level but rather that there simply aren’t enough spots available.

“Teammate” requests for team placement are accepted in the Blastball and T-Ball divisions, but NOT in the Rookie, Minor, Major, Intermediate, and Seniordivisions. “Sibling” requests for team placement will be considered at all levels for players eligible to play within the same division. 

Practices usually start in late April after team placements and player drafts are completed with league games running from early May to June. All Star teams are formed in mid-June and play into the summer with dates varying by division. League game schedules will be posted on the CWLL website. Practice schedules will be set by the Division Coordinators based on diamond availability and will also be posted on the CWLL website.

All players must supply their own batting helmets, baseball gloves, jocks and jills. Baseball cleats are also strongly recommended. Metal cleats are only allowed in Junior divisions and higher. Personal bats are allowed but CWLL policy dictates that any player bringing his/her own bat to a game or practice will either be the only player allowed to use his/her bat OR will allow every member of the team to use his/her personal bat. This addresses a league concern about team morale when personal bats are only shared between a few players.

Guidelines on choosing the right bat for your child can be found in the document "Choosing the Right Bat" located in our "Forms and Documents" page.

Little League International has placed restrictions on the types of bats that may be used by players. Composite-barreled baseball bats are generally not allowed, however, some composite baseball bats have been approved. Before purchasing baseball bats, it is recommended that you check the Little League approved list here: Little League Approved Bats 

Baseball equipment can be purchased from a variety of retail outlets. The following offer a 10% discount to all CWLL registered players.

• Tuxedo Source for Sports

If you know of any companies or organizations that may be interested in sponsoring CWLL, you can find more information on the "Be a Sponsor" link on the homepage. Both Silver ($500) and Gold ($1000) packages are available and they represent an economical way for a local business to reach over 700 families in the Calgary West area. Any parent obtaining a Silver sponsorship for CWLL will receive an exemption for one half of one child's registration fee for the upcoming season. Any parent obtaining a Gold sponsorship for CWLL will receive an exemption for one child’s registration fees for the upcoming season.

The true spirit of Little League has been captured very well in a message written by a Little League Parent which can be read in our "Forms and Documents page: Last Little League Game