Peninsula Kickball - Spring 2018 Guide

Welcome to another great season of CLUBWAKA Kickball on Wednesday nights! We have a ton of cool stuff planned for this season. This post will contain all of the important details and notes you'll need to ensure you have the most fun playing #WAKAWednesday!

CLUBWAKA STAFF

To ensure that the Peninsula Kickball has the best possible social sports experience, we have a great staff of leaders serving the league all season long.

TJ Bowman, Community Coordinator: The Community Coordinator (CC) is basically another name for "Commish". TJ will be your point person for any questions about operations, schedules, reffing assignments, etc. He can be reached at tbowman@kickball.com.

Lauren Gyurisin, Social Coordinator: The kickball games are just half the fun of CLUBWAKA Peninsula. Each season we have weekly postgame meetups at Tapps, two amazing parties, and other meetups. As the social coordinator, Lauren will be responsible for planning and hyping these events up! She can be reached at lgyurisin@kickball.com.

Brent Wentworth, General Manager: I named a trophy after myself. Other than that, I'm pretty useless. I'll still do my best to help you if needed though, so that counts for something, right? I can be reached at brent@kickball.com or if you say my name three times in a mirror after midnight during a full moon.

SPRING 2018 SCHEDULE

The schedule can always be found on the league website. A few notes:

• Each team is scheduled for 9 games. There are multiple time slots/dates left open. These are primarily reserved for rain makeups. If we do not need to use those for makeup games, additional regular season games will be added, with the opponents chosen based on win/loss records (as closely as possible). It is very possible that we may end up with more than 9 games played this season. 
• MOST games will be played at War Memorial Stadium (1889 W. Pembroke Ave, Hampton)
• The games on April 18th will be played at Briarfield Park (1560 Briarfield Rd, Hampton)
• The End of Season Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, June 23rd at Gosnold's Hope Park (901 E Little Back River Rd, Hampton) at 10 AM. 
• Regular season games are scheduled for 6:30 and 7:30 pm. Additional games may be added to 8:30 pm if needed for makeup games.
• TIME LIMITS: Each game will be scheduled for 5 innings or 60 minutes. When reffing, be mindful of the time. No new innings should start after the 20-minute mark of the hour (ex. For a 6:30 game, the 5th inning should not start after 7:20 PM). Any inning that was started prior to the 20 after mark should be completed in its entirety if it rolls past 20 after unless the home team has a lead.
• It's important to respect each other’s time. Some recommendations include arriving early to ensure you’re ready to begin at the scheduled time. Avoid excessive warming up in between innings. Hustle on and off the field. Always ensure you have a back stopper behind the catcher to retrieve passed balls.

WEATHER POLICIES

• In the event that inclement weather puts too much water on the fields, games may be canceled. We have built in open spots in the schedule and will reschedule as many games as possible. 
• If we need to cancel games, the announcement will be communicated through e-mail and the league Facebook group as soon as a decision is made. If you have not received notice that we are postponed, assume that we are playing!

WAR MEMORIAL STADIUM

We are extremely fortunate to partner with War Memorial Stadium for our 8th year of CLUBWAKA Kickball. There is no better venue in the country for our awesome sport than this one! Beautifully manicured fields, tunes pumping from the PA system, and cold beer flowing from the Tiki Bar create a perfect atmosphere for kickball. With that said, there are some guidelines that we have to follow. 

• NO OUTSIDE ALCOHOL: Because WMS does possess an ABC license, all outside booze is prohibited from stadium property, including the parking lot. The only alcohol that can be consumed is stadium purchased. Don’t worry though. These aren’t ballpark prices. Most beers are $3. 
• Because WMS is also a minor league baseball stadium, it’s important to take care not to tear it up. The league has purchased artificial turf mats for the pitching circles. When pitching, you must avoid planting outside of the turf mats. **Any pitch that is thrown with the plant foot off the mat will be considered a position infraction (encroachment) and subject to the appropriate penalty.**
• Please avoid walking across or warming up on the dirt infield. 
• Pets are allowed inside the stadium, as long as they are on a leash, don’t crap and piss all over the place, and don’t viciously attack people. 

POSTGAME: TAPPS!

You and your teammates are encouraged to swing by our post game club house, Tapps (1996 Power Plant Pkwy, Hampton) to mingle, enjoy great specials, play games, dance, and more! 

All season long, CLUBWAKA players enjoy: 

• $2.50 Rolling Rock drafts 
• 50% off rotating craft beers 
• 50% off Bold Rock cider drafts
• 50% off special appetizer menu

Be a part of the "WAKA Wednesday" tradition; The After Midnight Photo! If your team has what it takes, compete for the prestigious “BAR BUZZ” Championship Title each week!

Speaking of Bar Buzz. We are looking for a new Bar Buzz King or Queen. If you want to be the life of the party and have ultimate power over who gets to play and party with the prestigious Bar Buzz Belt the following week, please contact TJ for more details. 

As always, CLUBWAKA encourages all players to drink responsibly and have a safe ride home!

PARTIES

This season we will throw two big parties for our leagues! Free beers, food specials, entertainment, and most importantly the BEST CLUBWAKA Community ever!

Details for our parties are TBD, but save the dates of 5/5 and 6/23. Be sure to subscribe to our CLUBWAKA Events on Facebook to get notified when a new party or event is posted. 

GET INVOLVED! 

Want to help make your kickball experience the best one possible? The league is looking for great people to help make VA Peninsula great. Among the opportunities available, we’re looking for charity leader, blog contributors, photographers, referees and more! If you’re interested in helping out, please contact TJ!

STAY CONNECTED!

We have a fun and interactive community that isn’t contained to just Wednesday nights. We definitely encourage you to check out all of our social media pages. 

• Join our Facebook group. Over 1,000 current and past VA Peninsula kickballers! 
• Like CLUBWAKA Hampton Roads on Facebook for updates, news, and photos all season long
• Follow us Instagram. We upload a new photo almost every day. 
• If you’re tweeting or IGing about VA Peninsula, be sure to use the hashtag #WAKAWednesday
• Check out our “Ghost Man on Third” online blog. It contains updates, recaps, rankings, interviews, podcasts, and more! If you're interested in contributing to the blog, please email Brent at brent@kickball.com for more details. 

        

KEY DATES

• April 11: Opening Day!
• April 18: Games played at Briarfield Park due to Stadium conflict
• April 21: CLUBWAKA Balls & Dolls Charity Kickball Tournaments
• May 5: Mid-Season Party - Details Coming Soon!
• June 20: Last Regular Season Games
• June 23: End of Season Tournament (Location: Gosnold's Hope Park)

RULES & REFFING

All CLUBWAKA league games are officiated by fellow players. Let’s take a quick moment to go over some helpful tips that will help you not just as a player, but also as a referee. 

• Be familiar with the rules: The Official Rules of Kickball can be found here. There is also a very helpful FAQ that can be found online as well. 
• Permanent Head Ref Program! Thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers, most games this season will feature an experienced head ref. Teams will only be asked to provide base refs. If you would like to participate in the PRP, please reach out to TJ. **We are looking for more volunteers to participate in this program**
• For the most part, new teams won’t be required to ref for the first couple of weeks. Take the time to hang out before or after your games and check out the best practices of the experienced refs.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I never cease to be amazed at how helpful and friendly this crazy kickball community is. There is no shortage or people who would be happy to give advice! 
• There are several apps that help with counters. I recommend downloading the ClickBall app.
• Be confident, do your best, and don’t stress! 

ROSTERS

Get your programs here! Can't tell the players if you don't have a program! The rosters for each team are located here.

SPECIAL EVENTS
One of the coolest things about our local CLUBWAKA kickball leagues is our support of the community and charity. One of the main ways we do that is by coming together for special one-day tournaments. Here are a few upcoming events that you should want to be a part of!

• CLUBWAKA Balls & Dolls Tournament, Saturday April 21st @ Briarfield Park, Hampton
• CLUBWAKA MidAtlantic Regional Tournament, Saturday, June 9th @Dorey Park, Richmond
• CLUBWAKA MidAtlantic Charity Fun Games,  Saturday, June 9th @Dorey Park, Richmond

THANK YOU!

We're glad you joined us this season. If you have any questions or feedback at any point, please don't hesitate to let us know. We're looking forward to another epic season of CLUBWAKA Peninsula Kickball! See you at the fields!

SPONSORS

A HUGE thank you to our sponsors.