TO TRYOUT FOR THE GRIMSBY COYOTES:
Baseball Ontario regulates the movement of Rep players between OBA Associations. If...
Your family resides OUTSIDE of the Town of Grimsby, OR
Your child was rostered on another Rep team in Niagara last season, OR
Your Local Association (by residence) will be hosting a Rep team in your child's division (Minor or Major) this season...
If your child meets the above criteria, you will likely require an official PLAYER RELEASE from your Local Association. This is a mandatory requirement, and the document is required to be in our possession prior to your child participating in any GBL Rep activity. Please contact our Rep Director at: [email protected] to verify the requirement of a player release for your child, and to discuss the process involved.
Once the required Player Release is obtained, please forward it ASAP to [email protected] for our records. We must have this release in our hands before you are permitted to step onto a field to tryout for the Coyotes.
REQUESTING A RELEASE FROM THE GRIMSBY COYOTES:
If your family resides in the Town of Grimsby OR you have come to the Coyotes program from a town that does not currently have an OBA Rep program, and you would like to tryout/play for a rep team in another Association, you WILL require a PLAYER RELEASE from the GBL.
All release requests must be submitted through our online form and must include the reason the player is seeking the release as well as where they are choosing to tryout. The online release form can be found - HERE -
Under Baseball Ontario guidelines, players are required to play in their Local Association by residence, therefore GBL is under no obligation to grant player releases.
All release inquiries will be forwarded to our Rep Director who will address the release at the following GBL monthly meeting. The GBL Board will then have 15 days from the date of the request, to review the reasoning and deliver a decision.
**TO TRYOUT OUTSIDE OF THE NIAGARA DISTRICT**
If you are interested in trying out for a team in another district, your GBL release is only the first step. You will also require a District/Affiliate release from the NDBA (Niagara District Baseball Association) before you can attend any tryouts or discuss any type of roster spot with a coach outside of the GBL. Once you have your GBL/Coyotes Release, you can then reach out to request an Affiliate release from the NDBA. Once you have received your NDBA release, you are free to tryout for any team you would like outside of the Niagara District.
* House League players (and by extension Select Players) do not require a player release to play in the House League division of another OBA Association (or come to GBL). They must however return to their Home Association (by residence) in the future, or request & obtain a player release should they wish to tryout/play for a rep team other than in the Association where they reside.
OBA PLAYER TAMPERING OFFENCES TO AVOID
Every year the GBL and it’s member centers are forced to address the issue of tampering. Tampering is basically any act that would lead a player to believe they could play for you or your association at a time when you do not hold their playing rights and their rights have not been released by their home association.
For instance, if a player from Grimsby plays in another rep program and decides to return home to play, they can always do so without a release, but MUST come to that decision to return without any outside influence whatsoever.
Also, If a player has no rep program in their town of residence, they have the right to tryout/play rep anywhere in the district. Upon joining a rep team, that association becomes their new hometown and now holds their rights moving forward. The player would then require a local release to play elsewhere should they choose.
OFFENCES:
As per the OBA Constitution Section RP1.7:
a) Where a player participates in a practice, game, tryout, evaluation, or other baseball activity with a team that does not currently hold the player’s playing rights without the authorization(s) required by RP1.5, the player is subject to suspension by OBA.
b) Any coach or manager, who allows a player to participate in any practice, game, tryout, evaluation, or other baseball activity with a team that does not currently hold the player’s playing rights without the authorization(s) required by RP1.5, is subject to suspension by OBA.
c) No player, coach or manager may approach any player for whom their Local Association or Direct Entry does not hold the playing rights with the intention of securing said player for their Local Association or Direct Entry. Violation of this rule will leave the player, coach, or manager subject to suspension by OBA.
d) Where a director, officer, employee or other member of a Local Association or Direct Entry (who is not a player, coach and/or manager) approaches any player for whom their Local Association or Direct Entry does not hold the playing rights with the intention of securing said player for their Local Association or Direct Entry, then such violation will leave the Local Association or Direct Entry open to a fine of up to $1000.
e) In addition to or in place of any suspension authorized by this section RP1.7, any person or organization violating any of the provisions of section RP1.7 may be subject to fine or other sanction as determined appropriate by the Technical Committee.
FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THESE RULES OR OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING THE RELEASE PROCESS, PLEASE CONTACT OUR REP DIRECTOR MIKE BENNETT AT: [email protected]