With a heavy heart, I am writing to announce the cancelation of the 2020 spring season. With Portland parks and schools closed through early June, and the State’s stay at home orders still in effect, the WRLL Board sees no way for the spring season to resume. While we know many of you are experiencing larger challenges than the loss of baseball, we know this cancellation only adds to our collective experience of losses and disruptions piled up one on top of another. We are especially sad for the 12-year-olds in our league who were preparing to play their last Little League season.
To counter the loss of the spring season, we are currently exploring the possibility of a summer season. We do not yet know if summer play will be permitted or practical, as well as what levels might be able to participate, as both options involve Portland Parks making fields available and the State of Oregon permitting organized youth sports. However, we are going forward with our planning so that we will be ready if play is able to resume. If and when we are able to run a summer season, we will be back in touch—hopefully sooner than later.
For the moment, and in anticipation of the canceling of the spring season, the Board spent the last few weeks developing a plan for Spring 2020 refunds. We sent out an email to all registered families, so please look in your email inbox, or write me at [email protected], for details.
The Board wants to thank you for your participation in Wilshire Riverside and we hope you will consider playing again as soon as our fields are open. Despite the old joke that baseball is an individual sport masquerading as a team sport, baseball teaches us that we depend on one another for our own success and happiness. With that lesson in mind, and our mission statement’s focus on kids’ opportunity to play and grow together as people, the WRLL Board will continue to prepare for the next baseball season and support families in our league to the best of our ability. We look forward to seeing you all on the ball field as soon as we can. In the meantime, please reach out to us with any questions. We wish you all health and a joyous spring and summer with your loved ones.