Have you ever dreamed of playing at the Little League World Series?
Well that dream starts right here for our players in District 8.
The all star program is a competitive program that each league can choose to run based on availability of coaches and level of interest. These teams are made of house league players who must have played at minimum 8 house league games (waived at senior level) and live or attend school within their league's boundaries.
Teams within District 8 will then attend District Playdowns to determine who will represent us at Provincial championships. The winner at Ontario's will then attend Canadian's (except minors) and the winner from Canadian's will go on to the Little League World Series!
Tryouts:
Leagues will arrange their tryout dates and teams will be selected by the coaches
Teams must at a minimum have 12 players.
Leagues must confirm all-star teams by May 30th. If a team pulls out after this date there is a charge to the league.
Combined teams:
If a given league does not have the interest in running an all star program, leagues can ask at district to run a combined program therefore allowing players to join together. Please note that forms need to be submitted for approval by May 15. Note, combined teams at minor age is not permitted.
Paperwork:
This is often the most challenging part for team managers to get organized. Please see our
forms section for information on how to have this completed properly to avoid challenges at playdowns. Without accurate paperwork, teams or players can be disqualified.
Rules:
We encourage all those participating at all star play to be familiar with the rules around tournament play. This can be found in the
little league rule book which is an app that can be downloaded to your mobile device.
There are also
hosting guidelines from Little League Ontario that all coaches should be aware of when entering District playdowns
Playdowns:
Prior to the season, the presidents from D8 decide on the location for each district playdown. Depending on the number of teams participating at playdowns, the format can vary. We aim to have playdowns completed about one week prior to the start of Ontario championships.
Provincials:
Once a team wins District Playdowns, they must attend provincials. The provincials tournament dates are posted as soon as they can to the
Ontario little league website.
Exact tournament start dates are only known after leagues commit to sending teams, the deadline for which is the end of May. Tournament formats (ie: round-robin/double elimination) also depend on the number of teams.
Canadians:
The winner of Ontario attends Canadians. It is important to note that sometimes based on location of the tournament, players and coaches may travel directly from Ontario championships to Canadians. Flights for players and coaches to attend Canadians is covered through Little League Canada and is prearranged and is why we ask for passport information. This is the same for the winner of Canadians to travel to Little League World Series.
Info for coaches:
Teams are allowed 1 manager (AKA head coach) and 2 coaches. They must be coaches on regular season teams for that age division.
There is a coaches meeting prior to the start of play at each tournament that must be attended by at least one coach.
Coaches must wear long pants with a collared shirt and closed toed shoes. Yes we know it is hot, but if the players can do it, so can you.
Bring your championship banner and pins for exchange if going to Provincials or beyond.
If there is a banquet at provincials teams are expected to attend. Ensure your players have appropriate attire to wear to the event.
Ensure you have line up cards to present prior to the games at the plate meeting.
Ensure you sign the affidavit after each game for pitch counts to ensure you are aware of any pitch limitations for next games.