Master National Message

By Jerry Jackson USSSA National Masters Program Director
The USSSA National meeting was held November 11-17 in beautiful, but rainy, Daytona Beach, FL. This was the first national meeting since we adopted the two-year rulebook. The association made many changes. These changes will continue to make the USSSA Association the number one softball association in the country.
Every year I always present several awards. This year, as always, I presented every world tournament host in 2001 with a nice plaque thanking them for supporting the masters program. I also recognized Ms. Wanda Lanham of the Sandbagger newspaper. Wanda has been a tremendous supporter of the masters/seniors program. Her newspaper coverage of many of the men and women senior world tournaments has been outstanding. Last year she covered both the men and women senior world and she was updating the Sandbagger web page at the end of each day. This was a tremendous asset to the programs and the players participating.
I also recognized Mr. Jim Hanna, manager of the BBC 35,40,45 & over team that won all the world tournaments this year. WOW, what a great year, winning three world titles in one year. To the BBC players and Mr. Hanna, great job gentleman. Jim Hanna, the master's program manager of the year, will be inducted to the Michigan Hall of Fame in March.
The last award I presented was for the Masters Program Director of the year. This year the award went to Mr. Murl Skalla of Denver, CO. Murl has been a big supporter of the masters program for years and has been a huge asset to me over the years. Murl hosted the men's 35 & over world in 1998 and last year Murl and his staff hosted the largest ever Men's Senior World Tournament. Thanks Murl for your friendship and support over the years.
The Masters Committee met on Tuesday, November 13. There were 15 committee members from across the country present at the meeting. In the past, the masters committee has met twice. In the first meeting we would discuss the 35 to 45 and over age groups and in the second meeting we would discuss the men and women seniors programs. This year we only had one meeting to discuss all the masters/seniors programs. I want to thank all the committee members for their concern and hard work in the committee this year. The following changes were made in the masters/seniors programs for the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
For the past four years, the women's seniors program has been run as a pilot program. Because of the success we have had in this program, the committee felt it was time to make the women's seniors program a permanent program in the masters/seniors programs. The board of directors approved this and the many rule additions that were needed for the women's seniors program will be added to the rulebook. We also approved a new division for the women's seniors program. Starting in 2002 we will have a women's 45 & over division. We feel that there is a great need for this division, but until we know for sure, we will run this program as a pilot program for a couple of years.
One of the reasons for the great success we have had in the women's seniors program is the great location this tournament has been run for the past two years. The people in Gallatin, TN have done an outstanding job as the host of this tournament. Gallatin will have the chance to continue to see this tournament grow since it was decided at the convention that Gallatin, TN would host the women's seniors' world tournament again in 2002 and 2003. So ladies, make your plans and pack your bags and we will see you at the world tournament in Gallatin.
The next divisions we discussed were the women's 35 & over and the men's 45 & over programs. Both of these programs are doing great and the committee did not feel there were any changes needed in either of these programs. One thing the committee did discuss was the importance of having the world tournament in a warm climate. The 2002 women's 35 & over and men's 45 & over will be held Sept. 27-29 in Lexington, SC. Continued

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