The rumored “bump up” of 18 teams from Class “C” to Class “B” is now official. The Minutes from the October 1, 2005 meeting of Region 14 ASA are posted here, and quoted below:

The Committee reviewed the results of the National Tournaments to see if any team should be moved up in classification as required by code.

1. Taylor Farms: Moved from a “C” classification to “B” classification as a result of their 3rd place finish in the “C” Nationals.

The Committee reviewed all the California teams that played in the “C” Nationals to determine if any of these teams should be moved to “B” classification.

As an opening for this discussion, Robert Hernandez made a presentation on his plans for the Southern California teams. He plans on moving 7 teams from “C” to “B” and is meeting with the team representatives tomorrow October 2, 2005 to discuss his plans with them. His basic rational for implementing this plan is to bring in new players and teams to the “C” level while at the same time improving the “B” program. Currently the lower level “C” teams and players just learning the game are discouraged and are dropping out because the strong “C” teams are so dominant. This plan will give them the opportunity to grow and compete and will make the new “B” teams stronger by playing better competition throughout the season.

There was a lengthy discussion by the committee members on the pros and cons of moving teams up in classification that weren’t required by code to move. One of the major concerns expressed was the impact on teams going to National tournaments and the inconsistent application of classification levels by other states. However the committee eventually agreed with the rational adopted by Robert Hernandez. It was also agreed that this committee must take the appropriate action early and not wait for local committees to make recommendations first.

The committee agreed that the decision to move teams up from “C” to “B” had to be based on specific criteria. In addition to the code requirement, the following criteria was adopted:

1. Winner of 4 or more games at the “C” nationals
2. Winner of a national qualifier
3. Winner of the regional tournament
4. Winner of one of the 7 weekend tournaments in the “C” travel league series.
5. Finished in the top 6 in total points in the travel league series.

The following teams were reclassified from “C” to “B” based on the above criteria.

1. West Coast Cardinals
2. High Reach
3. A-1 Tank
4. McLaughlin Air
5. King Real Estate
6. Bonanza Air
7. Savala Painters (Long Beach)
8. Savala Painters (Bakersfield)
9. Italian Athletic Club
10. Oroville Braves.
11. Nielsen Gamblers

The teams from Southern California that are going to be moved up or required to remain at the “B” level include:

1. Raymar (Currently “B”)
2. Rounders
3. Rude Pac
4. Prime Time
5. Black Sox
6. Amigos
7. RAW

Romie’s Angels will also be added to the “B” list. They were reclassified to “C” in 2005 and played at that level until the Nationals at which time they played in the “B” nationals. The team representative requested they be reclassified to “B”

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