Weighing a possible 2021 season, the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League (HCBL) outlines COVID-19 safety precautions as teams, including the Shelter Island Bucks, seek host families for players.
The league suspended the program in 2020 due to pandemic restrictions, but with case counts falling and vaccinations becoming available, restrictions on certain activities are beginning to ease.
The challenges to finding families to house players are obvious, but with COVID-19 safety as the top priority, HCBL President Sandi Kruel believes summer baseball can once again be a reality on the East End.
In a phone call Wednesday, Kruel was matter of fact about the HCBL’s plans for COVID-19 safety precautions.
“We think it is unlikely that by June, college age kids will be vaccinated,” she said. “But each player must have a negative test before arrival. Once here, the player would need to quarantine for four days and then test negative once again before being cleared to play.”
COVID-19 precautions would be in place for team activities, and players would be tested periodically throughout the season.
Bucks seek host families
Host families are the backbone of running a successful summer baseball program, HCBL says. Since the Bucks first season, Islanders have stepped up and generously welcomed players into their homes.
Each HCBL player is a member in good-standing with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), meeting all academic, athletic and legal eligibility requirements.
Host families are required to supply a player with a room, bed, access to laundry, and space in a refrigerator. Many hosts take in more than one player and treat them as members of the family, including them in meals and family outings. Hosts are not required to provide transportation.
The HCBL season runs from the beginning of June until the first week of August, including playoffs. Team activities take place outdoors — including post-game meals delivered by local restaurants.
The diamond at Fiske Field, where the HCBL and its donors have supported improvements such as dugouts and scoreboard upgrades, is home turf for the Bucks. With a 40-game regular season and robust practice schedules, the HCBL keeps the players well occupied.
The benefits to the community include:
- Free family entertainment, there is no charge to attend a game
- Improvements to area baseball fields at no cost to the community
- Free baseball clinics for local children
If you’d like to host a player (or two), contact Shelter Island Bucks General Manager Brian Cass at 631-445-0084 or briancass.6255@gmail.com.
To learn more about summer baseball, visit the HCBL website.
