Eastern Massachusetts Senior Softball (EMASS) is opening its annual registration campaign for slow-pitch softball players age 50 and over. With over 400 members, the league attracts players from towns across Eastern Massachusetts with games played on fields in Wayland, Medfield, and Framingham. The EMASS season opens in early May with 18 weeks of regular season games scheduled through Labor Day and year-end playoffs completed in early October.

“We are preparing for growth by  rebalancing our Saturday divisions and adding a new weekday division to expand from 35 teams to over 40 teams,” said Walker Royce, Commissioner of EMASS. “EMASS Senior Softball was a welcome outdoor escape from the lifestyle disruptions of the COVID pandemic over the last two years. We had 70 new players last year and with more seniors looking for a healthy outlet, we feel confident we will see similar growth in 2022.”

“In 2022, we are restructuring our younger Saturday division where the average age across 5 teams will be around 60,” explained Dan Jolly, the new Colonial division coordinator. “With 5 teams, we can use shorter rosters so players get more playing time, and more at-bats. Our Saturday players prefer an occasional bye week for summer holidays.”

“Our most popular weekday division is being split primarily to offer more opportunity for players who want to play multiple times per week,” said Jeff Allan, the new Monday division coordinator. “The Atlantic division had grown to 12 teams. To accommodate more growth, we decided to split into a six-team Monday division and an eight-team Thursday division.”

“The weekday division scheduling supports a day off between play dates for players who choose to play in multiple divisions,” said Bill Cerrato, the new Thursday division coordinator. “It will help us better balance the skills, improve safety and provide more flexibility for those who want to play more than one day a week.”

“EMASS shuffles up team rosters in every division each year to enhance connections across our large softball-loving community,” said Don Gould, the National division coordinator. “Our members enjoy competing with and against their friends.”

EMASS players cherish their weekly double-headers playing with their softball-loving buddies. EMASS has many younger seniors in their fifties and sixties who can still hit a ball over the 300 foot fences or run down a deep line drive in the outfield. They are also inspired by elder players who can still play ball into their late seventies and eighties. That three-hour escape is a weekly high point of camaraderie, teamwork and healthy outdoor competition. When they are out on the field, players feel and act 20 years younger, and when they get home, those stiff joints and sore muscles are mostly perceived as joyful pain.

EMASS will open the 2022 season with over 40 teams competing in 6 different divisions. The league employs paid umpires and has recently invested in team manager training, umpire clinics/ certification, new equipment and a rich website to ensure a safe, well-managed and competitive league.

“Our board members, team managers and division coordinators do a very professional and collaborative job of operating this league. Our players appreciate the fun and camaraderie enabled by our volunteer leadership team.” said Royce.

EMASS was founded in 1995 and offers active seniors of all skill levels a safe, well-organized opportunity to play competitive slow-pitch softball. EMASS members range in age from 50 to 90. Skill levels range from casual recreational players to those who play on nationally competitive tournament teams. Players of any skill level will find a spot with teams of similar abilities in one or more of EMASS’s six divisions. There are two Saturday divisions and four weekday divisions. All divisions play a double-header each week and many members play on different teams in multiple divisions. For more information about EMASS Senior Softball League, visit www.e-mass.org.

SUDBURY: The Thursday Garden Club of Sudbury will be hosting Neela de Zoysa at their next General  meeting at St John's Lutheran Church,16 Great Road on March 10 at 9:30am.  (Masks will be required.) Bring a friend or neighbor to hear Neela explain native plants and the complex connections between native plants and a healthy landscape.

de Zoysa is a professional botanist, avid gardener, long time instructor at the Native Plant Trust and she is actively is involved with the Sudbury Valley Trustees and Friends of the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge.  She leads a series of popular walks on Sudbury conservation lands through the LS Adult and Community Ed programs.
 

SUDBURY/MAYNARD: This year, despite the continuing circumstances created by Covid 19, the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable held its annual Valentine Collection at Sudbury Wine and Spirits and Spirits of Maynard. Although community members could not be invited to help fill the Valentine bags for families affected by abuse, two members of the Roundtable - Fay Farber and Diane Seligman - gathered to fill the bags and delivered them to clients of REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, The Second Step, and Voices Against Violence. Due to the generosity of our local communities, the Roundtable was able to provide 70 gift bags to recipients aged 9 months to 71 years old.

The Roundtable would like to thank Joseph Saia of Sudbury Wine and Spirits and Spirits of Maynard for hosting the collection baskets and the students at Sudbury Extended Day for decorating the gift bags. Also thank you to Wayland Creative Preschool for partnering with us again this year. The pandemic has been especially difficult for families in an abusive situation, and these Valentine’s Day bags brighten the lives of families living in domestic violence shelters and transitional housing and let them know that they are supported in their efforts to rebuild their lives free from abuse.