About Us: General Information / FAQ
If you are new to the area, new to our programs, or need a refresher, start here for an overview and answers to frequently asked questions ...
Who Is Eligible to Register for Our Programs?
Tunkhannock Little League is chartered by Little League International to offer programs to players who reside or attend school within Tunkhannock Borough and the Townships of Tunkhannock, Eaton, Lemon and Washington. Beginning in 2021 Tunkhannock Little League can also offer programs to the former FWM Little League territory in Forkston, Mehoopany, North Branch, and Windham Townships. A player must either live in one of those municipalities OR attend a school building within those municipalities to be eligible to sign up for Tunkhannock Little League programs. The school buildings within our chartered territory are the Tunkhannock Area and Mehoopany Primary Centers, Intermediate Center, STEM Academy, and High School, as well as the Endless Mountains Christian Academy. A player who is a younger sibling of a current player who qualifies via residency or school is also eligible with some extra paperwork.
Proof of residency and/or proof of school enrollment in forms acceptable by Little League regulations may be requested at registration and must be requested and provided prior to any all-star tournament roster approval.
What Programs do we Offer -- and What Does "League Age" Mean?
Tunkhannock Little League currently offers the following spring programs:
*** Please read further down the page for the definition of "league age."
T-Ball (Co-Ed) - league ages 5 - 6
Instructional Coach-Pitch Baseball and Softball - league ages 7 - 8
Minor and Major Baseball - league ages 8 - 12 (8's can play minor via tryout; 9-11 minor and major spits set by tryouts)
Minor and Major Girls Softball - league ages 8 - 12 (8's can play minor via tryout; 9-11 minor and major splits set by tryouts)
And if there are enough registrations we will offer Junior Baseball and/or Junior Softball programs for players league ages 13-14. Registration for spring programs is always held in late January / early February - watch this web site and our Facebook page for dates.
Age eligibility for programs is based on Little League International definitions for "league age" as follows:
For T-Ball and Baseball programs, Little League's "league age" for a spring program is the player's age as of August 31 of the current calendar year. For example, a baseball player who is currently 10 but will turn 11 in July 2021 is considered to be "league age" 11 for the 2021 spring season. For Tunkhannock T-Ball programs, a player must be 5 years old or turn 5 by August 31 of the current calendar year.
For Girls Softball programs, Little League's "league age" is the player's age as of December 31 of the previous year (year that just ended). For example a, a softball player who is turning 13 in March will still be considered "league age" 12 for the spring softball season as they were still 12 on December 31.
A little confusing? Yes, especially if you have boy-girl twins. There are links to Little League's "league age" calculator charts under "Official Forms" at the top of the page if you want to enter your player's birth date and confirm the answer. Make sure to use the Baseball age chart for T-Ball and baseball programs, and the Softball chart for softball programs.
Placement into Minor and Major program levels is done via try-outs and coaches evaluations. Placement decisions are made by the respective program coaches as a group, facilitated by the program commissioners. As long as there are age-level programs offered, a player registered on time (regular registration period) will be provided a placement in some program.
The minimum age for Tunkhannock T-Ball programs is the baseball "league age" 5. So the player must be 5 or turn 5 by August 31 of the current calendar year.
How Much Does it Cost?
Tunkhannock Little League does not charge a mandatory registration fee -- we've not done this in our history and we hope to be able to keep it up as long as families participate in our fundraisers and share in the work involved in maintaining our fields and running our programs. We do offer families the opportunity to pay a small donation -- $40 for first player, $35 for additional players -- in lieu of our candy sale fundraiser. (If you are registering late, after our annual registration period, you will need to pay this donation.) However to keep this no-fee / low-fee structure we need ALL families to participate in the work of our BBQ fundraiser and share in the work required to maintain our fields. Please read the next section for what we need from our participating families.
What Do We Require from our Families to Participate?
It actually takes a LOT of volunteer effort as well as a lot of funding to run our programs and maintain our facilities. Our fields are our responsibility, they aren't municipal parks or town-owned properties. And we can't afford paid staff. So we rely on volunteer leaders and volunteer work from the families whose children enjoy the benefits of our programs. We need every family to help us with field and facility preparation before the season and the regular upkeep required each week during the season. Your program or team will be assigned maintenance days to help out at the field. If every family does a share it's really not a lot of work versus the value your players receive.
We also rely on some fundraisers, the biggest of which is our annual Memorial Day chicken barbecue ... annually over 3,000 dinners served! That event requires help in facility prep and set-up (the day before), cooking (which begins overnight the night before), packing (Memorial Day morning), and clean-up (Memorial Day afternoon). We need help from families in all aspects of that event. And we need every family to participate in ticket sales before the big day. This is our largest annual fundraiser.
What If I Want to Volunteer to Coach, Help with Practices, or Take A Leadership Role?
Each year we need volunteers to coach, help with practices, and take administrative roles. To be an considered or approved as a volunteer for these positions requires compliance with both Little League and Pennsylvania clearance requirements for volunteers. Full information on requirements can be found by clicking on the Volunteer Info tab on the top menu - visit that page for forms and clearance links.
Please Support our Local Business Sponsors!
Our team uniform and equipment expenses are supported through local business sponsors. These businesses take care of our community needs through contributions like this, so please return the favor and patronize their businesses. You'll see a scrolling list of our current business sponsors at the bottom of our web site, most with clickable web links.