Arizona Little League Has Eye On Residency
Richard Obert
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 31, 2005 12:00 AM
Valley Little League baseball and softball administrators ask for just about everything but the parents' firstborn to prove residency, but they realize they're not immune to the cheating that scarred the local Pop Warner scene last fall.
Pop Warner football playoffs were canceled after the Arizona Youth Football Federation discovered widespread abuse of proof of residency requirements and falsification of applications.
"If somebody wants to get around it, they can," said Dave Eaton, Little League administrator for District 2, which covers west Phoenix and oversees between 12,000 and 14,000 children. "Unfortunately, that's the nature of anything."
Little League got stricter with its proof of residency rules in 2001 after it was discovered that pitcher Danny Almonte had a 14-year-old arm, striking out younger, less physically mature kids with wicked fastballs. Almonte's New York team had to forfeit its third-place finish in the Little League World Series after Dominican Republic authorities confirmed a document showing he had a false birth certificate.
"That was probably the one thing that pushed it over the edge," Eaton said.
Now, when a child is registered, a document providing the child's legal age is required, an original birth certificate or a passport, plus three documents that show proof of residency.
There is a list of 16 categories from which parents must show proof of residency, Eaton said. They could be a utility bill, a bank statement, a driver's license.
"Here's where the problem is," Eaton said. "If the parents are divorced, the child may live with the mom, but the dad has joint custody and can show another address. Grandparents watching the child, they can take the child down to register in their boundaries. It's hard to monitor itself."
If a child is chosen for an all-star team, which then plays a series of tournaments leading to South Williamsport, Pa., required residency and age documentation starts over again.
"We do our best," said Nancie Lane, administrator for District 3 (east Phoenix). "If someone wants to finagle, they're going to do it."
If a player is caught cheating, he or she is not allowed to play in all-star competition.
Dave Lee, a board member with the Gilbert National Little League, said it's important that adults teach the children sportsmanship by not crossing neighborhood boundaries and cheating.
"We try to close the loopholes," he said. "We're supposed to be role models for the kids."
