Here are the two 2008 changes to the rules that will affect Alaska softball the most:
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Rule 3, Section 1 G: The bat barrel shall be free of audible rattles when shaken. The bat barrel shall not have signs of excessive wear.
Comment: Bat manufacturers suggested that this rule would help identify bats that have started to break down internally.
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Rule 8, Section 4 F: Slow Pitch Change Women's Open to Women's Slow Pitch
Comment: ALL women's slow pitch classifications are allowed to steal
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A full list of changes can be found here.

On Oct. 20th ASA held their annual state meeting in Anchorage. Representatives from Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Homer, Mat-Su and Southeast were in attendance. During the state meeting members tackle classification, state and invitaional tournament schedules, proposed codes changes and more. This year there were some major changes that require some explanation. click the headline to read more!

The Alaska Pride Men's C team from Anchorage went down to Reno for the ASA Balloon Race Tournament the weekend of Sept. 8-9. There were teams from California, Oregon and the host Nevada. The Pride placed 7th out of 30 teams here's Matt Sugita's recollection of how the weekend unfolded for them :
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Gm 1) 18-10 Win
Gm 2) 32-14 loss from a Nevada team that put 16 runs up in the first inning before we even got to bat. They base hit us like crazy and we just didn't hit.
Gm 3) 16-13 win
Gm 4) 15-3 win
Gm 5) 18-14 win
Gm 6) 10-16 loss to a team from California

So, our experience down there has made at least me, appreciate our fields here in Anchorage. The fields down there are solid clay, with a bit of gravel on top of it so footing was horrible. We later found out that short and third would play in the grass so that they have lateral ability. Oh well. The fields were not soft because they were not allowed to use water for that purpose.

Three teams from Alaska traveled to the ASA Men's D Nationals in Portland Oregon over Labor Day Weekend. There were 42 teams and the winning team, Hara's from Salem, OR, lost their first game 17-11 to TAI and then went through the loser's bracket and beat TAI twice in the championship to win it all. The Alaska teams finished:

13) Soland Contracting-Anc., 3-2
Won 19-17 over Team Christopher, MN
Lost 25-5 to Oswego Drywall, OR
Won 23-3 over RallytimeCDA, ID
Won 25-11 to Fattboys, MT
Lost 19-8 to Major Leaguers, AZ

25) Zoobar-Anc.(Warriors), 1-2
Lost 16-9 to KTI, WA
Won 15-1 over Evans, WY
Lost 12-11 to Cheerleaders, OR

33) Floors Galore-Juneau, 0-2
Lost 22-10 to Team Gold, CA
Lost 17-7 to Integrated, OR

Womens C Anchorage, 5 teams
(1) Hooters-A; (2) Guido's-A; (3) Lounge Lizards-A
Womens D Fairbanks, 5 teams
(1) Bush Co.-A;(2) Robinson's Millwork-MS;(3) AlaskaSoftball.com-A;(4) Subway-F
Womens E MatSu, 6 teams
(1) Kodiak; (2) Shelton Electric-A; (3) ERMA-A; (4) Chulitna Construction-MS

Mens C Fairbanks, 12 teams
(1) RockStar-F;(2) Quiseqeya-A;(3) Auto Trim-F;(4) Shockers-F
Mens D Mat-Su, 23 teams
(1) Valley Cubs-MS;(2) Packaging Store-A;(3) Team Debe Reischke; (4) TruBuilt-MS
Mens E Anchorage, 12 teams
(1) Riptide-K;(2) ???;(3) ???;(4) ???

A=Anchorage | MS=Mat-Su | K=Kenai | F=Fairbanks

Congratulations to this year's coed State Champs
Coed B Anchorage, 9 teams
(1) Van's-A; (2) Quaction-A; (3)
Coed C Fairbanks, 7 teams
(1) Matrix-F; (2) Arby's-F; (3) Frontier Club-F; (4) Midnite Mine-F
Coed D Anchorage, 19 teams
(1) PIC-A; (2) The Grind-A; (3) SAL #35-MS; (4) Hallmark Homes-A
Coed E Kenai, 15 teams
(1) VECO-A; (2) Hess Builders-MS; (3) SBS-A; (4) Duggan's-K

A=Anchorage | MS=Mat-Su | K=Kenai | F=Fairbanks

Now that the some of the Fairbanks teams have been moved up to play C, will they be able to hold their own with some of the powerhouse teams in Anchorage?
Who is the team to beat this year?

Mens C State, 6 teams
1) Alaska Hydro-Ax, Anchorage; 2) Floors Galore, Juneau; 3) Guido's, Anchorage
Mens D State, 17 teams
1) Rockstar, Fairbanks; 2) Club Soda, Fairbanks; 3) Hideout Lounge, Fairbanks
Mens E State, 26 teams

Men's C: JJ's Lounge (Anchorage)
Men's D: Alaska Hydro-Ax (Anchorage)
Men's E: TruBuilt (Mat-Su)
Women's D: Budweiser (Fairbanks)
Women's E: Cliffside Community Chapel (Anchorage)
Coed C: Alaska Sheet Metal (Anchorage)
Coed D: Quizno's (Anchorage)
Coed E: Prother Francis (AnchorTown)