 An Interview with Ken Hackmeister
ISC Executive Director
TIC: Congratulations on a successful '05 tournament. Were you happy with the numbers from Eau Claire ?
Ken: We haven't seen any numbers from Eau Claire yet. Visually, I was pleased with the attendance, particularly for the power pools round robin games.
TIC: There was a lot of talk about the “power pool concept”, where the top ten teams all played in two divisions and they all advanced. Do you think it will be continued?
Ken: Unless something unexpected occurs, it will continue through the 2006 tournament in Kitchener . We may alter or eliminate the wild card playoff games for teams tied in pool play and finishing third place in their respective pools. This is to eliminate 4 added games played in the wee hours of Thursday morning. It's not fair to the host city to have to staff volunteers for those extra hours and the fan attendance was predictably, very low. We have to provide umpires, scorers, announcers, statisticians, etc. We don't like to send teams home on a written rule but when we factor in all the individuals adversely affected by playoff games for 6 teams who did not finish 1 or 2 in their pool, one has to consider more than the teams. Also, the two teams who win these two berths must play again Thursday morning. Is that fair to them?
TIC: Not really, it's giving them an awful long road to go. So you're happy with the way it worked?
Ken: I thought it worked well except we had to have 4 play-in games among the 6 teams tied for the two wildcard berths.
TIC: There seems to quite a gap in caliber between the top and bottom teams in the World Tournament. Do you think that's inevitable or can something be done to even up the playing field?
Ken: I think the top 5 teams are head and shoulders above the rest. Maybe just the top 3 or 4. Once you get into teams ranked 6, 7 or 8, I don't think there is a huge difference in caliber of teams. Perhaps you could exclude the 0-4 teams in pools C – H. The only way I know to level the playing field is to impose more Out of Area or other roster restrictions on the top tier of teams. Wouldn't it be nice going into a World Tournament, knowing any one of 10 or more teams could win rather than the current situation of knowing the champion will be one of 3 or 4 teams?
TIC: Ya, it sure would. So are you considering boosting the price to teams for OOA players or restricting the number of National team players on any one team?
Ken: The motion currently before our Board of Directors is called PRAWN and was developed by our ISC Player Rep Committee. Essentially, it's a limitation of ISC All World players on a given team. The All World status is based on the most current 5-year period. The list has a total of 103 names on it. If approved, it would have no affect on current Out of Area rules or fees. Current limitation of 2 OOA pitchers would remain. I'm hoping we have resolution of this in early October so teams can be informed.
TIC: So if it's passed, how would that affect County Materials and the Farm? Would they be allowed to protect only a few All World players and the rest would be up for grabs?
Ken: The current proposal limits each team to 6 PRAWN players however, there are exceptions which would allow teams to retain their 2005 rosters even if they exceed the 6 limit. Also, exceptions apply if a given player originally made All World status with the same team they currently play for. In the case of County Materials , they would be able to retain their 2005 roster but The Farm would have to release one of their 3 OOA pitchers.
TIC: So if the world champs wouldn't lose anyone, what's the point? Wouldn't it make more sense to increase the OOA fees thus making it more difficult or at least more expensive, to put a team like County Materials together?
Ken: Raising OOA fees would not impact the well sponsored teams but it would hurt the other teams. I don't see an OOA fee increase as the answer. The impact PRAWN will have is down the line - - 2007, 2008 and beyond. A team like County Materials can retain their 2005 team but as they lose PRAWN players, they can't add any PRAWNS until they drop below 6 for the team. We're hoping it will force teams to recruit and develop more local players when they can't add more PRAWN players.
TIC: I didn't get to see any of the ISC II Tournament of Champions but I heard it was a success and that the caliber was definitely a notch below the World Tournament, which I suppose, is a good thing. Is it working the way you had hoped?
Ken: ISC II has far surpassed our wildest expectations. I attribute this to the dedicated and talented group of people making up our ISC II staff. And they have done it knowing they had to provide a better product to compete with NAFA, ASA and Canadian eastern and western intermediate championships. I believe we offer our ISC II teams and players the same high level of services provided to the ISC World Tournament teams and players. Excellent umpires, organized scheduling and administration, web site exposure, comprehensive stats, streaming of games, extensive quality photography, etc I know of no other organization that offers all these quality services to this level of competition.
TIC: A few years ago, you listed your top two priorities as 1) developing new pitchers and 2) getting TV coverage. How happy are you with progress in those areas?
Ken: Not very happy. We have made extensive efforts to get our people to organize and stage pitching clinics. We have provided free instructional videos, provided a clinic administrator to assist in the “how to” aspects and a qualified clinic instructor to assist with any technical questions on teaching techniques. Frankly, what you are doing in the BC area may be the only regularly scheduled pitching clinic effort in all of North America by ISC personnel. Our commissioners are simply not buying into the pitcher development effort. I don't know why. To a man, they will all tell you they recognize the fact that without new pitchers, the game will surely die. But getting them to actually put forth effort in this area has been more difficult than pulling teeth.
The TV effort is very complex and costly. Dave Blackburn has put in countless hours on this project and with the exception of Fargo in 2004, we have not been successful. In Wisconsin this year, we couldn't even locate a station willing to tape the championship game and allow us the opportunity to distribute it via syndication.
The general public is not aware of all the intricacies involved in TV production and distribution. All they know is they see ESPN showing a 12U jacks tournament on TV and wonder why we can't get our game on TV as well.
FYI, to get a properly produced taped telecast on ESPN would require between $250,000 and $500,000. We certainly don't have the money for this. Sponsors? Who? Who will sell it? Selling TV sponsorship is a very specialized activity and we haven't been able to attract any of these types of firms to take us on. If anyone out there has the knowledge, ability and funding sources to accomplish this, I invite them to contact me. If they can deliver the televised product, we'll make them “King or Queen of the ISC.”
This year we experimented with a one camera web cast of the final three games in Eau Claire and shown via Internet as video streaming. From all reports, this was a successful effort and one we'll likely continue and expand. It's not TV per se but if we can stream video utilizing 4 cameras and purchase a video mixer, we will likely continue this effort. Dave Blackburn will be working on this during the off-season.
TIC: It might not be TV, but maybe it's even better because everybody can tune in to the internet whereas we in Canada sometimes have problems getting some of the U.S. channels. Will the video mixer be purchased in time to cover the 2006 tourney in Kitchener?
Ken: Dave and I haven't had time to discuss this in detail yet but assuming the cost of needed equipment is not outrageous, we would plan to implement in 2006. Another factor in this is the type of Internet access Kitchener provides us from the ball parks. This won't be known until late October when we have a meeting scheduled in Kitchener.
TIC: A lot of fans in the west are wondering if we will ever see an ISC World Tournament out this way. Is it possible?
Ken: Not likely in the near future. Any location extreme east, west or south would not be successful in my opinion. We would not get 40-teams to travel those distances. We're battling each year now to get 40 teams. The majority of teams are based in the middle of the continent and many are able to drive. If they suddenly have to fly, many simply don't have the sponsorship money to purchase plane tickets and rent vehicles. As I talk to interested host city prospects, I always tell the ones in extreme locations that the only way they would become our host is if they could subsidize most of the teams so their expenses to fly would not exceed their typical expense of driving. That would cost a host an enormous amount of money. If you look at the number of World Tournament caliber teams currently in the west (including BC) there are perhaps 7 or 8. That is the lowest number of any of our ISC regions, with the possible exception of the south.
TIC: OK Ken, I guess we'll have to prepare ourselves for a trek to the mid-west every August, which isn't so bad. Thanks for your time and good luck with the new rules.
Ken: Thanks Milt, hope to see you in Kitchener next year.
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