New Zealand Exception for 2012 – The New Zealand Black Sox (National team) will be touring the US and Canada from June 16 to July 1. Players on the team will not be released to club teams until the tour is completed. Because of this, it would be impossible for any New Zealand national team player to meet the ISC requirement of Out of Region players participating with the 2012 club team in an ISC Qualifier or in invitational tournaments in both June and July. The ISC Executive Committee recently approved an exception for members of the New Zealand Black Sox so they will be eligible for ISC play. Members of the New Zealand Black Sox will not have to play in a Qualifier or in a June invitational but will have to play with their 2012 team in either a June or July invitational. There are 4-July weekends available after their North American tour ends July 1.

This exception does not change the May 1 Out of Region due date for player email commitments and mailing the Team Recap.

New Zealand has not yet released their team roster but we are told it will be their #1 team. All training squad members have been asked to make themselves available for the North American tour, as this will be the start of final preparations for New Zealand heading into the 2013 ISF World Championships. We feel this 2012 exception will benefit both US and Canadian teams and provide a new playing opportunity for several New Zealand players. We expect to see the New Zealand roster in the spring.