Ardmore Women's Softball League Can Stay, Officials Say

The informal Ardmore Softball Women's League, which faced being disbanded, is now considered in compliance with a rule that says half of all players in such a league must be Township residents.

when demand for field space forced an audit of the teams and where their players live.

Township officials said the rule was not being arbitrarily invoked to keep outsiders off Lower Merion turf, but it became an issue when residents who wanted to use the fields were turned away.

At the time, Brenda Viola, public information officer for the Township, said residents comprised just 48 percent of four of the six teams in the softball league. The fate of the league depended on the remaining two teams waiting to be tallied.

On Monday morning, Township Supervisor Donna Heller confirmed that the remaining two teams had been tallied and brought the percentage of residents in the league to 53.68 percent.  

"We definitely enjoy the league," said Heller. "It's just a matter of providing the service to our residents first.

"The league has been up and running for 30-plus years and it's nice to be able to run the services for our residents and keep the league at the same time. It's great to know that our residents are taking advantage of it."