Tournament Rules

*1. Any player ejected from the game by the Umpire will be an automatic out in the batting order for that game. The Umpire will advise the Executive of the ejection. Depending on the severity of the ejection the Executive will decide if there are to be any further ejections. There must be at least 3 (majority rules) Executives to vote. (President, Vice President and Executive Director.)

1. Single game ejection plus one game
2. Tournament ejection
3. Ejection from a tournament game next year.
4. Ejection from the tournament next year.
5. Asked to leave the league.

2. All short and deep fielders must stay on the grass unless playing on any large diamond. On a large diamond, only 3 short fielders may play on the infield (on the outer edge of the gravel), at the discretion the respective Captains only.
3. Games are to be scheduled on 1 hour and 30 minutes cycles. At 1 hour and 20 minutes, the Umpire will announce “1 hour and 20 minutes”. If the teams have completed an inning, one more inning will be played and this shall be an open inning. If an inning is in progress, that inning shall be completed and one more open inning will be played to complete the game.
Home team will take their last at bats even if they are winning unless the maximum of 7 run differential has been reached or there are 3 outs. This applies to the preliminary round only.
(Due to scheduling and diamonds, the Executive maintains the right to alter schedule times to accommodate the entire tournament.

4. Infield warm-ups allowed in the first inning only.
5. In the event of a tie game after seven (7) complete innings, teams will revert to the International Tie Breaking Rule. Last person at bat will occupy second base. The game will resume until a winner is declared. No courtesy runners for last out are permitted during International Tie Breaking Rule.
6. Each team’s inning at bat will be considered complete when they have three (3) players called out or if the team scores maximum of seven (7) runs per inning.
7. Standings in each respective division shall be determined by best overall record, then plus/minus (maximum difference in a game will be seven (7) runs.) The top two (2) teams from each division will advance to the championship round. The bottom two (2) teams from each respective division will be placed in the consolation round.
(This rule only applies to a 16-team league) Scheduling is completed by the Executive based on a random draw of positions deemed to be fair by the existing sitting Executive.
8. The game can play with a minimum of ten (10) players, five (5) males and five (5) females; otherwise the game shall be forfeited. A team can borrow players from other teams in the league to meet minimum requirements +1 of each gender to start the game.
9. Batting order must be alternating. (i.e. female/male or male/female) In the event that the number of males exceeds the number of females, the females must rotate amongst themselves, thereby maintaining a male/female or female/male rotation within the batting order. At no time may the batting order have two (2) men or two (2) women in a row.
10. If male/female batter is given four (4) consecutive balls, he/she may take two (2) bases provided the next batter does not want to bat, then, next batter will occupy first base. In the event the batter wants to bat, the walked batter may only take one (1) base.
11. Maximum of three (3) courtesy runners per game. The courtesy runner must be the same gender as the player they are substituting.
12. Home team will be decided by the flip of a coin.
In the Knock Out Round, the home team is predetermined by the highest, finishing ranking team in the elimination round. This applies to both the Championship side and the Consolations side. In the semi-finals and final games the home team will be decided by the flip of a coin.
*13. Semi-final and final games have no time limit. If there is a tie in the semi finals, the International Tie Breaking rule is in effect. If there is a tie in the finals, (Consolation and Champions) the International Tie Breaking rule is not in effect. Regular innings will be played until a winner is declared.
14. In the case of an injury during the game, the player is removed from the game without penalty. Rule # 9 is still in effect.
15. Any team that is playing with an illegal player would be disqualified from the tournament.
16. If any player leaves during the game, other than injury, that position in the batting order will be an automatic out.
17. A player must play a minimum of one (1) inning. This consists of fielding and batting.
18. Infield fly rule applies. (Does not necessarily need to be caught by an infielder)
19. If the pitcher does not start on or behind the rubber, the Umpire will deem it a ball. Pitchers will start on or behind the rubber. NO MORE than one complete step in front of the rubber is allowed. (If a person requires two or three steps to release the ball, they must ensure they start far enough back as to complete their pitch no more than one step in front of the rubber.)
The intent of this pitching rule is to protect the pitchers from line drives.
*20. The Umpire should check the bats in accordance with Slo Pitch rules before each game. The Umpire is to enforce the SPOA illegal bat rules. If a player is found with an illegal bat, he is ejected from the game and becomes an automatic out in the batting order and the bat is confiscated for the duration of the tournament.
21. The Umpires decision is final. The Executive should not be called in the middle of a game to dispute a call.
22. It is the responsibility of each Captain to make sure accurate score is kept of each game during the tournament. Accurate meaning writing down the names of the opposing team players and keep a record of their runs as well as their own. In the case of a discrepancy the score of the home team shall rule. If the home team does not have a proper score sheet including the players names for both teams, it reverts back to the visitors score sheet. NOTE: Scores should be checked at the end of each inning to ensure accuracy. If there is a discrepancy at that time, time can be called and the discrepancy can be resolved.
23. It was suggested that an official independent score keeper be used for each team in the tournament. After the discussion, it was decided that it is the Captain’s responsibility to check the score at the end of each inning if the team does not have a person to keep score for the tournament.
24. Blood Rule –A player with blood must leave the game until the bleeding is stopped/covered. If they are a base runner at the time the bleeding commences a runner can be used without the team being charged a courtesy runner.

* indicates addition or change to existing rule

** The Umpires are in play based on Slo-Pitch rules.

** Awareness rule

PLEASE NOTE ALL REGULAR SEASON RULES ARE IN EFFECT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THOSE NOTED AND ARE IN ADDTION TO THE CLUB BY-LAWS IN OUR CONSTITUTION

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