Rules

HOUSE RULES

OBJECTIVE
In order to provide an environment of fair competition and unconditional sportsmanship, the following is expected from every member in this league:
  • Members will adhere to the league rules and to the SPN (Slo-Pitch National) rules when the SNSP rules do not apply
  • Members will respect the league administration - whether on the field, off the field, during the games, or before and after the games (the league administration is comprised of the convener, umpires, captains, and coordinators)
  • Members will not inflict physical harm to any one whether they be on the same team or the opposing team or the league administration
  • Members will not detriment or mock the game, league rules, and the play or actions of others, whether they be on the same team or the opposing team

CONDUCT
In an effort to speed up the pace of the game and to minimize conflicts and needless tension in the league, a Zero Tolerance policy is in effect.

Zero Tolerance means that any league member breaking any of the rules or not complying with the mission statement is subject to a review or a possible fine, suspension, expulsion from the league, or a combination of all three. League officials have the authority to eject offending players accordingly to each situation during the game. Any ejections from the game are reviewed by the league administration for possible further penalties.

The captain and the co-captain of each team are excused from the Zero Tolerance policy but with discretion.  Captains and co-captains will be allowed to consult with the umpires on controversial calls as long as the manner is diplomatic and productive.  Players must consult with their captains to represent them on their behalf.  If this is not achieved then the offending player will have this right removed and is subject to an ejection.  

The following rules are in effect in conjunction with the Zero Tolerance policy:
  • Players are not allowed to argue "balls" & "strikes", "fair" or "foul", "safe" or "out", or the pitch arc height
  • Acts of profanity directed toward the umpire or the opposition
  • Catcalls and/or jeering directed toward the umpire or the opposition
  • Unsportsmanlike conduct that is viewed threatening by the umpire
  • Acts of aggression, disrespect, and insubordination towards league administration (convener, umpires, volunteers, captains)
  • Disrespect and insubordination of the league rules and policies
LEAGUE EVENTS
All league events (playoffs, regular season, tournaments, and banquets, are sanctioned by Slo-Pitch National (SPN).  We are insured under SPN by following rigid guidelines that include a carded umpire, spn approved equipment (bats, balls, shoes, etc.), and permitted diamonds (including a certificate from the City from which the park/diamond is situated in).  Any of the prior listed items that do not conform to SPN's standards will violate the terms set out by the insurance company and the league event will not be considered sanctioned.

ROSTER MANAGEMENT
Teams are required to ensure their playing roster is kept up to date throughout the season.
Rosters will be maintained on the Slo-Pitch National website at http://www.slo-pitch.com/.
All players on the team roster must have signed the online waiver in order to be eligible for play in Sunday Night Slo-Pitch.
The league will use the team rosters from the SPN website to confirm eligible players, game credits and playoff qualification.

RECORDING GAME CREDITS FOR PLAYOFF QUALIFICATION
Teams are required to record the game credits for their opposition.
The steps for recording game credits for playoff qualification are as follows:
  • Teams are required to keep their playing roster up to date at http://www.slo-pitch.com/ (as per Roster Management rule)
  • Roster changes for an upcoming game must be made before 6:00PM on the Friday before the game
  • If a team adds a player to the SPN roster, the player must sign the online waiver to be eligible for play in Sunday Night Slo-Pitch (as per Roster Management rule) where eligible means:
    • the player must conform to the player eligiblity ranking of division the teams are in (or have been approved by the league for playing in that division)
    • the player must have signed the online waiver (as indicated on the online form)
  • Before the start of each game, teams are required to trade batting lineups and perform a quick check to make sure all players in the batting lineup are eligible for play (they may use this opportunity to record the game credits as well).
  • If an ineligible player is in their opponent's batting lineup, the team should kindly inform their opponent so that the opposing captain can remove the ineligible player from the playing roster
  • If the offending team does not remove the ineligible player, the team that caught the infraction should [1] allow the game to be played and [2] send the league president a notification.  A league investigation will follow that can lead to a forfeit of the game and possible suspensions.
  • Teams will record their opponent game credits by checking the boxes of the eligibile players in the batting lineup and clicking on the Submit button. Teams can record the game credits while they are at the park (recommended) or before the following Tuesday night at 11:00PM.
  • If a team does not record the game credits for their opposition, their own game credits for that game will be removed and a suspension to the captain can follow pending a league review
  • Teams should check each week (after Tuesday at 11:00PM) to ensure their game credits are recorded accurately.  If there is a descrepancy, they must be able to provide their batting order to prove the player participated in the game.  A league review will be conducted that could lead to suspensions or a forfeit of the offending team failing to credit the games accurately.

PLAYOFF QUALIFICATION
Players are required to be recorded for the following minimum games as per each division:
All divisions - 50% of the games played in the season
To be recorded for a game, the player must have been an active player (hitting and fielding) on the team for that game and had their name on the SNSP roster as an eligible player.
  • SNSP will allow game credits to be granted to players that started the game but was unable to finish it due to injury.
  • SNSP does not allow game credits to be granted to players that are on the disabled list.
  • If a team is unable to reach the 10-player standard they may use any player on their roster but will be limited to only 9 players for the playoffs.

LATE ARRIVING PLAYERS
Teams are allowed to create vacant batting slots (maximum of 2) for players that they know will arrive late to a game as long as the following conditions are met:
  • There is a minimum of 9 players (of which at least 3 must be female) to take the field defensively
  • When the vacant slot is up for an at bat and the player is not ready to take their turn at bat, the batting slot will become an automatic out and will stay that way until the player arrives
  • A late arriving player can only join the team offensively at the start of the next offensive inning (i.e.: if the team is already batting or their defensive inning has just ended, the late arriving player will not be able to take their at-bat until the next inning, if the team is already playing defense (less than 3 outs), the late arriving player will be allowed to bat when the team comes up to bat)
  • A late arriving player can only join the team defensively at the start of the next defensive inning - if a team starts an inning with 9 in the field - they must end the inning with the same number of players (barring an injury)

SHARING PLAYERS BETWEEN TEAMS
A team that does not have enough players to start their game (8 or less) may ask players from other teams to fill in under the following conditions:
  • Teams may only request the appropriate amount of players so they can get to a 9 player roster (teams that have shared players will be limited to a 9 player roster)
  • "Shared" players MUST be of the following caliber to compete in the division of the team requesting them:
    • Competitive = D/E only
    • Recreational = E only
    • Fun-Rec = E only
  • "Shared" players MUST be announced to the umpire and the opposing team
  • "Shared" players MUST still conform to the jersey rule by wearing their original team jersey so that everyone is aware that this is a "shared" player

HOME-RUN RULE
The home-run rule is Match + 1 and defined as:
  • No team can hit more than 1 home-run than their opposition at any time during the game - all home-runs hit in addition to the Match+1 is an out.
  • When an official home-run is hit (as determined by the umpire), a dead-ball comes into effect and runners on the bases can walk directly into their dugout.  The player hitting th automatic home run does not have to touch first but it recommended to go use the time to retrieve the ball.
  • In a fenced park such as Thomson, Lam 1, Lam 2, & Lam 4, the home-run is defined as the ball clearing and landing on the outside of the fence and will be called an official home run by the umpire.
  • In a non-fenced park such as Burrows Hall & Glamorgan, there is NO AUTOMATIC HOME-RUN rule.  If the ball leaves the sight of the umpire in a non-fenced park, the hit will be called a "ground-rule double"

 

SPN RULE 2 – EQUIPMENT

SEC. 9: UNIFORMS
  • Players must wear the same color (shade) of t-shirts (or jerseys).
  • Players without a matching jersey on the field will not be allowed to participate in the game (take the field defensively or take an official at-bat).
  • During inclement weather, jackets can be worn but the team jersey must be worn underneath.
NOTE: The rule of thumb in determining whether the player is wearing an illegal jersey or not is to line-up up the team together and see if one person stands out in regards to their jersey colour.

 

SPN RULE 4 – THE GAME

SEC. 3: THE START OF THE GAME
There is no grace period - teams must be ready to play at the scheduled start time or be forfeited.  Exceptions may occur depending on parking issues at Thomson Park for 6:00PM games.  The umpire will make that decision at the diamond prior to the game.

SEC. 4: A REGULATION GAME
Our objective is to complete 7 innings where possible, however, if the game is not over by the allotted time, the umpire will call "dead-ball" and assess the game situation as follows:
  • a) If the visiting team is batting, the game will be end and revert back to the last completed inning
  • b) If there has been a lead change (or the visiting team tied the game) in the top of the inning AND the home team is batting, the game will continue until the bottom of the inning is completed
  • c) If the home team is batting and the tying run is represented by the batter or a runner on the bases, the game will continue until the inning is completed

SEC. 4F: MERCY RULE
A 5 run rule will be used in each inning except the last inning except when an inning is declared an "open inning" by an umpire.
Teams that are winning by 12 or more runs at the end of 4 1/2 innings will win by "mercy".
Plus minus are capped by 7 runs.  This means if a team wins a game by 8 runs or more, the plus/minus for that game will be limited to 7.

SNSP ONLY: DIVISION STANDINGS TIEBREAKERS
  • 1. Head-2-Head wins
  • 2. Head-2-Head plus/minus
  • 3. Head-2-Head runs scored
  • 4. Overall wins
  • 5. Overall plus/minus
  • 6. Overall runs scored
  • 7. Wins against teams in front of tied teams
  • 8. Plus/Minus against teams in front of tied teams
  • 9. Runs scored against teams in front of tied teams
  • 10. 1 inning playoff until there is a winner; SPN tiebreaker rule applies

 

SPN RULE 5 - PLAYERS, SUBSTITUTES AND RE-ENTRY


SEC. 1: BATTING ROSTER

 

The following combinations are legal for play in our league:

 
  • If a team has only 3 Females:
    • they have to bat 6M/4F and run their 3 Females through the 4 Female slots while keeping the Males intact
    • they are limited to 9 defensive players (6M/3F)
  • If a team has 4 Females:
    • they can bat 6M/4F
    • they can bat 7M/4F
    • they can bat 7M/5F and run their 4 Females through the 5 Female slots while keeping the Males intact
    • they can bat 8M/5F and run their 4 Females through the 5 Female slots while keeping the Males intact
    • if they have more than 8 Males, the extra Males must share a batting slot in any of the 8 Male batting slots
  • If a team has 5 Females:
    • they can bat 7M/5F
    • they can bat 8M/5F
    • if they have more than 8 Males, the extra Males must share a batting slot in any of the 8 Male batting slots
  • If a team has 6 Females:
    • they can bat 8M/6F
    • if they have more than 8 Males, the extra Males must share a batting slot in any of the 8 Male batting slots

 

Teams can platoon two same gender players in one batting slot.
Teams can move a platooned player into a vacant batting slot created by an injury during the game so long as all batting rules are satisfied (limit of 2 males in a row, etc.) - injury slot fills are limited to gender-to-gender. 
If there are no extra players to fill the vacant batting slot created by the injury, the slot becomes an auto-out for the remainder of the game UNLESS when upon the removal of the spot still results in the batting lineup conforming to the batting rules (limit of 2 males in a row, etc.)
If an injury causes a team to be short of the minimum 9 required players (of which 3 are female), then the team playing short will lose the game by forfeit.

NOTE: Teams can create their batting lineup (as per the above criteria) in any order they wish so long as they do not bat more than 2 males slots in a row anywhere in the lineup up to and including the last set of batters and the first set of batters. 


SEC. 2: PLAYERS DEFENSIVE POSITIONS
The following combinations are legal for play in our league:
  • There must be a minimum of 9 players on the field (of which at least 3 must be female) and a maximum of 10 players on the field (of which at least 4 must be female).
  • Teams must have a pitcher and a catcher at all times
  • Teams are limited to a maximum of 5 males in the positions of 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, RF, CF, LF, RV

 

SPN RULE 8 - BASERUNNING

SEC. 15: COURTESY RUNNER
The following are legal for play in our league:
  • Maximum of 5 courtesy runners per game.
  • Courtesy runners must be gender for gender replacements
  • Courtesy runners must be the furthest available player in the batting roster from the runner being replaced.
    • Example - Females are batting #3, #6, #8, #10:

    • #3 got a hit, #10 will be the eligible courtesy runner
    • #3 got out, #6 got a hit, #3 will be the eligible courtesy runner
    • #3 got out, #6 got a hit, #8 got a hit and #6 is still on base, #3 will be the eligible courtesy runner
  • Courtesy runners must be announced before the replacement.

SEC. 14C: TAGGING AT HOME PLATE
We do not allow tagging at and around the home plate area (after the commitment line).

 

SPN RULE 13 - COED PROGRAM

SEC. 3: BATTER-BASERUNNER A WALK
If a male batter that bats in front of a female slot (a non-automatic out female slot) is walked the male batter is awarded awarded first and second bases. The female player that bats after the walked male MUST bat.
If the male batter is walked on 4 pitches (4-0 count) and bats in front of a female slot (a non-automatic female slot), all base runners advance two bases (a runner on 2nd will be allowed to score).   This rule does not apply to divisions that start each at bat with a batting count of 1 strike and 1 ball.