CHAPTER 21 – SUMMER OPEN SOFTBALL RULES

21.01 Jurisdiction: This chapter shall be the jurisdiction of the Board of Directors and can be amended by a majority of the board at any meeting, but not during the course of the Summer Open Softball season. The Summer Open Softball Committee shall make recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding the rules of this season prior to the start of the season.

21.02 Definitions: The following definitions apply throughout this chapter.

• Manager – the person designated as the manager of the team rostered with and bears the duty of directing the actions and purposes of the team.
• Player – any person rostered by a team and eligible to play in this league.
• Season Coordinator – the official, appointed by the Commissioner, to act as the season/sport coordinator for this season and who is responsible for the administration of the season.
• Sponsor – any person, organization, or business providing financial or in-kind resources to the league for league operations or team fees.
• Team Members – shall include players, managers, coaches, and team scorekeepers.

21.03 USA SOFTBALL Rules: This season shall adopt and conform to the USA SOFTBALL Rules of Softball for Men’s Slow-Pitch, latest edition, unless explicitly stated in this chapter, and all policies and procedures of this organization.

21.04 Schedules & Rules: Managers will be issued a season schedule and a copy of these rules prior to the first game played. The Assistant Commissioner or Season Coordinator retains the right to revise the schedule as needed to accomplish the goals & requirements of this League. The Season Coordinator shall provide each team with an equal number of games as the home team and as the away team as possible. Any odd number of games shall be determined by flip of a coin by the Season Coordinator in creating the schedule.

21.05 League Standings: League standings will be maintained by the Season Coordinator. Standings will be published on the league website and may be published in any local publications, social media, and/or other resources at the direction of the Board of Directors.

Any ties in season record shall be broken by the following standards in this order: 1) Team with most wins. 2) Team with highest point scored differential. 3) Head-to-head record. 4) Coin Flip

Trophies shall be awarded for 1^st, 2^nd, & 3^rd place in any division with five (5) or more teams. Trophies for 1^st and 2^nd place shall be awarded for any division with less than five (5) teams.

21.06 Divisional Standards & Placement: The creation of divisions and placement of teams in divisions in this season is the duty of the Season Coordinator in consultation with the Assistant Commissioner. Teams shall be placed in appropriate divisions by the Season Coordinator prior to the beginning of the season. In the event a team is moved to another division due to athletic ability and fair play, the games played in the original division shall be counted towards official standings.

21.07 IPS/NAGAAA Qualifying Season: This season shall be the official IPS/NAGAAA Qualifying Season and all players in this season shall be rated on their skills and abilities in accordance with the IPS/NAGAAA Player Rating Guidelines. From this season shall all Milwaukee NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series & NAGAAA Cup teams be selected.

SECTION 1 – PLAYER ELIGIBILTY & REGISTRATION

21.10 Registration & Eligibility: All teams must pay all fees by the due date prior to the start of any play for the season. Team manager(s) are responsible for ensuring the player is rostered on their team prior to the individual playing in their first game.

1. Players must be eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of registration and may register to play with one (1) team only in this season. A player shall not be eligible to play until such time as the player has paid the fees required, agreed to all terms and conditions of the league presented during registration and is rostered by a team manager on a team’s roster. No player may play any game or portion of a game unless the fees are paid in full. Any person, of any gender identity, may register, be rostered, and compete for any team.

21.11 Managers Responsibilities: The team manager(s) is responsible for the conduct of the team members. The manager must verify that a team member has registered with the league and paid all applicable fees before the player is listed on the roster. A manager found to have played an ineligible player or found to have participated in unsportsmanlike conduct may be suspended.

21.12 Forfeits & Reinstatements: A team will forfeit a game by failing to field a minimum of eight (8) players on the field, quitting in defiance of an umpire’s decision, and/or playing an ineligible player.

21.13 Forfeit Fines: Any team that will knowingly forfeit a game must contact the Season Coordinator at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of scheduled game(s) to announce the forfeit(s), without penalty.

Any team that fails to make such a declaration shall be assessed a forfeit fine of Forty ($40.00) Dollars per game. This fine must be paid prior to the next scheduled game. Failure to pay this makes a team ineligible to play any future games until the fine is paid.

No forfeit fines shall be assessed for a forfeit in a Season-Championship Tournament.

21.14 Player Releases From Roster: No team member may join another team unless officially released by the manager first signing him/her as a team member. Official release cards must be used for this purpose. Release cards must be filed with the Season Coordinator prior to the next game. Any player being released from one team to another team will not be eligible to play for the team transferred to until one (1) game has been played by team transferred to after the transfer was effective. Positively no team member can be released over the phone.

A sponsor with more than one team may move a player from one sponsored team to another sponsored team one time within the first three calendar weeks of actual play of the league, without incurring the one game ineligibility in this section. This transfer of the player is final, and no transfer is allowed to any other team with the same sponsor.

21.15 Team Disbandment, Manager and/or Sponsor Change: If a team disbands during a season, with more than one-half (1/2) of the season remaining to be played, all teams shall receive a win whether they have played the scheduled game(s) with the disbanded team or not. If a team disbands during a season, with less than one-half (1/2) the season is remaining in the schedule, the remaining games will be automatically forfeited. Standings will remain the same.

If a team disbands or drops out of the league and the individual team members wish to play for another team, the players may be transferred to another team with that team’s consent and shall be eligible to play immediately upon transfer.

In the instance of a change in the management or sponsorship of a team, written notification of the change must be given to the Season Coordinator prior to playing the next game or games.

Once a team has played one (1) complete game, all fees become the property of the league and all fees are forfeited in the event a team drops out or disbands.

21.16 Protests of Eligibility: Protests on the eligibility of players will be accepted any time during a team’s season of play. The season will be considered officially completed for a team one (1) day after the team’s final league game, inclusive of any tournament as part of the league. No protest for an illegible player can be filed against a team after the expiration of the time limit. There will be no stoppage of play for the purposes of filing a protest.

All protests or appeals must be in writing on the form provided by the Executive Board and must be appropriately completed and filed with the Season Coordinator or the Assistant Commissioner within twenty-four (24) hours of the game and must be accompanied by a fifty ($50.00) dollar filing fee. If the protesting team prevails, the fee will be returned to that team. If the protest is dismissed or rejected, the filing fee is forfeited to SSBL.

The Assistant Commissioner, the Season Coordinator, and one (1) team manager, not involved in the protest, shall constitute the Protest Committee, and hear and decide the protest outcome. Any member(s) of the Board of Directors, not including the Commissioner, may be substituted for the Assistant Commissioner or Season Coordinator as necessary.

Appeals of the protest decisions may be made to the Commissioner within twenty-four (24) hours of the decision being announced to the parties. The ruling of the Commissioner is final.

21.17 Protest Penalties: A team found to have an ineligible player in their line-up will forfeit to its opponent all games in which the ineligible player participated. The Protest Committee may forward the protest to the Ethics Committee for further sanctions including, but not limited to, fines, suspensions, and/or termination.

21.18 Player Ratings Cap: Teams in Rec division shall have the following ratings limits imposed:

1. No players rated over 12 (based on IPS/NAGAAA Ratings) on their regular season roster.
2. No more than 2 players rated as 12 (based on IPS/NAGAAA Ratings) on their regular season roster.
3. A new player with no rating can be added to the roster, but if that player is rated higher than 12 before the ratings deadline, that player will need to be moved to a comp team. If that player is rated 12, and the 2-player limit has already been met, that player may continue with the team for the duration of the season, but the following season will fall under this rule.

SECTION 2 – LOCAL RULES OF THE GAME

21.20 Rosters & Scorekeeping: Each team manager shall provide a completed lineup card to the home-plate umpire, the opposing manager, and the league scorekeeper prior to the start of the game. League scorekeepers shall keep the official scorebook of the game subject to the calls and determinations of the home plate umpire and Umpire-in-Chief. Neither team members nor spectators shall interfere with the duties of the scorekeepers, or they shall be subject to discipline by the Umpire-in-Chief.

21.21 Game Length: The length of game shall be fifty (50) minutes, with a completed inning, or seven innings; whichever occurs first.

The umpire will allow a ten (10) minute grace period before forfeiting a game only for teams unable to field a lineup of a minimum of eight (8) players on the field at the scheduled game time. After ten (10) minutes, the umpire will order the appearing team to take the field and the pitcher must throw the ball to the catcher before the umpire can officially forfeit the game. The appearing team must have at least eight (8) players on the field.

21.22 Players Required for a Game: A team shall not be permitted to start or to continue a game with less than eight (8) players. In the event a team begins a game with eight (8) or nine (9) players and other team members arrive late, the late players may be inserted in the game. They must be put at the end of the batting line-up. A team that starts with ten (10) can bat up to twelve (12) players. Any late players arriving must be substituted for a pickup player if one is being used.

A team that appears with seven (7) players at the time game play is to be called (following the 10-minute grace period) can add one player from any team in an appropriate division with the concurrence of the other coach to begin the game, without penalty.

1. Pickup Players: A team that does not meet the requirement of 21.22 may pick up players to play for their immediate game with the following parameters and with the concurrence of the other coach:

A team that appears with seven (7) players at the time game play is to be called (following the 10-minute grace period) can add one player without penalty subject by following the guidelines in this order:

1. from the opposing team
2. from any player in the same division
3. from any eligible player

A team that appears with eight (8) or nine (9) players at the time game play is to be called can match the number of players on the opposing team (up to 10) subject by following the guidelines in this order:

1. from the opposing team
2. from any player in the same division
3. from any eligible player

21.23 Tie-breaker: The International Tiebreaker rule shall apply in time-restricted games if the score is tied after seven (7) innings or when the time limit has expired. At the beginning of each half inning, the batting team shall begin its turn at bat with the player who is scheduled to bat last in that respective half-inning being placed on second base. A substitute may be inserted for the runner following regular substitution rules. The remainder of the game will be played as one (1) pitch for each batter until a winner is determined.

21.24 Stealing: No base stealing will be allowed in any division.

21.25 Pitches: The official pitch height shall be 6’ to 12’. All batters will begin with a one (1) ball and one (1) strike count.

1. Courtesy Foul:
   1. A foul ball hit on the second (2nd) strike shall be an “out” in the Competitive & Intermediate Divisions.
   2. A foul ball hit on the second (2nd) strike shall be an “out” in the Recreation Divisions.

21.26 Home-run Limits: The following are the divisional limits for out of the park home runs: Competitive Division-2, Intermediate Division-1, Recreational Division-0. Once a team has reached their maximum of out of the park home runs, any additional out-of- the-park homerun will be an out in all divisions.

21.27 Run Rule: The run rule is identified as 20 runs after 3 innings, 15 runs after 4 innings and 10 runs after 5 innings. Any team after completed innings ahead by such number of runs in the appropriate inning is declared the winner and the game complete. The losing manager decides the continuation of the game.

For games in the Rec division, once a team in the lead scores 10 runs in the same inning, the inning will end. (Once a score is tied, each team is considered in the lead for this rule)

1. Courtesy Runner: Teams are allowed one (1) courtesy runner per inning.

21.28 Protests on Play Calls: Protests on the rules of play and calls will be made by the home plate umpire. The decision of the home plate umpire is final.

1. All complaints regarding officials or field conditions must be made in writing and given to any league official within twenty-four (24) hours after the game. Such complaints will be forwarded to the Umpire in Chief or the Board of Directors, as appropriate.

21.29 Weather & Field Conditions: The park custodian solely determines if the field is playable. The Season Coordinator will make all decisions on rain outs for a league day or portion of a day upon consultation with the Umpire-in-Chief, groundskeeper, or Board of Directors as needed.

21.291 Weather Stoppages During Play: In the event of a change in weather conditions after a game has started, the home plate umpire may suspend a game until weather conditions improve. If a game is suspended, play will resume when weather conditions permit, at the point at which play was stopped. If weather conditions do not improve that day, the Season Coordinator shall terminate the game.

If a game is terminated following a suspension before it is an official game the game will be replayed from the beginning. If the game is terminated after it is official, the game will count in the standings as a completed game.

A game is an official game and stands as completed with the winner having more runs after five (5) complete innings OR the home team is the winner if the home team has more runs after four and one-half (4-1/2) innings are played.

SECTION 3 – EQUIPMENT

21.30 Bat Rules: The league will provide several bats for use by players at the fields, in addition to bats provided by players. The umpires assigned to each field shall be the custodian of the bats and responsible for their return. All bats utilized by any player must conform to USA SOFTBALL rules and are subject to inspection at any time by the umpire. Bat-testing may be implemented at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

21.31 Uniforms: Uniform shirts/jerseys are required. In the event of any team not having complete uniforms for all members, team are encouraged to have like-colored shirts. Regardless of the type of uniform or shirt, all players must have a USA SOFTBALL compliant number affixed to their back or sleeve in each game played in. No two players on a team may have the same number during a game. Each player must maintain the same number throughout the season unless explicitly exempted by the Season Coordinator. At the umpire’s discretion shirts may be removed for the game.

21.32 Metal Cleats: No metal cleats shall be worn by any player, manager, coach, or umpire.

21.33 Gloves: Gloves of any type are permitted.

SECTION 4 – SEASON-CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

21.40 Rules Apply: These rules apply to all games in the season-championship tournament, except that these following rules shall apply to that tournament:

Seeding into the double-elimination tournament shall be based on the final standings of each team in league play. Any teams tied in those standings shall be seeded into their appropriate place by coin flip.

The home team for all games shall be the highest seeded team for that game, except that no team with one loss may be the home team when playing against a team with no losses.

21.41 Player Eligibility: No player on a team’s roster is eligible if that player did not play or was able to play in at least twenty-five (25%) percent of the team’s completed games.

21.42 Protests: There shall be no protests during this tournament. Any matter of player eligibility is ruled on by the Season Coordinator and the Assistant Commissioner whose decision is final. Any member of the Board of Directors, not including the Commissioner, may be substituted for the Assistant Commissioner or Season Coordination as appropriate.

21.43 Trophies: Trophies shall be awarded for 1^st, 2^nd, & 3^rd place in any division with five (5) or more teams. Trophies for 1^st and 2^nd place shall be awarded for any division with less than five (5) teams.