EXCALIBUR SOFTBALL LEAGUE - RULES & REGULATIONS

1. EACH TEAM MUST FIELD TEN PLAYERS. TWO OF WHICH MUST BE FEMALE. A TEAM MAY HAVE AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF PLAYERS BUT THE BATTING LINE-UP CANNOT CONSIST OF MORE THAN TWELVE PLAYERS. TO ALLOW ANY OTHER PLAYERS TO PLAY IN THE GAME, THEY HAVE TO TAKE THE PLACE OF ONE OF THE STARTING TWELVE. ALL PLAYERS IN THE BATTING LINE-UP MUST FIELD AT LEAST TWO INNINGS.

2. TWO FEMALE PLAYERS MUST BAT FOR EVERY TEN BATTERS; EVEN IF THAT MEANS THAT A FEMALE PLAYER HAS TO BAT TWICE IF YOUR TEAM IS ONLY PLAYING WITH ONE FEMALE PLAYER.

3. IF A TEAM IS PLAYING WITH ONLY ONE FEMALE PLAYER, THEY MUST ONLY FIELD A TEAM OF NINE PLAYERS INSTEAD OF TEN. IF FOR ANY REASON A TEAM CANNOT FIELD ANY FEMALE PLAYERS, THAT TEAM LOSES BY DEFAULT.

4. EACH TEAM CAN ONLY SEND A MAXIMUM OF NINE HITTERS TO THE PLATE IN AN INNING, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE LAST INNING, WHICH IS OPEN. A TEAM CAN PLAY WITH A MINIMUM OF SEVEN PLAYERS, ANY LESS THAN SEVEN PLAYERS, THAT TEAM DEFAULTS. THE SCORE FOR DEFAULTS IS 11-0 FOR THE OPPOSING TEAM.

5. ALL PLAYERS MUST PLAY AT LEAST EIGHT GAMES WITH THEIR TEAM TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PLAYOFFS.

6. THE HOME TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPPLYING A NEW SOFTBALL AT EACH GAME.

7. GAMES ARE SCHEDULED FOR SEVEN INNINGS OR WHEN FIELD TIME ENDS; WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. A MINIMUM OF FIVE COMPLETE INNINGS MUST BE PLAYED FOR A GAME TO BE CONSIDERED OFFICIAL; OTHERWISE THE GAME WILL HAVE TO BE RESCHEDULED.

8. BEFORE THE START OF THE GAME, BOTH TEAM CAPTAINS ARE RESPONSIBLE TO MEET WITH THE GAME UMPIRE TO DISCUSS RULES OF THE FIELD. I.E.: OUT OF BOUNDS, OBSTACLES IN PLAY, OR ANY INJURY RESTRICTIONS OF ANY PLAYERS.

9. ALL GAMES MUST BE STARTED BY THE TIMES LISTED ON THE SCHEDULE. THERE WILL BE NO EXTRA TIME PERMITTED. IF THE TEAMS HAVE A MINIMUM OF SEVEN PLAYERS THEY ARE TO BEGIN PLAYING AT THE REQUIRED START TIME.

10. FIELD TIMES ARE LISTED ON THE SCHEDULE; START AND FINISH TIMES. NO NEW INNING IS TO BEGIN WITHIN FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FIELD END TIMES.

11. NINTH BATTER RULE: THE PLAYER MUST STRIKE OUT OR PUT THE BALL IN PLAY, HE CANNOT WALK. IF THERE IS LESS THAN TWO OUTS WHEN THE NINTH BATTER IS UP, THE BALL MUST BE THROWN TO HOME PLATE TO END THE INNING.

Balls will be counted. For every 4th ball that the pitcher throws to the 9th batter, all runners on base will automatically move forward by one base.

12. THE LEAGUE PITCHING RULE CALLS FOR AN ARC TO BE PRESENT AT ALL TIMES. THE LEAGUE UMPIRE WILL DETERMINE WHETHER AN ARC IS PRESENT OR NOT. IF THE UMPIRE DECIDES THAT THERE IS NO LEGAL ARC, THE PITCH WILL BE CALLED A BALL AND A WARNING WILL BE GIVEN. THE PITCHER WILL RECEIVE TWO WARNINGS FROM THE UMPIRE IF HE IS NOT THROWING WITH AN ARC AGREEABLE TO LEAGUE POLICY. A THIRD WARNING MEANS THAT THE PITCHER IN QUESTION WILL HAVE TO BE REPLACED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE GAME

13. TAGGING UP IS ALLOWED.

14. STEALING BASES IS NOT PERMITTED.

15. ONLY FEMALE PLAYERS ARE ALLOWED TO BUNT.

16. A PINCH RUNNER IS USED FOR INJURED PLAYERS ONLY. IT IS NOT TO BE USED AS A GAME STRATEGY. A PLAYER WHO IS IMPEDED IN ANY WAY FROM RUNNING THE BASES CAN USE A PINCH RUNNER. A pinch runner will only be allowed to enter the game, once the hitter reaches a base. When the hitter safely reaches a base they can then be replaced with the player who made the last out. IF IT IS A GIRL THAT NEEDS A PINCH RUNNER, THEN A GIRL MUST RUN IN HER PLACE.

17. AT NO TIME WILL SLIDING AT HOME PLATE BE ALLOWED. IF ANY PLAYER DOES SLIDE AT HOME PLATE, THEY WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY CALLED OUT, REGARDLESS OF PLAY.

18. HOME PLATE RULE: THE CATCHER MUST BE POSITIONED IN FRONT OF HOME PLATE. THE CATCHERS FOOT IS NOT REQUIRED TO BE ON THE PLATE BUT MUST HAVE CONTROL OF THE BALL AND BE WITHIN ARM'S LENGTH OF HOME PLATE. A TAG ON THE RUNNER IS NOT REQUIRED. THE RUNNER MUST CROSS THE HOME PLATE LINE BEFORE THE CATCHER HAS CONTROL OF THE BALL IN ORDER TO SCORE.

NOTE: IF YOU STEP ON THE HOME PLATE, YOUR RUN WILL NOT COUNT AND THE RUNNER IS OUT.

19. A TEAM THAT DEFAULTS ANY GAME IS COMPLETELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENTIRE UMPIRE FEE. THIS IS TO ENSURE THAT OUR UMPIRES ARE GETTING PAID, IT IS NOT THE OPPONENTS ERROR, AND THE TEAM THAT DEFAULTS PAYS FOR THE INCONVENIENCE THEY HAVE CAUSED.

20. A TEAM MUST NOT DEFAULT ANY MORE THAN THREE GAMES DURING A SEASON TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PLAY-OFFS. NO TEAM CAN DEFAULT DURING THE PLAY-OFFS OR THEIR OPPONENT WILL AUTOMATICALLY GO ONTO THE NEXT ROUND. IF FOR ANY REASON A TEAM CANNOT MAKE A SCHEDULED GAME, THE LEAGUE COMMISSIONER MUST BE NOTIFIED.

21. CANCELLATION OF ANY GAME DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE DECIDED BY THE LEAGUE COMMISSIONER. GAME CANCELLATIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED 90 MINUTES OR MORE PRIOR TO GAME TIME. IF THE GAME ISN'T CANCELLED, BOTH TEAMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE AT THE FIELD AS PER THE SCHEDULE. THE UMPIRE WILL THEN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DECISION OF THE GAME. IF THE UMPIRE CANCELS THE GAME, BOTH TEAMS ARE REQUIRED TO EACH PAY HALF TO EQUAL THE FULL AMOUNT IN UMPIRE FEES (DUE AT THE END OF THE SEASON). IF THE UMPIRE DOESN'T CANCEL THE GAME, BUT ONE OF THE TEAMS DOESN'T SHOW UP, THE WIN WILL GO TO THE TEAM THAT IS AT THE FIELD AND RULE TWENTY APPLIES.

22. NO GAMES ARE TO BE CANCELLED UNLESS DONE SO BY THE LEAGUE COMMISSIONER. IF ANY MANAGER OF A TEAM CANCELS A GAME WITHOUT PROPER NOTIFICATION, THE MANAGER WILL BE SUSPENDED AND FINED. (ALSO SEE RULE 21.)

23. ONLY MULTI-WALLED ALUMINIUM BATS ARE ALLOWED. ANY AND ALL COMPOSITE BATS ARE BANNED FROM THE LEAGUE. IF AN UMPIRE CATCHES A PLAYER USING AN ILLEGAL BAT THAT PLAYER WILL BE CALLED OUT (IF THEY ARE IN THE BATTERS BOX AT THE TIME).

PARKS AND SPORTS FIELDS - RULES & REGULATIONS

CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ON PARK PROPERTY

IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED