Tournament Rules
- Any player suspended 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 suspension. Depending on the severity of the suspension the Executive will decide if there are to be any further suspensions. There must be at least 3 (majority rules) Executives to vote. (President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary)
- Single game suspension plus one game
- Tournament suspension
- Suspension from a tournament game next year.
- Suspension from the tournament next year.
- Asked to leave the league.
- 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.
- 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 until they have 3 outs or a +7 run differential for the game. Due to scheduling and diamond availability, the Executive maintains the right to alter schedule times to accommodate the entire tournament.
- Infield warm-ups allowed in the first inning only.
- 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 with no outs. The game will resume until a winner is declared and winning team is given a plus one run differential. No courtesy runners for last out are permitted during International Tie Breaking Rule. Exception: The International Tie Breaking rule does not apply in the Finals. The game is played until a winner is declared.( both Consolation and Championship games)
- 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 five (5) runs per inning.
- 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 tournament structure will be at the discretion of the executive committee, based on the number of teams in the tournament on any given year.
- 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 of each gender to start the game
- 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.
- 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.
- Maximum of three (3) male courtesy runners and three (3) female courtesy runners per game. The courtesy runner must be the same gender as the player they are substituting. A team member can only be a courtesy runner once per game.
**Should the Umpire give any team a courtesy runner, medical exemption, based on his/her discretion, the opposing team must also be given a courtesy runner exemption for a player of their choosing. - 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. This includes the semifinals and finals. Teams will be seeded throughout this portion of the tournament.
- 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 Championship) the International Tie Breaking rule is not in effect. Regular innings will be played until a winner is declared.
- In the case of an injury during the game, the player is removed from the game without penalty. Rule # 9 is still in effect.
- Any team that is playing with an illegal player would be disqualified from the tournament.
- If any player leaves during the game, other than injury, that position in the batting order will be an automatic out.
- A player must play a minimum of one (1) inning. This consists of both fielding and batting.
- Infield fly rule applies. (Does not necessarily need to be caught by an infielder.
- 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.
- No quick pitching is allowed. The batter must be set in their stance before the pitch is to be thrown. If the pitch is thrown, the umpire will deem it a “no pitch”. If the pitcher continues to “quick pitch” the pitcher will not be allowed to pitch again that game.
- A foul tip caught by the cather will only be an out on the 3rd strike. The Umpire will determine what is considered a foul tip.
- The Captain 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, they will be ejected from the game and become an automatic out in the batting order and the bat is confiscated for the duration of the tournament
- The Umpires decision is final. The Executive should not be called in the middle of a game to dispute a call.
- 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. 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. - 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.
** The Umpires are in play based on Slo-Pitch rules. **
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
Updated after 2023 AGM
