Sportsmonkey will follow ASA rules at all locations with the following exceptions:

1.  10 players (at least 4 females) in the field at all time. (THERE MUST BE AT LEAST 1 FEMALE IN THE OUTFIELD). SM rules will allow a team to play with a minimum of 8 players (at least 2 females). If only 2 women are present at game time, they must bat twice in the first 10 batters. If a team has less than the minimum required number of players it is up to the opponent and/or umpire or SM staff as to what is allowable. 
***During the regular season, teams are allowed to pick up subs to avoid a forfeit, however, no team can consist of any more than 4 players from another registered team...UNLESS allowed by opposing captain.

2.   Inning run limit rule: There will be a 6 run limit per inning through innings 1-4. (Exception: unlimited runs may be scored if one of the innings 1-4 is declared the final inning of the game.) Unlimited runs may be scored in innings 5,6,and 7 always. Game mercy rule: 12 runs up after 4 innings or 10 runs up after five complete innings.

3.  Home Runs allowed per game are as follows: Rec's 1+1up.  On a Home Run that causes the max of 6 runs per inning situation only the number of run to 6 will be counted. (I.e. 4 runs have been scored a home run is hit with 2 people on base causing 7 runs in the inning.  Only 6 runs will be counted for the inning)

4.  All teams must make an effort to retrieve balls hit for home runs during their game .

5.  Game length is 55 minutes. Should a team not have enough players to start a game, the clock will start and that team has until 45 minutes left on the game clock to field the minimum number of players.  A game is deemed official if it goes at least 4 innings (3 1/2 innings if the home team is ahead) or 35 minutes.

6. All batters will start with a 1 ball / 1 strike count.

7. Fake tags are not allowed.

8. Teams may use female pitcher/catcher combination.

9.  There is no MAX to the # of male or female batters as long as the team keeps the same guy/girl order. Players may substitute freely throughout the game in the field. Only one Male & one Female courtesy runner will be allowed per inning, the courtesy runner must be the same sex and be the last player to have made a out or the last player in the batting order @ the time the courtesy runner goes in the game.

10. During playoffs, all player protests must occur before the start of the game.  However a player that has not entered the game, may be protested only upon entry into the game.

The following are changes for the 2013 seasons to adhere to ASA rules:

1. A legal pitch must have an arc of (6'- 10') by the pitcher. Any pitch that is not deemed legal will be an automatic ball.        

2. Men's & women's size balls will be used.  A female has the option to which ball she wants to hit.

3. In the event of a tie at the end of a regulation game, ONE "one-pitch" extra inning will be used to determine a winner. If a winner is not determined after the 1 inning, it will be considered a TIE. During playoffs, we will play until a winner is chosen.

  4. Official softball bats ONLY -- Not to exceed 1.20 BPF    

All 2013 USSSA/ASA stamped bats as well as any legal bat used in 2012 are eligible to be used in league/tourney play.  

LEAGUE POLICIES

GAMES:

During the regular season games are to be played within time allotted (warm up time is included).

UMPS:                      

An umpire will be provided by Sportsmonkey to supervise the game. It will be the umpire's responsibility to coordinate and run the games, which include the following tasks:

1. Starting games on time.

2. Calling outs, making final calls on any disputed balls or strikes.

3. Settling all disputes or disputed calls.

It is understood that umps will assist in the tracking of the score (i.e. announcing it between innings) and assist in any discrepancies with regards to the coed line-up ratios. However, it is the responsibility of both teams to maintain their respective line-ups and scores each inning.

FORFEITS:  

                                    If your team forfeits a game during the season, the following rules apply:

                           First Offense: Loss of game and warning issued.

Second Offense: Loss of game and staff reserves the right to remove team from playoffs.

                           Third Offense: Removal from the league.

If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to call our office so as to help us schedule your opponent a game.

Teams have until ten minutes past the designated start time to field a full squad (minimum numbers of players required to play according to the rules). Refer to rules regarding guy/girl batting ratio. Anything less then the minimum must be approved by the SM staff and opposing team.

STANDINGS:          

The updated standings will be posted weekly, displaying each teams rank within its skill level. Rank is based on winning percentage.

PLAYOFFS:

All eligible teams make the playoffs (teams that have not abused any policies are eligible). Playoff rosters must be complete by the third week of regular play. (Players will only be added after the third week for the purposes of a substitution due to an injury or other extreme circumstances as deemed acceptable by SM staff.)

In certain situations teams at or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. Check with SM league coordinator to see if this applies to your league.

                           Playoffs are single elimination.

Seeding: Teams are seeded according to winning percentage and strength of schedule.

Teams may be dropped from their regular season level based on the above criteria. Teams may be moved to a higher division during the playoffs only if permission is granted.

Skill levels may be divided into separate divisions based upon size of level.

                           Teams may play more than one game per day.

Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility must be addressed before the start of the game.

SM reserves the right to schedule playoff games on days other than your regularly scheduled league night.

WAIVERS:

   In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers are 

   provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the first night of play. Players not 

   present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with out staff before 

   participating. 

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:

                        A formal protest may be filed before a game if an opposing player's eligibility is in question. The player in question will be required to provide his/her player information (name, address, phone #, signature) in writing to a SM staff member prior to the start of the game. This qualifies as an official protest. The game will then be played in its entirety as scheduled. Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility discrepancy by the following business day; decisions will not be made on site. If the protest is proven to be legitimate, it will result in the forfeiture of the game in question. Games subsequent to the protested game may be rescheduled. The above procedure will also apply for any other logged protests. All rulings by SM staff are considered final. Waivers and Rosters will be used as acceptable player-team identification during playoffs, all participants must present ID's during the playoff tournament in the event of a roster check. All roster check requests must be made before the first pitch.

SPORTSMANSHIP:

   The idea of SM is to have fun. We hope that all participants keep that in mind when 

   becoming involved. Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive 

   while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by 

   staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league.

STAFF:                    

To coordinate and run the league, our refs and/or staff will be available at all times to help the league run as smoothly as possible. If you have questions regarding schedules, policies, rule interpretations, directions to the bar, etc. please ask.

LEAGUE CANCELLATION/RAINOUT:

                                Leagues may be cancelled due to existing weather conditions, dangerous or unplayable field conditions, facility constraints, etc. SM staff makes every effort to play all scheduled games, thus we will not cancel games until absolutely necessary. Therefore, if you are calling concerning a decision on a cancellation, remember we will not have an answer until close to the start of the league. If the league is cancelled, SM staff will change the voicemail immediately. SM will then call/e-mail all of the captains. If a league is cancelled on site, SM staff will attempt to contact those teams still scheduled to play the remainder of the league day/night. Depending on the time of cancellation, some teams will have to be notified on site. If we do cancel, follow next week's schedule (ex. If April 13 is cancelled teams should follow the April 20 schedule for their next game). The games that are cancelled will be made up at the end of the season if time allows. In extreme circumstances, SM reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund of schedule matches on days other than our regularly scheduled league day/night.

PRIZES:

The top teams in each division will receive a prize of great emotional, spiritual, and most 

importantly, social value. These polices are designed to make the league run as smoothly and safely as possible, and provide continuity or its participants. Each player in the league is responsible for this information; please advise your team of these rules and thanks for playing!