Sportsmonkey will follow USSSA rules at Houston Sportsplex with the following exceptions:

1.  10 players (at least 4 females...max of 6 males) 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. Teams MUST have 1-Male and 1-Female pitching or catching. ***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 or 10 minutes left in the game.) Unlimited runs may be scored in innings 5 ,6,and 7 always. Game mercy rule: 12  runs after 4 innings and 10 after 5.

3. Extra inning rule: during the regular season if the game is tied after 7 innings or the game clock runs out there will be one extra inning played (one pitch).  If the game is still tied after the one extra inning allowed then the result will be a tie.  This rule only applies to the regular season.  During playoff games there is no limit to how many extra innings are played.

4. Home Runs allowed per game are as follows: Rec -- 0, UR- 1+1up, INT -- 2+1 up. When Rec plays UR...0 Hr. When UR plays INT...1+1 up

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

6. 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.

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

8. 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.        

9. Fake tags are not allowed.

10. 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.

11. If in a rare circumstance a game is stopped early due to weather it's an official game if at least 35 minutes have elapsed or 4 full innings have been completed.  If either of these scenarios apply the contest will count and the game will not be made up.

12. TOURNEY PLAYERS: No more than 1 "Tourney/Tourney Quality" player allowed on any Rec team.  

No more than 4 "Tourney/Tourney Quality" players, 3 being guys, allowed on any "Upper Rec" teams. 

No more than 6 "Tourney/Tourney Quality" players allowed on any "Int" teams. If you feel a team is in 

violation, inform your umpire and he will get a hold of me. 1st offense is a double forfeit. 2nd offense 

will result in the team being removed from league play with refund. 

Team can and will be moved down/up if needed.

A "tournament player" is a player who plays on any team in either a ASA, USSSA or similarly sanctioned softball tournaments in the United States more than 6 times per year.  A player does not qualify as a "tournament player" if the player plays in only Co-Ed tournaments.  If a player plays in both Co-Ed tournaments and men's or women's tournaments, all tournaments will then be taken into account for this definition.

A "tournament quality player" is a player who has been a "tournament player" in the past and continues to possess the tournament quality skills.  Sportsmonkey will make a determination for a "tournament quality player" on a case-by-case basis.

13. NEW WALK RULE--A walk to a male batter will result in a two base award & the next female batter shall bat.  If the are NO outs, or one out the next female batter MUST BAT.  With two outs, the next female batter has the option to walk or bat.   

14. BAT POLICY-- Players will be allowed to swing their own bats if they have the following USSSA thumbprint. Otherwise, Sportsmonkey will still provide bats for teams. 

The following are changes for the 2014 seasons to adhere to USSSA rules:

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

2. In the event of a tie at the end of a regulation game, "one-pitch" extra innings will be used to determine a winner.

3. Swinging bunts will no longer be allowed. HSP's new rule per USSSA interpretation is as follows: Swinging at/hitting a ball in a manner to intentionally tap the ball slowly into fair territory will result in a dead-ball out.

  

 

 

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.) Players are allowed on ONE roster for PLAYOFFS.

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.

ROSTERS/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 3rd week of play. Players not 

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

   participating. In order to be eligible for playoffs, players must have played at least 1 REGULAR 

   SEASON WEEK GAME. Any team not submitting a roster/waiver will be ineligible for playoffs. 

   Any player additions after the 3rd week must be approved by Sportsmonkey. 

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:

Players are allowed on ONE roster for PLAYOFFS. If an opposing player's eligibility is in question, a formal protest may be filed by the end of the 2nd inning or whenever the player in question enters play. 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 player will be checked against the team roster. Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility discrepancy immediately.  If the protest is proven to be legitimate, it will result in the ejection of the illegal player. 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 policies are designed to make the league run as smoothly and safely as possible, and provide continuity for its participants. Each player in the league is responsible for this information: please advise your team of these rules and thanks for playing.