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Rules

Rules are still being drafted and formatted. These rules are in no way final and are subject to change.

General Rules

• All rules of the field owners must be obeyed. If using a field that is owned by the Charlottesville Parks & Recreation department, all of their rules regarding conduct and prohibited items must be obeyed. Failure to abide by those rules may result in ejection from the league.
• All players must be wearing their issued shirts of the appropriate sport and season.
• Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Acting in an unsportsmanlike manner will result in an ejection from the game, and a 1 game suspension. Two ejections from any CVSSC sport in a 1 year period will result in a 1 year suspension from all CVSSC sports. This includes sponsor venues -- reports of disruptive behavior or causing a disturbance will not be tolerated and may result in additional suspensions not limited to the rules listed above.
• Disputing Calls: Calls may only be discussed with the referee(s) by the captain or assistant captain of either squad. Verbally abusing a referee will result in ejection and further punishment may be handed down.
• Overruling: The head referee, at his discretion, may overrule any of these rules below. An example would be the head shot rule, if the referee determines that the player ducked, and due to that action, the ball then struck the head of the player.
• A game must have completed 3 full innings or the time in the game expired to count as an official game. Games that are rained out/cancelled prior to completing 3 full innings will not count.
• Rained out games will be attempted to be made up, provided fields and referees can be obtained. There are no guarantees on making up rained out games.

Equipment

• Kickballs will be provided. Outside balls may not be used.
• No metal cleats or spikes are permitted.
• Gloves are currently permitted.
• Players may wear protective equipment as long as it does not provide a performance advantage. Referee has final decision and may order the equipment removed.

Referees

• All games must be officiated by one referee (head referee). In the event there are two referees, one will be the head referee and the other the first base referee.
• Head referee has final word and can overrule the first base referee.
• The league may require a team to provide a referee for a game in an adjacent time slot to said team's game. Failure to provide a referee will result in a $50 fine, which will be split among the teams who were to be refereed as a bar tab at the kickball sponsor bar.

Participants

• All players must be 18 years of age by the start of the season.
• All players must have signed the kickball waiver form prior to playing.
• All players must be wearing their league t-shirts.
• Balances must be paid in full prior to the first team game. Unpaid teams/players will not be permitted to play.

Roster Rules

• The team captains will exchange rosters/batting order prior to the start of the game.
• The home captain keeps the official scorebook. The away captain is encouraged to keep score as well in case of disputes at the conclusion of the game. After the game, both captains should report the score to scores@cvillesocial.com in a timely fashion.
• Any eligible player that shows up when a game is in progress and wishes to play is added to the end of the batting order.
• No number of maximum players to a team. Not every batter is required to field.
• 10 players in the field, 4 of which must be women. A team may field with no less than 8 players, 4 of which still must be women. Not being able to field a team by 5 minutes of the game start time will result in a 7-0 forfeit loss.
• Substitutions: Players from other squads will be allowed to sub in for teams who are shorthanded, but only up to 10 players total OR what brings a team to a legal roster gender-wise. For *each* sub player picked up, the opposing team gets 1 run to start the game. All subs must currently be in the league and enrolled in the sport in question, no outside players allowed. Subs must wear their CVSSC t-shirt for any games they sub in for. Subs picked up from a higher level league will incur a 3 run penalty, instead of the usual 1 run.
• No more than 2 men kicking in a row in the batting order. If there are not enough women on the team to satisfy the requirement, women are allowed to bat again in the order to meet the gender rule.
• All players must be on their team's roster. Substitutes, without prior league approval (in the event of injury, etc.) are not permitted. If the other team challenges a player on a roster, ID will be asked for. Please make sure to have a government issued ID handy in case of challenges (as well as to get into the kickball sponsor bars too, of course).
• Roster challenges and protests must be submitted to the league within 2 days of the game being completed. From that point on, the game is considered final and can not be challenged.
• Batting order challenges must be submitted no more than 15 minutes after the conclusion of a game. Both team captains must be present, as well as the head referee of that game. Once both captains have signed the scoresheet, no batting order challenges may be made.
• Batting out of order situations: http://www.asasoftball.com/umpires/clarifications_2007_may.asp -- detailed at end of page.

Base Coaches

• Two members of the kicking team must coach at first and third base. Base coaches must help retrieve foul balls, and are prohibited from interfering in live plays.
• Base coaches may switch with other members to keep proper kicking order.

Batting Rules

• Kicks must be made by a part of the body below the knee. Any ball struck by a leg or foot is a kick.
• 4 balls = walk, 3 strikes = out. Fouls count as strikes and you can foul out by kicking a foul ball on a 2 strike count.
• The strike zone extends 1 foot to each side of home plate, and 1 foot in the air.
• Batters must contact the ball at or behind home plate. Making a single contact with the ball in front of home plate shall be treated as a dead ball foul. If the ball is caught by the fielding team, the kicker is out, and runners may NOT advance. If the ball is not caught, the play results in a strike.
• If the ball is already contacted and is contacted a second time in the field of play, that results in the kicker being out.
• Walks to a male batter with a female batter due up next at bat will result in the female having the option of taking an automatic walk.
• Kicks must travel past or beyond the peak of the pitcher's mound, or past the lines drawn perpendicular from the top of the mound to the first/third base lines to be considered a fair ball. If a fielder touches the ball before the umpire rules the ball dead (upon coming to a complete stop), the ball is considered fair and live.
• Balls that clear a fair part of an outfield fence, in the air OR on a bounce, are considered home runs.

Pitching Rules

• Pitching 'fireballs', balls with excessive speed, shall be ruled a ball at the umpire's discretion. All pitches must bounce twice it reaches home plate (the 2nd bounce may be on the plate).
• The pitcher, as well as all infielders, are not allowed to advance past the pitcher's mound until the ball is kicked. The catcher must remain behind home plate until the ball is kicked. Failure to abide by this rule results in all runners being called safe to the base they were advancing. After that, the runners may advance at their own risk.

Ball in Play

• When a ball is in play, the following rules apply.
  • When a ball is controlled by the pitcher and the pitcher is on the mound, the play is over. Runners who are more than halfway to the next base may advance to that base; runners who are not yet halfway to the next base must retreat to the previous base (excluding a batter on the way to first base).
  • Any play where the ball is unintentionally popped or significantly deflated shall be ruled a do-over (with a new ball).
  • Runners who are contacted with a ball in play below the head or neck are out.

Fielding

• Balls that are dropped in foul territory by a fielder attempting to make a catch on a fly ball are ruled foul as long as the ball is over foul territory when it is being touched. It does NOT matter where the fielder's feet are, only the position of the ball. This is a normal baseball rule.

Running and Scoring

• Runners must stay within the base lines or be called out at the umpire's discretion.
• Fielders must stay out of the base lines and not impede the runners. A fielder deemed to be impeding a runner shall be awarded the base in which they were attempting to advance. Fielders who are attempting to make an out who are on the base must lean out of the base line as to not impede the runner. Fielders who are attempting to make an out by tagging a runner with the ball are allowed within the base line for fielding, tagging and run-down purposes, but must attempt to avoid contact with the runner. If the runner makes contact with a fielder in these situations, the runner is to be called out.
• Running past another runner shall result in the passing runner being called out.

• Leading off or stealing bases is not allowed. Runners may not leave their base until contact by the batter is made, a runner who violates this rule will be called out.
• Ties go to the runner.
• First base may be overrun by a batter who is advancing to first base.
• RULE CHANGE: Feet first sliding is now banned in the lower level only. Runners who slide feet first shall be deemed OUT. Head first slides are legal.
• 'Tagging-up' is permitted. After a ball is first *touched* by a fielder, a runner can attempt to proceed to the next base, as long as the runner goes back and touches, or is touching, the originating base when the ball is first touched.
• Overthrows: 1 base maximum on an overthrow. The ball needs to go "out of play" to be considered an overthrow. At parks with fences on them, if the fence holds the ball inside the park (such as any fence at Azalea), that ball is still live and is not considered an overthrow. Balls brought back into play from an overthrow must be immediately returned to the pitcher. Putting the ball back "in play" by attempting to make a play or an out will nullify the overthrow situation.
  
  Balls that are thrown off target and still end up in fair territory (a throw going to 2B ending up in the outfield) are NOT overthrows. A ball thrown by a fielder that deflects off a runner can be ruled as a ball "out of play", limiting the runners advancement to 1 base from when the ball was declared out of play.
  
  Only balls that are unintentionally *thrown* (NOT KICKED) off target and end up out of play are considered overthrows. At Rives, this covers a much wider area since there are no fences (aside from a backstop at Rives 2) to keep balls in play. The HP ref should immediately yell out if it's an overthrow situation. In these situations, the fielder needs to get the ball back into the pitcher. Making any attempt to record an out voids the overthrow rule and allows the runners to continue to advance at their own risk.
• A run scores when a runner touches home plate before the third out, except when the third out occurs as a result of a force play, or when the batter is declared out before reaching first base.
• The winning team is the one with the most runs scored at the end of seven (7) innings, or when time has expired. Only full completed innings count. Example: If a team is in the top of the 4th inning when time is called, any runs scored in that 4th inning are not counted in the official score.
• Intentionally delaying the game to try to take advantage of the expiry of time is not permitted. Umpires judgment on penalty here, usually calling the stalling player out or removing them from the game will suffice.

Outs

• 3 outs completes the batting team's half of the inning.
• Outs are:
• A count of three strikes, or a fouled ball on a count of two strikes.
• A ball caught before contacting the ground, in either fair or foul territory.
• A ball tag on a base in which the runner is forced to advance to before the runner has reached said base.
• A runner leaving a base before the batter has made contact with the ball.
• Kicking out of order.
• A ball contacting a runner below the head or neck when the runner is not on a base.
• A runner making intentional contact with the ball while safely on a base.

Substitutions

• In case of injury, a time-out may be called by the head referee and a player of the same sex substituted for the injured player.
• Kicking order remains the same, minus the removed player. In a case that a sub is not available, an out must be taken.
• Players removed via injury who wish to return to the game resume their original place in the kicking order.

FAQs and other rules.

• Dropped balls contacted when the ball is in foul territory are still foul.
• Tagging up and advancing to the next base is legal after a catch in either foul or fair territory.
• Runners to first that run through the fair side base and affect the outcome of the play are out.
• Runners to first that are impeded from reaching the foul side base by the fielder are ruled safe.
• A ball that rolls foul and then fair again before traveling beyond a base is fair. If the ball has been touched in foul territory, it is foul regardless of where it may roll after contact by the fielder (or runner).
• A play is completed when the ball has been returned to the pitcher “in the vicinity” of the pitchers mound. Runners more than halfway to the next base are awarded that base; runners not yet halfway must return to the previous base. There is no requirement for the umpire to call time or for play to wind down.
• Players that overrun a base (excluding first) at which a force play was an option, avoiding the force out, must then be tagged by the ball to be out. Tagging the base after the runner has already touched it in advancing to beat the force out has no consequence.
• Tie goes to the runner.
• Umpire should actively call a play dead if ruled an overthrow out of play. Overthrows only exist in foul territory and are constituted by over/around a fence at applicable fields or an unrealistic distance from coming back into play.
• Contacting the ball twice behind the plate results in a foul ball.
• Making a 'double-kick' with the second contact being in fair territory results in an OUT.
• Batting out of order:

  Batting out of order situations have always been considered difficult by many umpires. These situations can become easier to rule on by keeping three things in mind.
  1. Has a pitch been thrown after the incorrect batter has batted.
  2. Any outs made when the incorrect batter is at bat stand.
  3. When a pitch has not been thrown, if the incorrect batter makes an out and an appeal is made, the batter who should have batted is out and the batter who batted remains out and is skipped if they are scheduled to bat.

  Remember, however, if the batter who is scheduled to bat is the third out of the inning, the correct batter to leadoff the next inning is the player who would have come to bat had the player been put out by ordinary play. (Rule 7, Section 2 D 3)

  Play 1: With no outs, B9 is scheduled to bat but B1 bats. B1 hits a fly ball that is caught by F7. Before the next pitch, the defense appeals that B1 batted out of order.

  Ruling: B9 is out as B9 is the correct batter and B1 remains out. B2 bats next with two outs. Per Rule 7, Section 2 D 2, after the incorrect batter has completed their turn at bat and before the next pitch, legal or illegal, to the following batter and before the pitcher and all infielders have clearly vacated their normal fielding positions and have left fair territory; the batter who should have batted is out and the next batter is the player whose name follows that of the player called out for failing to bat. EXCEPTION: If the incorrect batter is called out as a result of their time at bat and is scheduled to be the proper batter, skip that player and the next person in the line-up will be the batter.

  Play 2: With one out, B7 is scheduled to bat, however B8 bats. B8 hits a fly ball that is caught for the second out of the inning. The defense appeals that B8 batted out of order and the umpire calls B7 out for the third out of the inning. Who is the leadoff batter in the next inning?

  Ruling: B8. In this case, since the second out of the inning was made by B8 and the third out was made by B7 for failure to bat in the proper order, B8 is now the leadoff batter in the next inning. When the batter declared out is the third out of the inning the correct batter to leadoff the next inning is the player who would have come to bat had the player been put out by ordinary play. (Rule 7, Section 2 D 2 d)