Clarington Girls Slo-Pitch Association 2022 League Rules

Clarington Girls Slo-Pitch Association (CGSPA) is governed by the rules of NSA Canada, except and/or in addition to the following:

Players

Only players registered with the CGSPA permitted to play. NO EXCEPTIONS.
All players must wear the shirts provided by CGSPA (as soon as they are available) for all games and tournaments. Shirts may not be cut or “bedazzled.”
Shorts/pants – must be non-revealing proper sporting attire. Players will not be allowed to play if the umpire deems the shorts inappropriate. If this leaves a team with less than seven (7) players, they will forfeit the game if the player does not change into appropriate attire.
Every player is required to play a minimum of 50% of regular season games to be guaranteed play during the play-offs (Absence due to medical reason is the only exception).
Players are NOT permitted to play while pregnant.

Coaches

Are all required to provide a current and acceptable criminal background check.
Anyone who has not provided an acceptable criminal background check will not be allowed in the dug-out or on the field.
Once criminal background check has been received, coaches will be provided with current years’ coach’s shirt. All coaches are required to wear coach’s shirt provided by the league.
All coaches are required to wear appropriate footwear in dug-out or on the playing field. NO sandals, open toe or open heels are permitted. Failure to comply may result in forfeit of the game.
Coaches and players MUST shake hands / fist pump at the end of the game.

Equipment

All catchers and pitchers must wear appropriate mask.
Chest protectors are mandatory in Peewee, and optional in Midget and Juvenile.
All batters and base runners must wear helmets. At the umpire’s discretion a batter will be called out if the helmet is removed during live play.
All bats must have a CGSPA sticker to be able to be used in CGSPA games.
Players with their own bats can request a CGSPA approval sticker from the Equipment Manager.
NO metal cleats are allowed.

The Game

Each Midget and Juvenile team must have seven (7) of their own players to begin a game. You can only call up to a maximum of 10 players. Exception: If a player you are not expecting shows up and you have a call up at the game to replace them, then both the player and the call up will play. You must advise the umpire and the other team
Players from the same division are NOT ALLOWED to play for more than one team in their division.
A list of call-up players will be given to all coaches at the beginning of the season. Only players on these lists can be used. Permanent call-ups not permitted.
In the event of a team not having enough players, a 15-minute grace period will be given and after that time, if the team is still short players, they will forfeit the game and will result in a score of 7-0.
Courtesy Runners: If a batter requires a courtesy runner this must be announced prior to their first at bat. They must then take a courtesy runner every at bat thereafter. Batter must only go as far as first base. If they go to second base on their hit then no courtesy runner will be permitted from second to home. They will get a courtesy runner their next at bat. Only exception is if a player is injured running the bases, then a courtesy runner will be provided at the base the injury occurred. A player who gets injured during the game can get a courtesy runner for every at bat after their injury. The player who was the last out is to be the courtesy runner. Make sure your scorekeeper is keeping track of who the last out was as it may not be the previous batter.
Safety Base: In the event of a play at first base the runner MUST touch ONLY the orange portion of the base. If the runner touches the white portion during a play at first, the runner will be declared out. If the defensive player touches the orange portion of the base while attempting to complete the play at first, the runner will be declared safe. This rule only applies when it is clear that there will be a play at first base (does not apply to a walk).
Do not throw the bat: The batter must drop the bat in a safe manner at home plate. If , in the umpire’s discretion, the batter is deemed to have thrown the bat, play will be halted and called dead. The batter will be out and any base runners will return to the base they occupied prior to the start of the at bat.
Commitment Line: Marked 2/3 of the way between third base and home. Once the player crosses the commitment line, they must proceed to home and cannot turn back to third base.
Home Safe Line: A runner attempting to reach home must do so by touching the ground beyond the safe line prior to the defensive player having control of the ball and in contact with home plate. Runners are NOT permitted to touch home plate.
Time Outs: A coach may only call one time-out per inning to approach the pitcher(except in the case of an injury). As soon as the second time-out is called, the pitcher must be substituted.
Third Strike Foul: The third strike foul will be called an out in the Juvenile division ONLY. In other divisions, a foul or foul tip on the third strike is only an out if caught.
Infield Fly Rule: Only applies in Midget and Juvenile divisions. An infield fly is a fair ball, not including a line drive, which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied with less than two (2) out. The Umpire will call infield fly and the batter is out. If not caught the ball is live and the runner may advance at their own risk. If the ball is not caught and rolls foul, it is a foul ball.
Anticipation Step: Anticipation steps will NOT be permitted and this will be an out.

Pitching

Pitchers in ALL DIVISIONS may only take ONE step when delivering a pitch.
Peewee – The pitcher must begin the pitch with at least one foot on the pitching rubber. Pitchers cannot move the pitching rubber.
Midget & Juvenile – no pitching rubber. Stand in line with 1^st and 3^rd – this is the closest that the pitcher can start. The pitcher is allowed to go back up to 10-feet, and must stay in line with home and second base.
Intentional Walks: Intentional walks are not permitted. Intentional walks are at the discretion of the umpire and the batter will be awarded two bases.

Scorekeeping:

Scorebooks are not allowed on the diamond – i.e. the scorekeeper cannot coach a base and keep score at the same time.
Players may be added to the batting order up until the end of the third inning.
If a player’s name appears on the batting order and they are not at the game for their first at bat, the coach may choose to leave the name on the batting order & take an out every time the player is passed over (for the balance of the game) or they may scratch the name prior to that players turn at bat without penalty. It must be clearly indicated to the opposing team.
In Midget and Juvenile a maximum six (6) runs/inning rule will be used in each inning except for the last inning of the game which will be an open inning.
In Peewee the last inning of the game is closed and will be played like every other inning.
Mercy Rule: If at any time after five (5) complete innings of play, a team is leading by 15 runs or more, the leading team will be declared the winner at the end of a complete inning. if going into the bottom half of the fifth or any time after the home team takes the lead by 15 or more runs, the game is over and batting will end.
Complete Game: All league games will be seven (7) innings or a maximum of 90 minutes from the scheduled start time. A game will be considered to be complete of regulation after five complete innings in Juvenile, and in however many complete innings can be played based on time in the Peewee & Midget divisions.
In Midget and Juvenile: If the home team has more runs going into the bottom half of the last inning, the home team WILL NOT bat and the game will be complete. This rule applies to both regular and play-off games.
If last inning is not completed due to time limit, the score will revert back to last completed inning.
Home team must provide final score to the Umpire before leaving the diamond.

Jewelry

NO Jewelry – except for medic–alert.
If a player is found to be wearing jewelry no warnings will be given.
Defensive Player: Will be asked to remove it and refusal will result in ejection from the game.
Offensive Player: After one pitch is thrown they will be declared out and asked to remove it. Refusal will result in ejection from the game.
For the purpose of this rule, jewelry will include – but will not be limited to – the following: ANY hair clip, plastic headbands, bobby pins, visible piercing of any kind (piercing can not be covered by tape or band aids), watches, bracelets, (paper, cloth, thread, metal etc.), and/or rings.
Elastics that have been removed from the hair are not permitted on the wrist.
Soft scrunchies and cloth hair bands are the only hair accessories permitted.
Sunglasses are permitted to be worn on the top of the head of an outfielder but are considered jewelry when on the top of the head of an infielder or a batter (safety and insurance issue).
Sweatbands on wrists are permitted as long as they do not contain any metal.

Miscellaneous

Smoking is not permitted in or around the diamond or player’s bench.
- You must go to the parking lot.
Inclement Weather: In the event of a change in weather during the game, it is up to the Umpire’s discretion to suspend the game. Safety is the #1 priority. Should the game be suspended due to inclement weather, there will be a 15 minute wait time prior to the game being called. Should one team no longer have enough players at the end of the 15 minute wait time and the umpire deems it safe to continue play, the opposing team shall win the game by default. The score will be registered as 7–0. Games that could have continued, in the Umpire’s opinion, and did not because neither team stayed during the 15 minute wait time will not be rescheduled and both teams will register a loss with 0 points awarded for the game. If the game is called and the minimum number of innings has been completed, the game is considered to be complete and will not be rescheduled.

Pitching & Base Path Distances

Peewee – 35 Feet (Pitching) / 55 Feet (Base Path)
Midget – 40 Feet (Pitching) / 60 Feet (Base Path)
Juvenile – 45 Feet (Pitching) / 65 Feet (Base Path)

Home Team is responsible for setting up the Diamond before each game.

Contact Information:

President: Liz Phillips 905-432-4517

Vice President: Tanja Nowotny 905-809-2349

Administrator: John Graham 647-274-3399

Equipment: Trevor Best 416-276-9926

Umpires: Trevor Best 416-276-9926

Sponsors: Tanja Nowotny 905-809-2349

** All game scheduling requests must be made to Liz Phillips at least one week prior to the original scheduled date to be considered for rescheduling.

To book a diamond for practices, please contact Liz Phillips at the above phone # or by email at president@claringtongirlsslopitch.com

24 Hour Rule in effect for any issues before contacting executive.