NEW RULE IN 2014:  

If your teams forfeits a game without notifying anyone in the WCSSC office, your opponent that day has the right to play one of your future games.  If this happens the last week of the regular season, your team is not eligible for playoffs.

Kickball Rules

1. Play consists on 10 players per side. The breakdown is 6 men and 4 women in the field at one time. Teams may play a legal game with 8 players (6 men/2 women). Teams may not play with more than 6 men at one time and no less than 2 women to be considered a legal game. (THERE ARE NO POSITION REQUIREMENTS of any players, i.e. there need not be 2 females in outfield and 2 in the infield).

2. Games will be played on a regulation softball diamond. The pitcher and fielders must stay behind the pitchers mound until the ball is kicked. The catcher or kicker is not allowed to cross home plate until the ball is contacted. The kicker may not kick the ball beyond home plate. If the kicker does contact the ball in front of home plate it will be considered a foul.

3. All batters will start with a one ball, one strike count. The strike zone extends to 1 foot on either side of home plate, and 1 foot high. Pitches must be rolled towards home plate. Pitches may not be bounced, only rolled towards the kicker! Pitches that bounce more than one foot above the ground will be considered an illegal pitch, and thus deemed a ball. All kicks must be made by foot and must occur at or behind home plate.

4. If a male is walked, and a female follows him in the batting order, the female has the choice to take a walk or bat. (Exception: ***if the bases are loaded (at the time a male is at-bat) and a male is walked and female follows in the order, that female must bat.) Umps will enforce this rule upon request; however, they will not be responsible for notifying the batter in each walk situation.

5. A batter with two strikes is allowed one foul ball, two fouls with two strikes, the batter is out.

6. All games are seven innings or one hour (warm up time included); the last inning will start 10 - 15 minutes to the hour. The ump will enforce this rule and will make the call at the top of the final inning. Note: Due to differing circumstances in each and every game, some games will finish short on an hour in length, while others might run over the hour mark. Please respect your ump's call in this matter. He/she must keep all games on time in fairness to teams playing later hours and due to facility permit restrictions.

7. Teams may bat more than ten players; however, these teams must bat the same ratio (3 to 2) of fielding men and women, unless their opponent allows it. If only 2 women are present at game time, each woman 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 as to what is allowable. In situations where additional players wish to bat, the line up must come as close to a 3 to 2 ratio as possible, even if some women need to bat twice in the rotation. ***Men CANNOT bat twice in the lineup to achieve a 3-2 ratio if a team plays with more women than men. Prior to game time, ask your ump for a scoresheet, line ups must be given to the ump for every game. (ie 6 men 4 women)

• 7 men 4 women
• 8 men 5 women (1 out of 4 batting twice if needed)
• 9 men 6 women (2 out of 4 batting twice if needed)
• 10 men 6 women (2 out of 4 batting twice if needed)
• 11 men 7 women (3 out of 4 batting twice if needed)
• 12 men 8 women (4 out of 4 batting twice if needed)

*6 men 2 women (both batting twice) *If playing with the minimum # of people

8. All players in the field must be listed in the batting order. There are no designated hitters allowed. Any attempt at doing so must be brought to the attention of the umpire prior to game time and can only be deemed allowable by the opposing captain. There are no guy-girl batting order rules other than the 3 to 2 ratios. (i.e. You may bat 5 men followed by 4 women or vice-versa)

9. Game mercy rule: 10 runs up after five complete innings.

10. NEW RULE ***Inning run limit rule: There will be a 7 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.

11. No leadoffs or stealing, runners can leave the base once the ball crosses the plane of the plate or is hit by the batter. If a runner leaves early, the ball is dead and the runner is declared out. If this is the 3rd out of the inning the batter will be first up in the next inning.

12. Players are considered out by one of the following means: (1) Striking out, (2) A fly ball caught by the defense, (3) A throw out at one of the lead bases, (4) The runner being tagged by the ball, (5) Infield fly rule (6) A foul out, or (7) A runner being struck by a thrown ball below the head while attempting to advance or return to a base.

13. Games start on time!!! Teams must be prepared to play.

Forfeit rule: 10 minutes after game time. If one team has less than the minimum number of players (8 total-2 females) at ten past the designated start time, it is up to the staff and opposing team as to what is allowable - this decision will ultimately be made by the staff.

Any team causing a forfeit without at least 48 hours notice to the PSSC will be responsible for both teams umpire fees. Umpires are to be paid at the start of the game, as game play will not be permitted until fees are paid. Team who forfeits will not be permitted to play its next game until forfeited games fees are received.

14. Base runner to defensive player contact will be closely watched by the ump. Any excessive contact or collision will result in an out and/or ejection. This includes contact with the catcher. Sliding is allowed. Any sliding into a base to break up a double play, or any intentional (in the eyes of the monitor) interference with the defensive player, the runner and the batter will be called out.

15. Hitting a runner with a thrown ball above shoulder level is not allowed. Any runner hit above the shoulders is considered safe and will be awarded an additional base. Players may be hit anywhere below the shoulders with a thrown ball and will be considered out. If the runner intentionally uses their head to block the ball, in the eyes of the official, will be deemed out.

16. NO METAL SPIKES ARE ALLOWED.

Any equipment in question should be brought to the attention of the umpire. The umpire will make all final decisions with regard to equipment discrepancies.

17. A foul kick above the batter's head may be caught for an out.

18. All thrown balls are deemed out of play when:

• The ball is thrown over the fence
• The ball is thrown beyond the fence
• The ball is thrown beyond the imaginary line extending from the end of the backstop (if there is no fence).
• This imaginary line applies to overthrows and caught fly foul balls.
• If the ball is overthrown and hits the fence behind the 1st or 3rd base lines, this is NOT considered out of play and the runner may advance, BUT at his/her own risk.
• On overthrows out of play, the runner is granted the base he/she is going to (at the point of the throw) plus one more. Note: in cases where a base runner runs past first base, he/she must make a clearly aggressive turn towards second base to be granted 2nd and 3rd in overthrow situations.

19. On an infield fly (any ball kicked within the infield with significant arc and deemed an easy catch) with less than 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd or 1st, 2nd and 3rd, the batter is automatically out and runners can advance, BUT at their own risk.

20. All outfielders must remain behind the chalked and/or coned outfield line (if applicable - consult with your ump before your game to determine if this rule is enforced at your particular league) when a female is up to bat. If the line is not clearly marked it us up to the umpire's discretion if an outfielder is too close to the infield. There cannot be more than 7 players on the infield at any one time. Once contact has been made the outfielders may cross the line. If an outfielder crosses the line before contact has been made the female may be awarded first base.

21. In certain facilities a home run rule may apply. (consult with your ump and/or WCSSC staff person to determine if a rule is in effect at your particular league.)

22. NEW RULE: NO BUNTING! If the ball does not get passed the pitcher it will be deemed a foul ball and fall into ordinary foul ball rules. If the umpire deems the ball would have gone past the pitcher but it is stopped by a player on the defensive team before it had the chance, it will be ruled a legal kick.

23. Umpire Fees are paid before the game starts. Umpires reserve the right to cancel any game due to non-payment. Umpire fees per team is $10 per game. If a team does forfeit, the team that forfeits is responsible for payment of both team's umpire fee ($20).

Standings:
The updated standings will be posted weekly online. The standings will display each teams rank within its skill level. Rank is based on winning percentage.

Playoffs:
Playoffs will begin immediately following the end of the regular season and will typically last between 2 and 3 weeks. After teams have been seeded according to their records all captains will receive an email with the 1st week of playoff game times roughly 3 days before their league. Teams will not receive an email for any other weeks of playoffs! It is ALL TEAMS responsibility to check the playoff brackets at the league or online to find out what time they will be playing the following week if they win. In playoffs it is not uncommon, (and in some cases will be necessary), for teams to have more than one game in a given night. No substitutes will be allowed during playoffs. All players must have signed the waiver by the second week of the season in order to be eligible for playoffs. All eligible teams will make the playoffs. Playoff eligible teams will be determined on a league by league basis. Teams that have violated the forfeit policy during the course of regular season will not be eligible for playoffs. In certain situations teams at or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. Check with WCSSC office 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 by the WCSSC full time staff. Skill levels may be divided into separate divisions based upon size of level. Teams may play more than one game per day/night, and/or play games on days/nights other than your regularly scheduled league day/night if necessary. WCSSC reserves the right to schedule playoff games on days other than the leagues regularly scheduled league night. Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility of players must be addressed before the start of the game. Any team that would like to challenge the eligibility of an opposing player must do so before the start of the playoff game. No protests will be considered valid after a game has started. No substitutes will be allowed during playoffs. All players must have signed the waiver by the second week of the season in order to be eligible for playoffs. All eligible teams will make the playoffs. Playoff eligible teams will be determined on a league by league basis. Teams that have violated the forfeit policy during the course of regular season will not be eligible for playoffs. In certain situations teams at or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. Check with WCSSC league coordinator to see if this applies to your league. Playoffs are single elimination.

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 our staff before participating. Players must sign the waiver in order to be eligible for playoffs.

Sportsmanship:
The purpose of West Chester Sport and Social Club 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. Abuse of officials, referees, and other staff will not be tolerated. WCSSC reserves the right to remove a player from a game or a league if they are considered to be bringing down the quality of the league. WCSSC will not tolerate fighting! Fighting will be an automatic ejection from any game and in most cases ejection from the league for the remainder of the season.

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. WCSSC 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 canceled, WCSSC staff will change the weather hotline immediately. WCSSC will then email/text all of the captains to let them know (if possible). It is then the captains responsibility to inform all teammates of the cancellation. If a league is canceled on site, WCSSC 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 canceled teams should follow the April 20 schedule for their next game). The games that are canceled will be made up towards the end of the season if time allows. In extreme circumstances, WCSSC reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund. WCSSC also reserves the right to schedule games on days other than your regularly scheduled league day/night if necessary.

Prizes/T-Shirts:
 The team that wins in the playoffs will receive championship shirts.

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.