KickballSTL
League Rules
Equipment:
1. All participants must wear closed-toed athletic shoes, no steel cleats.
2. All bases and home plate will be provided.
3. Kickballs will be provided for game play.
The Game
1. Time limit is 50 minutes or 9 innings. The inning in progress at the end of 50 minutes will be the last inning played. In the event that the game is tied after 9 innings, extra innings will be played as long as there is at least 7 minutes remaining, in accordance to the official game start time. If the game is tied at the end of the 50 minute limit, the game will end in a tie; with the exclusion of the playoffs. It is the responsibility of the visiting team captain to ask the umpire what the official start time is, just prior to the first pitch. The Bi-State tournament has no time limit, and plays a full 9 innings.
2. Teams must have 8 players in order to start the game. The max number of players in the field is 10. Roster size is unlimited. Late players are allowed to join the team after the start of the game, as long as the first batter on their team has only batted once. The late player is simply added to the last hitting spot on the roster sheet. If every player on the team has hit, it is up to the opposing team captain if he/she will allow the player to join the game.
3. There is a 20 run rule by the 3rd inning, a 15 run rule by the 4th inning, and a 10 run rule by the 5th inning or beyond. When the run rule is awarded in a game, the winning team will only be awarded in the following manor in regards to the standings: 20 runs awarded if game ends by the 3rd inning, 15 runs awarded if the games ends by the 4th inning, and 10 runs awarded if the games ends by the 5th inning, or any subsequent inning in light of the run rule.
4. Home field advantage will be determined by the league schedule. The team listed after the "vs." is the home team and will bat in the bottom of the inning.
5. A complete game is considered 30 minutes of play, or 4 complete innings of play. If a game is called due to rain, it shall be counted as a complete game if either of these benchmarks is met. If the game has been played for 30 minutes, and is called while the visiting team is at bat, the score will be determined by the previous inning of play. A rain delay will last for 15 minutes, if it is still raining after 15 minutes, the game will be called.
6. The game start time is determined by when the field is ready for play. Teams are required to arrive at the fields 15 minutes early, and request the game roster sheet from the ump on their scheduled field. Captains are required to have the roster sheet filled out prior to the scheduled start time. Once the field is available to play, the game clock will start.
Substitutes & Rosters
1. Substitutions: Substitutes are allowed to play for free, as long as they meet both of the following conditions. First, the total number of players on the game roster must not exceed the number of paid players on the league roster. Example: If the league roster has team "A" marked down for 13 paid players, and the game roster has 15 players listed for that game, this team is actually 2 players over the roster limit, and therefore 2 players must pay to play. The second condition must be met as follows: The player must be wearing an official league jersey for the team that they are substituting for. If both of these conditions are not met, the player must pay to play. The cost is $5 per game, per player. This money is part of the umpires compensation and must be paid directly to the field umpire.
2. Substitutes are not allowed to join a team in the playoffs, championship game, or the bi state tournament. During the playoffs, every player on the team must be wearing matching Kickball STL jersey's. Teams that are caught with substitutes on the game roster during any post season game will automatically forfeit. A substitute player is defined as anyone that was not on your official roster at the beginning of the season, or a "ghost" player that was paid for at the beginning of the season, but not named by the beginning of week 3. Just to reiterate, "substitute" or "ghost" players must be named by the beginning of week 3 in order to be placed on the official league roster, and thus, eligible to participate in post season play. Any roster protest must occur prior to the begining of the game.
Forfeit Policy
1. The forfeit clock will begin once the Team Ready to Play (TRP) turns in their game roster. The TRP will be awarded runs as follows: At 2 minutes in, the TRP will earn 1 run, and for each additional 2 minutes that pass, the TRP will earn one additional run. After 20 minutes, if the opponent has not produced 8 paid players, the game will be a forfeit due to the run rule, and will end in a 10-0 tie. Any players at the field will be allowed to play a 40 minute practice game. A team must have a minimum of 8 paid players in order to officially start the game. A paid player is defined as a player that meets both substitution conditions, or a substitute that pays $5.00. Example of run policy: If a team is not ready to play at game time, the umpire will begin awarding runs to the TRP once they submit their roster. Once the team has a minimum of 8 players, the official will determine what the score of the game is, and begin play. ie: If the team is 15 minutes late the umpire will round that number up to an even 16, and divide that by 2, which means the score will be 8-0 in favor of the TRP.
Playing the Field
1. There can be a maximum of 10 fielders. There can be no more than 6 infielders, and no one may be positioned in front of the pitcher (besides the catcher). "In front of the pitcher" is determined by "The Infield Line", which is an imaginary line drawn from first to third. All infielders must stay behind "The Infield Line" until the ball is kicked. When taking the field, there must be a total of 3 females, if you are playing 10 players in the field. If you only have 2 females, the maximum that can take the field is 9. If you only have 1 female on your team that day, you may only play 8 in the field. Teams must always field a pitcher and a catcher.
2. Outfielders must stay behind the infield bases until the ball is kicked regardless of who is up to kick. If this rule is violated, the ball remains live until the umpire calls dead ball. The umpire will then decide which is more advantageous to the kicking team, the kicked ball or an automatic pass to first base.
3. The pitcher must pitch from within the pitching area as outlined on the field, or as stated by the game official.
4. Outs can be made by throwing to the baseman or by hitting the runner with the ball. Runners may only be hit from the chest down. In the event a fielder intentionally throws a ball towards and contacts a runner's head, the play will be immediately dead and the fielder will be ejected. The runner will be awarded home and all runners in advance of the runner hit by the ball will also score. The umpire's discretion will be used in whether or not a throw is legal, or was intentional or not. It is the runners discretion in regards to sliding. Since fielders are allowed to throw the ball from the chest down, if a runner is struck in the head with the ball while sliding, it will be ruled as a fair play, unless the umpire feels the throw was intentionally aimed at the players head.
5. There is no infield fly rule in kickball.
6. A defensive player cannot stand in the base path or obstruct the path of a base runner unless he/she is making a play on the ball. A fielder has the right to any position on the field to field a ball and all runners must avoid a fielder in these cases. In the event that a defensive player obstructs a runner, the umpire shall award the runner, and each other runner affected by the obstruction, the bases that they would have, in the umpire's opinion, reached had there been no obstruction. It is also obstruction when a fielder without the ball fakes a tag. In this case, bases are awarded as a normal obstruction.
7. When a defensive player has the ball and is waiting for the runner, and the runner remains on his feet and deliberately, with great force, crashes into the defensive player, the runner will be declared out. The ball will be declared dead and all runners must return to the last base they legally occupied.
8. When the ball is in play, and is thrown or otherwise deflected over the out of bounds line, the play is considered dead. In this scenerio, all base runners are awarded the base they were going to. If the base runner was occupying a base when the ball went out of bounds, that runner will be awarded one additional base. In the instance that a defensive player catches a fly ball in the out of bounds area, the batter will be declared out, and the ball is considered live, allowing base runners to advance normally. It is the responsibility of the team captain to ask the official the field boundaries before the game. In the event that an out-of-bounds line is not present on the field, the umpire will make the calls based on an imaginary line that runs parallel to the foul lines, with a distance of 10 ft separating them. If the ball travels beyond this line, the umpire will award bases accordingly. If the ball strikes a spectator/player that is standing within the out of bounds line, the ball will become dead, and the umpire will award bases, based on whether or not the ball would have stayed in bounds, or traveled out of bounds.
9. The pitcher may pitch the ball as fast or slow as he/she is capable of. The ball must always be thrown in an underhand motion.This is judged by whether the ball was released below the hip. The ball must bounce twice prior to crossing home plate. The count will begin with a 0-0 count.
10. In the event that the pitcher throws the ball illegally (any arm angle other than underhand) the pitch will be declared as a ball, as long as the batter does not kick it. If the batter kicks an illegal pitch, the ball will be played. The pitcher will be given a total of 2 warnings per game in regards to illegal pitches. If the pitchers is warned a third time, they will be removed from pitching. Underhand is defined as the pitchers palm pointing up at that time their arm is parallel with there leg. Spinning the ball is permitted.
11. Balls and strikes will be determined as follows: A strike is any pitch that bounces twice before crossing home plate, and more than 50% of the balls below the batters knee, and more than 50% of the ball is on either inside edge of home plate.
13. Pitchers are limited to three steps before they deliver a pitch. The pitcher must deliver the ball from behind the imaginary line from first base to third base.
14. Fielders are not allowed to intentionally throw the ball out of bounds. If, in the umpires opinion, a fielder intentionally throws or kicks a ball out of bounds, all runners on base will be awarded home.
15. Despite the number of players in the field, all teams MUST field a catcher.
Offense - Kicking and Base Running
1. The batter must wait for the ball to be within three feet of home plate before kicking the ball. If a batter kicks a ball and is more than 3 feet in front of home plate, the umpire will immediately call "dead ball" and will count the pitch as a strike.
2. If the batter does not like the pitch, he/she should not attempt to kick it and another pitch will be thrown.
3. A kicker who kicks the ball foul for the first time during an individual at bat shall be assessed a strike, except in cases where the kicker already has two strikes against them. A foul ball cannot cause a strike out/be charged as a third strike. A kicker who kicks the ball foul for the second time during an individual at bat shall be declared out.
4. A catch on the fly in foul territory, as well as, out of bounds territory is an out. Runners are allowed to advance normally on any fly ball that is caught.
5. THERE IS NO BUNTING IN KICKBALL! A legitimate effort must be made to kick the ball. This will be a judgment call by the umpire on whether a legitimate effort was made. Any kick that is intentionally bunted will be counted as an out. Each team will receive one warning per game, which will be ruled as a "no-pitch dead ball". A kick that is a miss-hit will not be called a bunt. The catcher can field a poorly kicked ball to make a play.
6. Each team gets 3 outs per inning.
7. The kicker is out in situations similar to softball (force outs, fly-outs, etc) unless otherwise described in the outlined kickball rules, (ie: infield fly rule etc)
8. NO lead offs or stealing. Base runners must wait until the ball is kicked to leave the base. Any runner that leaves the base before the ball is kicked will be declared out, and the kicked ball will remain in play.
9. Runners must tag up when a fly ball is caught. Runners are allowed to leave the base once the fielder touches the ball.
10. Any runner that is not in contact with a base that is struck by a fair kicked ball is out.
11. A player who runs outside his/her base path, which is 3ft on each side of the straight from one base to in another, in an attempt to avoid a tag shall be declared out.
12. A courtesy runner may be used in the event of injury. The courtesy runner must be a player of the same gender that precedes the injured player in the batting order. In the event that there is no other player of the same gender on the team, the opposing team captain will get to decide if the runner is declared out, or the team can substitute a runner of the opposite sex in the injured runners place. If a player is unable to continue the game because of an injury, his/her spot in the batting order will be skipped, and will not result in an out when the player comes up to bat.
13. Runners are allowed to slide, and must slide in order to avoid a collision. Any runner that collides with a defensive player that is making a play on the ball will be declared out.
14. Runners may not advance once the pitcher has the ball in the pitching area. If the runner is in route to the next base before the pitcher has the ball, the play is live, and the runner can continue to that base. The pitching area is marked with field cones.
Team Rosters
1. Teams are required to have 13 paid players with a 3 girl minimum. Teams that do not have 13 players must pay for "Substitute" players in order to reach the 13 paid player minimum. Substitute players will receive team jerseys, as long as the team opt's to pay the $45 per substitute. Teams that choose to pay $40 per substitute will not receive team jerseys for those players.
Officiating
1. Each game will be officiated by at least one paid official.
2. In the event of a disputed call or rule clarification, team captains will come together and be expected to consult the official and come to a mature decision.
The Playing Field
1. The kickball diamond is a square with equal sides of 60 feet or 20 paces.
2. The distance from home plate to second base, and from first base to third base is 85ft
3. The pitching strip is in the center of the diamond, 42 feet from home plate, and directly aligned with the first base/third base diagonal.
4. The out-of-bounds line is considered 10 feet from the first base foul line and 10 feet from the third base foul line.
Yellow / Red Card
A yellow card will be issued as a warning to a player(s) that disregard the etiquette rules of Kickball STL. A yellow card is intended to bring to the attention of the player(s) that they have violated a rule. If and when a second yellow card is issued to the same player(s) a red card will then be issued. If a red card is issued the player(s) will then be removed from the game. The player(s) that received the card will have 5 minutes to leave the field area and exit to the parking lot; failure to do so will end the game and result in a 10-0 forfeit.
A yellow card does not necessarily have to be issued first, for a red card to be issued. In the instance that a severe rule has been broken, a red card may be issued. i.e physical altercation with another player, etc.
If a red card is issued, the player will be ejected from the current game and will receive a 1 game suspension. (The teams next game.) Furthermore, a player thats received a red card is not allowed to sub for another team while the suspension is in effect.
Additionally, if a player is ejected from a game, their team must complete the remainder of the game one man down. For example: If a team has 10 players on the game roster and one is ejected, the team must play the remainder of the game with 9 defensive players; regardless if there's enough bench players to fill the ejected players spot. If a team starts has 8 players on the game roster and one is ejected, the game will end in a forfeit. Under this scenario, teams are not permitted to add a spectator or substitute. (The "1 man down rule" only applies to the game in which the ejection occurs.)
Rain Outs
Rain out information will be posted on this site 1 hour prior to the start of games for that day. This information can be found on the rain out page for your division. If no information is posted, then games are on. In instances where isolated storms are forcasted, many rain out decisions will be made at the field; due to the fact that umpires on site will have better information to determine playability. Although Kickball STL strives to make rain out decisions prior to teams arriving at the park, just as any amateur sport, often times these decisions are made minutes before game time. All games that are rained out will be made up at the end of the season.
Ejected Players
In the event that a player is ejected from the game, they're at bat will result in an out. The ejected player will be given ONE opportunity to remain as a spectator. If the player continues to be a disruption, he will be asked to leave the premises. In the instance that a player does not immediately leave the premises, his/her team will forfeit that game and take a loss. Kickball STL and the property owners reserve all rights to remove any player or team from the league at any time. No Refunds will be given to any player or team that is removed from the league.
Schedules
1. Kickball STL reserves the right to change, modify, or adjust the schedule at any point during the session. This includes changing, rescheduling, or eliminating a teams bye week, adjusting game times and/or match-ups (if the situation is appropriate). Although Kickball STL makes every attempt to play all of the games within the time period that is listed on the "cost & details" page, some situations may cause the games to be played at 10am or 11am, or in the early evening at 5pm or 6pm. These instances are very seldom, but have happened in the past.
2. League participants should always check the schedule on game day, preferably two hours prior to the start time of the first set of games. Although Kickball STL makes every attempt to refrain from changing the schedule throughout the year, circumstances may arise that would cause us to alter the schedule, thus changing a teams playing time. This is a more likely instance during the week of the playoffs, due to the fact that the playoff schedule is a "secondary" schedule that is posted at the end of the season. Just be sure to check the schedule on game day, ESPECIALLY for the playoffs.
3. Kickball STL reserves the right to relocate games and league locations as it see's fit. Although we do everything within our power to ensure that the leagues are played at the advertised locations, unforeseen obstacles may arise that may cause the league to be relocated. With that said, Kickball STL will not relocate a division further than 10 miles from it's original location.
4. Each session the league schedule will be posted by the Thursday prior to the start of the season. Kickball STL makes every attempt to ensure that schedules are formulated accurately, however, in the instance that an error occurs, Kickball STL reserves the right to change/modify the league schedule all the way up to 10:00pm on the Friday night before the start of the season; that way teams have at least 24 hours to inform their team in regards to the change.
5. When constructing a playoff bracket/schedule, KickballSTL will observe the following guidelines: If a division has 16 or more teams, the top 8 teams will qualify for the playoffs. If a division has 10-16 teams, the top 6 teams will qualify. If a division has 9 or fewer teams, the top 4 teams will qualify. Exceptions to this policy, which will be made under the sole discretion of KickballSTL management, will be considered on a case by case basis in the event that a greater than usual number of teams are "competitive" in the standings for a given division. The MINIMUM standard for consideration for an exception will be a .500 record(6 wins.)
Holidays
Kickball STL plays Easter Weekend, Thanksgiving Weekend, 4th of July weekend (not actually on the holiday) and Halloween. Labor Day, Christmas, and New Years Eve always fall between sessions, so teams can plan for no games on those weekends.
Bi State Tournament
Many of the policies that govern the bi state tournament can be found on the on the Bi-State Tournament page. In regard to players that play on multiple teams (Thursday & Sundays), Kickball STL allows players to participate on multiple teams during the tournament, however, no special schedule requests will be taken into consideration. A player is allowed to participate for either team, for as long as they are in the tournament. The player must be wearing a matching team shirt. If the two teams face each other, the player must choose 1 team to play on.
Park Rules
All players and spectators are required to follow all park rules and regulations. All players and spectators are required to read the posted rules prior to attending a Kickball STL function. In addition to adhering to all park rules and regulations, league members are to refrain from climbing on any buildings, trees, fences, dugouts, concession stands, and any other structures on the park properties. Below are links to park regulations:
Sunset Hills Parks: http://www.sunset-hills.com/index.aspx?page=89:
St. Peters Parks: http://www.stpetersmo.net/parks-recreation.aspx
St. Louis County parks: http://www.stlouisco.com/parksandrecreation
O'Fallon Illinois Division: http://www.shilohil.org/pages/parks-recreation/
St. Louis City Parks: https://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/parks/
Hazelwood Parks: http://www.hazelwoodmo.org/services/parks
