City League Rules

Equipment

1. Players may NOT wear jewelry or watches during a game (except medic alert).
2. Protective equipment issued by the Association must be worn (batter’s helmets, catcher’s chest pad and shin protectors).
3. Proper footwear (runners) required. No metal cleats or spikes are allowed. (Rubber cleats may be worn in Squirt, Pee Wee and Bantam/Midget Divisions.) Bare feet are NOT allowed.
4. Short pants are NOT allowed. Players MUST wear long pants for safety reasons (most in-fields are shale).
5. Players must wear supplied ball shirts.
6. All catchers (male and female) must wear athletic support with protective cup.
7. Players may use their own bat providing the umpire has approved it.
8. Only the Association purchases team equipment.

Game Rules – Mites, Squirts, Pee Wee, Bantam/Midget

Note: Rules for Coach Pitch are in the Coach Pitch section of this website.

All rules are current per the Softball Canada Rule Book with the following exceptions:

1. Player rotation – All Divisions
   In the City League, it is the intention to provide an environment that promotes learning and encourages the players to grow. The coaches should rotate the team players throughout all the positions and give everyone a chance to play regardless of skill. In other words, highly skilled players should not be dominating key positions.
2. Passed Ball Rule – Mite Only
   A base-runner on third base may not advance home on a passed ball by the catcher or pitcher.
3. Defensive Players – Mite Only
   Six (6) players may play defense. There are no fielders; pylons are setup 25 feet beyond the baseline. All batted ball passing the pylons are considered a home run. See the Mites section more complete information.
4. Walks – Mite Only
   There are no walks in Mites. Once a batter has reached the count of 4 balls, the batter will have a count against him/her. It will either be 4 balls, 0 strikes (4-0), 4-1 or 4-2. The coach, or designated pitcher for the offensive team, will now come in to pitch to his/her own batter. The number of pitches that the batter will receive from the coach/parent is the number of remaining strikes that are left to the batter. The batter should be encouraged to swing at every one of the pitches since every missed ball will be a strike regardless. Otherwise, all batters continue using the same rules. See the Mites section for more complete information.
5. Dropped Third Strike – Pee Wee, Bantam/Midget
   In effect.
6. Infield Fly Rule – Pee Wee, Bantam/Midget
   In effect.
7. Innings/Runs – All Divisions
   An inning shall be considered over when three (3) outs are made or when:
   Coach Pitch – See Coach Pitch Rules.
   Mites and Squirts – five (5) runs are scored by the offensive team. This shall be known as the “five run rule”.
   Pee Wee and Bantam/Midget - seven (7) runs are scored by the offensive team. This shall be known as the “seven run rule”. This can be changed to
   “five run rule” if both coaches agree before the game starts.
8. Games
   No inning will start after 8:00 p.m. – Mite
   No inning will start after 8:30 p.m. – Squirt
   Seven innings, but no inning will start after 9:15p.m. – Pee Wee, Bantam/Midget
   
   The Umpire is the official timekeeper for timed games.
   Five (5) complete innings shall constitute a game in the event of inclement weather. (Rain or cold)
9. Forfeits – All Divisions
   A forfeited game shall be called by the Umpire if a team fails to have a minimum of seven (7) rostered players to begin a game. The 8th and 9th
   batter’s positions are not an automatic out.
   A forfeited game shall be called by the Umpire if, because of injury, removal of players from the game by the Umpire, or, for any other reason there are
   fewer than six (6) players to continue the game.
10. Pitching – All Divisions
    A pitcher shall pitch no more than four (4) innings per game and a pitcher shall pitch no more than two (2) innings in a row. If one (1) pitch is thrown, it will be considered and constituted as an inning. The umpires have been instructed to pull a pitcher if there are too many pitches that are hitting players. This will be a judgment call made by the umpire and their decision is final and only affects the current game.
11. Batting – All Divisions
    All rostered players shall be listed in the batting order and bat as their turn comes up in the order.
12. Substitutions – All Divisions
    Unlimited substitutions.
13. Conference Rule – All Divisions
    The conference rule is waived.
14. Rule Book – All Divisions
    No player, coach, manager, parent or umpire will be allowed to bring a rule book onto the playing field. The penalty will be automatic ejection from the playing field and the area adjacent to the playing field.