Official Big D Sports Kickball League Rules

1) The game will be called by a Big D umpire. All judgments/decisions made by the Big D umpire or field administrator are final. Any excessive disagreements will result in an ejection from the game and/or league if deemed necessary by Big D staff. Any person ejected will be required to leave the park immediately. Any ejection shall also result in a suspension for that person’s next game. Any team or person ejected from the league WILL NOT be refunded.

2) Field of play will be a softball/baseball type field with 60 ft base paths. Game balls (10 inch playground ball) will be provided by Big D and must be used during league play.

3) All games will last seven innings or 45 minutes (whichever comes first). Clock shall begin at the coin flip. No new inning will start after 45 minutes have elapsed but the current inning will conclude. Games start on time! Teams must be prepared to play. If at game time, a team does not have the minimum number of players required to start (See rule 4d):

a) The opposing team will automatically be granted three runs.
b) If neither team has the minimum number of players required to start, no run penalty will be assessed.
c) If the undermanned team does not have the required number of players by the 10 minute mark after the clock has started, the game will be considered a forfeit unless the opposing team and Big D staff allow otherwise. The Big D Staff member will ultimately make this decision.
d) If neither team has the required number of players at the 10 minute mark, a double forfeit will be called.
e) Forfeits will be marked as 10-0 losses.

4) DEFENSE:

a) Teams can have no more than 10 players (maximum of 6 males) playing defense in the field at any time (there are no defensive positioning restrictions by gender – a player of any gender may take any traditional defensive position on the field).
b) There can be no more than 6 defenders on the infield at any point prior to a kick.
i) The infield dirt will mark the infield/outfield line
ii) If no dirt line marks the beginning of the “outfield”, the umpire will designate an area 10 paces beyond the bases to act as the outfield courtesy line.
c) Each team MUST play a catcher on defense.
d) A team must have a minimum of 8 players in order to begin a game. At least 3 of those players must be female.
i) If a team has less than the minimum required number of players to start a game, the two team captains can agree to proceed with an official game. The undermanned team can not force a game, nor is its opponent required to allow an official game to take place.
ii) Two up rule: If a team has 6 men ready to play but only 3 women they must make a choice. They can play 6 men/3 women on defense but must take an out in the 4th woman’s batting position for each of her at-bats. The team’s other option is to play 5men/3 women on defense saving themselves the out but also requiring a unique defensive strategy.

5) INFIELD COURTESY LINE: Until the ball is kicked, defensive players must remain behind the line that runs across the field from the first base bag, over the pitcher’s mound, to the third base bag. This includes the defensive pitcher. Violation of the infield courtesy line by the defense results in a re-pitched ball if the kicker is ruled out on the play where the violation occurred.

6) PITCHING:
a) Each team must “self pitch” – the pitcher will pitch to his/her own teammates.
b) When it’s the pitcher’s turn to bat, another player must pitch. The original pitcher can not resume pitching duties until he/she is put out or has scored.
c) The offensive pitcher will not play defense and must make an attempt to get out of the way of a kicked ball. If the offensive pitcher does not make an attempt to get out of the way of a ball kicked in his/her direction, the kicker will be ruled out and all base runners must return to their base of origin before the ball was put in play.

7) Teams may “bat the bench” (where every player in attendance kicks in the lineup) but teams must alternate guy/girl throughout the lineup. A kicker is not required to play defense but all defenders are required to kick. A team is allowed to bat women back-to-back if they so choose without penalty.

8) KICKING:
a) Each kicker gets 3 pitches to put the ball in play.
b) If the ball does not go into play after 3 pitches, the kicker is out.
c) The player kicking the ball can only kick the ball in the defined kicking box which shall extend 4 feet on either side of home plate.
d) Intentional bunts are not allowed. All balls that are kicked must go beyond the 30 ft bunt line. If the defense fields a ball inside the 30ft bunt line, the kick will be ruled a dead ball out.  This means the defender must control the ball on first touch.  Failure to control the ball on first touch results in a live ball.
e) Kickers can not make contact with the ball while their plant foot is completely outside of the kicking box (illegal kick). If a ball is put in play that has been illegally kicked, the umpire will drop their penalty flag. The play will be played out. The defense will have the option of keeping the result of the play or requiring the kicker to kick again if the kicker still has pitches available. If a penalty flag is thrown on the 3rd pitch, the kicker is out and all runners on base must remain where they are.
f) In the rare instance that a ball is popped during a kick, the pitch will be replayed.

9) SAFTEY BAG: There will be two bags at first base. The white bag in fair territory (first base) and an orange bag in foul territory (the safety bag). On force plays at first base, the offense has the right to the orange bag and the defense the white bag.
a) In essence what this means is that the defender must use the white bag to make the out. If the defender uses the orange bag, the runner will be called safe.
b) As well, during a force play, if the runner uses the white bag, the runner will be called out
c) If the defender crosses into the base path for any reason (including an attempt to catch a wayward throw), inhibiting the runner from taking a clear path to the orange bag, the runner will be called safe for defensive interference.

10) Defensive outs are recorded in the following situations:
a) the batter does not put the ball in play after 3 pitches
b) a foul ball goes above the batter’s head and is caught in the field of play before touching any part of the fence or ground
c) a kicked ball is caught in the air before it touches the ground
d) a force out is recorded at a base before the runner reaches that base
e) an offensive player is either hit with (shoulder or below) or touched by a ball put into play while they are off the base. Remember the ball is live at all times. If it hits an offensive player while they are off a base, they are out, no questions asked.
f) During a force out, if the defender is making contact with the base they must demonstrate they have possession of the ball.  This means that having both hands on the ball with the ball trapped on the ground is NOT considered as having possession.
g) If a kicker overruns 1st base and makes an aggressive turn toward 2nd base and that player is tagged with the ball before getting back to 1st base.

11) Remember that the ball is live at all times unless time out or dead ball is called BY THE UMPIRE. Any contact with a live ball during the course of play by the offensive team is an out.

12) HEAD SHOT: If a player attempts to hit a runner with the ball for an out, it must hit the runner on the shoulders or below; otherwise a dead ball situation occurs and all runners advance two bases from the last successful base reached. However, if the runner attempts to slide or duck and is struck in the head with a ball that would have hit their body, no penalty will be called. No penalty will be called if the ball bounces and then hits the runner in the head.

13) INFIELD FLY: The traditional infield fly rule found in baseball and softball is not in effect. However if the umpire believes that a defensive player intentionally drops a fly ball, a dead ball will be called, the kicker will be called safe, and all runners will advance 1 base.

14) No leadoffs or stealing. Runners can leave the base once the ball is kicked by the kicker. If it is determined that a runner leaves their base early on a ball being kicked into play, the ball is dead and the runner is declared out. If this is the 3rd out of the inning, the kicker who just kicked will be first up in the next inning.

15) Inning Run Limit Rule: There will be a 6 run limit per inning in innings 1-4. (Exception: unlimited runs may be scored if one of innings 1-4 is declared the final inning of the game based on time). Unlimited runs may be scored in innings 5-7 always. Game mercy rule: 12 runs up after 4 complete innings or 10 runs up after 5 complete innings.

16) There will be no extra innings to break a tie during regular season. During playoffs, ties will go to one-pitch with the 3rd out of the previous inning starting on second base.

17) All thrown balls are deemed out of play when:
a) The ball is thrown over the fence
b) The ball is thrown beyond the fence (no complete fence at the park)
c) The ball is thrown beyond the imaginary line (if there is no fence) extending from the end of the backstop (*this imaginary line also applies to overthrows and caught foul balls)

On balls that are ruled 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 clearly make an aggressive turn towards second base to be granted 2nd and 3rd in an out of play scenario.

18) 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.

19) Big D Staff will closely watch base runner to defensive player contact. Any excessive contact or collision will result in an out and/or ejection. This includes contact with the catcher. Sliding is allowed. All plays at home require the runner to either slide or bail out. Any sliding into a base to break up a double play, or any intentional (in the eyes of the staff) interference with the defensive player, the runner and batter/runner will be called out.

20) NO METAL SPIKES ARE ALLOWED. Any equipment in question should be brought to the attention of the staff. The Big D Staff member will make all final decisions with regard to equipment discrepancies.

21) Playoff rosters must be complete by the end of regular season play. Players must have played a regular season game in order to be eligible for the playoff tournament. (Players will only be added to the roster after the end of the regular season for the purposes of a substitution due to an injury or other extreme circumstance as deemed acceptable by the Big D League Office). Teams must pre-qualify these requests with Big D’s Athletic Director prior to the playoff game.

22) Waivers and Rosters will be used as acceptable player-team identification during playoffs. All participants must present IDs during the playoff tournament in the event of a roster check. All roster check requests must be made before the first pitch.

League Policies

UMPS:
An umpire will be provided by Big D to supervise the game. It will be the umpire’s responsibility to coordinate and run the games, which include the following tasks:
· Starting games on time.
· Calling outs.
· Settling all disputes or disputed calls except for CHALLENGE FLAG plays.

It is understood that umps will assist in the tracking of the score (i.e. announcing it in between innings) and assist in any discrepancies with regards to the coed line-up ratios. However, it is the responsibility of both teams to maintain their respective line-ups and scores each inning.

FORFEITS:
If your team forfeits a game during the season, the following rules apply:
First Offense: Loss of game and warning issued.
Second Offense: Loss of game and staff reserves the right to remove team from playoffs.
Third Offense: Removal from the league.

If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, please contact our league director so we may notify your opponent.

STANDINGS:
Every effort will be made to update standings weekly, displaying each teams rank within its division. Rank is based on winning percentage. Ties in winning percentage are broken first by head to head result then runs allowed.

PLAYOFFS:
Top teams make the playoffs (teams that have not violated any policies are eligible). In certain situations teams at or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. Check with the Big D league coordinator to see if this applies to your league. Playoffs are single elimination. BIG D reserves the right to schedule playoff games on days other than your regularly scheduled league night. PLEASE MAKE NOTE OF THIS! This will come into play during extremely rainy seasons. Teams may play more than one game per day/night.

Seeding: Teams are seeded according to winning percentage and the tie-breakers listed above.

Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility must be addressed before the start of the game.

WAIVERS:
In order to participate in the league, each participant must be at least 21 years of age and sign the team waiver. Waivers are now online and must be updated weekly as necessary. It is up to the captain to ensure all their players are on the waiver. The Big D Field Coordinator will have each team’s roster available every week. We ask the captains to check it weekly for accuracy. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign the online waiver before participating. Players are only required to sign their team’s waiver once per season.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY (PLAYOFFS):
A formal protest may be filed before a game if an opposing player’s eligibility is in question. The player in question will be required to provide his/her player information (name, address, phone #, signature) in writing to a Big D staff member prior to the start of the game. This qualifies as an official protest. The game will then be played in its entirety as scheduled. Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility discrepancy by the following business day – decisions may not be made on site. If the protest is proven to be legitimate, it will result in the forfeiture of the game in question. Games subsequent to the protested game may be rescheduled.
The above procedure will also apply for any other “logged” protests. All rulings by Big D staff are considered final.
SPORTSMANSHIP:
The goal of Big D is to ensure every participant has fun. We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved. Although the games may become intense, you can still 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. This includes actions while being a spectator of other games. We ask that you refrain from any derogatory, discriminatory, sexual or harassing comments of the players or officials.

STAFF:
To coordinate and run the league, our umpires 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. Big D 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 night is cancelled, Big D staff will change the voicemail immediately. Big D will then contact all of the captains. If a league is cancelled on site, Big D 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 the next week’s schedule (ex. If April 13 is cancelled teams should follow the April 20 schedule for their next game). The games that are cancelled will be made up at the end of the season if time allows. In extreme circumstances, Big D reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund. Teams will be given a credit to a future league but no cash refunds will be granted.

PARTICIPATION GIFTS:
Each team will receive up to 14 player participation gifts to be handed out to every paid player on the roster. The gifts will be dispersed at the field during the season. Please look for the announcement at the league designating which nights the gifts will be dispensed. Those teams unable to pick up their gifts must call the office to make arrangements to pick them up at the office. Unfortunately, we can not guarantee that we can bring gifts out to the leagues after "gift night". Big D cannot guarantee the availability of gifts after the last week of regular season, so please pick them up at “gift night” or soon after. Additional participant gifts can be purchased for $10 each by contacting the Big D Office.

The team winning the playoff bracket, in each division, will receive a prize of great emotional, spiritual, and most importantly, social value. Champ gifts are also limited to 14 pieces. Additional gifts may be purchased for $25 each by contacting the Big D Office.

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.