Evendale Recreation
Adult Co-Rec Kickball Rules (Revised 6/21/05)
I. Field/Equipment/Misc.
· All games shall be played on softball-sized diamonds.
- The kickball diamond is a square with equal sides of 60 feet or 20 paces.
- the distance from home plate to second base, and from first base to third base is 84 feet 10 ¼ inches or 28 paces respectively;
- the pitching strip is in the center of the diamond, 42 feet 5 1/8 inches or 14 paces from home plate, and directly aligned with the first base/third base diagonal.
· The official kickball is the red Baden PG-10 playground ball.
· The strike zone extends to 1 foot on either side of home plate and 1 foot high.
· Athletic shoes are required. Metal spikes are not allowed.
· The umpire’s word is final and not to be disputed unless a blatant contradiction to the official rules. Umpires may eject players for unsportsmanlike behavior. Any occurrences, which are not covered in the rules, shall be settled by the umpire and noted for later rule updates.
· “Fun” rules will pop up occasionally and will last one inning. This can happen up to two times per game. Such as and not limited to: kick with your non-dominate foot, run the bases clockwise, use a gigantic ball. Teams are encouraged to think of new things weekly! These fun rules will be umpire driven!
· Umpire has jurisdiction over play and may:
- Call a time out
- call off a game due to rain or other cause at the umpire’s discretion, and must cancel or suspend the game if lightning is seen;
- penalize a player, including game ejection, for unsportsmanlike conduct. Ejected players may not return to the game and must leave the area.
- Umpire will meet with captains prior to game to go over rules and discuss any questions to make sure everyone is on the same page!
· Players will remember we are all out here for fun!
II. Teams & Eligibility
· Rosters may hold 26 adults. Must be 18 years of age and out of high school or older by the date of the first game. Teams are encouraged to hold rosters of at least 18 members.
· A maximum of 11 players can be on the field for the fielding team, with a minimum of 7 players. A catcher is not necessary for teams with less than 9 players.
· Teams must have a minimum of 4 players of each sex. If a team does not have four females/males for a particular game, a “ghost” player shall be written into the batting order and represents an automatic out for each female/male under the minimum. A team having 11 players that is missing a required male/female player must play short the spot of the missing player plus one additional. This only applies for teams with 11 players or more.
· Teams with fewer than 7 players shall have a 10-minute grace period before a forfeit is declared. Subs may be used at any time so long as the opposing team is not opposed!!
· Each team shall have one Captain and one co-captain who jointly will be responsible for the team. The Team Captains must ensure that:
- all team players present must kick;
- all team players must kick in the written scorebook order;
- only the Captain or Co-Captain may dispute calls.
· Kickball team names may not contain reference or implication to political agenda, issue, candidates, elected officials, religion, or overt alcohol, drug, or sexual reference. The Evendale Recreation Department may decide against team names for any reason and retains the ultimate right to reject or accept any and all team names.
III. Regulation Game
· A regulation game shall consist of 7 innings or a time limit of 55 minutes. If a game starts late, it shall be played until 5 minutes before the next games starting time.
· The “away” team shall bat first. The “home” team gets last at bats if the time limit is near. The umpire may call a game due to time- an inning may not reasonably be completed before the 55-minute time limit. As such, an inning cannot begin 50 minutes after the hour unless score is tied or if it is the last scheduled game.
· A game is considered official once 4 full innings have been completed. The game score at the end of the last full inning shall determine the winner.
· Regular season games may end in ties. During the playoffs, the winner shall be determined by whoever wins the next full inning (Both teams get at bats).
· Called games shall be rescheduled by the Recreation Department to be played at a future date agreeable to both team captains at a site to be agreed upon. Any games not replayed shall be counted as a tie in the standings.
· Each team may have base coaches at first and third bases.
IV. Pitching/Fielding
· A legal pitch must be no higher than knee level of the batter. Anything higher over the plate is a ball. Whether a pitch is a ball or strike based on bounciness should be based on the height of the last bounce before it crosses home plate.
· Infield positions must alternate between M & F, i.e. M 3rd base; F SS; M 2nd, etc. This includes pitcher and catcher!
· The pitcher must pitch from the back rubber. The catcher must give the batter ample room to bat. The catcher may not break the plane of the front of home plate until the ball is kicked and may not interfere with the batter. An infraction will result in a called ball. If the ball is kicked, the result does not count.
· Once the pitcher has the ball in control and on the mound, the play ends. If a runner intentionally touches or stops the ball, the play ends.
· A strike consists of a ball that is rolled over any part of home plate and below knee level. Any ball that is kicked into foul territory shall also be considered a strike. Three strikes of any kinds will result in an out.
· A “ball” shall be called on anything that does not pass home plate. Four called “balls” shall result in advancement of the batter to first place.
· The batting team has three outs per inning. An out results due to the following:
- three strikes
- a ball caught on the fly (fair or foul)
- based runner is forced out
- base runner is hit with ball at anytime while not on base (if runner hit with ball before run scores in third out situations, run does not score)
- see ghost batter rule above
- runner off his/her base when the ball is kicked.
· As even the most innocent looking pop ups are potential hits in kickball, there is no infield fly rule. Due to some abuses of this, there will be a “No Cheese” rule for situations where a fielder is judged to have intentionally allowed the ball to drop to turn a double play. For example, team A has a runner on first. The batter from team A kicks the ball in the air to the first baseperson on Team B. The runner on team A stays on first, while the batter runs to first. The first baseperson intentionally (and these are generally obvious) muffs the pop fly, tags the waiting runner and tags the
base. As this is contrary to fair sportsmanship Evendale Recreation promotes, the tactic will be deemed Cheesy and the runner who was on first will not be called out by staying on first. If however, the base runner leaves first before the play is made/not made, they will be considered a target.
V. Batting
· The batter may not kick the ball until the ball crosses home plate. Kicking the ball before the plate is a “ball.” The resulting result of a kick over the plate is a dead ball (no out on the fly, etc.).
· Teams must alternate positions in the batting order by sex. If a team has less than 10 players, positions must be alternated in the batting order as far down the order as possible. Girls rotate back into line-up when needed.
· Bunting is allowed. Bunting may not be executed by a team that is up by 10 or more runs.
· There will be a 20’ arc from home plate that ball must get beyond to be a live ball.
· Runners must stay in the base path. Fielders impeding the runner’s path to the base shall result in the runner being awarded the base.
· Leading off and stealing are not allowed. A runner off of his/her base when the ball is kicked is out.
· Sliding is legal. Please do so with caution (keeping fielders and yourself in mind).
· One base on an overthrow. An overthrow constitutes a ball that is thrown out of play. Out of play means beyond the fence line extended. A ball thrown past the base or target that remains in play is not considered an overthrow; the ball must be out of play!!!
· After a fly ball is caught, the runner must tag up before advancing to the next base. Failure to tag up before advancing results in an out if the runner is tagged or the ball is thrown to the previous base.
· Balls thrown at the base runner must be below the shoulders. Any head shot results in advancement to the next base. Any intentional hitting of the ball with the head by a runner will result in an out.
· If a ball hits the kicker in fair territory after being struck, the batter is out. Intentionally kicking the ball out of play by the batter then results in a dead ball.
VI. Designated Runner/Player Positions
· In cases of injury or illness, a time-out may be requested for participant removal and replacement with a substitute of the same sex. If the participant later returns to play, the participant must be inserted in the same fielding and kicking order position previously held.
· If a player is ejected, injured, or becomes ill and cannot continue, the lineup will continue in the same formation, less the removed player.
VII. Mercy Rule
· Teams may opt to submit if down 15 runs or more.
VIII. Standings
A win shall count as two points, a tie as one and losses as zero. Seeding for the tournament is based on highest point total. Tiebreakers are as follows: head to head, point/run differential in games between the tied teams, overall point/run differential (offense/defense) and flip of a coin.
IX. End of Season Party
In lieu of awards, an end of season party will be held on the last night of play or date decided upon by majority of team captains.
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