HOCKEYTOWN USA, INC.        WIFFLEBALL RULES  

SECTION I                                                                                                  

Game Setup                                                                                                      

1.00 The Playing Field                                                                                                                      

1.01 THE PLAYING FIELD: a level surface on a plastic sports surface. The foul lines shall extend from the front corners of home plate to the base of the foul poles in left and right field.  This line shall determine whether or not a ball is in fair territory.  The foul poles will be 73 feet from the plate on either side.  The outfield wall will be 60 feet in width and 65 feet from home plate at centerfield. The outfield wall will be 15 feet in height along the entire wall. The pitcher will throw from a distance of 35 feet from the tip of home plate. An infield line shall be drawn parallel to the pitching line 40 feet from home plate.  For clarification see Diagram 1 below.  Cones will be placed on the infield line and the foul line.  Cones are completely in fair territory, and will serve as a marker for ground balls.  A fair play line will be drawn and will run from foul to foul line 6 feet from the front of home plate.                                                                                               

1.05 THE BATTER'S BOX: shall measure 3 feet in width by 5 feet in length and shall be laid out as shown in Diagram 2.                                                                                       

1.06 THE BACKSTOP: shall be located 3 feet behind home plate. The strike zone, cut out of the backstop shall be 24" wide by 36" tall, and will start 12" off the ground as shown in Diagram 3.                                                                                                        

1.07 THE CEILING: the ball must be caught off the ceiling to be out, otherwise the ball is considered dead where it lands. So if it lands fair, it's a hit.

2.00 Equipment                                                                                                              

2.01 THE BALL: only the baseball size Wiffle® ball, (8 slots on one side) will be used for play. Balls may be scuffed with sandpaper, etc. any time during a game, but no foreign matter can be added to the ball. Any ball with a crack greater than 1/4" will be ruled illegal and shall be removed from the game. A ball may be kept exclusively by a pitcher as long as it is ruled legal.                                                                                            

 2.02 THE BAT: Yellow Wiffleâ ball bats only. Must be round on all sides and cannot exceed 38” in length or 2 ¼” in diameter. Bats cannot have any form of tape 18” from the handle.                                                                                                                             

2.03 EQUIPMENT INSPECTION: the crew chief reserves the right to inspect and or eject any piece of equipment.                                                                                           

2.04 GLOVES: All players in the field must play barehanded.  Batting gloves may be worn by the batter only when at bat.

3.0 UMPIRING                                                                                                              

3.01 BALLS AND STRIKES: shall be determined by the hole in the backstop. If the ball goes through the hole, it is considered a strike, even if it hits the side of the hole first. If the ball does not go through the hole, and is not swung at by the batter, it is considered a ball. A pitched ball that hits the batter is also a ball, as long as the batter is legally positioned within the batters box. If a batter has 2 strikes on him, and foul tips the ball through the hole, it is considered strike 3. Any batter catching the ball with their hand is a strike.                                                                                                                                  

3.02 FAIR AND FOUL CALLS: shall be the responsibility of the batter (unless there is an umpire) because he is looking down both foul lines.                                                   

3.03 LINE CALLS(Single, Double, Triple): shall be made by the fielder closest to the ball (unless there is an umpire) because he has the best view of the play.                              

3.04 CHECK SWINGS: shall be the responsibility of the batter (unless there is an umpire).                                                                                                                                

3.05 OFFICIAL SCORE: shall be the home team's responsibility in case of a discrepancy (unless there is an umpire).                                                                                                         

3.06 SITUATIONS: a) the batter says the situation as he enters the batter's box. Example: "Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out." He must indicate the base runners and the number of outs. b) the pitcher says the count before each pitch. Example: "2 balls, 1 strike."

4.00 Starting/Ending a Game                                                                                           

4.01 REGULATION GAME: shall consist of 6 innings unless extended because of a tie score or shortened because (i) either team holds a 10 run or greater lead at the end of the 4th inning (ii) either team holds a 20 run or greater lead at the end of the 2nd inning.  

4.02 EXTRA INNINGS: shall happen if the score is tied after 6 complete innings. Play shall continue until (i) the visiting team has scored more runs than the home team at the end of a completed inning, or (ii) the home team scores the winning run in the bottom of an uncompleted inning. PLEASE NOTE: In extra innings, both teams begin the SEVENTH INNING with the bases loaded.                                                                

4.03 PLAYING TIME: a time limit of one hour is enforced on each game.  No game will be terminated by time limit until the minimum four innings have been completed or one team has a lead greater than 20 runs.                                                                               

 4.04 PROTESTING GAMES: in a protested game, the decision of theTournament Director is final. a) No protest shall be permitted on judgment calls by a player or umpire. b) Protests will only be permitted on an alleged misapplication of these rules. c) The protest will not be recognized unless the crew chief is notified at the time the play under protest occurs and before the next pitch is made. d) If a game is protested, the following information shall be recorded; the score, the number of outs, the batter, the position of any runners, and the ball-strike count. e) A replay of the game shall not take place unless the Tournament Director deems that the violation directly affected the protesting team's chances of winning the game. f) If a replay of the game is ordered, the game shall resume at the point of the protest. The correct ruling shall be made and the game shall continue until it's completion. The line-up and batting order of both teams shall remain the same as it was at the point of protest.                                                                                              

4.05 GROUND RULES: will be discussed to all teams prior to the start of each game or before the beginning of a tournament or league.
 

5.00 General Game Rules                                                                                              

5.01 THE TEAM: a) ROSTER: shall consist of no less than two players and no more than five. A team may play with one player. b) FIELDING: teams shall employ two to three players in the field (one pitcher, one or two fielders). c) STARTING LINE-UP: shall consist of all players who appear in the batting order at the start of the game. d) BATTING ORDER: the batting order shall remain the same throughout the game.            

5.02 SUBSTITUTION: a) PITCHER: (i) A pitcher may be substituted for at any time as long as he has faced at least one batter. (ii) A pitcher being replaced maintains his spot in the batting order, unless the relief pitcher is a bench player, or he is pinch hit for by a bench player. b) FIELDERS: (i) Free substitution of fielders is permitted among players in the starting line-up. Fielders being replaced in the field by starting players shall maintain their spot in the batting order. (ii) If a bench player replaces a starting player in the field, or at bat, he shall take the replaced player's spot in the batting order. (iii) If a starting player is replaced by a bench player, he cannot re-enter the game.                             

5.03 INHERITING THE COUNT/SITUATION: When a pitcher is replaced by a relief pitcher and the batter already has a count and or base runners the relief pitcher will inherit the count and baserunners.                                                                                                      

 5.04 BUNTING: Bunting is illegal. If a batter attempts to bunt, he shall be ruled out and the put out shall be recorded as a strikeout.

SECTION II

Game Play                                                                                                       

6.00 Pitching                                                                                                                   

 6.01 THE COUNT: The official count shall be 4 balls and three strikes. A strike shall be called if a pitched ball (i) goes through the target strike zone in the air, (ii) is swung at and missed by the batter, or (iii) is fouled by the batter. NOTE: The hands on the bat shall be ruled as an extension of the bat. If a batter swings at the pitch and hits a fair ball off of his hand(s), the ball shall be ruled a fair ball.                                                                  

6.02 OUTS: There are three outs per inning for each team.                                            

 6.03 WARM-UP: A pitcher shall be allowed 10 warm-up pitches before his first inning of work. Each succeeding inning, the pitcher shall be allowed 5 warm-up pitches. No pre-game batting practice on the playing field is allowed.                                                     

6.04 HIT BY PITCH: Any pitched ball which hits the batter legally positioned within the batter's box and not in the act of swinging shall be ruled a ball. No base awarded.                  

6.05 BATTER INTERFERENCE: Once the batter has legally positioned himself within the batter's box, he is not required to move out of the path of the pitch. However, if the batter is ruled by the pitcher to have intentionally moved into the path of the pitch in an attempt to block the pitch from hitting the target strike zone, he shall be called for batter interference, and the pitch shall be called a strike.                                                          

6.06 PITCHING RUBBER: A pitcher need not start his wind-up from the pitching line, but he must have at least one foot touching the line when he releases the ball. If a ball is pitched in violation of this rule, the pitch shall be considered a ball.                                  

6.07 BALKS: There are no balks.

7.00 Batting                                                                                                                                

7.01 Each offensive player shall bat in the order that his name appears in the batting order. A batter that receives at least one pitch, while batting out of order, shall be out.

7.02 The batter shall take his position in the batter's box promptly when it is his turn to bat. The batter's legal position shall be with both feet completely within the batter's box.

7.03 The batter has legally completed his time at bat when he is either put out or becomes a base runner.

8.00 Hits                                                                                                                                

8.01 Any fair ball that goes beyond the single's line is a single.                                             

8.02 Any fair ball that rolls to the wall untouched is a double.                                                

8.03 Any fair ball that hits the fence on the fly is a triple.                                                      

8.04 Any fair ball that goes over the fence is a home run. If a fielder touches the ball, it is still considered a home run.                                                                                              

8.05 A ground ball fielded before landing past the single's line is an out. A ground ball may be bobbled, but if it retouches the ground, it is considered a single. A player's position to the single's line does not matter, the ball is the key, it must land past the line to be ruled a hit.                                                                                                                     

8.06 DOUBLE PLAY: Only can happen when two or more batters are forced and there are less than two outs. If a ground ball is fielded before landing past the single's line, the fielder has the option of trying to go for a double play. The player who fields the ball has three seconds and one step to throw it through the hole in the backstop on the fly or bounce from where he fielded it. If he does, it's a double play and the TWO LEAD runners are out, if not, the lead runner is the only out. PLEASE NOTE: a double play cannot occur on an infield single.                                                                                     

8.07 SACRIFICE FLY: (Only pertains to runner on 3rd base) Batter has option of tagging - he must say "sacrifice fly" or "tag up" while the ball is still in the air. The fielder who catches the ball has three seconds and one step to throw it and try to hit the ENTIRE backstop on the fly from where he caught it. If he does, it's a double play, if not, then the run scores.                                                                                                  

8.08 Any ball that touches beyond the single's line in foul territory is a foul ball, even if it bounces back into fair territory.                                                                                           

 8.09 A ball hitting a cone is an automatic single, all runners advance one base. This shall be considered a "clean" hit.                                                                                              

8.10 A ground ball that comes to a complete stop after the fair play line and before the single's line is considered an infield single, all runners advance one base.                              

8.11 A fly ball hitting the wall first and then being caught by a fielder is ruled a triple.

8.12 All batted balls must reach the fair play line to be playable, otherwise it is a foul ball.                                                                                                                                    

9.00 Defense                                                                                                                       

9.01 POSITIONING: a) A fielder shall not position himself behind the pitcher within the batter's hitting background. If a fielder does position himself in this fashion, the batter must appeal to the pitcher to have the offending fielder reposition himself out if the batter's hitting background before the pitch is delivered. b) A defensive player shall not engage in any action or movement with the intent to distract the batter. c) All fielders must start each pitch behind the pitchers line.                                                                     

10.00 Base Running/Runner Advancement                                                               

10.01 AUTOMATIC RUNNER ADVANCEMENT: physical running of the bases shall not be employed. Instead, "ghost" or imaginary runners shall be used. All runners automatically advance the same number of bases as the batter. WITH TWO OUTS ONLY, all runners advance an extra base on a clean, untouched hit. This extra base advancement shall not pertain to infield singles. a) The batter earns a walk - all runners advance one base ONLY IF FORCED. b) The batter hits a single, double, triple, home run, or reaches on an error, all runners advance the same number of bases as the batter.                             

 10.02 BASE STEALING: There is no base stealing.

 Hockeytown management reserves the right to install, modify and update any and all rules needed to remedy situations as they become necessary.

****THE PLAYOFF FORMAT WILL BE DETERMINED BY MANAGEMENT AFTER REVIEWING THE NUMBER OF DIVISIONS AND THE QUALITY OF THE TEAMS, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE FAIR AND EQUITIBLE COMPETITION FOR ALL TEAMS.  AWARDS AND PLAYOFF SCHEDULES WILL BE DETERMINED BY HOCKEYTOWN MANAGEMENT PRIOR TO THE END OF REGULAR SEASON PLAY.****                                                                                                                                                                                             

  I UNDERSTAND THE ABOVE RULES AND WILL COMPLY WITH ALL OF THEM. I UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO INFORM ALL PERSONS ON MY TEAM ROSTERS OF THESE RULES AND TO INFORM THEM THAT THEY MUST ABSOLVE HOCKEYTOWN U.S.A, INC. FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITIES FOR ANY INJURIES SUSTAINED BY THEM ON THESE PREMISES.

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TEAM NAME

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SIGNATURE                                                                                               DATE

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