ECSS SPLIT LEAGUE - KICKBALL RULES
I. Field / Equipment / General.
a. Field:
1. All games shall be played on softball-sized diamonds or
open fields. Fields with or without fences are acceptable.
2. Bases will be approximately 60 feet apart.
b. Equipment:
1. All games shall be played with a 10-inch red rubber
kickball.
2. Metal spikes are not allowed! (PERIOD)
3. Any other types of cleats are allowed (i.e. softball,
soccer).
c. General:
1. Officiating:
i. Teams must furnish at least 2 'coherent and sober'
umpires per game, as assigned on the current season schedule .
ii. Consistent failure to not provide proper umpires
will jeopardize future league participation. At field reps discretion.
iii. Teams failing to supply proper umpires will forfeit
their next game on the schedule, at the field reps' discretion. This does not
include tournament play.
iv. The umpire's word is final and not to be disputed
unless a blatant contradiction to the official rules has been committed.
v. The Field Rep has the right to overturn an umpire's call
if it is not within the parameters of the official ECSS rules. This only is if
the umpire and field ref(s) cannot agree on the call on the field. If the
ref(s) agree on a call, whether you feel it is right or wrong, the game will
play with the call. See above rule #4.
vi. Umpires may eject players for unsportsmanlike behavior,
with field rep approval.
vii. Any occurrences which are not covered in the rules
shall be settled by the Field Rep and noted for later rule updates.
viii. This includes but is not limited to un-sportsman-like
conduct, fighting, delay of game, and excessive verbal abuse. Ejected
participants must leave the field area and may not return to the game, with
possible future game suspension.
ix. Players should remember we are all out here for fun!
II. Number of participants
a. Rosters may hold a maximum of 18
people.
b. A maximum of 11 players can be
on the field for the fielding team.
c. Teams must have at least 4
female players on the field or the team must play one player short defensively.
(will play with 10 on the field). If a team does not have 4 females in a game a
"ghost" player shall be written into the kicking order and represents
an automatic out. OR Teams can ask another team that is not playing if they can
fill in for the game with a penalty. (see rule 10)
d. All players on your roster, that
are present, must kick in the line-up.
e. There is no boy/girl kicking
order rule. Players can kick in any order, provided the order is consistent
throughout the game.
f. Each team will need to exchange
kicking lineups before the game begins.
g. Teams with fewer than 7 players
shall have a 10-minute grace period before a forfeit is declared.
h. Substitutions may be used only
in between innings.
i. Teams must have the required
minimum of 8 players to consider the game legal.
j. Teams may borrow players from
other teams, with a penalty (1 player picked up=1 run, 2 players
picked up=2 runs, etc.), to fill the roster for a game, AS LONG AS THE OPPOSING
TEAM OKs THE PICKUPS BEFORE START OF GAME. Once the game has started with
approved players, the game will count. If opposing team does not agree both
teams can negotiate terms of the games.
k. Pickups outside
of the league are allowed with no game penalty. Pickups outside of the league
do need to sign a waiver and pay a $10.00 visitor fee.
III. Regulation games
a. A regulation game shall consist
of 6 innings or a time limit of 55 minutes. If a game starts late, it shall be
played until 5 minutes before the next game's starting time.
b. The umpire or Field Rep 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 45 minutes after the hour
unless the score is tied or if it is the last scheduled game.
c. A game is considered official
once 4 full innings have been completed.
d. Regular season games may end in
ties. If time permits, Field Reps may grant additional innings if both captains
agree to play them.
e. Called games shall 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.
f. Home and Away team is determined
by the league for every game.
Check with the field rep.
g. The winner will select either
Home or Away.
IV. Pitching / Strikes vs. Balls / Fielding / Outs / Foul
Balls / Overthrows
a. Pitching:
1. A legal pitch must be under the kicker's knee. (see
"ball" description below also).
2. Pitcher must pitch behind the 'pitch line' which runs
diagonally from 1st base to 3rd base.
3. Once the ball is pitched no player may advance past the
'pitch line' until the ball has been kicked.
4. Lateral movement by the pitcher is tolerated, as long as
there is no encroachment.
5. 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.
6. The ball must bounce at least twice, before
crossing or hitting the home plate.
b. Strikes:
1. A "strike" consists of a ball that is rolled
inside the strike zone lines and below knee level.
2. Making an attempt to kick the ball and then missing the
ball, constitutes a "strike", regardless of any contact was made to
the ball.
3. 4 strikes/fouls of any kind will result in an out. (Ex. 4
strikes / 2 strikes and 2 fouls / 4 fouls / 3 strikes and 1 foul)
c. Balls:
1. A "ball" shall be called on anything that does
not pass over home plate.
2. The ball must bounce at least twice, before crossing or
hitting the home plate.
3. A pitch must be no higher than the knee level of the
kicker or the result shall be a called "ball".
4. 4 'balls' shall result in a walk.
d. Fielding:
1. Players may play any formation they like as long as
nobody crosses the 'pitch line' before the ball is kicked.
2. A fielder encroaching before the kicker makes contact
with the ball automatically advances the kicker to first (after one warning).
3. CATCHERS- The catcher must be positioned within or
directly behind the kicking box and behind the horizontal plane of the kicker.
- The catcher may not make contact with the kicker, nor position so closely to
the kicker as to restrict the kicking motion. This will result in the kicker
will automatically advance to 1 st base- The kicker may not trigger a position
violation through maneuvers judged by the Ref to be deliberately tricky or
unsportsmanlike. There must be a 1-yard (3 feet) buffer between catcher and
kicker. If the catcher repeated encroaches after warnings then the kicker gets
a base.
e. Outs:
1. The kicking team gets 3 outs per inning. An out results
due to the following
i. 3 strikes
ii. A ball caught on the fly
iii. The base runner is forced out
iv. The base runner is hit with the ball while not on base
from fielder or anytime from kicker.
v. 4 foul balls
2. As even the most innocent-looking pop-ups are potential
hits in kickball, there is NO infield fly rule. Only in force out situations
will runs not count in third out situations (see next bullet).
3. A force out constitutes a defensive player touching the
base where a forced player is running to, either with a ball in hand or by
throwing to a fellow teammate that is covering the base. Tagging or throwing at
the player does not constitute a force play.
f. Foul balls:
1. 4 foul balls or strikes (cumulative) will be called an
out.
2. A foul ball that is caught counts as an out. Runners may
advance as long as they tag up.
3. If a ball is touched in fair territory it is fair,
regardless of other factors, i.e. foot placement of the fielder.
4. Fair vs. foul: it is where the ball was determined to be
at, by the umpire, regarding the plain of the foul line, not where the
defensive players positioning is (i.e. foot placement).
g. Overthrows:
2. Defensive players cannot impede a runner from
retrieving an overthrown ball.
V. Kicking and Running
a. Kicking:
1. The kicker's planted foot must be behind the front edge
of the home plate before kicking it, if not it will be considered a foul. See
Advantage Rule below.
2. Bunting is allowed, by male and female players.
3. Each team may have base coaches on first and third bases.
b. Running:
1. There will be a 'safety' bag next to 1st base which EVERY
BASE RUNNER must use to avoid collisions at 1st base if the play is at 1st.
2. Runners must stay in the base path at the refs'
discretion or they will automatically be called out.
3. Infield base runners cannot advance until the ball is
kicked.
4. Defensive fielders impeding the offensive runners'
path to the base, shall result in the runner being awarded the base they are
attempting to run to.
5. Defensive fielders BLOCKING the base
(standing on base) as to not allow room for the runner to get on the base will
result in the runner automatically be safe.
6. Leading off and stealing are not allowed. Leading
off/leaving early will result in an out.
7. Sliding is legal. But, please do so with caution, keeping
fielders and your safety in mind.
8. Runners can tag up, at their own risk, once the defensive
player has control of the ball.
9. After a 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 before
the runner getting back.
10. If any offensive runner passes a teammate that is
running the bases ahead of them, the "passing" offensive player, will
be called out.
11. Balls thrown at the base runner must be below the head.
Any headshot incurred while the runner is in an upright running position
results in advancement to the base they were running to.
12. Any intentional hitting of the ball with the head by a
runner will result in an out.
13. If the runner slides, jumps, or ducts to avoid a ball,
this does not count as a headshot and the runner will be "safe" or
"out" depending on the umpire's call of the play.
14. If a ball, that is kicked by the person up to kick, hits
them or any base runner that is not on a base and is in fair territory, the
kicker or said base runner is out.
15. If the kicker or base runner is in foul territory when
struck by the ball, it is a foul ball.
16. Intentionally kicking the ball out of play while
running, by the kicker or base runner (offensive team), results in a dead ball.
Said kicker or runner shall be called out.
17. Pinch runners are allowed for INJURED PLAYERS ONLY, but
the kicker must make it to 1st base before said pinch runner can run for them.
The runner will be the player that made the last out, of the same sex, on the
offensive team.
18. Injured kickers that cannot kick in their respective
place in the line-up are not allowed a pinch kicker and are not allowed back
into the game once they miss their turn due to an injury. Meaning they cannot
play in any defensive position on the field.
VI. Mercy Rule
a. Teams may opt to
'submit' if down 15 runs or more after 4 innings of play.
VII. Standings / Scoring
a. A win shall count as two points,
a tie as one, and losses as zero.
b. Forfeit: teams forfeiting games
will receive a loss in the standings and receive 0 Runs For and 6 Runs Against
in the respective standings columns.
c. The team receiving forfeit will
get 6 Runs For and 0 Runs Against in the standings. This equals one run per
inning that would have been played.
d. Seeding for any tournament is
based on the overall record first.
e. Teams that fail to show up for a
scheduled game and fail to notify ECSS staff, will jeopardize future
participation in the league at the staffs' discretion.
f. Standing's tiebreakers are as
follows:
1. Head to head
2. Runs against (Run against per inning average if teams
have the same number of losses, but different number of wins)
3. Runs for Team Home Runs
4. Coin toss
