2011-12 MSHSL Athletic Rules and Policies Manual

OFFICIAL MSHSL ATHLETIC BYLAWS FOR
GIRLS' SOFTBALL

See the MSHSL Official Handbook Bylaw 501 for information regarding:

• Maximum Number of Contest   

See the MSHSL Official Handbook Bylaw 502 for information regarding:

• Daily and Season Player Participation Limitations

See the MSHSL Official Handbook Bylaw 515 for information regarding:

• Contests

• Last Date to Join a Team

• Practice Sessions Before First Contest

• Season Begins

ELIGIBILITY DURING LEAGUE-SPONSORED TOURNAMENT (Subsection, Section & State) (Refer to Bylaw 206)
A student must be fully eligible under all local school district policies and MSHSL bylaws to be in uniform, occupy the bench or playing area, participate and receive individual and/or team awards, including all-tournament honors, in the awards ceremony.

CONTEST RULES (Refer to Bylaw 402)
Except as modified by the League, the National Federation of High School Association Softball Rules Book for the current year shall be the official game rules for all interscholastic contests in which League members participate.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN LEAGUE-SPONSORED TOURNAMENTS (Refer to Bylaw 405)
A member school must schedule a minimum of three interscholastic varsity games, meets or matches to qualify for League-sponsored tournament participation in that sport.

END OF SEASON (Refer to Bylaw 411)
A. Student Participation on a Non-School Team While the Season is Still in Progress:

1) The season shall end when the student or the student’s team has been eliminated from further participation in a League tournament series.
2) Students who have been eliminated from further participation in a League tournament series may participate as an individual or as a member of a non-school team in that sport.

B. School Team Practice and Competition:
The "end of season" shall be defined to be the last date of the state tournament in that sport.

1) Schools may continue to conduct practice and training for all squad members, including the students who have been eliminated from further individual competition in a League-sponsored series, until completion of the state tournament conducted by the League in that activity.
2) Dual contests may be scheduled after the start of the official League tournament series providing the school does not exceed the maximum number of games/matches/meets permitted in that activity.

C.      No school may engage in any meet or meets, practice, training or other activities between the end of the season and the opening of the next season.

D.      During the Summer Vacation Period (Bylaw 208 3 Non-School Competition and Training—Team and Individual Sports) members of a high school team may participate on a non-school team and they may receive coaching or training from a salaried or non-salaried member of the student’s sophomore, B-squad, junior varsity or varsity high school coaching staff in that sport provided the school has approved a summer coaching waiver for the coach or coaches of that sport.

See General Section of the Athletic Rules & Policies Manual for information regarding the following:

• Athletic Directors Checklist

• Coach's Responsibility: Student Eligibility Checklist

• Multiple Level Teams at Sub-Varsity Level

• Official Squad Size

• Revenue Sharing Plan

• Substitution in MSHSL Tournaments

• Weather Conditions (heat, cold, lightning)

OFFICIAL MSHSL POLICIES FOR THE CONDUCT OF GIRLS' FAST-PITCH SOFTBALL

A. Pitching Distance 43 feet. The pitching plate shall be set at 43 feet for interscholastic softball.

B. Batting helmets shall be equipped with a NOCSAE-approved face mask/guard.
C. Double First Base. The double-first base is required for all games both (B-Squad,JV & Varsity) regular season and post season.   
D. Helmets: Each batter, on-deck batter, students/players in coach's box, runners and retired runners must wear a batting helmet with a permanently affixed NOCSAE stamp. Any and all non-adult ball/bat shaggers are required to wear a batting helmet in live ball territory.
E. Bats: All bats must meet the 2004 ASA Bat Performance Standard bearing either the 2000 or 2004 certification mark and not be on the ASA non-approved list. aCertified bats meeting this standard may be found at www.asasoftball.com. 
F. Courtesy Runner Rule: The runner rule is in effect for interscholastic softball.
G. On Deck Circle: All on-deck batters must use the on-deck circle that is located behind the batter.
H. Suspended Game Rule: is in effect for all games both regular on and post-season.

GAME ENDING AND 10-RUN RULE
A game ends when the visiting team completes its half of the 7th inning provided their runs are fewer than the number scored by the home team in 6 innings.  A game also ends when, after 5 innings of a 7 inning game, a team is 10 or more runs behind and has completed its turn at bat.

DEFINITION OF REGULATION GAME
It is a regulation game if: (a) five full innings have been played; or the home team at bat has scored an equal or greater number of runs in four or four-and-a-fraction turns at bat than the visiting team has scored in five turns at bat; or (b) play has gone beyond five full innings and is called when the teams have not had an equal number of completed turns at bat. The score shall be the same as it was at the end of the last completed inning; unless the home team, in their half of the incomplete inning, scores a run (or runs) which equals or exceeds the opponent's score, in which case, the final score shall be as recorded when the game is called.   

NOTE:  Games called are over if they are regulation, even if less than 7 innings have been completed.  

SUSPENDED GAME RULE
A suspended game is any game that is ended before it becomes a regulation game or a regulation game that has a tie score when ended. A suspended game shall be continued from the point of suspension at a later time. The line-up and batting order of each team shall be exactly the same as the line-up and batting order at the moment of suspension subject to the rules governing the game.

NOTE:  The Suspended Game Rule is in effect for all regular season and post-season games (sub-section, section and state).

TIE-REGULATION SEASON GAMES (Conferences may adopt this special rule.)
Each year during regular season play some conference games, after going five full innings or more are called because of rain, darkness or other cause while the score is tied. According to the rule this is a tie game. Batting and fielding records are counted but the game is not counted in computing percentages of games won or lost. Conferences may also choose to count a "called" regulation game that has a tied score as a half game win and a half game lose for each team.

Time Limit/Tie-Breaker
The League has adopted time limit/tie-breaker procedures for invitational tournaments only.

TIME LIMIT PROCEDURE
In invitational tournaments games may be played with a time limit as prescribe by the host tournament team. Under this rule no new inning will start after the prescribed time limit unless the game is tied. If a game is tied the ASA international tie-breaker rule will be used to determine a winning team. The host tournament team will decide in which inning the tie-breaker rule will be used.

TIE-BREAKER RULE
In the event that the International Tie-Breaker rule is used the following procedures shall apply:

At the start of the inning in which the tie-breaker rule is used, the offensive team shall begin its turn at bat with the player who is scheduled to bat last in that respective half inning being placed on second base (e.g., if the number 5 batter is the led off batter, the number 4 batter in the batting order will be placed on second base). The umpire and the scorekeeper will determine that the proper runner has been placed at second base and the inning shall begin.

MOUTHGUARDS
The use of mouthguards is strongly recommended. Mouthguards that have been cut down or modified in any manner are illegal equipment. Colored mouthguards are required for hockey. Any color mouthguard is permitted for all other sports, including transparent.

VIDEO TAPING ANOTHER SCHOOL'S GAME
It shall be an ethical violation to tape another school's game, meet or contest without their permission.  Further it may be a violation of the laws governing copyrights.  Each school owns the copyrights to their games, meets and contests.  Taping another schools game without permission could constitute a violation of the copyright law.

AAA - 742-3060

AA - 251-741

A - 1-250