USSSA 11U & 13U East
World Series - July 21-26, 2008 - Salisbury, Maryland
Tournament Rules & Information
1.
Unless
otherwise noted below, the 7th Edition of the USSSA Fast Pitch
Playing Rules will apply.
2.
In the
event of inclement weather, we will be using a system called “Call-Em-All”. The cell phone numbers provided by each team
manager have been entered into a communication database. If we need to
issue a broadcast message we will do it through that system. Managers will
receive the recorded message instantly. If the call goes to voice mail a
message will be left. If the line is busy or there is no answer, the
system will call the number several more times. The number that will
appear on your caller ID is 410-439-2255. DO NOT call this number back as
you will not receive the intended message.
3.
Team
managers only may contact the
following on important issues, based on a team’s home state:
Jeff
Kittle (610-216-9287) – Maryland & Delaware – Tournament game issues only
Jeff
Moose (717-465-1716) – States other than MD & DE – Tournament game issues
only
Andy
Wisk (443-235-3674) – All States – Tournament organizing and local area issues
Lee Steffey (443-523-4412) – All States – Practice times
Also, please DO NOT leave a message on these phones. If your call goes to voice mail, simply hang up and try again in a few minutes.
4.
The
tournament staff will be staying at the Ramada Inn Conference Center – 410-546-4400.
5.
It is
the team’s responsibility to find out when and where their team is playing in
Championship play. That information will be posted on site at the
conclusion of pool play as well as on www.usssa.com.
6.
Forfeit
time is game time, although the director may use discretion if unique
circumstances warrant.
7.
Teams
must be prepared to play 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of a
game, or 1 hour ahead of schedule if we were to have bad weather.
Otherwise, a forfeit may be declared.
8.
The
winner of a coin toss prior to the start of every game will have choice of
being home or visitor.
9.
All
games other than the championship game and “if” game will be subject to a time
limit of 1:30. There will be no time limit on the championship game or
“if” game. We will not use a “drop dead” rule. No new inning
may begin after the time limit has elapsed, unless the game is tied. The
clock begins immediately from the time that the pre-game conference ends.
If the time limit is up and the home team is leading and at bat, then the game
ends with whatever the score is at that point.
10. All games will be subject to the International
Tiebreaker Rule. The tiebreaker will be in effect when the game is tied
and either 7 innings have been completed or when the time limit has elapsed,
whichever comes first. Neither pool games nor championship play games may end
in a tie. A winner must be declared in all games unless the tournament
ends prematurely due to inclement weather.
11. Protests on any issue other than an umpire’s judgement
will require a $100 cash fee. Protests on an umpire’s judgement will not
be allowed and no fee will be accepted. USSSA Rule 14 addresses the
protest policy on rule interpretations and player eligibility. The
protest committee will be made up of any part of the following: tourn. director, site director, tourn. UIC, site UIC or any of their designees. The
$100 will be refunded if the protest is upheld. The fee will be forfeited
if the protest is denied.
12. Refer to the USSSA rule book for rules and penalties
regarding the use of ineligible players. Player participation is defined
as either actively playing in the game or appearing anywhere on the official
lineup that’s presented prior to the start of a game. Examples of
ineligible players include, but are not limited to, playing on two teams in the
same event, not being listed on the team roster that was presented prior to the
tournament, violating the age requirement, playing under an assumed identity,
use of a fraudulent birth certificate, not presenting a birth certificate when
requested to do so, etc.
13. Once pool play is completed, the order of finish among
all teams within a pool is determined by an average point system, whereby two
points are awarded for each win, 1 point for each tie and no points for a
loss. Teams are ordered by the average points earned per game
played. To break ties, the following are used in order:
1) head-to-head (only applies when 2 teams are tied)
2) lowest average runs allowed per game played among the
3 or more teams that are tied
3) lowest average runs allowed per game played using all
games in the pool
4) highest average runs scored per game played, with a
maximum of 8 runs scored per game
5) coin toss.
Notes:
(a) In a three-way tie, once one team is selected as the
best team by the tiebreaker process, then head-to-head is applied to the
remaining two teams. If the two teams did not play each other or if there are
more than two teams remaining, then the process continues from the point at
which the first team was selected. For example, assume Teams A, B & C
have given up 5, 4 & 3 runs, respectively, have all earned the same average
points and A beat B, B beat C and C beat A. Then Team C would be the top
seed based on least average runs allowed. Team A would then be the 2nd
seed due to head-to-head between teams A and B.
(b) A team will receive two points as a result of winning
by forfeit. The points awarded for the forfeit will count toward the
average points, but the forfeit will not count in the runs allowed or scored
tiebreakers. A team will not be allowed to improve their seeding position
by virtue of forfeiting their final pool game, whether done intentionally or
not.
(c) If a team has to play 1 more pool game than other
teams, then the last pool game for that team will not count toward their point
total or run averages, although it does count for their opponent.
(d) Games in which neither an official winner nor a tie
has been declared do not count toward any of the tiebreakers above.
14. If inclement weather or other conditions impede the
normal progress of the tournament, the director reserves the right to change
the tournament format in order to achieve the maximum number of games played or
to declare an order of finish. If the tournament is unable to finish
during the double elimination portion, the following will be used to determine
the final order of teams:
1) All undefeated teams still in the Winners’ Bracket are
ordered first, using the following:
a)
Least
average runs allowed per game played in double or single elimination
b)
Highest
average runs scored per game played in double or single elimination
c)
Coin toss
2) Next, teams in the same spot in the Losers Bracket are
ordered by the following:
a)
Head-to-head
(this is always used first when only two teams are in the same spot)
b)
The team
which advanced furthest right in the Winners’ Bracket before losing
c)
Won-loss
record
d)
Least
average runs allowed per game played in double or single elimination
e)
Highest
average runs scored per game played in double or single elimination
f)
Coin toss
Notes: A forfeit will count as a win, but will not count toward computing the least runs allowed or most runs scored tiebreakers.