RESOURCES

PART THREE – CANADIAN SLO-PITCH CHAMPIONSHIPS

ARTICLE 1 – ORGANIZATION AND PARTICIPATION

1.1 Introduction

Softball Canada will organize and supervise Canadian Championships in categories determined by the Annual General Meeting provided that a host organization can be found to execute the championship tournament.
Provincial/territorial associations in good standing with dues paid are eligible to send teams to a Canadian Championship.
Provincial/territorial associations must confirm their participation in the Canadian Championships by May 1 of the year of the event and must submit the registration fee for each registered team no later than June 30th.
The start date for the Men’s and Women's Championship would be Sunday concluding on Saturday for a 7 day event.

1.2 Participants

a) Team Representation

i) All Canadian Championships will be filled to a maximum of twenty-four (24) teams, subject to hosting capacity. In the event that more than twenty four (24) teams, or greater than the host’s capacity, indicate their intent to participate, then entry will be awarded as follows:

a) Initially to each province/territory in good standing, a host team and the previous year’s champion.

b) On a pro–rata system based upon provincial/territorial registrations in the respective categories.

c) No province/territory be allowed more than 4 teams including the Host Team.

d) The defending champion does not count as one of the 4 provincial/territorial teams.

ii) A host city team is eligible providing the team originates in the city or town in which the championship is held. Said team must have participated (as a team) in the provincial/territorial competition played to determine the provincial/territorial representative to the Canadian Championship.

iii) If there is more than one team eligible to represent the host committee, the applicable provincial/territorial softball association shall determine the manner in which the host committee team is to be decided.

iv) When a Canadian Championship is hosted by a province/territory who has been given all-star status in the category presented, this hosting province/territory may participate in the Canadian Championship with two (2) all-star teams.

v) In all Canadian Championship categories, the previous year’s champions are eligible to attend their respective Canadian Championship, subject to the following considerations:

a) They are responsible for all of their own expenses.

b) At least seven (7) players from the championship roster are still on the current roster and in attendance. If the previous champion does not have seven (7) returning players, the provincial/territorial body can declare their Provincial Champion (or top seeded team) as a Defending Champion.

c) They follow Softball Canada’s team and player registration procedures.

d) They must compete in the Provincial/Territorial Competition which determines representation to the Canadian Championships for the current year. Applicable to Provincial/Territorial Associations without All–Star status.

b) Managers and Coaches

Managers and coaches are eligible to participate in Canadian Championships under the following provisions:

i) They are signed to the current Softball Canada or Provincial/Territorial Team Registration Certificate of their team.

ii) Managers and coaches may not participate as players unless they are so registered.

c) Playing Rosters

i) Roster Size

Team roster sizes will be as follows:

Players	Minimum	Maximum
Master Men & Co-Ed	12	20
Men's	12	17
Women's	12	20
Coaches and Managers	1	5

ii) Provinces/Territories will have their own criteria to qualify for the Canadian Championships.

iii) Affiliated Team Representatives

When no designation occurs, representatives must use their affiliated rosters.

iv) Player Additions

A provincial/territorial team representative may add up to three (3) players providing that:

a) Players have signed a Softball Canada Team Registration Form by the registration date with the province/territory seeking to pick them up.

b) Approval to pick up these players is received from their provincial/territorial association.

c) The players are eligible for Canadian Championship play.

d) The pick–ups are made by the end of the coaches/managers meeting at the Canadian Championship and have Provincial/Territorial written approval.

e) Any team from the Atlantic provinces attending the Canadian Slo-Pitch Championship can pick up to five (5) players from any of the Atlantic provinces with the release of the player’s home province. All releases must be handled as per Softball Canada guidelines.

f) Any team from Manitoba or Saskatchewan attending the Canadian Slo-Pitch Championships can pick up to five (5) players from each other’s Province with the release of the player’s home province. All releases must be handled as per the Softball Canada Guidelines.

g) The above additions are to include any current border agreements that provinces share.

v) Coaches Additions

A provincial/territorial representative may add a coach or manager providing that:

a) Coaches/managers must have signed a Softball Canada Team Registration Form by the official registration date within the province/territory seeking to pick them up.

b) Approval to pick up these coaches is received from their provincial/territorial associations.

c) The coaches are eligible for Canadian Championship play.

d) The pick–ups are made by the end of the coaches/managers meeting at the Canadian Championship and have Provincial/Territorial written approval.

e) The total number of signed coaches and managers does not exceed five (5).

1.3 Penalties for Non–Participation and Late Entry

A province/territory withdrawing a team(s) from a Canadian Championship before May 1st will forfeit their registration fee to Softball Canada.
A province/territory withdrawing a team(s) after the May 1st deadline will forfeit their registration fee and will be fined an amount equal to $1000.00. Any withdrawal after July 15th will result in a fine of $2000.00. This penalty will be equally divided between Softball Canada and the Host.
A province/territory registering a team after the May 1st deadline will be assessed a late fee of $500.00 to be paid immediately upon not
Failure of a team to appear in any Canadian Championship game shall result in that team being suspended for the remainder of the championship and will be assessed a $1,000.00 fine and disciplinary action reviewed by the Directors of Softball Canada.

ARTICLE 2 – TOURNAMENT PROCEDURES

2.1 Tournament Format

a) Qualifying Round

i) If 6 or less teams are entered, a double round robin format will be used; or if a single round robin format is used, the starting date will be Wednesday.

ii) If 11 or less teams are entered, a single round robin will be played involving all teams.

iii) If 12 or more teams are entered, then teams will play a modified round robin of ten (10) games per team.

iv) If 18 or more teams are entered, teams will be split into 2 pools and each will play teams within their pool. The top 2 teams from each pool will advance to the Championship Round with double life and the next 2 will have single life.

b) Championship Round

In championships with 7, 8 or 9 teams, 6 teams will play in the championship round. The top 4 teams will have 2 “lives” and the next 2 teams will have a single “life”. In championships with 10 or more teams, 8 teams will play in the championship round. The top 4 teams will have 2 “lives” and the next 4 teams will have a single “life”.

c) Ranking in the Qualifying Round

Final standings in the qualifying round shall be established using the following criteria and will revert back to i) after each criterion if the tie is broken.

i) Won/Lost records. If still tied, then:

ii) Winners of games between tied teams NOTE: In order to use this criteria, all subject tied teams must have played each other and one team must have defeated all the teams they are tied with to be ranked higher. If still
tied, then:

iii) Difference PLUS or MINUS of total runs scored, with a limit of 15 PLUS or MINUS per game allowed.

iv) The least (fewest) amount of runs scored against in all games will be used. If still tied, then:

v) The total runs scored in all games will be used. If still tied, then:

vi) Positions will be settled by a coin toss.

d) Tie Breaking

The above criteria ranking establishes the standing in the qualifying round. However, if a tie exists for the last playoff position or where it represents the difference between 1 or 2 “lives”, tiebreaker game(s) will be played.

2.2 Model Draws

a) Championship Round.

2.3 Scheduling

a) In the qualifying round, the host and provincial team shall be allowed a daily prime time game.

b) One and a half hours will be scheduled between game starts.

c) Softball Canada is responsible for rescheduling games if necessary.

d) No protests may be made on the rescheduling of games.

2.4 Unfinished Championships

If for any reason, any Canadian Championship cannot be finished, the following formula shall be applied to determine final standings and medal awards:

NOTE: the team that is awarded the gold medal will be eligible to compete next year as the Defending Champion providing all criteria of a defending champion is met.

If the qualifying round cannot be completed, medals will be awarded on the basis of the standings at that time.
If the qualifying round is completed and no games played in the double life section of the championship round, the qualifying round standings shall be used to award medals.
If games 1 and 2 of the championship round have been played, the “A” side finalists shall receive the gold and silver medals, with the gold going to the team finishing higher in the qualifying round. The bronze medal shall go to whichever of the remaining “B” side teams finished highest in the qualifying round.
If after game 7 (game 5 in six team playoff), the “A” side final, and before game 9 (game 7 in six team playoff), the winner of game 7 (game 5 in six team playoff) shall receive the gold medal and the loser the silver medal. The bronze medal shall go to whichever of the remaining “B” side teams finished higher in the qualifying round.
If after game 9 (game 7 in six team playoff), the gold medal will go to the winner of game 7 (game 5 in six team playoff), the silver medal to the winner of game 9 (game 7 in six team playoff), and the bronze medal to the loser of game 9 (game 7 in six team playoff).

2.5 Awards

a) A team trophy will be awarded to the winning team of any Canadian Championship tournament.

b) A team trophy will be awarded to the runner–up in all Canadian Championships.

c) When medals are awarded (for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners), no more than 22 will be provided.

d) Except for the “Top Player of the Championship Round”, all individual awards are based on the qualifying round(s).

i) Recipients of these awards can be announced prior to the start of the championship round.

ii) These awards should be presented between games C1 and C2 of the Championship Round as time permits.

e) In order for players to qualify for the final standings at bat or on the mound, the following will apply:

At bat: A player must have at least 2.5 plate appearances times the number of games the team has played, rounded to the highest whole number.

2.6 Official Softball

The official softball to be used at all Canadian Championships shall be determined by the Directors of Softball Canada.
The official and exclusive softball for the Men’s, Master Men’s 40+ and Co–Ed Canadian Championships will be the Hot Dot SBC12HDSY (COR .52).
The official and exclusive softball for the Women’s Canadian Championship will be the Rawlings 11” Hot Dot SBC11HDSY or Rawlings Super Green Dot YSX11RSC3

2.7 Dress and Equipment

a) Uniforms

i) All players participating in a Canadian Championship must play in identical uniforms.

The Softball Canada representative, in consultation with the tournament Umpire–in–Chief, shall judge the acceptability of uniforms. Players unacceptably uniformed will be dealt with as follows:

a) If possible, a player will be warned before a game appearance.

b) A player participating in a game will be instructed to immediately correct the uniform deficiency.

c) A player failing to correct the deficiency will be ejected from the game.

ii) Coaches appearing on the field must wear either uniforms identical to the players or sweat suits or slacks as near to the team colours as possible.

If, in the judgement of the Softball Canada official representative, the coach or manager’s uniform is not to the representative’s satisfaction, this coach or manager shall not be permitted to coach.

iii) All players appearing on a game sheet must wear a uniform number on the back of their uniform shirt/sweater. NO number may be repeated.

iv) At all Slo-Pitch Canadian Championships, each team must have at least two sets of uniform tops (one dark coloured and one light coloured). The home team will wear their dark coloured uniform. The away team will wear their light coloured uniform. If a team fails to wear the proper uniform colour, they will lose the game.

v) In Women’s, Co–Ed and Masters Slo–Pitch categories, players may mix long and short pants in their uniforms provided that they are the team colour.

b) Double Base

The Double Base (Safe–base TM system) will be used at first base for all Canadian Championships.

c) Bats

NOTE – the following applies only if bats are not supplied by Softball Canada:

i) In addition to meeting the criteria as set out in SP-Rule 3 Equipment, section 1, all bats shall be subject to inspection and approval prior to their use in the Canadian Championship tournament.

a) Any bat entering the field of play area, which includes the dugout/bench areas, any warm-up areas inside and outside the field, shall be subject to inspection and approval. If a bat is within the above identified area and has not been submitted for inspection, the Coach of the team will be ejected for that game.

b) If a bat initially passes the compression test prior to the start of the championship then fails later during the championship, the bat’s user/owner will be asked to allow it to be sent to the manufacturer for further testing. The player may either agree to the testing or refuse to submit the selected bat. If they refuse to allow the bat to be submitted for further testing or does not present the bat for testing, they are immediately suspended for two (2) years of play with Softball Canada and provincial/territorial play. If the bat is found to be tampered with, that player is immediately suspended for two (2) years of play with Softball Canada and provincial/territorial play. If the bat is not tampered with but just became too broken in, every effort will be made to have the manufacturer replace the confiscated bat with the current model available.

ii) Inspection and approval procedures, as well as the means that will be used to identify bats that have passed inspection, to be used at a Canadian Championship tournament will be at the discretion of the Softball Canada representative and the tournament Umpire-in Chief.

iii) Inspection methods may include any visual inspection and/or inspection by any mechanical means that would not risk damage to the bat.

iv) Inspection and approval procedures, if they are to be used at a Canadian Championship, will be made known to all coaches of participating teams no later than 72 hours prior to the commencement of the tournament.

v) Any bat not presented for inspection/approval will be considered to be illegal equipment for the purposes of the Canadian Championship tournament.

vi) Any player using a bat that was not inspected or has failed inspection and/or approval will be ejected for the remainder of the tournament.

vii) Teams shall have the right to have one (1) team representative present at the time of inspection of the bats submitted for inspection/approval.

viii) There will be no appeal available for any bat that has failed inspection.

ix) Teams will be allowed to have up to 34 bats tested free of charge. Any additional bat beyond 34 will have a charge of $5 per bat levied on the team.

All other rules pertaining to illegal equipment shall apply.

d) Facemasks and head protection

Facemasks and head protection must be worn by all pitchers.

ARTICLE 3 – GAME PROCEDURES

3.1 The Game

a) Home Team

In the Qualifying Round, home team will be determined by a coin toss at the Coaches/Managers meeting prior to the start of the championship or one hour prior to the start of each game. In the Championship Round, home team will be determined by the round robin standing, the higher placing team will have a choice of inning. If two divisions, the highest placed team from either division will have choice of inning. If teams are ranked equal, a coin toss will determine the higher placing team.

NOTE: Teams not represented at the Coaches/Managers meeting will not have choice of inning.

Exception: In the Championship Game, the undefeated team in the Championship Round will have choice of inning (i.e., home or away). If there is an “if” game, home team will be determined by a coin toss.

b) Game Length

In all Canadian Championship games, 7 innings will constitute a legal game, except if tied after 7 innings, it must be continued until a winner is declared.

EXCEPTION: Softball Canada Canadian Championship Supervisors can shorten games in the qualifying and championship round to 5 innings where weather threatens the completion of the Championship. The Championship game will be 7 innings except in the case where Playing Rule 1.2.1 c) applies.

c) Game Interruptions

If for any reason a Canadian Championship game is interrupted prior to the completion of an official game, the game shall resume at the exact point in which it left off. (Includes number of outs, count on batter, etc.)

d) Run Ahead Rule

i) In all categories, games will end after 2½ innings of play if the home team is winning by 25 or more runs or 3 complete innings of play if the visiting team is winning by 25 or more runs.

ii) In all categories, games will end after 3½ innings of play if the home team is winning by 20 or more runs or 4 complete innings of play if the visiting team is winning by 20 or more runs.

iii) In all categories, games will end after 4½ innings of play if the home team is winning by 15 or more runs or 5 complete innings of play if the visiting team is winning by 15 or more runs.

e) Tie Breaking

i) The tie breaking procedure used in extra inning games will be applied in all Canadian Championship games except the final championship game(s) (i.e., Games 10 and 11). See Slo-Pitch Rule 1.2.4 of the Softball Canada Official Rule Book.

ii) The procedure will come into effect after 7 innings have been played.

f) Walk-off Home Run

On any fair-batted ball hit over the fence (touched or untouched) for a home run, the batter and all runners are credited with a score. The batter and any runners do not run the bases but go directly to their team area.

g) The batter begins their at bat with a count of 1 ball, 1 strike.

h) Any legal pitch not swung at and lands on the strike mat (2 feet (0.61 m) x 3 feet (0.91 m)) shall be a strike. The strike mat shall be a 2’(0.61m) x 3’(0.91m) rubber mat with a”v” shaped cutout 17” across the top and 12” on the other two sides centered 3½” from the edges of the mat. This mat shall be placed behind the plate so the “v” cutout fits around the back point of the plate.

3.2 Home Run Rule Limit

A limitation shall be applied to the number of over the fence home runs that may be credited to each team in a game. The rule shall be applied as follows:

a) A batter hitting an over the fence home run in excess of the limit shall be ruled out. The ball is dead, no runs will be scored and all runners must return to the base occupied at the time of the pitch.

b) If an over the fence home run is hit but the batter-runner misses a base or fails to score, the home run will be counted in the team total.

c) Any ball that goes over the fence in fair territory after being touched by a defensive player shall be a four base award and not considered a home run.

d) The per team per game home run limit shall be:

i) Men, Master Men and Women — 7

ii) Co-Ed — 5

3.3 Protests

a) The Protest Committee for all Canadian Championships shall consist of three (3) people selected by the Softball Canada Supervisor as outlined below:

i) the Softball Canada Supervisor or Assistant Supervisor.

ii) the Umpire-In-Chief or Deputy Umpire-In-Chief.

iii) an individual appointed by the Softball Canada Supervisor.

b) All game play protests must be made at the time of the play in question (i.e., before the next pitch). The home plate umpire must announce the outcome of the protest.

c) There shall be no protests on:

i) the rescheduling of games

ii) the contents of a line–up card

d) Upon arrival of the Protest Committee, the protesting team will supply the committee with the protest fee of $250.00 (cash or certified cheque). Failure to do this will nullify the protest and the game shall continue immediately. If the protest is upheld, the fee will be returned after the game.

3.4 Smoking and/or Liquor Prohibitions

a) No smoking, vaping, liquor and/or other recreational impairment inducing substances shall be allowed within 100 feet of the benches or on the playing field area.

b) The offending person(s) will be given one warning and the team manager shall be advised that the warning has been given. A second incident will lead to the ejection from the game.

3.5 Discipline

If there is an incident on the field of play including foul territory that causes the players on the bench to join into the altercation, then all involved players will be ejected immediately from the game and also be given a minimum of 3 games suspension. The Disciplinary Committee can also add to the suspension if the incident is deemed as a major infraction. If a second offence occurs, it will result in the removal of that player or Coach from the balance of the Championship.