Tournament Rules

Tournament Format

Teams competing in tournaments 9U - 12U will be subject to a 6 inning or 1 hour and 45 minute time limit.
Teams competing in tournaments 13U - 18U will be subject to a 7 inning or 2 hour time limit (high school rules).
Teams advancing to the Championship game will not be subject to any restraints, weather permitting.
Teams advancing to championship rounds are based on seeding within pool and then against the field. (Example: If the top 8 teams advance from 4 pools the #1 seeds will be seeded 1-4 and the #2 seeds will be ranked 5-8 for overall seeding.)
Run Rules: 15 runs after 3 innings of play - 10 runs after 4 innings of play - 8 runs after 5 innings of play.
Championship game will be subject to a 10 run after 5 inning run rule.
Events that are hosted on college fields have tournament details that include "guaranteed games on college field" for the first set of teams that are registered. In order to qualify for your guaranteed game on the college field, teams must submit payment in full no later than one month prior to the start of the event. Teams neglecting to do so may forfeit the right to a guaranteed game on the college field. Guaranteed games are also dependent on weather and event coordinators will typically play the schedule as you see it from day to day in order to keep the event running smoothly. If your game was rained out on Thursday and that was your only game on the college field we apologize but we can not make those games up on the college fields in most cases.

Field Dimensions

Teams 9U - 10U will compete on 46 - 65 dimensions. Rubber cleats.
Teams 11U - 12U will compete on 50 - 70 dimensions. Rubber cleats.
Teams 13U will compete at either 54 - 80 or 60 - 90 dimensions, check tournament details. Metal cleats.
Teams 14U - 18U will compete on 60 - 90 dimensions. Metal cleats allowed.

Pre-Game Timing

Teams should be prepared and ready to play 30 minutes before their scheduled game is set to begin.
Games completed early will result in an early start for the following games, weather permitting.
Teams not available to start with in 10 minutes of their scheduled start time will be subject to a forfeit at that point.
There will be a 15 minute period in between games to allow crews time for field maintenance. We will drag fields after every other game.

Infield

Unless otherwise noted by a Tournament Director, no infield practice will be allowed prior to the start of any game.
Teams will be permitted to take ground/fly balls down the outfield lines prior to the start of their game.
Pastime uses some of the top fields in the country and we will abide by university/complex rules during our events.
Teams will be given 15 minutes prior to the start of all games.
Please remind your players and coaches NOT to use the infield prior to the game.

Home/Visiting Team Designation

Pool Play: Coaches will be subject to a coin flip prior to the start of each game to determine who is Home/Visitor.
Please complete this as soon as possible to provide pitchers an adequate amount of time to get loose.
Championship Rounds: Teams advancing out of pool play will be seeded based on records, higher seed will have choice of home/away.
Seeding will be made available to all advancing coaches as soon as possible to prepare their team.

Pitching Restrictions

Pastime does NOT have a mandatory pitching limit on innings pitched.
HOWEVER, please remember that you are responsible for these young men and the futures they may have.
BE SMART!

In-Game Activities - EH & DH

Teams will be allowed to use a DH and/or an EH during any given game.
Teams must designate who each player is and for what player the DH will be hitting for in the field of play.
Should teams enter the DH in to the field of play, the DH position will be eliminated for the rest of the current game.
The EH may also enter the field of play but MUST remain in their current batting position.
The player for which the EH has replaced in the field will now become the EH but will remain in the same batting position.

Example of an EH entering the field of play:

Steve is batting in the 6th spot of the order, playing as the teams EH. Kyle is batting in the 2nd position and playing 1B. Steve can enter the field of play at 1B for Kyle which will make Kyle in to the new EH. Steve will remain batting in the 6th spot of the order while Kyle will remain batting in the 2nd position of the order.

In-Game Activities - General

Age Restrictions: A players age on May 1 is his/her age for the entire year. Players falling within one month or so of that time frame will be permitted to attend on a case by case basis. No player, regardless of age, will be permitted to attend after having competed in one year of Division I college baseball. Legion sanctioned baseball teams are permitted to compete so long as no player turns 20 by May 1.
Courtesy Runner: Must be used for catcher/pitcher with 2 outs. Optional for catcher/pitcher with less than 2 outs. Must be a player not currently in the game or the player who made the last out should a team not have an extra player on the bench.
Intential Walks: Automatic intentional walk rule may be used.
Slide Rules: Players must try to avoid contact on all players during the game. Pastime leaves it to the umpires discretion if there was intent to cause harm during contact. Players using intent may be subject to ejection from the current game.
Head First Sliding: Players are encouraged to slide FEET first. Though we stress the safety of the players, there are times where head first sliding is acceptable and more comfortable for a player. Please advise your players to BE SMART when sliding head first and avoid sliding head first in to home plate.
Bat Restrictions: No bat restrictions for teams 9U - 14U. Teams 15U - 18U will be subjected to the -3 High School rules on bats. Teams competing in wood bat tournaments have no weight distribution limits. Pastime will have wood bats available for purchase at several wood bat events. COMPOSITE wood bats are legal during all wood bat tournament play!
Tie Breakers: The team with the overall best record will advance. Should there be a tie with two teams having the same record, the team who won the head to had game will win the tie breaker. If teams have not competed against everyone in their pool and there is a tie, your record against LIKE competition will be taken in to account to decide the tie: EXAMPLE: There are 6 teams in a pool for a 4 game guarantee. Teams will NOT play one team in that pool during pool play (same case may come up if weather shortens pool play). Team A may go 3-1 during pool play and not play Team F while Team B goes 3-1 but did not play Team C. Team A went 2-1 against LIKE teams (A, D, E) and beat Team B during head to head play. Team A would be ranked above Team B. If teams have not played each other in pool play and have played all other teams and still have the same record, RUN DIFFERENTIAL will break that tie. If teams are tied in RD then RUNS ALLOWED will be used to break a tie. If teams are tied in both categories then RUNS SCORED will be used to break a tie. If Head-to-Head can be determined at any time during pool play the winner of the head-to-head matchup will advance if overall records are the same through the given amount of games necessary to move on (example: rain shortens pool play from 4 games to 3 games ... a 3-0 team plays a 2-0 team ... the first 3 games of pool play will determine the winner BUT if the 2-0 team beats the 3-0 team head to head in the 2-0's third game they will advance!
Tie Breakers: Overall Record, Head-To-Head, Run Differential, Runs Allowed, Runs Scored, Coin Toss will be the order to determine tie breakers.
IN Game Tie Breakers: Games reaching the 9th inning of play at any time will go in to the West Coast hurry up mode. The last batted out in the previous inning will start on 2nd base! So the start of the 9th inning will begin with a player on 2nd base, regular ball and strike count applies. We will put players on 2nd and 3rd in the 10th inning and load the bases in the 11th. Championship games will NOT be subject to these rules, we will play the game normally.
A team may start a game with 8 players.

Weather & Game Delays

Games will be "complete" with 4 1/2 innings of play during a scheduled 7 inning game and 3 1/2 innings of play during a scheduled 6 inning game (please check the table below for complete games based on time played).
The score of the game will be frozen and picked up at a later time should play be suspended for any reason. The game may be subject to a shorter time limit and/or a shortened game to complete the game for seeding.
Should the first game of the day be under a weather delay/cancellation, that game will take place at a later time during the tournament as we will try to keep all other games on their previously scheduled times. If we have a 2 hour rain delay and you start at 9 AM, we will contact all coaches that were scheduled to play at 9 AM and move those games to a different time period if/when possible. Teams that were scheduled at 11:15 AM should assume the start of their game is on time until otherwise informed.
RAIN OUT GAMES - Please keep in mind that if weather comes in to play during the event we will have no choice but to shorten the number of games played, if we can not make them up, in order to determine which teams will advance. If all teams have completed 3 of the 4 pool play games and weather will not permit the 4th game to be completed for ALL teams we will take the overall records through the first 3 games of pool play. IF a team is competing in their 4th game to get another team a 3rd, the 4th pool play games' results will not count against that team. HEAD TO HEAD will be thrown out of the tie breaker situation if all teams have NOT played each other during pool play. Overall record and run differential will determine advancing teams (if both teams are 2-1 and Team A defeated Team B but Team B has a better run differential, Team B will advance).

Rain Out Policy, Refund Procedures, and General Policies

Weather plays a factor in any out door sporting event, the same holds true for our tournaments. Field crews will do everything, within reason, to complete each game and tournament to the best of their ability with out risking the safety of anyone involved (players, coaches, fans, crews). Should weather play a part in the cancellation of any event, below are Pastime's refund and rain out procedures:

Should weather cause an event to be completely canceled having played no games all teams will receive a full entrance fees credit for a future event to take place within a full calendar year from the end of the canceled events date. This credit value is good for the total of the amount the team has paid and may also be transferred to an approved team should a team need to *sell that credit for any reason. Pastime Tournaments will not be held responsible for financial transactions and Pastime Tournaments must be notified in writing of the participating teams in the credit transfer.
Should an event be canceled by Pastime Tournaments for any reason other than weather, prior to the start of the tournament, teams will receive a refund of 100% of their total tournament entrance fees!
Should just one game be played before an event is canceled, due to weather, a credit will be issued for 50% of the value the participating team paid to play in the event. (Same rules apply with the credit as indicated in point 1 listed above.)
There will be no refunds or credits after the start of each teams' second game.
Should games be canceled during the Championship rounds, trophies and medals will be given to the 2 highest remaining seeds. We will not keep trophies or medals should the Championship rounds be canceled!
The one time gate fees associated with tournament entry are non-refundable and non-transferable unless an event is canceled completely prior to the start of the tournament by Pastime Tournaments. Teams withdrawing from an event after submitting payment will forfeit the value of the one time gate fee.
Teams having completed registration payment are expected to attend that event. Teams withdrawing 2+ months in advance will receive a FULL credit, less the value of the one time gate fee, if the event has not been closed. The position will need to be filled if the event has been closed before the remaining value will be issued. If the position can not be filled the full amount of the entrance fee will be forfeited OR if a discount must be given to a team to fill the position the discounted value will be taken off the value of the credit.
Teams withdrawing within 2 months of the tournament will forfeit all registration fees. There are NO refunds for withdrawal within 2 months of the event.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT AS OF APRIL 1, 2009 THERE WILL BE NO REFUND ON A $125 DEPOSIT TO RESERVE YOUR TEAMS SPOT IN ANY TOURNAMENT. TEAMS/ORGANIZATIONS WITHDRAWING FROM ONE EVENT AND WISHING TO TRANSFER PAYMENT TO ANOTHER EVENT WILL LOSE $125 DURING THE TRANSFER OR WITHDRAWAL. (THE SAME TIME CIRCUMSTANCES LISTED ABOVE WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT.
*Pastime Tournaments will post a news feed for all teams wishing to sell there tournament credit for a future event on the website. This does not guarantee that teams will purchase the credit but we will help with the listing through our site.
Teams registering to attend Pastime Tournaments sanctioned events are required to stay at an approved listed Host Hotel through our website. Please contact a Pastime Tournaments representative for booking information and approved hotel locations.

ALL TOURNAMENT & COMPLEX POLICIES

Many of our tournaments are hosted on college campuses and high school fields. These locations do NOT permit their players, parents, or fans to consume alcoholic beverages or smoke on the premises and we will enforce those policies at our events as well. Please remind your fans and players to respect these policies as improper conduct will be dealt with as needed. Law enforcement officials may be called if necessary. Ejection may take place for the remainder of the game or tournament at the tournament directors discretion. Any and all tournament injuries must be reported to the Tournament Director at the time of the incident. Failure to do so will leave all liability with the team and/or family responsible for the child.

RULE	9U	10U	11U	12U	13-18U
Mound/Base	46/65	46/65	50/70	50/70	60/90
Game Length	6 or (1:45)	6 or (1:45)	6 or (1:45)	6 or (1:45)	7 or (2:00)
Complete Game	3.5 or (1:00)	3.5 or (1:00)	3.5 or (1.00)	3.5 or (1:00)	4.5 or (1:10)
Mercy Rule	* All ages are subject to a 15 after 3, 10 after 4, 8 after 5 innings run rule. There is an 8 run cap on run differential.
Balks	* All ages are subject to balks with no warnings being issued.
Cleats	Rubber	Rubber	Rubber	Rubber	Metal
Bunting	* All ages are permitted to bunt.
Infield Fly	* All ages are subject to the infield fly rule.
Lineup	* All ages may use a DH &/OR EH and may also bat the entire lineup if they wish.
Re-Entry	* Starter may re-enter once, in their original batting position, for all age divisions.
Courtesy Runner	* P & C, mandatory with 2 outs, optional with 1 or fewer outs.
Game Play	* A team may compete with no fewer than 8 players to constitute an official game. Every time the 9th player is set to come to the plate an out will be rewarded. Less than 8 players will constitute a forfeit.
Mound Visits	* The IN-STATE visitation rules will be used during tournament play. Please check with the umpires to clarify the number of visits permitted as each state may have different visitation rules!
Ejections	* Player/Coach/Fan must leave immediately to parking lot (IN CAR), MANDATORY 2nd game suspension and possible tournament expulsion at Tournament Directors discretion. IF at any time a coach, fan, or player makes intentional contact with an umpire that individuals tournament will be over (intent will be determined by the umpire and tournament director).
Sliding	* All ages are permitted to slide head first, at players own risk, and they must avoid contact!
Appeal/Protest	* There are NO appeals on judgment calls. $100 to Tournament Director for all other appeals. Must be made at time of protested ruling.