Austin Sports and Social Club :: Co-Ed Softball, Football, Kickball, Soccer,and Volleyball

AUSTIN SSC KICKBALL RULES

ROSTER:
There are no maximum number of players allowed on your roster. Players will not be allowed to participate without signing the Austin SSC roster/waiver form. Players may be added after the registration deadline only if the league has their t-shirt in inventory. New shirts cannot be ordered. Otherwise, the only way to add a new player to your roster after the registration deadline is by first dropping another player. Teams have up until the third week of the season to do so. After that, rosters are frozen. The additional player must obtain the t-shirt from the dropped player in order to play. If a team wishes to add a player only after the registration deadline, this can only be done if the league has the t-shirts in stock.

WAIVERS:
In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers will be e-mailed to all team captains, which need to be printed out, and turned in no later then the first night of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with our staff before participating. An Austin SSC staff member will keep your team waiver at the field, or a new one can be printed out. Players who sign up as individuals, sign the waiver online when they register.

PLAYER RESTRICTIONS:
All Austin SSC participants must be at least 21 years old before the season starts.

Players that have participated in Division 1 sports must be 2 years removed from Division 1 participation if they wish to play in a similar Austin SSC sport.

Austin SSC will have the right to request ID from any player. Any player in the super social league who is determined a social player by the Austin SSC will have their league fee credited towards a future season. If more than one player fits in the category, the Austin SSC has the option to move the team to the social division.

Players may only play for one team and be on one roster, regardless of if multiple divisions are offered. One can play, for example, softball on Tuesday's & softball on Thursday's, but not for two teams in the same day or night. Any player that break this rule will cause both of their teams to forfeit games played on that day.

SPORTSMANSHIP:
We are all adults, and the Austin SSC expects all participants to act like it. Unsportsmanlike behavior may result in that player or team being suspended from participating in all Austin SSC sports. Being ejected from a game carriers a minimum one game suspension.

GAME UNIFORMS:
Austin SSC t-shirts are your team's uniforms. All players must wear their current Austin SSC uniform (past season's uniforms are not permitted) to participate and any player not wearing his/her uniform will be will be sidelined for that game. If this sidelined player will cause the team to forfeit, he/she will be allowed to play in the game provided he/she is on the original roster. Missing or swapped uniform players' names will be taken and if they are not on your roster, a loss will be assessed for that game.

UNIFORM ALTERATIONS:
Names on uniforms, numbers, cut-off sleeves, corporate logos, etc, are permitted, as long as they do not cover any logos originally printed on the shirts.

THE FIELD:
The kickball diamond is a square with equal sides of 60 feet.

The distance from home plate to second base, and from first base to third base is 84 feet 10 1/4 inches.

The center of the pitching area is in the center of the diamond, 42 feet 5 1/8 inches and directly aligned with the first base/third base diagonal. (First/Third Base Diagonal is marked with a dotted line.) There will be a box behind the pitcher’s strip that designates the 'area of control'. This box will measure 9 feet wide by 9 feet deep.

The strike zone extends to 1 foot on either side of home plate, and 1 foot high. There will be a box around the plate (1 foot on all sides) which marks the strike zone. If any part of the ball falls within the zone or hits the line, then it is a strike.

TEAMS:
Teams shall consist of a maximum of 10 players on the field and a minimum of 8 players with at least 4 women on the field at all times. If you don’t have enough women you must play short and will get an automatic out when that position is reached in the batting order. If you play with fewer than 10 players but have at least 4 women you do not have to take an automatic out. One of the players must be catcher.

All players can kick but no more than 2 MEN can kick in a row. Women can re-kick if necessary.

The kicking order cannot change but you can change the fielders as long as you keep 4 women in the field.

Only players who are paid league members may play in a game. You must play in at least one regular season game to play in the playoffs.

All players must be at least 21 years of age and wear their official league-issued shirts to play in a game and receive the drink specials afterwards. AustinSSC shirts must be worn on top of any jackets or sweatshirts. All players must have signed the official AustinSSC waiver form.

The official batting order must be provided to the umpire before the start of the game. The kicking team must keep an official scorecard.

REGULATION GAMES:
Games will last for 7 innings, with the game being official after 5 innings (4 1/2 if the home team leads). When game time has reached fifty minutes, one more full inning will be played. (the game will be shortened if necessary).

Unlike baseball, there are no extra innings; the game can end in a tie. (If there is time remaining and both coaches agree to play extra innings, they may be played.)

Any team that is not ready to take the field within 5 minutes after the scheduled kick off time shall forfeit the match.

There is a limit of nine runs per inning except for the last inning.

If a team leads by ten runs or more after 5 innings the game will be declared over.

PITCHING/CATCHING:
No bouncing of the ball to the kicker higher than one foot (as measured from the bottom of the ball). If the ball is bouncing higher than 1 foot off the ground when it reaches the plate then it is a ball; however, the kicker does have the option of kicking it if he/she wishes.

If the pitch touches the line around the plate, it is a strike.

The pitcher must stay inside the pitching area on the mound until the ball is kicked. If the pitcher crosses outside of the pitching area, a ball will be called. The kicker does have the option of kicking it if he/she so chooses.

No player may advance forward the 1st-3rd base diagonal until the ball is kicked, however anyone can field a bunt.

If a pitcher or fielder makes an out by illegally advancing beyond the 1st-3rd base diagonal, the runner will be declared safe.

The catcher must be positioned at least 3 feet from the kicker and behind the plate until the ball is kicked. The catcher cannot interfere with the kicker.

The count begins at 1 ball, 1 strike.

Pitching must be underhand only.

KICKING:
All kicks must be made by foot.

All kicks must be taken at or behind the home plate or a strike will be called.

If the ball is kicked in front of home plate and the kick is caught ‘out’ by a fielder (or a force out occurs), the kicker is out.

Males must kick the ball past the 1st-3rd baseline…no bunting is allowed. Any kick that does not reach this line will be considered a foul. If the ball is fielded before it reaches this line, it is in play and considered fair.

Females must kick the ball past a line that is 20 feet from the plate. If the ball is fielded before it reaches this line, it is in play and considered fair.

Kickers may not stop the ball with their foot and then kick it.

RUNNERS:
Runners must stay within the base line.

Fielders must stay out of the base line unless they are attempting to tag the runner or catch the kicked ball.

Fielders trying to make an out on base may have their foot on base (except for first), but must lean out of the baseline.

If a fielder attempts to physically obstruct a runner from advancing, the runner may advance as many bases as they would have potentially earned had they been able to run unobstructed. This is a judgment call by the official.

There will be an extra first base placed next to first base. The extra base is for the fielder to tag and an out will be called when the fielder tags this base and not the regular base. The fielder may not interfere in any way with the runner tagging first base.

It is the responsibility of the runner to avoid a collision. Please save yourself and your opponents from injury by paying attention. Ties go to the runner…there’s no need to take out the baseman.

Neither leading off base, nor stealing a base is allowed.

A runner leading off base before the ball is kicked is out.

Hitting a runner with the ball above shoulder level is not allowed and the runner is safe and advances one (1) base except for the following situations:

• If the runner intentionally uses the head to block the ball, and is so called by the official scorer, in which case the runner is out.

• If the runner is ducking, diving or sliding (i.e. attempting to dodge the ball) and is hit in the head because of this is an out. It is the umpire’s judgment.

• If the runner intentionally hits or kicks the ball out of bounds after being tagged out, the ball is dead and all runners must return to their original bases.

The runner may leave base as soon as the ball is touched by a member of the fielding team. (See softball rules for further clarification, if needed.)

All ties will go to the runner.

On an overthrow, all players advance as far as they can get even if the ball is out of bounds.

When two runners are on the same base at the same time, the fielder has the choice of tagging either runner with the ball. The runner who is tagged is out and the other runner is safe and may stay on the base.

FOULS:
A foul counts as a strike even on the third strike.

A foul is:

• Kick landing out of bounds;

• A kick landing in bounds, but traveling out of bounds on its own before reaching first or third base (any ball touching a fielder in fair territory is automatically in play).

• A kick that does not meet the minimum kick requirement (1st-3rd base diagonal for males, 20 foot line for females).

OUTS:
A count of three (3) outs by a team completes the team's half of the inning.

An out is:

• Count of three (3) strikes;

• A runner touched by the ball at ANY time while not on base;

• A runner who is on the same base with another runner and is tagged with the ball;

• Any kicked ball (fair or foul) that is caught;

• A ball tag on a base to which a runner is forced to run;

• A runner leading off base when a ball is kicked.

Hitting the base with the ball does NOT count as an out. The fielder must hit the runner with the ball or maintain control of the ball on the base on a forced run.

BALL IN PLAY:
Once the pitcher has the ball in control and is inside the area of control, the play is over. Play will resume once the next pitch is thrown.

OTHER RULES:
No bottles are allowed in the park, but cans are cool.

Teams that forfeit a game and do not provide notification by email (austinssc@gmail.com) by at least 5pm the day before the game will be charged the forfeit fine. The fine is $60. $40 to the team you forfeited to and $20 to the AustinSSC.

Coaches are responsible for controlling their team. We are adults…please act like it.

Coaches are responsible for keeping track of the batting order, inning and score in their score books. If there is a dispute over the batting order, inning or score, we use the books to make the final decision.

If a rule is not otherwise stated here standard softball rules hold.

There is NO Infield Fly Rule.

There are no errors.

The official game referees/umpires have the final ruling; however, league commissioners or coaches may be consulted concerning the official rules. Game referees may make judgment calls.

Referees cannot be talking on cell phones while reffing.

Some fields will have out of bounds areas. The refs will declare these areas before the start of each game. If the ball enters one of these areas, the ball is dead and play will stop. Extra bases may be awarded depending on the particular field. Check with your field leader for details.

Please support our sponsor bars.

As always, AustinSSC and its sponsors encourage responsible drinking.

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Questions about the league?
Email austinssc@gmail.com