A. Facilities

1. Park arrangements including costs for rental, the host team affords as well as game balls. Host and visiting teams are responsible for communicating on park locations, game times and teams involved.
2. Facilities must be properly maintained every second game and have fences, covered dugouts and proper distances marked out. Diamonds fenced at ladies’ distance is a goal for all games, especially for play-offs and championships. Other requirements include a concession, washrooms, and good playing field conditions.                                
3. Visiting team is responsible for its travel expenses (transportation, accommodations, and meals)
4. Labour Day Series and Championship tournament facility costs will be afforded each by the host team, which in turn has the opportunity to charge admission and run a concession to recover costs. Umpire costs will be invoiced equitably by the League.

B. Eligibility

1. Athletes reported on the official team roster must be students of the institution carrying a 60% class load (3 out of 4 classes).      
2. The final date for adding players is September 15, 2007. A copy of the final roster must be received by the League Convenor on or before September 19, 2008. AIWFA Team and Roster Form is the only acceptable submission of registration to the League Convenor.                                    
3. Players are eligible to compete for the intercollegiate team for 5 years while attending school. Red shirt members are allowed 1 extra year of eligibility.                                                                                
4. A maximum of 20 players is allowed on a team. Where there is an injury situation the head coach must apply to the League Convenor to add another player to the roster.                                                        
5. A player has to appear on four game sheets to be eligible to dress for playoff games.
6. Minimum Grade Point Average for eligibility to be a member of a team is 2.00.
7. Requests for eligibility rulings and appeals will be directed to the League Convenor who will make a judgement in consultation with a committee of at least three.
8. The League Convenor and Committee will consult the ACAC or Canada West Operating Rules (Section 5) for advice or back-up on rulings.

C. Umpires 
     1.    The two-umpire system will be used and when possible the three-umpire        system will be used.
2.    If there is only one umpire available, before a given game can be played the participating teams must agree to play the game.
     3.    Umpires must be Softball Canada carded and should be top rated based       on rating by the Umpire-in-Chief for Alberta (Grant Hood). The Umpires    Liaison (Daryl Helmer)) will hold a list of appropriate umpires in      consultation with the Umpire-in-Chief.
     4.   Where umpire travel costs are required they will be afforded out of the
           LeagueTreasury, a part of umpire fees paid by teams.
     5.   Umpires are not insured to umpire forfeited games. Therefore, they
           umpire at own risk and teams’ risk.

D. Affiliation and Insurance
All teams must be affiliated with Softball Alberta ($100) for the purposes of insurance and liability protection. This must occur prior to any team                  practises.

E. Uniforms
     1.    All parts must be matching for the members of the team and numbered           (minimum 6" height).
     2.    Sponsor logos must not be on the uniform, warm-up clothing excepted.

F. Equipment  
     1.    The "Double Base" must be used.
     2.    The official softball used for League and Championship play will be the Worth Red Dot Fastpitch Hot Seam (Optic) (PX2RYLC) 0.47 12” raiased seam softball including playoffs (Championships).
     3.    Each team supplies 2 new balls or 1 new and 1 good used ball (at the             umpires' discretion) per game.
     4.    All equipment must conform to Softball Canada standards.

G. Games
     1.    The aim is to achieve completion of 7 innings but not to exceed 2 hours in      time with the exception of ties. Hence, no new innings should begin after 1          hour and 45 minutes has expired. After 7 innings a tie will be broken using         the international tiebreaker rule commencing in the 8th inning. This applies
           in playoffs similarly.
     2.    The pitching distance is 43 feet.
     3.    All other rules shall conform to the current Softball Canada Rulebook.
     4.    Rainout games are scheduled by arrangement between the teams involved. If the game(s) cannot be made up then the final score is 0-0 and the standings are not affected.                                                             
     5.    Batters must keep one foot in the batter’s box between pitches during a       
           turn at bat.
6.    A Default occurs when a team does not show up for a game or cancel 48 hours in advance of the game. The result is a $100 fine levied against the team in question and payable through league fees for next year.
7.   A Forfeited game occurs, (a) as per Softball Canada rules or, (b) where
a league game postponed in advance by one team is not played before the league schedule is completed. In this case the opposing team must have been prepared to play the game and will be awarded a win in the standings by a 7-0 score until the game is played or if it is not played.                
     8.   Mercy rule: The mercy rule will be in effect as per Softball Canada        
           Rules. This is in effect for both league and playoff games.
     9.   Host Team: The team bears responsibility for facilities, umpires, game
           times, scorekeeping, overall communication and hospitality toward visiting
           teams. See further Section N.

H.  Scorekeeping and Statistics

1. 4-part line-up cards will be used.
2. All teams must ensure there is an official scorekeeper for each game in league play. The score book used by Softball Alberta for Provincial Championships will be the official score book for all League and Championship games.
3. It is recommended that each team, and especially the hosting team ensure there are scorekeepers for home games and when hosting a mini-tournament.
4. Winning teams are responsible to email game scores to the League Office (trottiel@shaw.ca) within 24 hours of games played (or after a weekend series). Copies of the score sheets must then be retained by each coach pending a request for copies from the League Office.

I.  Determination of Standings
Wins and Losses shall be recorded. But, a percentage will be calculated based on the number of wins out of the number of games played to determine positions in the standings.

J. League Schedule 2007

1. League (Conference) play commences on Labour Day weekend, September 1-3, 2007 with a tournament series bringing all teams to one central location.                                                                  
2. The League will operate as one division in 2007.

       a. It is planned that each team will compete in @20 games, Championship     Tournament games excepted.
       b. Teams will compete in mini-tournaments every weekend. On each   weekend there will be games at no more than two different centres. In    some cases teams will compete over two days, and in other cases on one       day of a weekend. The maximum games scheduled on one day should be      3 and 5 for the weekend.

1. Location of the Labour Day series will be Lede Park in Leduc, hosted by University of Alberta.
2. Exhibition games do not count for league standings.
3. Home teams are determined in scheduling with an attempt to achieve a balanced schedule.
4. Coaches will submit votes for League All-stars from their teams prior to October 3, 2008, awards to be made at League Championships on October 18-18, 2008.

**Note: The League Schedule will be completed on the October 4-5 weekend. Any make-up games can be played before October 12. However, note that up to 4 of our teams are involved in the Canadian Collegiate Championships on Thanksgiving weekend October 11-13 in Calgary (Rotary Park).                        

K. Playoffs and Championships

1. Championships are scheduled for October 18-19, 2008. Location will be Strathmore Agricultural Society Softball Complex hosted by the Association/League. Determination of Championships location and any bids to host occur at the Annual Association and League meeting.  
2. Seeding for Championship round robin play will be based on league play among teams.
3. Championship play features a round robin format with a single knockout championship final between the top 4 teams. All teams are entered in the League Championships for 2008 in one of two divisions.            
4. Home team in all games will be the higher seeded team based on league standings.  Bench location is not affected.
5. Select Athletes recognition at the Championship event: Each coach will submit a player of the game from his team during the round robin and championship events.
6. Awards will be presented to the Champions, 2nd place and 3rd place as well as Select Athletes

L. Labour Day Series and Championship Tournament Hosting
Hosting: A bid approach may be used – Institutions (teams) desiring to host either event are requested to put together a bid package and submit at the Annual League meeting. Otherwise AIWFA may take charge of hosting and location.

M. League Fees and Umpire Fees
League Fees and Umpire Fees for 2008 are combined as one fee per team payable by August 1, 2008. Teams will not be allowed to play league games before League Fees are paid.

N. Hosting Responsibilities
            The Host Team(s) refers to the team(s) and location for hosting other teams coming from out-of-town or across town. Host team responsibilities include facilities, communication with umpires, other teams and the League Convenor regarding changes (game time, location and date). The Host must supply extra softballs in the event someone forgets to bring softballs as per the rules. The Host must ensure there are official scorekeepers for each game whether they come with one of the other teams or you supply them. Scorekeepers must be located away from either team (centrally) and accessible to umpires.

O. AIWFA and League Meetings
The Annual Association and League Planning Meeting for 2008 will be held on Saturday, November 8, 2008 (tentatively) in Calgary. All teams must be represented.

P. Coaches and Athletes

1. Must be in good standing with Softball Alberta and Softball Canada.
2. Players and coaches cannot be involved with AIWFA while on suspension from a provincial association and, therefore Softball Canada and any of its affiliate organizations. All AIWFA teams are affiliated with Softball Alberta or Softball Saskatchewan (University of Regina).