ALBERTA INTERCOLLEGIATE WOMEN’S FASTBALL
                              ASSOCIATION

LEAGUE RULES/GUIDELINES - 2010
(Revised February 2010)

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. Championship tournament facility costs will be afforded by the League, which in turn has the opportunity to charge admission and run a concession to recover costs. Umpire costs will also be covered by the Association.

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, 2010. A copy of the final roster must be received by the League Convenor on or before September 15, 2010. AIWFA Team and Roster Form is the only acceptable submission of registration to the League Convenor. It must be signed by the Head Coach in response to the statement guaranteeing the eligibility of each player as per B.1. above. A preliminary roster (incomplete) is required by Game 1 of the season to enable our Statistician to commence compiling player statistics.                                                                           
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 if necessary.

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. The Umpires Liaison will hold
a list of appropriate umpires in consultation with the Umpire-in-Chief.                                           
     4.   Where umpire travel costs are required it will be afforded out of the
League Treasury, 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 and the league must be affiliated with Softball Alberta ($100) for the purposes of insurance and liability protection. This must occur prior to any team practises. However, the University of Regina and University of Saskatchewan have separate provisions for insurance.

E. Uniforms:           
     1.    All parts must be matching for the members of the team and numbered           (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)  Cor 0.47 12” Pro Leather

 raised seam softball.
     3.    Each team supplies 2 new balls or 1 new and 1 good used ball (at the             umpires' discretion) per game including playoffs (Championships).
     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 and Championship games as well.
     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.    Cancelled game(s): Host coach in collaboration with the head umpire(s) determines if games are playable for a given day (weekend) concerning weather conditions, etc. and communicates to all concerned as soon as possible including the Convenor. Teams must be prepared to attend the games even if the games may be cancelled after they arrive. After this procedure a team that does not “show up” even if they notify the host will be in a situation of forfeiture for the game(s) concerned. When teams “show up” on game day the cancellation is determined by the umpire.
                                                                                                   
8.   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. (c) Where a team forfeits a game due to insufficient eligible players teams must attempt to play the game(s) with the aid of ineligible players. (d) A team which forfeits any league game may be denied participation in League Championships especially where there is a tie for last playoff position. In the case of being tied for a position between teams in any playoff position the team(s) with a forfeit would lose that position.               

     9.   Mercy rule: The mercy rule will be in effect as per Softball Canada        
           Rules. This is in effect for both league and playoff games.

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. Official scorekeepers are those people who have been trained prior to the first league games. They will be paid a suitable remuneration. They may use scorebooks but are encouraged to use electronic devices (computers, etc.). It is expected that each team, and especially the hosting team ensure there are Official Scorekeepers for all games and when hosting other teams.
3. Each team is expected to supply an Official Scorekeeper (trained) for each of their Home Games (according to the schedule there should be at least 18 home games). This person would generally travel with the team. In the event a team cannot provide an Official Scorekeeper they may borrow one from another team.
4. Winning teams are responsible to email game scores to the League Statistician within 24 hours of games played (or after the weekend).

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 2010

1. League (Conference) play commences on Labour Day weekend, September 4, 2010 with a series in different locations.                                                                                                                                                                
2. The League will operate as one division in 2010.

       a. It is planned that each team will compete in @18 games, Championship     Tournament games excepted.
b. On each weekend generally 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.                                           
Home teams are determined in scheduling with an attempt to achieve a balanced schedule.                                                                                  

1. Exhibition games do not count for league standings.
2. Teams will submit votes for All-stars from their teams prior to September 26, 2010, awards to be made at League Championship on October 2-3, 2010.

K. Playoffs and Championships:

1. Championships are scheduled for October 2-3, 2010. Location will be Rotary Challenger Park in Calgary. Determination of Championship location and any bids to host occur at the Annual Association and League meeting.
2. Seeding for Championship play in 2010 will be based on league play standing. All teams will qualify. Championship play features primarily a round robin format with a single knockout championship final between the top 4 teams. Championship is divided into 2 pools. Pool “A” feature the top 4 teams (league play standings) and Pool “B” features the remaining 5 teams (league play standings). After pool play the top 2 teams from pool “A” will play in a single knockout event against the top 2 teams from pool “B”.                                                                                                       
3. Home team in all games will be the higher seeded team based on league standings.  Bench location is not affected.
4. Awards will be presented to the League Champions, 2nd place and 3rd place, “B” side winners, as well as Select Athletes
5. Select Athletes recognition occurs at the Championship event: Each coach will submit a player of the game from his team during the round robin and championship events, based on leadership and performance.

L. League and Canadian 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 will take charge of hosting and location.

M. League Fees and Umpire Fees
League Fees and Umpire Fees for 2010 are combined as one fee per team payable by August 7, 2010. 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 it’s 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 2009 will be held on Saturday, November 6, 2010  in Calgary.

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 as appropriate.
3. Institutions expect club teams to follow a code of conduct. Though not all institutions require a signed agreement on Team Code of Conduct it is strongly encouraged that all teams endorse the attached Code of Conduct. It has been developed in consultation with the ACAC Operating Rules. This is a recommendation only.