Wiffleball Tournament - University of Vermont Recreation

Wiffleball Tournament

The rules governing this intramural sport activity are derived from rules used by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA), National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Softball Rules, and rules unique to the UVM Intramural Sports Program. This rules sheet is not meant to be all-inclusive; rather it is a summary of the more common rules, policies, and procedures used by the Intramural Sports Program. Important policy information can be found in the Intramural Sports Handbook. All team captains and players are responsible for reading this document and understanding the rules, policies, and procedures prior to participating in this activity.

General/Eligibility

See the Intramural Sports Handbook for complete listing of eligibility.

Intramural Team Participation: Individuals may only play on one team in the Wiffleball tournament. Teams may only have up to 2 club baseball/softball players on their roster.

Identification: All players MUST present a UVM Cat Card to the IMS Supervisor prior to each game. Players who do not have their Cat Card will be subject to the terms of the Campus Recreation ID Policy.

Team Rosters: The official team roster consists only of those individuals who are eligible and who have signed the official online IMLeagues roster/waiver. Individuals must be listed on the official online IMLeagues roster, the Friday before the start of the tournament. Confirming that all players are listed on the official online IMLeagues roster is the responsibility of the Team Captain.

Communication with IMS Staff: All players are permitted to speak with officials and/or IMS staff regarding rule enforcements or to ask a clarifying question. Judgement calls will not be up for debate. These interactions must be respectful and should come in the form of a question. Disrespectful statements, continual badgering, or boisterous gestures may be considered un-sportsmanlike conduct and could result in a warning or ejection. Team captains are encouraged to demonstrate positive sportsmanship and be leaders of the team. All protest must come from the team captain or the acting captain of that contest.

Players and Substitutions

Line-ups include up to five (5) players with a minimum number of three (3) individuals required to start a game.
Teams may play a maximum of 4 players in the field. (1 pitcher and 3 fielders)
This is an OPEN league and teams may include any number of genders on their roster.
The batting order will remain the same for each inning unless there is an injury.
Each team is responsible for checking in with the supervisor and before each game so they may obtain the line-up.

Equipment

Game Jerseys: Game Jerseys are provided by the IMS program. All jerseys will have numbers on them and each person will be required to record their name and number with the score keeper for their game at each scheduled match. The team captain/team representative must leave their ID with the Intramural Sports Supervisor as they are responsible for all jerseys. The player’s ID will be returned upon return of all jerseys. Replacement costs for any equipment missing will be billed to the individual’s Campus Recreation account. If your team would like to purchase “team jerseys” the intramural sports office encourages you to do so but you must make sure that these jerseys have numbers and are all the same color.

Sneakers or other non-marking athletic shoes are permitted. Cleats that do not have metal studs may also be worn on the athletic turf. METAL CLEATS, SANDALS, & OPEN TOED SHOES ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Shoes must be worn. If there are any questions concerning footwear, please talk with the supervisor.
All jewelry must be removed. This includes, but is not limited to necklaces, earrings, newly pierced earrings, facial piercings, rings, bracelets, and watches. Individuals will not be allowed to tape over any jewelry item. If you cannot remove the item then you CANNOT play.

Other Equipment:
Wiffleballs and bats will be provided. You may NOT use your own wiffleballs or bats.

The Game and Game Duration
Each game will last 6 innings or 30-minute time limit. Any inning that is started before the 30-minute time limit will be completed. An ‘at bat’ will end when three (3) outs have been recorded. There is NO run limit per inning.

Mercy Rule:
After four (4) complete innings (or 3 ½ if the home team leads), if a team is ahead by 15 or more runs, the game will be called.

Field/Strike Zone:
The field is broken into 4 zones as noted below. A ball that lands safely in one of these zones signifies the bases that hit equates to. Wherever the ball lands first will signify the amount of bases the hitter receives. (i.e. a ball that lands safely in zone 2 but rolls into zone 3 will be considered 2 bases for the batter.

A strike zone will be furnished by the IM Sports Department: Any ball that legally hits any part of the highlighted “strike zone” will be a “strike”.

The pitching mound will be 42 ft from home plate.

Pitching

Pitchers must pitch to at least 1 batter before being swapped out. Once a pitcher is removed, they may not pitch for the remainder of the game.
A legal pitch may have any type of spin or rise to the ball.
There will be no “speed” balls. All pitches must adhere to a standard speed limit. Any pitch deemed to be too fast by the IMS supervisor will result in a warning to the pitcher, a second warning will result in removal of that pitcher from that position. (In the case that all other players have pitched once in that game, a team must use their first pitcher for the remainder of the game)
- If a ball is hit off a “speed” ball, the offense retains the right to take the result of the play or redo the pitch.

Batting

Batters will receive a standard baseball/softball count. (4 balls = walk ; 3 strikes = out)
Batting order: A team must keep the same batting order for the duration of the game.
Bunting results in an OUT.
Single = any ground ball that gets past the fielders or lands safely in the 1^st zone.
Double = any ball that lands in the 2^nd zone on the fly or line drive
Triple = any ball that lands in the 3^rd zone or hits the bottom divider on the fly or line drive
Home Run = any ball that hits the outfield divider above the green (i.e., has not hit the ground, ceiling, or lights before hitting the divider).
There are no runners – all baserunners will be “ghosts”

Fielding

Defensive positioning is restricted by the following:

All fielders including the pitcher must stay behind zone 1 until the ball is hit. A team may only have 2 fielders (including the pitcher) in zone 1.

Getting players out:

The batter is out in situations similar to baseball/softball (strike outs, fly outs, etc.).
- Strike out
- Ball is caught in the air in any zone.
- Ball is fielded “cleanly” on the ground by a fielder prior to stopping its motion or doing the following:
  1. Passing a fielder in line with the ball (pitcher does not count)
  2. Deflects off the pitcher or another fielder (error)
- Any ball that is batted and hits the ceiling, the lights or “up” divider will result in an automatic out.
- **Double Play: if there is a force at any base, and the fielder/pitcher plays the ball cleanly, they have 3 seconds or 1 fluid motion to throw from where they stand and try to hit a “strike” on the strike zone for the double play.

Scoring/Baserunning

All baserunners are “ghost-runners”
A batter earns 1 base on a single, 2 bases on a double, 3 bases on a triple.
- A runner on 1^st base advances to 2^nd base on a single, 3^rd base on a double, scores on a triple or homerun
- A runner on 2^nd base advances to 3^rd base on a single, scores on a double, triple or home-run.
- A runner on 3^rd base scores on any hit

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