Adult Slowpitch Rules

TOURNAMENT RULES / GUIDELINES

PRACTICE GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP WITH NCS - We take this seriously! (NO STALLING)

SANDBAGGERS BEWARE - We will kick you out if you're not playing in the proper division. Read our Rankings Page and come legal!


Manager/Coach: You are responsible to follow our website, bring a legal team, read our rules and EVENT INFO page in case of changes to the events you have entered.

Make sure the team you created in our playncs.com website has valid email address and cell phone as we also will email and/or text updates from time to time.


Some Tournaments and Tournament Directors require upfront payment, make sure your team shows as confirmed after you have paid, if you are not showing confirmed please contact listed Director ASAP!

DO NOT spend money on flights, hotels rooms and car rentals before paying your ENTRY FEE and confirming you have an official spot in the tournament.

Please check the tournament website EVENT INFO page or with the tournament director of the event you are playing.


FYI - There are certain NCS directors and tournaments that will have special or different rules and awards depending on the region/location and type of tournament.

Please check the tournament website EVENT INFO page or with the tournament director of the event you are playing.

Some of our special events include but are not limited to:

Memorial events, Overnighters , Las Vegas Worlds, BONEYARD BLAST, Dublin Dirty, Toys-4-Tots, etc. Most of these events sell out fast! Get payment in before we are sold out or you may not make it into the tournament.



***  RANKINGS SYSTEM ***

Make sure your team is legal... Just because you are new to NCS doesn't mean you can play in any division you choose. Please use common sense and play in the division that corresponds to your team's skill level.

Read our ranking information here and email us back if you have questions

https://www.playncs.com/slowpitch/rankings 


PRE-TOURNAMENT GUIDELINES 

TEAM REGISTRATION


WHO'S COMING LIST

PAYMENTS


CONFIRMING TEAMS


TEAM NAMES


ROSTERS 


TEAM MATRICES


·         All Players must be able to show a legal photo ID at all times (must be 18 years of age or older). You must have your photo ID on yourself, in your bat bag, or on the park/complex’s property. In some circumstances, we will allow a player to make a run to their car in the parking lot but will not allow any travel or a wait time of over 3 min or so. Rostered names and DOB's must Match ID

·         Driver’s License is what we use for determining Men's or Women's eligibility - If DL states male or nonbinary, player is only allowed to play as a man for our events, If DL states female, player is only allowed to play as a woman for our events etc.


BE PREPARED TO SHOW YOUR ID AT ANY TIME! BE LEGAL FOR THE DIVISION YOU’RE PLAYING IN! WE WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY CHEATING! YOU WILL BE KICKED OUT OF THE EVENT IF YOU’RE CAUGHT! ILLEGAL TEAMS and/or PLAYERS AND TEAMS THAT GET EJECTED FROM OUR TOURNAMENTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ANY TYPE OF REFUND!


·         NO SANDBAGGING/NO CHEATING: If we find out you are only an ASA, NSA, USSSA etc. team and you sandbag into a lower division, we may decide to remove you from our event at any time. PLEASE PLAY IN THE DIVISION EQUAL TO YOUR RANKING IN THE ASSOCIATION YOU PLAY IN REGULARLY. (i.e., if you are a "D" team in ASA, you should be playing "D" in our AWS tournaments. If you feel you cannot compete at the same level, email us for re-classification request)

·         Players may petition for re-class at any time before October 15th:

·         This must be done by filling out our Player Re-class Petition Form


HOW TO CHECK PLAYER RANKINGS

TOURNAMENT WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURES

***SPECIAL NOTE***

In the case of State, Regional, National, NIT, Al Nighters, Toys-4-Tots, and/or World events, brackets may be drawn up to two (2-4) weeks in advance. 

In situations such as these specialty events, team withdrawals must occur prior to entry deadline or completion of bracket whatever comes first. We also may use overflow fields within a reasonable distance to our main field of play.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation by notifying all tournament directors well in advance should your team withdraw from a tournament. 

PLAYING RULES

All teams agree to our rules upon entering our tournaments.


STANDARD GAME TIMES / START OF PLAY / GAME GUARANTEE


STALLING (NEVER ALLOWED)


MOUND VISITS


REGULATION GAME



RUN SPOTTING (We do not run spot or mix divisions at World Events)


In most of our events, we will not combine divisions. If we do combine divisions to get enough to have a competitive tournament and we end up having more than 1 upper-level team, they will play a separate playoff/championship game. If there ends up being just 1 upper-level team in the tournament or 1 team in your division, the said team may not be eligible for championships or awards and can only play in our pool play portion of the event.


·         DETAILS:

·         If only 1 team is entered in your division, you may only be allowed play in the pool play portion of our event.

·         Teams of higher level will spot lower teams runs in pool play - then play only other teams entered in the same division for playoffs/championships -

       If 3 or less rec teams are in a division, you may have to play E teams the entire event and be spotted runs. If we get enough in each division, we will not mix divisions.

·         

TEAM JUMPING


*** Players caught jumping teams will be ejected from the tournament, the game will be forfeited, and the team in question may also be kicked out of tournament! ***


HOMERUNS

Please check tournament Page/Website for specific HR rules for tournament entered.


HR Matrix


RUN / MERCY RULE


TIE-BREAKER RULE (For Seeding Purposes)

Ties will be broken in the following order:

  • Total Record
  • Head to head with only 2 teams tied
  • Run differential (10 runs MAX per game)
  • Runs Allowed
  • Runs scored
  • NCS Points ranking
  • Automated coin flip


(All games that are tied at the end of the time limit or allotted innings in pool play will end in a tie)


Extra Innings / International Tie Breaker Rule

Last batted out starts at 2B / You may use a courtesy runner 

KEEPING SCORE


SHORTHANDED RULES


EXTRA HITTER(s) (E.H.)


COURTESY RUNNERS

COED SPECIFIC RULES 5-5

PITCHING RULES


PITCHER’S LEGAL MOTIONS THAT ARE ALLOWED IN ACTUAL DELIVERY OF THE PITCH


TYPE OF PITCH PERMITTED


BASES


BATTER'S BOX


WALK RULES


BATTED BALL THAT HITS RUNNER ON or OFF THE BASE


"RE-TOUCH" RULE (FOR SAFETY PURPOSES)


BALL THROWN BY A DEFENSIVE PLAYER


PLAYERS HIT WITH LIVE BALLS OUTSIDE THE DUGOUT AREA


ILLEGALLY BATTED BALL


ILLEGALLY CAUGHT BALL


FAKE TAG


FOUL TIP


DUGOUT RULES (Without Covid Restrictions)


POOR SPORTSMANSHIP & CHEATING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED


EJECTION RULE 


FORFEITS


DISPUTES OR PROBLEMS 

 UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

* NCS Directors have the right to suspend any players or teams from play at anytime for abuse or any unsportsmanlike conduct!


INJURED PLAYERS AND SUBSTITUTES


INJURED PLAYERS COMING OUT OF THE GAME


EJECTED PLAYERS COMING OUT OF THE GAME


RE-ENTRY


IMPROPER RE-ENTRY

o    Starter who re-enters a second time.

o    A substitute who re-enters the game.




EQUIPMENT RULES


THE OFFICIAL BALL 


Teams must provide 2 legal balls and give to home plate umpire before each game starts and make sure the umpire has 2 of your balls at all times throughout each game.

Teams please write your team name on all your balls.


ALTERED BALLS (Illegal for NCS play)


BAT GUIDELINES


FOOTWEAR


Protective equipment Policy - (New for 2023)

Pitchers - Must wear a protective helmet not just face mask!. Pitchers are strongly encouraged to also wear full protective gear including shin guards, wrist guards, and chest/heart protection.

No Metal Cleats

 Infielders - Highly recommended to wear the same as a pitcher and encouraged to play deep in the infield.

JEWELRY


ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT


GLOVE RULE

 All players can choose to use first baseman’s mitt at any position


ROSTER PROTESTS 


$150 PER PROTEST - MONEY WILL BE RETURNED IF PROTEST IS UPHELD


ROSTER PROTESTS MUST BE INITIATED/REQUESTED BEFORE THE LAST OUT OF THE 3RD INNING (unless there is proof an illegal player entered after the 3rd inning)

ONLY THE MANAGER OF THE TEAM CAN MAKE A PROTEST and MUST BE STILL IN THE GAME

*Protests and illegal players are not always cut and dry - We will also use common sense when making a protest ruling (As things do fall through the cracks sometimes - Tournament Directors decision will be final) 


THE (3) TYPES OF PROTESTS THAT WE ALLOW:

·         Checking (1) player that you know is ranked higher than the allowable player matrix (i.e., a protest of a “C” player playing illegally in the “E” division. You would point out the player in question. We would ask for their ID and then check the player to see if they are legal or not based on our rules)

·         Checking (4) chip players that you know are above the allowable limit of chip players (i.e., a protest of a team having too many “D” chip players playing in an “E” tournament. You would point out the (4) players in question. We would ask for all their ID’s and then check each of them to see if they were counted as chip players based on our rules)

·         Full roster ID check to see if all players are listed on the roster before the first game (this is NOT an online player ranking protest) (i.e., a protest to prove a player playing in the game is not on the roster that is posted online either publicly or in our back-end at playncs.com. We would pull the roster and ask for all the ID’s for the players on the opposing team to make sure they are all listed on the roster)


RAIN OUTS, ACTS OF GOD, and GLOBAL CRISIS


 (Once a game starts, it is considered a played game)


NCS Awards Details: (Basic events not always exact)

·         With 4 or less teams its winner takes all as long as we have at least 2 teams in your division.

·         1st and 2nd place prizes will be given out with 5 or more teams. 

·         1st-3rd place prizes will be given out with 20 or more teams in your division.

·         1st-4th place prizes will be given out with more than 30 or more teams in your division.


PARK RULES


Player Re-class Request Form