RULE 3.00 – INDIVIDUAL PLAYER & TEAM ELIGIBILITY
- 3.01 Age Based with Grade Exceptions Divisions:
- 4U Division
Players who turn 5 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in Pre-Kindergarten-4. Also, any player turning 6 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 4u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 5U Division Players who turn 6 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in Pre-Kindergarten. Also, any player turning 7 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 5u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 6U Division
Players who turn 7 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in Kindergarten. Also, any player turning 8 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 6u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 7U Division
Players who turn 8 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in the 1st grade. Also, any player turning 9 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 7u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 8U Division
Players who turn 9 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in the 2nd grade. Also, any player turning 10 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 8u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 9U Division
Players who turn 10 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in the 3rd grade. Also, any player turning 11 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 9u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 10U Division
Players who turn 11 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in the 4th grade. Also, any player turning 12 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 10u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 11U Division
Players who turn 12 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in the 5th grade. Also, any player turning 13 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 11u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 12U Division
Players who turn 13 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in the 6th grade. Also, any player turning 14 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 12u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 13U Division
Players who turn 14 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in the 7th grade. Also, any player turning 15 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 13u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 14U Division
Players who turn 15 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are in the 8th grade. Also, any player turning 16 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 14u eligible are eligible for this division regardless of grade.
- 15U Division
Players who turn 16 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are a freshman in High School. Also, any player turning 17 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 15u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 16U Division
Players who turn 17 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are a sophomore in High School. Also, any player turning 18 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 16u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 17U Division
Players who turn 18 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are a junior in High School. Also, any player turning 19 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 17u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 18U Division
Players who turn 19 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible unless they are a senior in High School. Also, any player turning 20 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. Players who are 18u are eligible for this division regardless of their grade.
- 3.01.A In divisions 4U – 18U, all players participating in USSSA Baseball tournament play shall have photocopies of their original birth certificate in the possession of their team manager at all times. Upon protest, failure to have a photocopy of the original birth certificate immediately available upon demand shall result in the offending team losing the game(s), being ejected from the tournament, being placed last in the standings and forfeiting all awards, points, sponsors travel money, and berths that would have been or have been awarded.
- 3.01.B All grade-based players must have a copy of their birth certificate, current report card, or official school ID with grade, or any official government document stating the grade.
- 3.02 A player that is found to be illegal due to an age or grade violation during or after a league or tournament game, shall result in the offending team losing the game(s) team and player being ejected from the tournament, team being placed last in the standings and forfeiting all awards, points, sponsors travel money, and berths that would have been or have been awarded. The illegal player shall be removed from the offending team’s Official Online Roster and additional penalties may be applied to the illegal player and / or team manager / coaches.
- 3.03 A player shall be eligible to compete in the USSSA Baseball program as long as he abides by the USSSA Constitution and the Official Baseball National By-laws & Rules when his first name, last name (no middle names, nick names, shortened names, slang names, initials, prefixes or suffixes are allowed) and date of birth (in proper format – mm/dd/yyyy) are listed EXACTLY as they appear on his original birth certificate, as a member on an eligible team’s Official Online Roster. Failure to comply with this rule shall result in your team being prohibited from participating in USSSA.
- 3.04 A player who is in violation of the USSSA Constitution or the Official Baseball National By-laws & Rules shall be an illegal player.
- 3.04.A A team with a player found to be illegal due to age, grade, or class violation, anytime during the USSSA event, will be deemed ineligible. The team WILL be disqualified and put in last place. The manager could face suspension.
- 3.04.B Any team in violation of any roster rules WILL be disqualified from their current event and be placed in last place. The manager
could face suspension.
- 3.04.C A player found to be playing on multiple teams in the same weekend, anytime during the USSSA event, both teams WILL be disqualified and put in last place. The player, parents and managers could face suspension.
- 3.04.D An ineligible player is any player not listed on the official online roster (when rosters are required), a player with an incorrect birthday, or a player with name listed incorrectly on the official online roster. All players must be listed on a team’s online roster correctly prior to their first game or prior to the event’s deadline to add players. Penalty: Any ineligible player MAY cause the team to be disqualified and put in last place. Each case will be looked at by the team’s State Director to determine if the player is ineligible.
- 3.05 Player Roster Eligibility:
- 3.05.A Players shall only appear on one (1) Official Online Roster.
- 3.05.B Players shall only physically play for one (1) team per day, event, tournament, week, or weekend, regardless of location, venue, age division and / or classification.
- 3.05.C Once a player has been rostered for the season, they may not be added to a team with lower classification in the same age group or younger age group without state director approval.
- 3.05.D Once a player is released from a roster, they may not be added back to that roster without state director approval.
- 3.06 Guest Player
- 3.06.A Teams that earn a berth with Guest Players on their roster will be deemed qualified. The Guest Players will NOT be frozen to the team’s roster, only players on their permanent roster will be considered for freezing at the appropriate time.
- 3.06.B Guest Player Application System will be disabled for an event 3 hours prior to the Start Date of the event based on Eastern Standard Time.
- 3.06.C Players that are NOT on a current season USSSA roster will NOT be eligible as a Guest Player. Anyone that is not on a current USSSA roster simply can be added to your team roster to be eligible as long as the player’s classification does not change your team’s classification.
- 3.06.D Guest Players are only eligible to participate as a Guest Player for one team at a time. Players will be blocked from being used as a Guest Player for an additional team for the duration of their guest playing event (Start Date to End Date).
- 3.06.E If a Guest Player’s original team registers for an event after being approved as a guest player, the player will. be deleted as a guest player and the Original Team will be required to de-activate the player before the player can be used as a guest player
- 3.06.F If the Pick-Up Team moves divisions and moves to a division that would deem the Guest Player illegal, the player will be removed.
- 3.06.G For leagues, teams are allowed unlimited numbers of guest players. Players who guest play in leagues can also, guest play in tournaments with overlapping dates
- 3.06.H From the beginning of the season to December 31st teams can add unlimited Guest Players per weekend or per event.
- 3.06.I From January 1st to the end of the season Guest players will be limited to 3 per weekend or per event.
- 3.06.J From the start of the Fall Season until December 31, teams may use unlimited guest players per weekend or per event.
- 3.06.K Guest Player eligibility is determined by the age and class of the event the team is playing in. See link below for more information. http://usssa.com/baseball/bb-guest-player-help-documents
- 3.07 Team Eligibility:
- 3.07.A No team shall be allowed to compete in any USSSA Baseball program without first paying their team registration fee to the Association.
- 3.07.B All teams shall maintain an Official Online Roster.
- Rule 3.07.B Comment: State Directors with the approval of the National Director of Baseball Operations may waive this roster requirement for the traditional “Fall” playing months of August 1 – December 31.
- 3.07.C Team rosters for age divisions 4U – 14U shall be composed of not more than twenty-five (25) players.
- 3.07.D Team rosters for scholastic divisions 15U – 18U shall be composed of not more than forty (40) players.
- 3.07.E A team’s “home” state shall be determined by the home residency of fifty-one percent (51%) or the majority (whichever is greater) of the players on the team’s Official Online Roster.
- 3.07.F The team manager shall be responsible for all aspects of eligibility of the players and the information of the players contained on the team’s Official Online Roster pursuant to these rules. This includes but is not limited to age eligibility, classifications of previous teams the players may have participated on, legal names of the players, and correct dates of birth of the players.
- 3.07.F.1 The intentional or unintentional act of adding ineligible players to the team’s Official Online Roster shall be grounds for team manager suspension and disqualification of the team.
- 3.07.F.2 The intentional or unintentional act of incorrectly spelling a player’s name on the team’s Official Online Roster shall be grounds for team manager suspension and disqualification of the team.
- 3.07.F.3 The intentional or unintentional act of incorrectly entering a player’s date-of-birth on the team’s Official Online Roster shall be grounds for team manager suspension and disqualification of the team.
- 3.07.G State Directors shall have the authority to approve or reject all players contained on a team’s Official Online Roster State Director approval of a team’s Official Online Roster shall not release the team manager of his responsibilities pursuant to these rules.
- 3.07.H An all-girls team can request roster exemptions from the National Director of Baseball Operations.
- 3.08 In divisions 4U – 14U a player can only participate on a team up to 2 years older.(Example: a 10U player can be on a 11U or 12U team)
- 3.09 Area Directors, Executive Board Members, Executive Committee Members, Local Directors, National Committee Members, National Directors, State Directors or Tournament Directors shall not be eligible to participate in the program as a team manager, team coach, team sponsor, Umpire or player without approval of the National Director of Baseball Operations.
