RULES

2023/2024 Complete Game Tournaments

abides by "National Federation" rules with the following exceptions:

2023-24 EVENT REFUND POLICY

* If a regular weekend tournament is completely cancelled due to weather or other Acts of God, each team will be refunded their entry fee minus a $25 administrative fee. There are a lot of expenses that go into promoting, planning and having everything ready for a tournament.

* If a team plays at least one game and the tournament is completely cancelled due to weather or other Acts of God, each team will refunded HALF of their entry fee.

* If a team completes their SECOND GAME and the tournament is completed cancelled due to weather or other Acts of God their will be NO refund.

* If a team drops out prior to 7-days from the official start of the tournament, the team will be refunded their entry fee in full.

* If a team drops out of an event LESS THAN 7-days from the official start of the tournament, the team will receive NO REFUND.

2023/24 COMPLETE GAME TOURNAMENTS BASEBALL RULES (COMPLETE GAME Tournaments abides by "National Federation" rules for all age divisions with the following exceptions in the 9-U through 15-U age divisions. 16-U & 18-U age divisions will play strictly by NFHS rules)

PITCHING RULES: 8-INNINGS for 9-Under through 12-Under & 10-INNINGS for 13-15-UNDER in a regular event. 14-INNINGS for 9-U through 15-U. We will follow NFHS rules on pitching limitations.

BATTING ORDER: You have 5-choices for your lineup: (1) Bat 9-straight, (2) Bat 9 with DH, (3) Bat 10/Play 9 with EH, (4) Play 10 or 11 with a EH and a DH or (5) Bat the entire roster (Continuous batting order with FREE Defensive Substitutions applies). A team must start the game with at least 9-players on defense but can finish a game with 8-players. If you do not have an eligible substitute to replace a player that is injured, ejected or cannot bat for any reason, it is an AUTOMATIC OUT when that players turn comes up in the batting order. EXCEPTION: If a player is injured or incapacitated where he cannot play the rest of the tournament, the lineup can be collapsed without penalty as long as a team does not fall below nine players. The coach will inform the umpire and that players name will be removed from the roster for the balance of the event.

COURTESY RUNNERS: For the Pitcher AND Catcher ONCE they FIRST reach base! A courtesy runner will not be allowed if a pitch has been made to the next better. The courtesy runner MUST BE A LEGAL SUB currently NOT IN THE GAME, which includes STARTERS that have been substituted for but are eligible for re-entry. IF you are batting your entire roster, the courtesy runner MUST BE THE LAST BATTED OUT! If a team only has one substitute or only 1-out has been recorded, the courtesy runner will revert back to the last batted out if the substitute is on base or the last batter in the lineup if the last batted out is on base

MERCY RULE FOR ALL AGE DIVISIONS: 12 runs after 3 innings, 10 runs after 4 innings, 8 runs after 5 innings. Run Rule remains in effect in ALL Game’s, including CHAMPIONSHIP!

HEAD FIRST SLIDE: Head First slide is NOT allowed in 12-U age divisions & under when the player is wearing a helmet with a face guard; C-flap or chin strap. Players NOT wearing this type of helmet may slide head first. Head first slide is determined when a player is advancing towards a base. A team warning will be issued after the initial infraction. Any infraction thereafter will be deemed an out on the player violating this safety rule. This will be a delayed dead ball scenario.

FAKE BUNT/SWING RULE: A Fake Bunt and then Swing in age divisions 9-U through 13-U is not allowed. Penalty for a fake bunt and then swing will result is an out. No contact with the ball is required for an out to be called.

HOME TEAM DETERMINATION: Home team is determined by flip of the coin at the home plate meeting. For Elimination games, the home team will be the HIGHEST SEEDED TEAM with the exception being in a Double Elimination bracket where the UNDEFEATED team in the championship game will be the home team regardless of seed. A coin toss will be done in the “IF” game in a Double Elimination bracket to determine the home team. The home team may have their choice of dugout, unless, the other team is currently occupying that dugout in a preceding game. The home team will furnish the official scorekeeper and the visiting team will furnish the scoreboard operator. NO game will start until there is an official book and scoreboard operator.

PROTESTS: There will be a $100 fee payable in cash for any protest. You can ONLY Protest a RULE INTERPRETATION or PLAYER ELIGIBILITY and protest must be made before the game officially ends. If a birth certificate is requested during a game by a tournament director, it must be provided NO LATER than the end of the game it is requested. Failure to comply will result in a forfeit of that particular game only. Birth Certificates will be viewed by Tournament Director ONLY as we will NOT make birth certificates visible to anyone other than the parent/guardian of the player, the player's head coach and the tournament director if necessary.

UNIFORMS: Uniforms of all team members should be of the same color and style. Duplicate jersey numbers are highly discouraged. Any uniform discrepancy must be brought up at the plate meeting prior to the start of the game. The umpire(s) will determine if a team can gain advantage based on a uniform violation. If in the umpire's judgement he/she deems the players dress to be inappropriate, the player can be removed from the game until he/she conforms with the requirements set forth.

BATS: COMPLETE GAME will go with the following bat rule for the 2023/24 Season. Must be a baseball bat. All bats made completely of wood, that are not altered or defective are legal. BBCOR certified bats are legal unless otherwise banned by the NFHS Association. All other bats must be stamped 1.15 BPF or have a certified BESR rating imprint. Age groups 8-U through 12-U do not have a restriction on the weight/length ratio for non-wood bats. The 13-U age division for all Complete Game events must swing either a -5 stamped 1.15 BPF or have a certified BESR rating imprint bat or -3 non wood bat that must be BBCOR certified. This applies to all Complete Game events regardless of where it is held, NO exceptions! 14-U through 18-u age divisions can use non-wood bats but they must be BBCOR certified and have a weight/length ratio of -3. The penalty for use of an illegal bat will be governed by NFHS rules.

CONDUCT: If any manager or head coach is thrown out of any game by the umpire, that manager WILL NOT be eligible to coach/manage in his/her team's next scheduled game. The Tournament Director and/or UIC can override this rule by letting the manager coach in his/her next game if he/they so choose. NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ALLOWED. Attendees will be subject to a breathalyzer if suspected of drinking. Law enforecment will be called if over the legal limit.

GAME LENGTH/OFFICIAL GAME: 8-U through 10-U = 6 innings or 1:30; 11-U & 12-U = 6-innings or 1:40; 13-U through 18-U = 7-innings or 1:45. NO DROP DEAD TIME LIMIT! ALL State Directors will have the option of setting their OWN game time limits for each individual age division. No game will be played out after time limit or inning limit. In elimination play, games have to be played out until there is a winner! When time limit is up & home team is batting & home team is ahead, the game is over regardless of score! We will NOT complete the inning. The Final score is the score at the end of the time limit! Umpires will keep official time. NO Time Limit in Championship Games except after JUNE 1st.

OFFICIAL GAME: In the event of natural occurrences to include weather, field conditions, or any other situation that causes a game to be STOPPED and it can not be physically or reasonably continued, the game will be considered an official game if the teams have played 3 1/2 innings with the Home Team winning or 4 complete innings if the Home Team was losing after 3 1/2 innings. If stoppage is required after the 4th inning, the winner will be determined based on the last inning both teams completed an equal number of times at bat. For instance, if the Visitors are batting in the top of the 5th and they score 3 runs to go up 5 to 4, if the game is STOPPED, the Home Team will be declared the winner because at the bottom of the 4th, they were winning, 4 - 2. This is based on a STOPPED game that cannot be completed for various reasons to include time constraints, not a POSTPONED or DELAYED game that can be continued. If stoppage is required before a game can be considered "official", and the game cannot be continued: During pool pay OR bracket play, the team winning after the last complete inning (that was played) will be considered the winner UNLESS the Home team takes the lead in the bottom of the inning that the game was stopped. Example: Visitors lead 3-2 and do NOT score in top of 2nd inning, home team takes the lead 4-3 in bottom of the 2nd but game is stopped prior to the inning being completed; final score is 4-3 in favor of the home team. Only Tournament and/or Site Directors can STOP a game and consider it an official game. Games that are NOT started and are officially cancelled will go down as a 0-0 tie.

BASEBALLS: Each team must provide (2) two new baseballs per game. It is the responsibility of each team to shag foul balls during a game.

TIE BREAKERS: Games can end in a tie in EVERY GAME except ELIMINATION GAMES! In Elimination games, IF a game is tied after the time limit has expired or all regulation innings have been played, whichever comes first, the International tie-breaker will be utilized by placing the last batted out on 2nd base to start the inning with no outs. Tie Breakers for seeding purposes are as follows: 1. Head-to-Head (IF applicable), 2. Least Runs Allowed, 3. Run Differential (7-Run Max), 4. Most Runs Scored (10-Runs Max) and 5. Coin Toss. In the event of a 3 or more way tie, we will determine the Highest Seed using the aforementioned tie-breakers and after the WORST team according to these tie breakers has been eliminated and seeded, we will then revert back to the FIRST tie-breaker and go from there. This will allow us to use Head-to-Head as a tie-breaker once we get down to 2-teams. Note, Head-to-Head will ONLY be used once we are down to the FINAL two teams in the event of a 3-or more way tie.

NO-SHOW TEAMS RULE: IF a team that is entered in an event no-shows without prior notice and this team's games are then counted as forfeits for their opponents in pool play, this no-show team will AUTOMATICALLY be the LAST/LOWEST SEED in bracket play. Example: If there are 8-teams in a bracket, this no-show team would be seeded #8 REGARDLESS of any other tie-breaker rule.

AGE CONTROL

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. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 12th grade who turn 19 years old before May 1st, 2023.

17U Division
Players who turn 18 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible, Also, any player turning 19 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 11th grade who turn 18 years old before May 1st, 2023.

16U Division
Players who turn 17 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible, Also, any player turning 18 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 10th grade who turn 17 years old before May 1st, 2023.

15U Division

Players who turn 16 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible. Also, any player turning 17 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 9th grade who turn 16 years old before May 1st, 2023.

14U Division
Players who turn 15 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible. Also, any player turning 16 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 8th grade who turn 15 years old before May 1st, 2023.

13U Division
Players who turn 14 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible. Also, any player turning 15 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 7th grade who turn 14 years old before May 1st, 2023.

12U Division
Players who turn 13 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible. Also, any player turning 14 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 6th grade who turn 13 years old before May 1st, 2023.

11U Division

Players who turn 12 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible. Also, any player turning 13 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 5th grade who turn 12 years old before May 1st, 2023.

10U Division
Players who turn 11 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible . Also, any player turning 12 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 4th grade who turn 11 years old before May 1st, 2023.

9U Division
Players who turn 10 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible. Also, any player turning 11 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 3rd grade who turn 10 years old before May 1st, 2023.

8U Division
Players who turn 9 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible. Also, any player turning 10 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 2nd grade who turn 9 years old before May 1st, 2023.

7U Division
Players who turn 8 prior to May 1 of the current season are not eligible. Also, any player turning 9 prior to August 1 will not be eligible. ONLY 3 school grade exemptions per team will be allowed for players who are in the 1st grade who turn 8 years old before May 1st, 2023.

TEAM INSURANCE: Complete Game Tournaments encourages each team to have their own team insurance policy.

STEEL SPIKES/ILLEGAL PLAYERS: ALLOWED ONLY in 13-U AGE DIVISION AND ABOVE & USE OF AN ILLEGAL PLAYER or the use of an ILLEGAL PITCHER in a game will result in immediate forfeiture of that particular game only.

FIELD SIZE:

8U KP age divisions play on fields with 40-foot pitching rubber and 60-foot bases.

9U & 10U age divisions play on fields with 46 foot pitching rubber and 65 foot bases.

11U & 12U age divisions play on fields with 50 foot pitching rubber and 70 foot bases.

13U age division play on EITHER 54 foot pitching rubber and 80 foot bases OR 60 foot pitching rubber and 90 foot bases. Each Tournament Director has the authority to determine which field size to use in their respective 13U events.

14U & up play on 60 foot pitching rubber and 90 foot bases.

AWARDS: IN THE EVENT OF RAIN where play CANNOT be completed, Awards will be given based on TEAM SEEDING relative to either side of the bracket at the time the tournament is called off unless the game in progress at the time of postponement is an official game where 3 ½ innings have been completed or falls under the official game rules listed above.

ROSTERS (ALL WORLD SERIES & STATE TOURNAMENT teams Rosters FREEZE on JUNE 1

(midnight of May 31) of the current season

EVERY TEAM that participates in a Complete Game event is REQUIRED to HAVE AN ONLINE ROSTER. Each player listed on your roster must also have a corresponding birth certificate that you should ALWAYS HAVE ON HAND at the tournament in the event of a player eligibility protest. FAILURE to provide birth certificates if requested will result in immediate forfeiture of that particular game only. You have until the end of the particular game that Birth Certificates are requested to provide them. Each player on your roster must be approved by a parent/guardian. Once a player is listed on your roster, each parent/guardian is sent an email to verify and approve their child's participation on your team! Any illegal player, which also constitutes an illegal pitcher that is used in a game, and after protested is found to indeed be illegal will result in that player and his/her respective team being forfeited from that particular game only. IF all players are viewable in admin by the respective Tournament Director, the player(s) are considered legal. This could happen if by chance a parent/guardian does not have access to email in order to approve the player.

A team may ADD up to THREE additional (3) players to this roster at any time prior to June 15 of the current season for all WS & State events. A team may REPLACE up to THREE (3) players to this roster at any time prior to June 15 for WS I & II; June 25 for WS III and July 15 for WS IV of the current season. A REPLACED player comes off the roster TOTALLY and cannot participate.

Roster limits are 24-players.

Once a player is FROZEN on a team’s roster, that player may NOT be listed on another team’s roster or be eligible to play for another team in a Complete Game Event IN THE SAME AGE DIVISION unless the manger from the original team RELEASES that player. This must be done in writing to Complete Game Tournaments. IF a player has played on multiple teams in Complete Game events leading up the World Series, that player may choose which team's roster he would like to be frozen to.

A player may become a “PICK-UP” player for another team, other than his original team, IF the player’s original team is not participating in the same event that the team he has “PICKED UP” with. IF this team qualifies for the World Series, this player MAY NOT be included on this team’s FROZEN ROSTER unless the player’s ORIGINAL team releases him.

A player who is FROZEN on a team’s roster does NOT have to be released IF this player goes to play for another team in another age division, provided he/she is eligible to play in another age division.

A player may NOT play on TWO different teams in TWO different or same age divisions in the SAME tournament.

EVERY PLAYER, regardless of whether they are a pick-up player, regular player or whatever, THEY MUST APPEAR on a team's roster in order to be a legal participant for that team in the event that team is participating in.