Ontario Provincial Civil Servants Softball League Rules

Version: 13 May 2024

These rules incorporate changes agreed upon at the 2024 Captains meeting.
  1. SPORTSMANSHIP: The Ontario Provincial Civil Servants Softball League reminds everyone that this is a recreational league. Safety comes first. If a situation occurs that is not covered by our rules, then the executive will apply standard softball rules. The following is taken from the Softball Canada Official Guide and Rule Book:

    'When a defensive player has the ball and is waiting for the runner and the runner remains on his/her feet and deliberately, with great force, crashes in to the defensive player, the runner is to be declared out.

    Effect: The runner is out, the ball is dead and all other runners must return to the last base touched at the time of the collision.

    NOTE: If the act is determined to be flagrant, the offender shall be ejected.'

    Please use common sense. A recreational league has, and should have, people who don't play very often and are here to have fun and learn a bit about the game.

    A Disciplinary Panel, comprised of team captains or their representatives, will be called, if required, to rule on any issues / situations / grievances that the executive is unable to resolve.

  2. Players: While no official rosters are kept, to qualify for the playoff round, a player must have played in at least 3 regular season games.

    Note: Teams should keep their batting order / scoresheet from round-robin games as they will be needed to resolve playoff eligibility challenges; if you can not show a player is eligible, they are not eligible.

  3. Alcohol: There will be NO drinking of alcoholic beverages at any games. Save it for the bar.

  4. Home Team / Bases / Cones: It is the responsibility of the home team, as designated in the schedule, to supply the bases and cones. Failure to do so, without prior arrangement with the other team, will result in a default loss for the home team.

    It is recommended that teams acquire 2 small cones to be placed about 100 feet behind first and third base to mark the foul line location in the outfield to help the catcher call fair/foul balls.

    For playoff games, except the League and Consolation Championship games, the team finishing higher in the regular season standings has the choice of home or away. The team finishing higher in the regular season standings must bring the bases and cones.

  5. Pre-Game: Prior to the game captains will decide foul-lines, ground rule doubles, triples, etc. based on the condition or size of the park. It is recommended that teams acquire 2 small cones to be placed about 100 feet behind first and third base to mark the foul line location in the outfield to help the catcher call fair/foul balls. See the league web site for ground rule suggestions. (To be determined by the umpires during the playoffs.)

    For the round-robin, captains should meet before the game to agree on the "time" and whether they will continue to play past 6:30 PM if 7 innings are not complete.

  6. Game Ball: The league regulation ball is the Worth Gray Dot or other .40 COR 375 Compression 12" softball; the Worth Hot Dot or other .52 COR 250 Compression 12" softball is also acceptable. Yellow is preferred for better visibility.
    Each team must supply one game ball. These are game balls and not team balls. Captains should agree on the type of balls being used prior to the game. A team captain may insist that the balls used are the type required by the league.
    Overly worn or non-spec balls can be challenged and removed from play at any time.
    Each team will supply one new regulation game ball per game during elimination round play.

  7. Problem Resolution: It is the responsibility of the team captains to resolve any problems or disputes when they occur during a game. Captains should remove themselves from all other players to resolve the issue. During the playoffs umpires will be present and any problems or disputes will be dealt with between captains and umpires - not players.

    The decision of the umpires is FINAL.

  8. Game Time: Diamonds are available for play under City of Toronto permits from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Games shall start no later than 5:20 PM. A team that cannot field a "legal" line-up (both in numbers of players and ratio of male to female players) by that time shall be considered to be "late". Games may commence after that time, once the "late" team can field a "legal" line-up or once the opposing captains can reach agreement on alternative arrangements for the line-ups for the game, but the "late" team shall be considered to be in forfeit of the game unless a full seven inning game can be completed, in which case the result of the complete game shall stand.

    "Late" status must be claimed by the other captain before the game begins.

    There is no rule about "no new inning after XX:XX PM", so play should continue to 6:30 PM by the official clock (or end of the game if that comes first obviously). If there is no team waiting to use the diamond with a permit, the inning underway should be completed and that score reported as the result of the game. If there is a team waiting to use the diamond with a permit, the game ends immediately with the result determined by these rules in priority order (use the first one that matches the situation):

    1. If a team was deemed "late", that team loses the game by default.
    2. If the home team is batting, and the home team is winning the game or the game is tied, the game ends immediately with the current score.
    3. The score reverts to the end of the last completed inning.

    Team captains should agree BEFORE the game whether they will continue to play past 6:30 PM if 7 innings are not complete (any inning underway should be completed if possible, as above - this rule means play more complete innings to have a full 7 inning game).

    In umpired games, the umpires will make the final determination of the game start time. In other games, team captains are requested to meet before 5:20 PM to determine "game time", and in the event of a dispute, the average of the respective captains' timepieces shall be considered "game time". Persistent or chronic problems with the determination of "game time" should be reported to the League for remedial action.

    NOTE: It is permissible for a team to take 'outs' without actually sending a batter to the plate, or throwing any pitches, to end an inning immediately.

    NOTE: Flagrant delay of the game attempting to win a game via the "late" rule (presumably by a team that is losing) can be called at the umpire's discretion during the playoffs; the game would be awarded to the other team regardless of their "late" status.

    All games during the championship and consolation finals in both divisions will be 9 innings.

  9. Standings: A team will receive 2 points for a win (including a win by default), 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss or default, during the round-robin portion of the schedule. The team's 'winning percentage' will then be calculated as the total number of points divided by 2 times the number of games played.

    For the round-robin, there will a maximum of 12 runs for the plus/minus per game. You must play complete innings, regardless of the score, unless the maximum has been reached. The default score will be 7 - 0.

    No games can be made up from the round-robin (there simply isn't space or time available). In the event of a rain-out, each team will receive 1 point and no runs.

    At the end of the round-robin, teams will be ranked based on the winning percentage from the round-robin. Ties will be broken by:

    1. plus/minus run differential.
    2. head to head record (if applicable).
    3. runs for.
    4. coin toss.

    All teams then begin the Elimination Round, which uses a double knock-out format, with the top-ranked team playing the bottom-ranked team, the second place team playing the second team for the bottom, etc. For example, with 8 teams, the first round would be: 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5. For an odd number of teams, the first place team would get a bye in the first round. After that, a standard double elimination tournament schedule will be followed, with draws for byes if necessary.

    With fewer than 8 teams and given sufficient time, an alternate playoff schedule could be used where the top 4 teams in each division have double knock-out in the championship bracket before falling to the consolation bracket; the lower placing teams in each division fall to the consolation round after their first loss.

    A loss in the consolation round ends your season.

  10. Tie Games: There should be no tie games unless: In these 2 situations, a minimum of 4 innings will constitute a complete game. The score will be the score at the end of the last complete inning played. Otherwise, you must play all 7 innings, extra innings (in the playoffs) and past 6:30 PM if necessary. Failure to do so when weather permits and the diamond is available will result in a default.

    If player(s) must leave, they may be removed from the line up, after 6:30 PM. There is no penalty (i.e. automatic out for that spot in the order) but the male/female ratio for batting and fielding must be maintained.

    For playoff games, all ties must be broken.

  11. Batting Order: A copy of the batting order must be exchanged between captains/scorekeepers before the start of the game in order to cut down discrepancies in scores. The batting order is in the public domain - it can not be kept secret and freedom of information act requests are not needed to get it from the other team.

    Note: The League will not prosecute failure to comply with this practice during the regular season (but it must be supplied upon demand); the umpires will enforce it during all playoff games.

    Note: Teams should keep their batting order / scoresheet from round-robin games as they will be needed to resolve playoff eligibility challenges; if you can not show a player is eligible, they are not eligible.

  12. 25% Rule: The maximum number of players on the field at one time is 12. The minimum percentage of females on a team on both offense (batting order) and defence (on the field) is 25% as outlined below:

      Team Size  Required Females
    1 - 4 1
    5 - 8 2
    9 - 12 3
    13 - 16 4
    17 - 20 5
    21 - 24 6
    25 - 28 7

    During the regular season, the opposing captain must agree to waive / alter this rule.

    NEW Teams are reminded that this is a recreational league and best efforts should be made by teams to evenly space players of the minority gender throughout the batting order.

  13. Base Path Length: The base paths will be 60 feet in length. The bases may either be loose or pegged down, to be decided by the captains before the game; if agreement can not be reached, it is the home team's decision.

  14. Safety Base: All games will be played with a safety base - the extra (orange) base pad at 1st base to be situated on the foul side of the 1st base line. This base will be used by the runner going to 1st base and should eliminate any contact between the runner and the 1st baseperson. A batter going to 1st base must step on the safety bag when there is a play at 1st base. The batter is out if they step on the wrong bag (even if they beat the throw). The only exception to this rule is if the batter is attempting or considering going to 2nd. In this case the batter would be rounding 1st and not overrunning 1st, trying to beat the throw to the bag.

    In the same situation as above, the batter is safe if the 1st baseperson is touching the safety bag instead of the 'inside' bag when receiving the throw.

    Teams MUST have a full set of bases.
    Chronic offenders of this rule will be dealt with by the League Commissioner.

  15. Cleats: Absolutely NO metal cleats are allowed during play.
    NEW Non-metal (e.g. rubber, TPU, MCS etc.) cleats will be allowed on running shoes as long as they are part of the sole of the shoe. So, any non-metal cleats which are attached to the sole by means of screws or nails will NOT be allowed. The cleats must be moulded into the sole.

  16. Infield Players: A maximum of 5 infield players are permitted, including the catcher. Infield players cannot move in past the baseline on any batter until the ball crosses the plate.

  17. Infield Dead Ball Zone: Lines should be made in the infield from a point approximately half-way between home and 1st base to the pitcher's mound, and approximately half-way between home and 3rd base to the pitcher's mound, which creates a smaller diamond inside the infield - this is the infield dead ball zone. One of these lines should match the commitment line (see below).

    A ball which stops inside this zone (including on the lines) is dead; the pitch counts as a strike against the batter and the batter is out if that was their last strike; all baserunners must return to their original bases.

    A ball which is touched by a fielder while the ball is still moving inside this zone (including on the lines) is a live ball and is played as a hit.

  18. Outfield Players: All rovers / outfield players must stay at least 15 feet behind the baseline until the ball crosses the plate.

    The batter can not be forced out at first base on a direct throw from a rover or outfielder. Batters can still be forced at first on throws from the infield, and rover/outfield assists can still be made at all other bases. Further clarification: (1) a rover/outfielder may throw to first base and have the batter put out if the runner rounds first base towards second base - that is not a force out, but a tag; (2) on a fly ball, an existing runner at first may also be forced out on a direct throw from a rover/outfielder if they don't tag up (note: the runner at first is not the batter); (3) a rover/outfielder may receive a throw at second or third base, or make the play unassisted, for a force or tag out, but may NOT then make a throw to first to force the batter out.

    Balls thrown from a rover/outfielder MUST go to an infielder, who will return the ball to the pitcher when play has ceased. The pitcher MUST not make any play on any ball thrown from a rover/outfielder.

  19. Mercy Rule: There is a maximum of 15 at-bats per team per inning. There is no mercy rule in the last inning of playoff games.

  20. Pitch Counts: All batters are allowed 3 pitches. If the batter does not hit a fair ball during his/her turn at bat, then the batter is out.

    Teams are allowed and in fact encouraged to allow extra pitches for beginners or players with a disability during the regular season; captains should identify such players before the game starts.

  21. Lead-offs / Stealing: Lead-offs and stealing bases are not allowed. If you are on base, you cannot leave the base until the ball crosses the plate OR the ball is hit. Anyone caught leading off or stealing is automatically out.

  22. Base Running: There will be no wanton escapades dodging tags around the base paths. There is no rule on the exact distance someone must be from the base path to be running off it so captains, and umpires, please use your judgement if someone is called for this infraction. Hint: Someone running from 1st to 2nd through right field is definitely a candidate.

    There will be NO BLOCKING of the base paths. It is the responsibility of the fielder to avoid the runner and to stay off the basepath when there is no play at their position. Failure to do so is interference on the part of the fielder and the runner will be safe or awarded the base at the discretion of the umpire.

    Similarly, it is the responsibility of the runner to avoid the fielder attempting to make a play. In this case the runner will be out.

    Above does not apply when there is a play at a base or a tag of a runner.

  23. Fly Balls: On a fly ball that is caught for an out, a player can advance after he/she has tagged up (after the ball is caught, of course). You can tag up from all bases, including third.

  24. Batters: All batters must take a FULL swing at each pitch. Any attempts at half swings or bunts will be considered strikes.

    Note: Any player abusing this rule will be photographed and made fun of.

  25. Hit Pitcher: During the game, if a batted ball hits the pitcher, it is a no-pitch and the ball is dead. It is NOT a strike on the batter.
    NEW The pitcher should make a reasonable effort to avoid the ball.

  26. Hit Baserunner: If the batted ball hits a baserunner who is off the base, the ball is dead and the runner is out unless touched by a fielder first. If a runner is hit by lightning, then he is dead.

  27. Foul Balls: Any foul balls hit behind the plate, within the area of the cage (if there isn't one, imagine one) and caught by the catcher count only as strikes. Any ball hit in front of the plate and still behind the foul lines are outs if they are caught. Any ball caught past the out of play line (an imaginary line extending from the back screen - if there isn't one, imagine one) count only as strikes.

  28. Sliding: If a player slides into a base and the base is dislodged from its position then the following applies:

    There is no sliding across the safe line at home, or into the safety bag at first base when advancing to first on a batted ball. Sliding back into first base (e.g. when attempting to advance on a caught ball) is permitted, as is sliding into second and third bases.

  29. Infield Fly: The infield fly rule is in effect. The following, which is simpler than the official SPN rule 3-47, has been borrowed from the Toronto Sport and Social Club:

    The infield fly rule is in effect when there are runners on first and second, or if the bases are loaded, with less than two out. In these situations, if a fair pop-up is hit that, in the pitcher's judgment is catchable by an infielder with ordinary effort, the batter is out regardless of whether the ball is actually caught in flight. To invoke the rule, the pitcher must loudly announce, "Infield fly" when there is a pop-up in the infield. If this occurs, the batter will automatically be out, even if the ball is not caught. Runners can attempt to tag up on any caught ball, or attempt to advance if the ball is dropped (note that the force play is removed since the batter is out).

    For playoff games the call will be made by the home plate umpire, but for the regular season where teams umpire themselves, the call should be made by an experienced player. As above the proposal is that this would normally be the pitcher, unless the batting team designates one of the base coaches; it can not be someone on the bench.

    A few notes:

    Note also that SPN Section 7-3 H addresses an intentionally dropped ball; the batter is out if: 

    H. He hits a fair fly ball or line drive that a fielder or infielder intentionally drops, with a runner on
first, first and second, first, second and third, or first and third, with less than two outs.
NOTE: A trapped ball that hits the ground is never ruled intentionally dropped.
    Result of the play: the ball is dead, the batter is out and the runners may not advance.

  30. Out of Play: A ball is considered to be out of play if it goes over the screen or past a projection of one. Once a ball goes over a screen, or past a projection of one, the play is dead, even if it goes off someone's glove on the way there. When a ball goes out of play the runner is awarded the base he/she was advancing to, plus one additional base (i.e runner going to 1st when ball goes out of play is awarded 1st and 2nd).

    If a ball hits the screen on a play at first or third and remains within the playing area (screen or projection of screen), the ball is live and the runners proceed at their own risk. This is not an overthrow.

    In the event that a ball going out of play at 1st base leads to a FORCED advancement of a runner from third, then the run will count (i.e. bases loaded when ball goes out of play at 1st).

    No fielder may intentionally carry/kick/throw or allow a ball to go out of play in an attempt to halt runners. Teams are on the honour system. Flagrant abuse will result in the automatic award of bases at the umpire's discretion.

  31. Plays At Home: To avoid collisions and possible injuries at home plate, all plays at the plate are force plays. An imaginary line parallel to the first base line is drawn from the edge of the plate nearest 3rd base to the back screen.

  32. Commitment Line: The commitment line is drawn in foul territory perpendicular to the third base line, near the midpoint between home plate and third base (30 feet from each), and should match up with the infield dead ball line. NOTE: If a player tags up from 3rd and crosses the commitment line he/she must go home. If a player at 3rd crosses the commitment line after a fly ball has been hit, and did not tag up, the player cannot go back to 3rd and is out on appeal by the defensive team.

  33. Pinch-runners: Pinch-runners for injured or disabled players are to be the last player called out of the same gender as the runner for whom the substitution will be made. Unlimited number of pinch-runners may be substituted once the original runner reaches base. Subject to Rule 34, 2 pinch-runners per game may start from behind home plate (i.e. touching the screen with both feet behind the extension of the third base line, or other mutually-agreed location if that is not safe). A pinch runner from home can not run until the ball is actually hit.

  34. NEW Disabilities and Injured Players: This rule applies only to players whose disability affects their ability to play the game, or to an injured player. Any player with a disability or an injured player has the right to an unlimited number of courtesy runners per game starting from home plate. If a team feels that a player qualifies for this rule, they must inform the other team at the start of the game, or in the case of an injured player as soon as the injury is known.

  35. Bats: Batters shall drop, not throw, their bat before running the bases. Penalty: batter is out.

    Only bats listed on the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Licensed / Approved Softball Bats list may be used in the league. See also Licensed Equipment - New Bat Rules.

    Basically this means new bats (post-2013) must have the new USSSA sticker; older bats marked "USSSA BPF 1.20" are legal; bats manufactured prior to 2004 and marked "BPF 1.20" are also legal. This should mean that bats that were complaint under the "old" ASA standard, which the league used prior to the 2013 season, should be compliant under USSSA.

  36. Jewelery: All jewelery shall be removed, taped or covered for the safety of all players.

  37. Pitchers: Pitchers must be in their team's active batting order and must play at least one inning of defence in the field.

    The pitcher may not touch a batted ball (except to protect themselves) or interfere with the defense making a play. The pitcher MUST get out of the way of any/all throws (across the infield, from the outfield towards home) - either duck down on one knee, and/or move well away from the play.

    It is strongly recommended that the pitcher be an experienced softball player able to better protect themself from batted balls.

    The pitcher must pitch from behind the pitching rubber, if present, or the intersection of the infield dead-ball zone lines on fields with no rubber.

    All teams must have at least one pitchers mask for the team. It is strongly recommended that the mask be used.

  38. Catchers: A team must have a player in the catcher position.

    It is strongly recommended that the catcher stand well back to from the batter to avoid being hit by foul tips, or the bat during a swing; in addition the catcher is certainly permitted, and encouraged, to wear a mask. As the catcher calls the foul lines for batted balls, they should be prepared to move up to the back of the plate after the ball is hit to be in a better position to make this call.

  39. 3'rd Party Interference: Any time a third party (not a player or spectator associated with either team) affects a live ball, the play shall be immediately ruled dead, and the batter is awarded a ground-rule double. Team captains may agree on another result, for example a very long ball in the outfield that would clearly have been a home run that is picked up by a spectator.

  40. Fees: All teams must pay their league fees by June 1st of each year. After June 1, a $55/month late fee will be added. Failure to pay these fees will result in exclusion from the schedule (in other words, dropped from the league).

  41. Rain-outs / Permit Cancellation: If the City cancels permits for a diamond or diamonds for whatever reason - extreme weather, lousy conditions, informal expansion of lease-free dog zones - play cannot proceed on that field. It doesn't matter whether the field's actually playable or not: teams are just not allowed on it. The City is pretty inflexible about this.

    There is now a city web site showing the Sports Fields Closures and Service Alerts. The City will attempt to post field permit cancellations there by 3:00 PM. Note that only closures are listed; if the diamond that you are scheduled to play at is NOT listed, it means it has not been officially closed by the City of Toronto.
    You will need to evaluate on-field conditions against the City of Toronto's playability guidelines.

    There are also now Sport Field Playability And Responsibility Guide (PDF document). For your convenience when determining field playability, the following guidelines should be followed (the sports fields and diamond guidelines have been combined as sports fields should apply to the outfield):

    Sport Fields / Ball Diamonds Playability Highlights

    Other Important Information for Players

    NOTE: The City document has priority over these rules.

    NEW Obviously, it is more considerate to our permit officer down at City Hall if only one person from the League calls to ask about cancellations. On lousy days, the Commissioner will make best efforts to contact the City of Toronto to assess the situation. Please don't hesitate to let your fellow captains know if you do find out about a cancellation!

    If 3 games on a day are declared rain-outs by the team captains, neither team in the 4'th game may claim a default win; the game will either be scored as a rain-out, or the game could be played and count if both captains agree.

    If 3 team captains at a park agree to a rain-out (in advance or at the park), both games will be scored as rain-outs (the 4'th team can not claim a default win).

  42. Umpires: During the round-robin, teams are on the honour system to umpire themselves. Catchers will call the foul lines for batted balls (make sure your catcher knows how to do this). Base coaches will make the calls at the bases (normally the first base coach calls plays at first and at home, the third base coach calls plays at second and third base). No base coach means close calls go to the fielding team.
    No calls will be made by the pitcher or from the benches.

    Umpires will be provided by the League, as available, for the Championship bracket of the playoffs, and for all games on the Championship Saturday. Teams will self-umpire the Consolation bracket of the playoffs.

  43. Insurance: The league does not directly have any insurance for bodily harm or third party liability, but the City of Toronto has a User Group Policy AL2531 Summary (PDF document) that contains a summary of their insurance coverage and exclusions. It is not clear whether this applies to the participants, 3'rd parties, or both. There is a $500 deductible and a $25000 cap per person / occurence.

  44. Permits and Rules: A copy of the park permits and the rules must be brought to all games.

  45. Defaults: Any team that defaults five games in a season for whatever reason will be suspended from League play for the rest of that season, including playoff games, and their League dues will be forfeited.
    All past game scores will be removed from the standings.
    Such teams will be required to reapply to play in any subsequent season, with their applications to be considered on an equal basis with any applications from new teams.
    The League will attempt to contact any team which has forfeited three games to warn them of possible suspension.

For more information on the league, contact Tri Luu at "tri.luu at luuco.ca".

The captains list, rules, schedule, score submission and standings are available from "/~mikep/OPCSSL/".

Report round-robin and playoff game scores on the web site, or to Mike Peterson at "mikep9x@gmail.com", 647-393-4661.

This page created and maintained by Mike Peterson, mikep9x@gmail.com, based on the original league rules written by Cindy Bint (Finance) and Rick Mackiewicz (Health).