Kickball Rules
Outdoor Rules
Beginning of the Game
Games start on time!!! Teams must be prepared to play. Forfeit rule: game time is forfeit time. If one team has less than the minimum number of players (8 total players-minimum of 3 females) at ten minutes past the designated start time it is a forfeit.
NO METAL SPIKES ARE ALLOWED. Any equipment in question should be brought to the attention of the umpire. The umpire will make all final decisions with regard to equipment discrepancies.
All games are seven innings or 55 minutes (warm up time included); the last inning will start 10 - 15 minutes to the hour. The ump will enforce this rule and will make the call at the top of the final inning. Note: Due to differing circumstances in each and every game, some games will finish short on an hour in length, while others might run over the hour mark. Please respect your ump's call in this matter. He/she must keep all games on time in fairness to teams playing later hours and due to facility permit restrictions.
Games will be played on a regulation softball diamond or in an open grass area depending on field conditions. The pitcher and fielders must stay behind the pitcher’s mound until the ball is kicked. The catcher or kicker is not allowed to cross home plate until the ball is contacted. The kicker may not attempt to kick the ball in front of home plate. If the kicker does contact the ball in front of home plate it will be considered a foul.
Team Size
10 players play at time. 6 men and 4 women play on the field. Teams may start with 8 players, but 3 must be women. A maximum of 6 men may play on the field.
PROTESTS
There are no protests for any reason whatsoever. The referee's decision is final.
FORFEITS: If your team forfeits a game during the season, the following rules apply:
First Offense: Loss game and warning issued.
Second Offense: Loss game and staff reserves the right to remove team from league with no refund.
Third Offense: Removal from the league with no refund for games not played.
If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to call our office (773.528.1999) to help us notify your opponent. This does not mean that your team will not receive the loss as a forfeit.
Game Play
All batters will start with a one ball, one strike count. The "strike zone" extends to 1 foot on either side of home plate, and 1 foot high. Pitches must be rolled underhand towards home plate.
Pitches may not be bounced, only rolled towards the kicker! Pitches that bounce more than one foot above the ground will be considered an illegal pitch, and thus deemed a ball. All kicks must be made by foot and must occur at or behind home plate.
Pitches must be rolled at a REASONABLE pace. Umpires will call "fast" when pitches are coming in too fast and it will be an automatic ball. It is the umpire’s discretion as to what will be considered too fast. The pitch speed rule is in place to ensure that our kickball leagues stay fun for everyone.
Bunting is NOT allowed. An intentional bunt in the opinion of the umpire is an automatic out.
If a male is walked “ON PURPOSE”, and a female follows him in the batting order, the female has the choice to take a walk or bat. The Umpire will enforce this rule upon request; however, they will not be responsible for notifying the batter in each walk situation. If the umpire deems that the male player was not walked on purpose then the female player must bat.
A batter with two strikes is allowed one foul ball, on the second foul with two strikes, the batter is out.
Game mercy rule: 10 runs up after five complete innings.
Batting
Teams must have at least 3 women playing to start and continue a game. Teams playing with 3 women must take an automatic out in the batting order in the spot that the 4th woman would bat.
A maximum of 2 male batters may bat in a row at any point in the batting order.
Teams may bat as many batters as they want as long as they do not bat more than 2 males in a row at any point of the batting order. Teams may move players in and out of any fielding position as long as they remain in the same spot in the batting order.
No player may re-enter the game once he/she has been removed from the batting order. Teams must take an out in the batters spot once they have left the line-up before the end of the game.
All players in the field must be listed in the batting order. There are no designated hitters allowed. Any attempt at doing so must be brought to the attention of the umpire prior to game time and can only be deemed allowable by the opposing captain.
Running the Basses and Fielding
No leadoffs or stealing, runners can leave the base once the ball is hit by the batter. If a runner leaves early, the ball is dead and the runner is declared out. If this is the 3rd out of the inning the batter will be first up in the next inning.
Players are considered out by one of the following means:
Striking out,
A fly ball caught by the defense,
A throw out at one of the lead bases,
The runner being tagged by the ball,
Infield fly rule
A foul out,
A runner being struck by a thrown ball below the head while attempting to advance or return to a base. If a runner is struck in the head the player who threw the ball may be ejected from the game. After the second such incident that player is ejected from the league. Furthermore, If a runner is hit with the ball in the head the play is immediately stopped. All Players on the base path will be awarded one additional base and the player who threw the ball can be ejected from the game.
Players may be hit anywhere below the shoulders with a thrown ball and will be considered out.
If the runner intentionally uses their head to block the ball, in the eyes of the official, will be deemed out.
Base runner to defensive player contact will be closely watched by the ump. Any excessive contact or collision will result in an "out" and/or ejection. This includes contact with the catcher. Sliding is allowed. Any sliding into a base to break up a double play, or any intentional (in the eyes of the official) interference with the defensive player, the runner and the batter will be called out.
A foul kick above the batter's head may be caught for an out.
All thrown balls are deemed out of play when:
The ball is thrown over the fence
The ball is thrown beyond the fence
The ball is thrown beyond the imaginary line extending from the end of the backstop (if there is no fence).
This imaginary line applies to overthrows and caught fly foul balls.
If the ball is overthrown and hits the fence behind the 1st or 3rd base lines, this is NOT considered out of play and the runner may advance, BUT at his/her own risk. On overthrows out of play, the runner is granted the base he/she is going to (at the point of the throw) plus one more. Note: in cases where a base runner runs past first base, he/she must make a clearly aggressive turn towards second base to be granted 2nd and 3rd in overthrow situations.
On an infield fly (any ball kicked within the infield with significant arc and deemed an "easy catch") with less than 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd or 1st, 2nd and 3rd, the batter is automatically out and runners can advance, BUT at their own risk.
All outfielders must remain behind the coned "outfield line" when a female is up to bat. If the "line" is not clearly marked it us up to the umpire's discretion if an outfielder is too close to the infield. There cannot be more than 7 players on the infield at any one time. Once contact has been made the outfielders may cross the line. If an outfielder crosses the line before contact has been made the female may be awarded first base
Player Behavior
This is a recreation league and it is designed for fun. Players who become unruly during a game to a player, official, teammate, or fan will be asked to leave. If a player is asked to leave a game due to unruly behavior they will be suspended for the following week’s game. All teams should encourage sportsmanship and display it on the field.
Weather Info
In the event of bad weather call our weather update voice mail at 312/409-5021 for Lakefront Locations or 312/409-1009 for any other location.
Indoor Rules - differences from outdoor in red
Beginning of the Game
Games start on time!!! Teams must be prepared to play. Forfeit rule: game time is forfeit time. If one team has less than the minimum number of players (7 total players-minimum of 2 females) at ten minutes past the designated start time it is a forfeit.
Any equipment in question should be brought to the attention of the umpire. The umpire will make all final decisions with regard to equipment discrepancies.
All games are 7 innings or 55 minutes (warm up time included); the last inning will start 10 - 15 minutes to the hour. The ump will enforce this rule and will make the call at the top of the final inning. Note: Due to differing circumstances in each and every game, some games will finish short of the 55 minute time period, while others might run over that mark. Please respect your ump's call in this matter. He/she must keep all games on time in fairness to teams playing later hours and due to facility permit restrictions.
Games will be played on an indoor surface area depending on location. The pitcher and fielders must stay behind the pitcher’s mound until the ball is kicked. The catcher or kicker is not allowed to cross home plate until the ball is contacted. The kicker may not attempt to kick the ball in front of home plate. If the kicker does contact the ball in front of home plate it will be considered a foul.
Team Size
7 players play at time. 5 men and 2 women play on the field. Teams may start with 5 players, but 2 must be women. A maximum of 5 men may play on the field.
PROTESTS
There are no protests for any reason whatsoever. The referee's decision is final.
FORFEITS: If your team forfeits a game during the season, the following rules apply:
First Offense: Loss game and warning issued.
Second Offense: Loss game and staff reserves the right to remove team from league with no refund.
Third Offense: Removal from the league with no refund for games not played.
If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to call our office (773.528.1999) to help us notify your opponent. This does not mean that your team will not receive the loss as a forfeit.
Game Play
All batters will start with a one ball, one strike count. The "strike zone" extends to 1 foot on either side of home plate, and 1 foot high. Pitches must be rolled underhand towards home plate.
Pitches may not be bounced, only rolled towards the kicker! Pitches that bounce more than one foot above the ground will be considered an illegal pitch, and thus deemed a ball. All kicks must be made by foot and must occur at or behind home plate.
Pitches must be rolled at a REASONABLE pace. Umpires will call "fast" when pitches are coming in too fast and it will be an automatic ball. It is the umpire’s discretion as to what will be considered too fast. The pitch speed rule is in place to ensure that our kickball leagues stay fun for everyone.
Bunting is NOT allowed. An intentional bunt in the opinion of the umpire is an automatic out.
If a male is walked “ON PURPOSE”, and a female follows him in the batting order, the female has the choice to take a walk or bat. The Umpire will enforce this rule upon request; however, they will not be responsible for notifying the batter in each walk situation. If the umpire deems that the male player was not walked on purpose then the female player must bat.
A batter with two strikes is allowed one foul ball, on the second foul with two strikes, the batter is out.
Game mercy rule: 10 runs up after five complete innings.
Batting
Teams must have at least 2 women playing to start and continue a game. Teams playing with 1 woman must take an automatic out in the batting order in the spot that the 2nd woman would bat.
A maximum of 2 male batters may bat in a row at any point in the batting order.
Teams may bat as many batters as they want as long as they do not bat more than 2 males in a row at any point of the batting order. Teams may move players in and out of any fielding position as long as they remain in the same spot in the batting order.
No player may re-enter the game once he/she has been removed from the batting order. Teams must take an out in the batters spot once they have left the line-up before the end of the game.
All players in the field must be listed in the batting order. There are no designated hitters allowed. Any attempt at doing so must be brought to the attention of the umpire prior to game time and can only be deemed allowable by the opposing captain.
Running the Basses and Fielding
No leadoffs or stealing, runners can leave the base once the ball is hit by the batter. If a runner leaves early, the ball is dead and the runner is declared out. If this is the 3rd out of the inning the batter will be first up in the next inning.
If the ball is kicked by the batter and it hits the ceiling it will be ruled a foul ball and count as a strike
Players are considered out by one of the following means:
Any sliding into a base will be an automatic out
A ball caught off the wall or screen/net is an out
Striking out
A fly ball caught by the defense,
A throw out at one of the lead bases,
The runner being tagged by the ball,
Infield fly rule
A foul out,
A runner being struck by a thrown ball below the head while attempting to advance or return to a base. If a runner is struck in the head the player who threw the ball may be ejected from the game. After the second such incident that player is ejected from the league. Furthermore, If a runner is hit with the ball in the head the play is immediately stopped. All Players on the base path will be awarded one additional base and the player who threw the ball can be ejected from the game.
Players may be hit anywhere below the shoulders with a thrown ball and will be considered out.
If the runner intentionally uses their head to block the ball, in the eyes of the official, will be deemed out.
Base runner to defensive player contact will be closely watched by the ump. Any excessive contact or collision will result in an "out" and/or ejection. This includes contact with the catcher.
interference with the defensive player, the runner and the batter will be called out.
A foul kick above the batter's head may be caught for an out.
All thrown balls are deemed out of play when:
The ball is thrown out of the playing area or gymnasium.
The umpire will designate “out of play” areas with cones at each designated playing location.
On overthrows out of play, the runner is granted the base he/she is going to (at the point of the throw) plus one more. Note: in cases where a base runner runs past first base, he/she must make a clearly aggressive turn towards second base to be granted 2nd and 3rd in overthrow situations.
On an infield fly (any ball kicked within the infield with significant arc and deemed an "easy catch") with less than 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd or 1st, 2nd and 3rd, the batter is automatically out and runners can advance, BUT at their own risk.
All outfielders must remain behind the coned "outfield line" when a female is up to bat. If the "line" is not clearly marked it us up to the umpire's discretion if an outfielder is too close to the infield. There cannot be more than 4 players on the infield at any one time. Once contact has been made the outfielders may cross the line. If an outfielder crosses the line before contact has been made the female may be awarded first base
Player Behavior
This is a recreation league and it is designed for fun. Players who become unruly during a game to a player, official, teammate, or fan will be asked to leave. If a player is asked to leave a game due to unruly behavior they will be suspended for the following week’s game. All teams should encourage sportsmanship and display it on the field.
Weather Info
In the
event of bad weather call our weather update voice mail at 312/409-5021
for Lakefront Locations or 312/409-1009 for any other location.
