Leagues
Didget LeagueBronco League
Pony League
Table of Contents
OP1 - ESTABLISHMENT OF ORGANIZATION and REPRESENTATION
OP1/1 - OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE BOARD
OP2 - MEETINGS and VOTING
OP2/1 - SPECIAL MEETINGS
OP3 - REVIEW COMMITTEE
OP4 - STEPS FOR APPROVAL OF NEW TOWNS INTO THE LEAGUE
OP5 - PROOF OF PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
OP6 - PLAYER ELIGIBILITY DATES FOR 2023 SEASON
OP7 - MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
OP7/1 - MANDATORY COACHES MEETING
OP7/2 - LEAGUE DUES
OP7/3 - MEMBERSHIP PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
OP7/4 - RULES VIOLATION
OP8 - RESCHEDULING OF GAMES
OP8/1 - REGULAR SEASON GAMES
OP8/2 - RESCHEDULING OF GAMES PROCEDURES
OP8/3 - REGULAR SEASON GAME CANCELLATION SOP
OP8/4 - DEADLINE DATES TO RESCHEDULE WEATHER / SCHOOL RELATED
CANCELLATIONS
OP8/5 - TOURNAMENT GAMES
OP8/6 - TOURNAMENT SEEDING CRITERIA
OP8/7 - CANCELLATION OF TOURNAMENT GAMES
OP8/8 - UMPIRES FEES FOR GAMES SCHEDULED AT NEUTRAL SITES
OP9 - HANDLING VIOLATIONS OF FIELD AND OPERATING RULES
OP10 - RELEASES
OP10/1 - GENERAL
OP10/2 - PLAYER RELEASES
OP10/3 - TOWN RELEASES
2024 League Operating Rules
OP1 - ESTABLISHMENT OF ORGANIZATION and REPRESENTATION
The league was established on March 1999 and shall be called the "Tri County Baseball League".
1) All affairs will be handled by the Board of Directors (BOD).
2) The board consists of ONE representative for each town, regardless of the number of
teams in the league.
3) Only towns with a team(s) in any division of the previous season, shall be permitted to vote.
4) The BOD of team(s) with No Voting Authority it still recommended they attend the meeting
OP1/1 - OFFICERS / EXECUTIVE BOARD
1) League Officers shall be elected each year.
2) The BOD shall elect a President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
3) The officers will be called the "Executive Board".
4) The Executive Board need not be a member of the BOD.
5) Any officer may succeed him or herself.
OP2 - MEETINGS and VOTING
1) Two-thirds (2/3) of the BOD must be present at a scheduled meeting in order to
conduct ANY league business or approve changes to Operation and/or Field Rules.
For 2024 will REQUIRED that 14 teams to be in attendance at the meeting(s).
2) As of 1/01/2024 there are (20) towns participating in the league.
3) 20 teams have Voting Authority in 2024
4) Each town is entitled to one (1) vote per division in which they had a team
represented the previous year regardless of the number of teams in the division.
5) Approval of any items will carry a simple majority in all voting matters (51%).
OP2 /1 - SPECIAL MEETINGS
1) Meeting(s) may be called by the League President or at the request of two or more members of the BOD.
2) One person from each town shall be notified five (5) days prior to the meeting.
OP3 - REVIEW COMMITTEE
1) Will be comprised of 5 individuals - League President, Secretary, and three (3) independent town representatives.
2) The three (3) town representatives will be selected randomly from the current list of town representatives.
3) Towns having individuals, coaches, players, fans, parents, entire teams, or situations
being reviewed by the committee; their representative will be excluded from the random selection process.
4) The President will be responsible for determining the need for the committee to meet.
5) Review Committee will deal with any issues related to Operating and Field Rules.
6) They will NOT review decisions made by umpires in game situations.
7) Review Committee has been given approval by the BOD to make decisions on behalf
of the league including dropping from the league, or any participation in the league.
NOTE: The committee can review specific individuals or team's behavior and its affect on the league and it's reputation.
OP4 - STEPS FOR APPROVAL OF NEW TOWNS INTO THE LEAGUE
1) New towns wishing entry into the league MUST submit their request to the League
President prior to the first scheduled meeting of the new season.
2) They will be asked to be present at that meeting to present their formal request.
3) After their request has been made, they will be asked to leave the meeting to allow for open
discussion by the BOD.
4) A vote will be taken at that meeting and the results communicated by the League President.
OP5 - PROOF OF PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
1) Birth certificates need not be furnished for league play but be available upon request
by the executive board.
2) Official team rosters will be submitted to the League Officers at the Pre-Season Meeting
prior to the start of the regular season.
3) Changes to this roster may be made prior to June 24th - No Exceptions
4) Girls are eligible to participate in the league.
OP6 - PLAYER ELIGIBILITY DATES for 2024 Season
DIDGET DIVISION
1) Maximum age is ten (10) years old.
2) They CANNOT be eleven (11) years old prior to January 1st of the year in question.
3) Dates for the 2024 season are 01/01/2013 - 12/31/2014
BRONCO DIVISION
1) Maximum age is twelve (12) years old.
2) They CANNOT be thirteen (13) years old prior to January 1st of the year in question.
3) Dates for the 2024 season are 01/01/2011 - 12/31/2012
PONY DIVISION
1) Maximum age is fourteen (14) years old.
2) They CANNOT be fifteen (15) years old prior to January 1st of the year in question.
3) Dates for the 2024 season are 01/01/2009 - 12/31/2010
NOTE:Amendment approved by BOD 1-14-07
1) The League permits towns to roster players with a calendar year of "2015" or younger in
the Didget division SOLEY for the purposes of being able to field a team.
2) This privilege is not to be abused.
OP7 - MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
OP7/1 - MANDATORY COACHES MEETING - BOD 4-15-12
1) A member of the coaching staff (either the Head Coach or an Assistant) MUST ATTEND
a MANDATORY COACHES Rules and Procedures meeting scheduled prior to start of
regular season.
2) Failure to attend will result in that team not able to participate in regular season play until
that requirement is met and the respective Town Representative will be contacted.
3) This review has been completed with the League President.
OP7/2 - 2024 LEAGUE DUES
Didget and Bronco teams: $55.00
Pony teams: $70.00
1) Per team in the league.
2) Dues are payable to the Tri-County Baseball League and submitted to League Secretary.
3) Each participating team and/or town must provide proof of liability insurance
4) Recommended minimum coverage MUST include the following:
Minimum amounts: Death $10,000.00
Medical $25,000.00
Liability $50,000.00
OP7/3 - MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT - BOD 4/2/17
1) Any member town that does not have active partipication (any teams) for a period of four years will be dropped as a member of the league
2) After that four year period a town would be REQUIRED to follow the process outlined for new towns requesting entry into the league
OP7/4 - RULES VIOLATIONS
1) If a current team in the Tri County League breaks any of the Operational Rules that team
will be suspended from league participation for the current season of play.
OP8 - SCHEDULING OF GAMES
OP8/1 - REGULAR SEASON GAMES:
1) The league schedule shall be the responsibility of the League President.
2) No regular season game shall be scheduled on Memorial or on July 4th
3) Date for the start of the regular season and the number of games to be played is decided by the BOD.
4) Neutral Sites - BOD APPROVED (4/2/17)
a) Games that are played at neutral sites MUST be listed on the final regular season schedule when release.
b) Requests to play at neutral site after the schedule is released MUST BE APPROVED BY
THE HOME/HOST TOWN and the League President.
c) The requesting team will be responsible for covering umpires cost or bring their own umpires.
5) Umpires Fees for Games Re-Scheduled at Neutral Sites - BOD APPROVED 1/18/09
a) In the event a game is needed to play at a NEUTRAL SITE then the home team
IS RESPONSIBLE for covering ALL umpires fees per the scheduled used
by the host neutral site.
b) It will also be the home teams responsibility to make payment of those fees
PRIOR to the start of the game.
OP8/2 - RESCHEDULING OF GAMES
1) League or tournament games can only be rescheduled as a direct result of
weather or officially sanctioned school event.
1a) League President MUST be notified prior to postponing the game.
2) Review Committee Decision 5/24/2010:
2a) Was decided to allow Church Confirmations ONLY as an exception for
rescheduling games in the 1st Week of the season.
NO EXCEPTIONS ARE ALLOWED.
3) Failure to play a game as scheduled will result in a forfeit and penalty points
assessed as described in Rule #10, Item two.
Note; League games WILL TAKE PRIORITY over any other commitments.
OP8/3 - REGULAR SEASON GAME CANCELATIONS
1) Home team managers will begin notifying the visiting team at least three (3) hours prior
to a scheduled game time on any weather related cancelations. BOD APPROVED 1/18/09
2) If there is a conflict regarding the playing of a games then the respective coaches MUST
contact the League President or Secretary for a FINAL DECISION as to the scheduling
of playing a game.
OP8/4 - DEADLINE DATES TO RESCHEDULE WEATHER OR SCHOOL RELATED CANCELATIONS
1) The league has established deadline dates (as part of the regular season schedule)
2) There are dates for both the first half of the season and for the second half of the season.
3) Both teams MUST make every attempt to make up any canceled game.
4) If the game is not made up by the established deadline dates, both teams will receive a
forfeit and minus two (-2) penalty points will be imposed for tournament seeding.
Exceptions:
1) If the regular season game that is scheduled directly before the first half deadline date is
canceled then it MUST be made up by the second half deadline date.
2) If any rescheduled games are canceled for a second time for weather related reasons,
the teams MUST contact the League President for further direction.
OP8/5 TOURNAMENT GAMES : BOD APPROVED (3/21/21)
1) Starting with 2021 season the league tournament will be split into two division
in order improve the parity of the teams and games; Upper Group 1 and Lower Group 2
2) The split for the two divisions will be determined prior to tournament play and handle by the League President
a) Upper Group 1 - Semi Final and Finals will remain the same as in past with Host Towns
for Semi Finals and Finals per League Rotation Schedule
b) Lower Group 2 - The High Seed will be the home town thoughout entire tournament
OP8/6 - TOURNAMENT SEEDING CRITERIA
The criteria to figure the seeding for the two levels of League Tournament is as follows:
CRITERIA 1 - PERCENTAGE
Percentages will be figured by dividing the team's games won by the number of
games a team has played.
The team with the highest percentage is the #1 seed; the next highest percentage
will be #2; and so on.
CRITERIA 2 - POINT SYSTEM - Approved by BOD 1-14-07
Two (2) points for a WIN
Zero (0) points for a LOSS
Minus two (-2) points for each team that fails to play any regular season game,
or fails to make up any weather related canceled game as outlined in Rule #11.
Note: The team with the highest number of points will be the higher seed.
CRITERIA 3 - HEAD TO HEAD
BOD APPROVED CHANGE 1/18/09
Head to Head criteria will ONLY APPLY if all TEAMS TIED have played each other.
If they have NOT PLAYED EACH OTHER then seeding will drop to criteria #4 - Strength of Schedule and if necessary to criteria # 5
CRITERIA 4 - STRENGHT OF SCHEDULE
CRITERIA 5 - COIN TOSS
OP#8/7 - CANCELATION OF TOURNAMENT GAMES
PENALTY ASSESSMENT - BOD APPROVED CHANGE 2/1/14
1) League and tournament games WILL TAKE PRIORITY over any other commitments.
2) A penalty assessment of ($250.00) will be charged to any town that fails to play their scheduled league tournament game.
3) This will be paid to the other team to reduce costs incurred.
OP8/8 - Umpires Fees for Games Re-Scheduled at Neutral Sites - BOD APPROVED 1/18/09
a) In the event a game is needed to play at a NEUTRAL SITE then the home team
IS RESPONSIBLE for covering ALL umpires fees per the scheduled used
by the host neutral site.
b) It will also be the home teams responsibility to make payment of those fees
PRIOR to the start of the game.
OP9 - SOP for HANDLING VIOLATIONS of LEAGUE FIELD & OPERATING RULES
BOD Approved: 4/7/19
1) Violation’s that ARISE OR ARE REPORTED to a League Officer will be investigated immediately
to determine if the information received is accurate.
2) League President will contact the Town Representative(s) with the reported violation or procedural
concerns and ask for their assistant with investigating the information
3) Violations are related to League Activity ONLY and may include anyone involved directly or
indirectly with the league {town, team, umpire, coach, player or parent}
NOTE: Depending on the severity of the event the violation per the League President may go directly
to the REVIEW COMMITTEE for a decision
Steps
1) If a violation or Un-sportsman like conduct has been confirmed, the town representative(s) will be
asked to submit their recommendation for the handling of the situation.
2) This MUST be done the day prior to the next scheduled league game.
3) League President will review recommendation and Approve or Not Approve
4) If Not Approved then further discussion will be taken to come a resolution
(Prior to Step 5 & 6 >> Step 1 will be followed)
5) If coach – town is involved in a second verified violation then the town or individual will be placed on Probation for the Remainder of the Season
6) Third Violation will result in being forwarded to REVIEW COMMITTEE (OP3)
Exemption - Umpires Calls
1) Umpires calls will not be reviewed but the failure of an umpire to follow league rules or has demonstrated
a lack of understanding of the game rules could lead to them being placed on probation for a
specific period of time.
2) If problems continue to arise from same umpire then they could suspension
for the balance of the year.
3) Continue use of the umpire will result in home team forfeiting future game
OP10 - RELEASES
OP10/1 - GENERAL
1) Players MUST get a written release from the town they played for the previous year.
2) This is in effect regardless of the division they played in the previous year.
3) If a player does refrain from playing in the league for a year, then they are
free to play in any town of their choosing.
4) When a player joins a team in the league for the first time, and is listed on the roster and plays
for that town, it will be considered their local town by the league regardless of any other criteria.
5) This rule only applies to players wanting to change teams within the league.
OP10/2 - PLAYER RELEASES
1) When a player requests to be released from their current town, their Tri County League
Representative must be contacted prior to the new season starting.
2) The league representative will have the responsibility to assist in the process of
identifying those within their town who have the authority to consider
the players request.
3) If request is approved, then the Tri County League Town Representative
whom the player would like to play for must be contacted to help with
getting a decision for that player within their town.
4) This transfer, if approved by both parties, must be in writing and signed by the
responsible parties of authority and frwarding to League President for FINAL APPROVAL
OP10/3 - TOWN RELEASES
1) If a town which CANNOT field a team (regardless of division) due to the inability
to field enough players in any given year then the town has the right to release
the remaining players to any other town of the player's choice within the league.
2) This release is only good for the current year of play.
3) When Tri County League activities are completed for the year, the releases
are canceled and the players are returned to their original towns.
4) This process is considered on an annual basis only.
5) It can be used yearly as required by towns.