Medford Parks & Recreation Official Website

• Tournament fees are due no later than by 5 p.m. Friday prior to the week of the event.  All tournament fees are non-refundable after this date/time.
• Tournaments can fill up prior to this date. Simply calling or emailing the Tournament Director does not "hold" your spot. Only payment will reserve your team's spot in the tournament.   

• NFHS rules govern play unless modified by these guidelines, or by the Tournament Director. 

Age Requirements and Age Verification:

• A players age must not exceed the specified age of the division before May 1 of the current season.
• A team may request a waiver for a player that does not meet the age requirement.  Please contact the Tournament Director for more information.
• Each team must present a team roster and birth certificates (or valid documentation) to the tournament director for each player.
  • If a player does not have acceptable identification proving a date of birth, they will not be able to participate in the tournament until the players age can be verified by the Tournament Director.
  • Valid proof of age will be determined at the discretion of the Tournament Director.
• New seasons will begin August 1 and run until July 31 of the following year.

Park Admission Fees:

• Park admission fees are $3 per day; $5 for a tournament pass. (Memorial Day tournament pass - $8)
• Children under 18, players and coaches admitted free.

Prohibited at USCCP/Park Rules:

• NO METAL CLEATS permitted under any circumstances.
• NO SUNFLOWER SEEDS or TOBACCO products.
• NO animals (exception: service animals).
• NO alcohol.
• No overnight RV parking.

Scheduling:

• Tournament schedule and brackets will be posted online and emailed to the individual who registered the team by 5 p.m. Wednesday, the week of the event.
• Age divisions that do not have at least three paid participants at the registration deadline will be cancelled.  Refunds will be issued to any participants that submitted tournament fees and do not wish to play in a higher age division.
• Scheduling requests will be considered by the Tournament Director but not guaranteed.  Once the schedules are posted to the public, the tournament schedule may not be changed.
• Start times are approximate.  Teams should be prepared for early or late starts in tournament play.

Game Protocol (Lineups and Substitution):

• A coin flip will determine home team in pool play games.  Bracket placement will determine home team in bracket play games.
• Teams may use 9-player, 10-player (utilizing an extra hitter) or continuous line-ups.  A "DH" designated hitter position is not allowed in U10-14 age divisions.
• Lineups must be declared and used for the entire game.

Mercy Rule and Time Limit: (Effective March 17^th, 2012)

• Umpires will be responsible for tracking the start time for each game and enforcing time limit rules
• Only championship games will have no time limit. Mercy rules are still in effect for all tournament games.

Tie Game Resolution Procedure (Effective March 17^th, 2012)

• If a contest is tied and the time limit has been reached, there will be one additional inning allowed governed by modified tournament extra inning rules:
  • The last player to have an at bat that resulted in the final out of the team’s last offensive half inning will become a base runner at second base.
  • Each half inning will begin with 1 out.
  • Extra innings are counted towards pitchers total innings pitched.
  • If a game has completed regulation innings and has not exceeded the time limit, the game will continue into regular extra innings without modified tournament extra innings rules until time limit rules are enforced. Modified tournament extra innings rules may not be enforced during an inning that has begun before the time limit has been reached.
• If a winner cannot be determined after the modified tournament extra inning, the game result will be decided by these criteria:
  • Pool Play Games- Recorded as a tie for both teams.
  • Bracket Games- The team that led after the last completed inning in which the score was not tied will be determined the winner. 
  • Innings pitched will be recorded for pitchers from both teams for the entire game
• If a game is called due to inclement weather or unsafe conditions and a winner cannot be determined by NFHS rules and more than half of the regulation innings have been completed, the result will be decided by tournament tie game resolution procedures. 

Field Dimensions:

USCCP Youth Tournament Innings Pitched Restrictions

• U10-U12: Maximum of 6 innings in one day; Maximum of 8 innings during a three day period.  
• U13-U14: Maximum of 7 innings in one day; Maximum of 9 innings during a three day period.   
• At the beginning of each game, each team must submit a line-up card to the umpire. 
  • Umpires must be notified of pitching and substitution changes.
  • Umpires will notate pitching changes/substitutions and submit line-up cards to be recorded by the Tournament Director(s). 
• Three outs for a pitcher equals one inning.  One out counts as a partial (1/3) inning pitched.
• If it is discovered that a player has exceeded the pitching limitations, the opposing team must file a protest with the Umpire-in-Chief and Tournament Director.  A team that is found to be in violation of innings pitched restrictions will immediately forfeit the game in which the violation is discovered and will not be allowed to advance in the championship bracket.

Approved Bats & Equipment:

• For U10-U14 age divisions, Medford Parks and Recreation will require that all baseball bats meet the traditional 1.15 BPF and maximum 2-3/4" bat barrel standards.  
• Based on recent changes to bat restrictions at the national level and the wide range of sanctioning bodies represented by teams playing in USCCP tournament (JBO, Little League, USSSA, etc.), the Tournament Director is given latitude to make reasonable exceptions to the rule based on extenuating circumstances. Any non-standard bats must be declared to the Tournament Director and the plate umpire at the pre-game conference.
• If a team is discovered using an illegal bat or a bat that has been altered to exceed BPF and bat barrel standards, whether knowingly or unknowingly, the team's head coach will be automatically ejected from the game and the team may be disqualified from tournament play at the Tournament Director's discretion.

Protests:

• All on-field complaints, questions, or protests must first be handled by the field umpire, or the Umpire-in-Chief. The Tournament Director does not override, adjust, or change any on-field initial ruling.
• Protests involving player eligibility must be presented to the field umpire or Umpire-in-Chief and Tournament Director. Once a game has ended and umpires have stepped foot off of the field of play, protests will not be considered.

U.S. Cellular Community Park Code of Conduct Policy: