Rules of Play

Your spot is not reserved until payment is received. Registration is not complete until all rosters and ratings have been received. The entry fees are non-refundable unless a written cancellations is received before Monday September 30th, 2024.  

Team Ratings & Rosters
Ratings must be sent via e-mail to: aloharainbowclassic@hotmail.com

and rosters sent by Sunday, October 13th 2024. Changes to ratings or roster after October 13th, 2024 must be made IN PERSON at registration by the manager only. 
 

Player Registration
Players and managers are required to register with a photo ID before stepping on to the field.  Registration is available Friday night,  6pm - 9pm,  or Saturday morning at the fields. 

Players must register before 12pm on Saturday. No Sunday registrations allowed. 

Teams are taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration is not complete until all rosters and ratings have been received and the entry fee has been paid in full. The entry fees are non-refundable unless a written cancellations is received before Monday, September 30th, 2024. 

Competition will be offered in Open C, D, and Womens + Divisions. All players according to the ratings rules will be placed into the division at the discretion of the tournament directors. 

Team rosters may not exceed 20 players (Open Division), along with one manager/coach, and one scorekeeper. Final rosters must be submitted by the registration deadline. All teams are required to register with a Government ID before taking the field. Players must register before they step on to the field to play in their specific division for the tournament.  Players must be at least 18 years of age to register and participate in the tournament.  Additionally, no player may be on the roster of both a Women's Division team and an Open Division Team, and no player may be on the roster of more than one team. 

Player ratings, using the NAGAAA/ASANA rating system, must be submitted for each player on the roster. 

The following team rating guidelines apply: 

• Open C Division - total team rating (sum of the 10 highest rated players on the team) must be 140 or less.  
• Open D Division - total team rating (sum of the 10 highest rated players on the team) must be 110 or less.  
• Womens + - all womens + teams are required to submit ratings to determine division eligibility. 

Trophies will be given to the top 3 teams for all divisions.  

• Game time is forfeit time - if not ready to play when called, your team may be forced to forfeit.
• To start a game, a minimum of 9 players on a team is required. If you have fewer than 9 players, you will be required to forfeit the game.  If you have exactly 9 players, your line-up card must include a 10th batter slot, which will be an automatic out each time it comes up. If an eligible 10th player becomes available during the course of the game, that player can take the empty batter slot during the game.
• All batters will start with a 1-1 count throughout the tournament, with one free foul after the second strike the exception to this rule is for championship games all batters will start with a 1-1 count, no free foul given. .  
• The home team in each game will be determined by a coin toss.
• The home team must act as the official scorekeeper for the game.
• Line-up cards for each game must be completed in triplicate and given to the home plate umpire prior to the start of the game.
• There is no stealing of bases allowed.
• Once games begin, they are under the jurisdiction of the umpire.  Umpires shall have the authority to rule on any specific point not covered in these rules. Games may be protested for rule interpretation only.  Judgement calls may not be protested. Calls protested must be done at the time of the disagreement or before the end of the game. A ruling of the protest will be made by the protest committee of the Rainbow Classic. Such rulings will be final and NOT subject to appeal.

• 20  runs after 3 innings
• 15  runs after 4 innings
• 10  runs after 5 innings

Two (2) extra players are allowed in the batting line-up. 

Prior to the start of the game, up to two (2) players may be  identified as requesting a courtesy runner.  They must be identified on  the line-up cards prior to the start of each game.  Use of the courtesy runner is not mandatory, but if requested, the courtesy runner must enter the game prior to the next pitch. 

• The courtesy runner will be the last out .
• A person designated as requesting a courtesy runner may have the courtesy runner every time up, even if they bat more than once in the same inning.
• A non-starting player may be designated as requesting a courtesy runner, in which case the above rules would take effect once the player enters the game.

• C  Division: 1 homerun per team per game; every additional home run will be considered outs.
• D  Division:  no homeruns are allowed; all will be considered inning ending outs.
• Womens +: 1 homerun per team, per game, every additional home run will be considered outs. 

• All team players shall properly wear numbered uniforms, blue jeans and cargo shorts are permitted, but we will not tolerate a player's appearance that exposes any portion of the buttocks, genitilia, women's breasts, underwear, or any other portion of a player's body that may be deemed offensive to other players.
• Bandanas do not qualify as headbands and cannot be worn around the head or neck at any time.  
• Jewelry of any kind, such as nose rings, earrings, necklaces, and or watches cannot be worn while on the field.

• No new inning after 50 minutes.
• All games will have a 1-1 count, with one free foul after the second strike. 
• All games can end in a tie.

• Overall record, head-to-head record, and run differentials will determine each team's seed.
• All games will have a 1-1 count, with one free foul after the second strike, except for championship games, where no free foul is given. 
• No new innings after 50 minutes.
• The ASA Tie Breaker Rule is in effect after 50 minutes or 7 innings of play.
• All championship games will have 60-minute games, with 0-0 count.  

• Any bat used during the tournament must be ASA approved.
• All team bats will be checked prior to the game and must be made available to the umpire in front of the dugout. 
• The ASA NON-APPROVED BAT LIST rules will be in effect. If use of a NON-APPROVED (OR ALTERED) bat is discovered in play, the player will be EJECTED from the tournament and the team will FORFEIT that game.  
• Use of an illegal bat (dented, cracked, loose grip tape, etc.) will result in the player being called out.
• If there are two bags at first base, the ASA double bag rule is in effect.

• All divisions will use the .52 COR, 300 Compression, Pink 12-inch ball. Womens + will use the .52 COR, 300 Compression, Pink 11-inch ball. 
• Any Women's team playing in the Open D & C division, may choose to use the 11" or 12" ball, but it must be designated at the beginning of the game. (Opposing team, if an Open division team, will use the 12" ball).       
• Metal cleats or metal screws in cleats are illegal. Rubber type cleats are permitted but optional.
• Any player with an open, bleeding wound MUST leave the game immediately until the bleeding has stopped and has been properly bandaged. The game may be halted for a maximum of five minutes to allow the player to comply without penalty. After five minutes, a substitution must take the place of the injured player.
• Fake tags are illegal. You may hurt someone seriously by doing this. Committing player is subject to ejection.
• Collisions: A player must slide or otherwise give up in order to avoid hitting the player making a tag. YOU CAN NOT RUN OVER A PLAYER THAT HAS THE BALL! This could result in automatic ejection of the committing player. This rule also applies to breaking up a double play. If the runner stays in the baseline and is hit with the ball or prevents the fielder from making a throw to complete the double play by staying in the baseline, then the committing base runner and the batter/runner shall be called out! This rule applies to double play attempts at any base. This is an umpire judgement call.

• An eligible player is a player who has signed the proper forms prior to playing their first game; has a player rating that fits that player and the Division in which that player plays.
• If a team plays with an ineligible player, it will forfeit all games played in by an ineligible player(s). A team contesting a player's eligibility must register an official protest to the umpire in the game in which it suspects that player is playing. This may only be done during Round Robin play, and must be done during your game. The cost to protest a question on a player will be $300 per question and must be in CASH and given to the umpire during the game along with the protest form, no credit or debit cards will be accepted. A players rating may be viewed at the registration table and only by the teams coach or manager. Should the protest be upheld, then all money will be returned to the team, if it is not upheld, then the team will forfeit the money to the ARC Tournament.
• Managers and coaches and /or players falsifying information on the roster, line-up, player waiver, or ratings sheets will be automatically ejected from the Tournament. 

• One's conduct, rather than sexuality, will dictate whether one is allowed to play. As long as a player, gay or straight, understands we are a gay softball tournament and respects the rights of others, players may participate. Anyone not respecting the rights of others can be ejected from games and or removed from the tournament.
• Alcohol or drug use is not permitted at any time while on the fields. If a player is intoxicated/high or seen drinking alcohol or ingesting drugs between games that player will be ejected from the next two game(s) and or removed from the tournament.