281-442-7003 Day Office
281-442-6823 Night Office
LEAGUE INFORMATION
Please click on link below for information on that particular night.....
281-442-7003 Day Office
281-442-6823 Night Office
LEAGUE INFORMATION
Please click on link below for information on that particular night.....
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Slo-Pitch City Softball Park, a privately owned and operated sports complex, has been open since 1979 offering adult recreational softball, kickball, and flag football leagues and tournaments. Slo-Pitch City is also available for private tournaments and special events. We are conveniently located in the north Houston area, with four lighted, manicured softball fields. All outdoor spectator areas have ample seating, and are decked and covered.
A full concession is located in the center of the complex, and has a wide variety of food and drink items to enjoy before, during, and after your games.
Slo-Pitch City management hopes that everyone has a wonderful time while visiting our facility. Please feel free to ask questions, if any arise during the year.
Good Luck to all.
SPCSP Management
SLO-PITCH CITY SOFTBALL PARK RULES
Overview
GATE FEES League Play & SPC Regular Round Robin Play: $2.00 for everyone 16 years of age and older. A ticket will be given for a small fountain drink at the concession stand.
Tournament Play: Varies
PARK RULES The team manager is expected to read the Slo-Pitch City Softball Park Handbook so that your team, and your team's spectators are fully aware of all park rules. The rules are also posted outside the day office, as well as inside the park next to the league schedules.
We, at Slo-Pitch City, would like playing at our park to be a pleasant experience for everyone. Following the rules will certainly help toward making that possible. We appreciate your patronage, and look forward to a fun year.
Official Slo-Pitch City Softball Park Handbook
1. FOOD B DRINKS B PETS No outside food or drinks allowed in the park. No pets allowed. No BBQ's allowed in the parking lot.
2. ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES are prohibited on the fields and in the parking lot!! Players or spectators having alcohol in prohibited areas are subject to being banned from Slo-Pitch City Softball Park. It is against the law to bring alcoholic beverages into, or take them out of, Slo-Pitch City. It is also against the rules to consume alcoholic beverages in all Slo-Pitch City parking areas. Tailgate parties are strictly forbidden! Slo-Pitch City will not tolerate anyone breaking these rules, nor will the owners of the parking area, whose home now sits at the edge of the lot. They will not hesitate to call Slo-Pitch City staff, or law enforcement officials, if necessary. Anyone who is found breaking any of the aforementioned rules is subject to being banned from Slo-Pitch City Softball Park. This is a very serious matter for us, as well as for the persons that we are leasing the parking areas from. No tailgate parties.
3. LITTER Please help keep the park clean. The more SPC has to clean up behind you, the more SPC has to charge you to play.
4. WARMING UP in the front alleyway is not allowed! No batting practice from home plate before game time is allowed.
5. NO PHYSICAL OR VERBAL ABUSE WILL BE TOLERATED!! Managers, players, or spectators not adhering to this will subject themselves to game forfeitures and/or removal without refund. Team managers are responsible for both players and spectators, alike.
6. RESPONSIBILITY Slo-Pitch City Softball Park is not responsible for any injuries to players or spectators before, during, or after a game. SPCSP will not call an ambulance, as this is the responsibility of a team member or family member. SPCSP is not responsible for fire, theft, vandalism, or any kind of damage to vehicles.
7. NO FEMALE may be on the playing field as coach or player during a MEN'S ballgame.
8. CHILDREN Parents, please know where your children are at all times! Children are prohibited from playing on buildings, fences, in the entrance alleyway, and in the restrooms. Please be aware that your children=s actions could cause you to be banned from the park. No one under the age of 17 (seventeen) is allowed on the playing field. A seventeen year old may play only if he/she has a notarized SPCSP Parental Consent Form on file with the business office.
Registration/Payment Policy:
All teams are required to have a credit card on file with the Slo-Pitch City business office to guarantee payment of league, and to cover any forfeit fees. A minimum $100. deposit is required for entry into any of our leagues. We accept cash, checks, and all major credit cards for payment.
If league fees are not paid in full by the final sign-up deadline, which is one week before the new season begins, a $25. late fee will be assessed for the 4-week season, making the league fee $325.
If the league fee is not paid in full by the 1st night of the season, the credit card on file for your team will be charged the balance owed. If your team does not show up for a game(s), which causes a forfeit, the credit card on file for your team will be charged all umpire fees that apply. Any team that forfeits must pay $30. per game forfeited, if two (2) umpires are officiating; $22. per game forfeited, if one (1) umpire is officiating.
If, for any reason, your team must drop out of any upcoming season, do so before the final sign-up deadline, which is one week prior to league start-date; otherwise the team manager/credit cardholder is responsible for full league payment, and the credit card on file for your team will be charged that amount. If you register a team after the final deadline, there is no dropping out (without the same penalty).
Payments may be made at the Day Office (outside the fence of the ballpark) between 11:00am & 5:00pm, Monday - Friday, or at the Night Office (inside the park) during playing hours. We also have a payment drop on the wall to the left of the front door of the Day Office, which is available 24 hours a day, rain or shine. If using the payment drop, please include your team name, night signing up for, manager's name(s) and day & evening phone #'s before depositing payment into the drop.
PARENTAL CONSENT FORMS
SPCSP offers an adult softball program. Seventeen (17) year olds may play if they pick up a SPCSP Parental Consent From, have his/her parent or legal guardian fill it out, have it notarized, and turn it into the business office. The office (11:00am - 5:00pm, Mon. - Fri.) will give the minor a copy to carry with him/her for the umpires to check if they ask about his/her age. This is the only way a 17 year old may play!! No one under the age of seventeen (17) will be allowed to play.
SCHEDULES
Schedules may be picked up in the day or night office. If team managers provide us with a fax #, a schedule will be faxed to you from the business office. League schedules are posted outside the business (day) office, as well as inside the park, for your convenience. Slo-Pitch City staff will also call team managers with 1st night game times prior to a new season starting. You may also call (281)442-7003, ext. 3, for daily league times. No games will be changed due to teams' extra activities. Make provisions on your roster for these instances.
LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team win-loss standings will be posted nightly on the STANDING BOARD at the park. The team with the best record at the end of the league will be declared the champion. Ties that cannot be broken by the tie-breaking rule will have a playoff game to determine the winner. Teams will be required to pay the umpires for each playoff game played.
ROSTERS
A team is allowed eighteen (18) players on its roster. Rosters must be completed and turned in by your first game. Either give it to the umpire of your first game, or turn it into the office. Player's legal first and last name must be listed to be considered a legal player. NO NICKNAMES! Only one name per line, please. Each players phone number and signature are also required. All players and managers should read the information on the roster before signing. By signing the roster, a player acknowledges that he/she releases Slo-Pitch City Softball Park of all liability. Have your roster ready before your first game. Each team is allowed to change its roster one (1) time before the fourth game. To make a change, manager should get a new roster and fill out the top with team name and managers name, write REVISED on it, then make the changes (drop or add new players). If new players are added, each added player must fill out the roster with name, phone number, and signature. A new roster is required for each new league or tournament played.
BALLS
All softballs must be purchased from Slo-Pitch City Softball Park.
The Slo-Pitch City logo must be clearly visible on the ball, or it will be disallowed. Torn or drab covered balls will not be allowed. Umpires reserve the right to disallow any ball he/she thinks has been tampered with, or that is potentially dangerous to team members.
Balls will be given to the home plate umpire at the start of each game. Each team will hit its own softball. It is each teams responsibility to retrieve its own foul balls. The retrieved balls should be returned to the home plate umpire.
Teams may only use bats that are marked official softball bat.
All Bats must be free of burrs, DENTS and visible cracks.
Banned bats are the Miken Ultra, and the Miken Ultra II.
Home and visitors will be determined by a coin flip.
Prior to the pitch, the batter will enter the batter's box with a one ball, one strike count.
SPCSP will allow teams to start the game with 8 or 9 players. A team that starts the game with 8 or 9 players may add additional players after the game has started. These players should be placed at the bottom of the line-up.
Teams playing with 10, 11, or 12 players may finish the game with 8 players, but the vacated spots in the line-up will be an automatic out, regardless of the reason for the players inability to play.
TEAM CLASSIFICATION & HOMERUN RULE
Class E 1 Homerun
Class D 2 Homeruns
Class C 4 Homeruns
Class B 6 Homeruns
A homerun is a ball hit over the fence. Any homerun hit after the permitted amount will be ruled an OUT.
Also, When a fair batted ball deflects off a fence then off the fielder before going over the home run fence. Effect: The ball is DEAD! All runners and or batter-runner are awarded two bases from the time of the pitch.
OFFICIAL TIME
Seven innings or 55 minutes (whichever occurs first) constitutes an official game. In the event that a game has started and is postponed due to weather conditions, or the umpire, or SPCSP, calls the game for any reason, and at least 30 minutes of the game has been played before it is called, it is an official game.
The watch of the umpire shall be considered the official timepiece. Managers are urged to synchronize their watches with the umpire's before the start of the game. In the event that the game ends in a tie, each team is awarded a half win and a half loss in the standings. In the event of a tie in a playoff game, the tie will be broken in extra innings. All innings started within the 55 minutes will be completed.
RUN RULE
RUN RULE: 20, after 3 innings
15, after 4 innings
10, after 5 innings
COURTESY RUNNER
Each team is allowed one courtesy runner per game, unconditionally.
WOMEN ON FIELD DURING MEN'S GAME
No woman is allowed on the field, as player or coach, during a men's game.
UMPIRES
Umpires at SPCSP are contract laborers, hired to officiate each game, and are in total charge of the game. Verbal or physical abuse by players, managers, or spectators will not be tolerated! Umpires may call forfeiture of a game if players, managers, or spectators are out of control.
Each team is required to pay umpire fees in cash, directly to the umpire at the start of each game.
If 1 umpire is officiating, the fee is $11. per team, per game.
If 2 umpires are officiating, the fee is $15. per team, per game.
Teams that do not pay, will not play.
RAINOUTS
SPCSP will not cancel games due to weather conditions until 5:00pm, game day. Players are to call SPCSP 24 hour WEATHER LINE, 281-442-7003 ext.1, for game status. Players should listen to the entire message when calling the weather line, as information regarding makeup dates will usually be given if the games are canceled.
SPCSP does not take responsibility for the weather. In the event that rain occurs between the time that you call and the time that you arrive, please be understanding. SPCSP's primary goal is to play ball. If in doubt, come out.
In the event of a rainout or power failure, games may be rescheduled to be played on any available night, or at 10:30pm on your regular league night. SPCSP's obligation is to provide a field and a time for makeup games. It is the team manager's responsibility to check the updated schedule inside the park, call the business office at 281-442-7003, or check the updated schedule on our website at www.slo-pitchcity.com to receive rainout makeup dates and times. It is the team's responsibility to field a team when scheduled.
In the event that a game has already started and is postponed, but at least thirty (30) minutes have been played, it will be considered a complete game.
FORFEITS
Forfeiture of a game should be a LAST RESORT! If a team forfeits a game, it is the manager's responsibility to pay full umpire fees ($22 per game forfeited., if 1 umpire is officiating; $30. per game forfeited, if 2 umpires are officiating). This fee will be charged to the credit card on file. If the credit card is declined, the fee must be paid before you play your next game. Failure to do so could result in exclusion from the rest of the league. A forfeited game will be recorded as 7-0, in favor of the non-forfeiting team.
TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURE
1) Head to head competition (who beat who)
2) Run differential between tying teams (team that lost by the least number of runs).
3) If there is still a tie, then back to head-to-head.
4) If A., B., or C. does not resolve tie, a playoff game will be played.
DISQUALIFICATION
SPCSP, or more than one-half of the participating managers in a league, may disqualify a team that they feel belongs in a stronger class. Forms are available for this. Disqualified teams will be allowed to play their allotted number of games, but will not receive awards, refunds, nor be eligible for playoffs.
LEAGUE AWARDS
League brackets with 6 or more teams: 1st Place - team plaque & 12 t-shirts
2nd Place - team plaque
League brackets with less than 6 teams: 1st Place - team plaque & 12 t-shirts
All league awards must be picked up at the nite office, inside the park, between 6:00pm and 10:30pm. Awards not picked up within two (2) weeks of the end of that particular season will be forfeited.
COED RULES
1) Coed teams may play with a maximum of 6 males, or as few as 1.
2) Batting order must alternate male and female, unless the team has more females than males. In that case, there is no penalty if females bat consecutively. If two males bat consecutively in the batting order, an out must be taken between them; therefore, when only 4 females are playing, the females must rotate to insure that no males bat back to back. Either male or female may start the batting order.
3) SPCSP allows coed teams to play twelve (12) offensive players (1 male & 1 female, or 2 females).
4) Any walk to a male batter will result in a two-base award. The next batter (a female) will bat. Exception: with two outs, the female batter has the option to bat, or walk.
5) Coed defensive players may play any position in the infield or outfield.
6) Coed AH may be used as a substitute.
7) Sliding is allowed. When a defensive player has the ball and the runner remains on his feet and deliberately, with great force, crashes into the defensive player, the runner may be called out or ejected from the game. This is at the umpire's discretion.
8) When a female is at bat, outfielders must stay behind the line until the ball is hit. Failure to do so will result in the batter being awarded first base or the results of a hit.
If a manager feels that his or her team has been a victim of mis-interpretation of the rules by an umpire, an illegal action by the opposing team, or of a player playing with more than one team in the same league or tournament bracket, the manager has the right to file a protest. SPCSP is not responsible for controlling illegal players. Each team has the right to protest players' legality. To file a protest, the following steps must be taken.
1) Any protest must be announced to the umpire when the contested action occurs, and before play is resumed.
2) Protest against player's(s') eligibility must be lodged before the player(s) has batted twice. If protesting the fact that a player plays with two teams in the same bracket, you must note that, along with the names of both teams.
3) It is the manager's responsibility to obtain and fill out a SPCSP PROTEST FORM. Forms are available from the umpire.
4) Before the game is over (or, in the case of player eligibility, before the player has batted twice), the PROTEST FORM and $10. ($10. for each protested player) must be turned in to the umpire in cash only.
5) Upon receipt of the protest form, the umpire will check all I.D.'s of the team lodging the protest, and note all names and dates of birth on the protest form. If a player has no I.D., that will be noted beside his name. The umpire will then check the protested player's(s') I.D.(s) and note that info on the protest form. The game is then continued for a final score and all paperwork is sent to the business office to be acted upon. (In the case of tournament play, the umpire will settle the protest right then.)
6) Upon receipt of the paperwork, the business office will check the roster of the protesting team for legality. If a player had no I.D. at the time of the protest, he/she is considered illegal. Also, if a player had I.D., but his/her name is not on the roster, the player is considered illegal. If all members of the protesting team are legal, then the opponent's roster will be checked, and the protest acted upon.
7) In the event that it is a valid protest, the score for the game then becomes a score of 7- 0, in favor of the protesting team, and the money is refunded. In the event that the protested player(s) is a legal player, the score remains as is, and the money is not refunded.
Managers should make sure that team members have proof of identity with them at all times. This I.D. should contain name, photo, and date of birth. If a player is unable to show proof of identity, he/she is considered illegal.
IN NO INSTANCE WILL A PROTEST OVER A JUDGEMENT CALL BY AN UMPIRE BE UPHELD; NOR WILL PROTESTS OVER LEGALITY LODGED AFTER A GAME BE UPHELD.
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Slo-Pitch City is the first private softball complex built in the
state of Texas. Located in Houston, it is a four-field complex offering
adult softball leagues and tournaments. All fields are fully lighted
for night games. A full concession is conveniently located in the
center of the complex, and has a wide variety of food and drink items to
enjoy before, during, and after your games. SPC is also available for
private tournaments and special events. Send e-mail to:
SPCsoftball@aol.com
SLO-PITCH CITY © 2005 | All Rights Reserved |