Yellow Kickball Club Rules!

Disclaimer: Parts of the following rules were adapted from ASA softball rules and little league rules. No other written materials were used in creating these rules.
Rules are subject to change with little or no notice.
We would like to Thank the Little Rock Kickball Association for help in organizing our league - YKC Co-Founders

Player eligibility:

Team members must all be 21 years of age or older. All players must have signed the kickball waiver form prior to playing. All players must have health insurance and are responsible for any medical expenses they may incur due to league play. All players must be on their team's roster. Substitutes without prior league approval (in the event of an injury, etc.) are not permitted.

Team requirements:

A team shall consist of 14 to 20 players, with there being a minimum of six women and six men. Each team will have a captain and a co captain. 10 Players will be on the field at one time, with a minimum of 4 of those people being women. A minimum of 8 players is needed to play (4 men and 4 women). Teams are required to "kick" all team players present in their kicking order, including those not playing the field. Teams are to alternate genders in their kicking order. In the case that a team has significantly more of one gender than another, they will alternate two of that gender with one of the other. For example, two men, one woman, two men, etc. All efforts must be made to have the gender of the person int he last place in the order different from that in the number one position so as to not create the possibility of kicking four people of the same gender in a row. All team members must play at least one inning in the field during the game. Late arriving players are to be added to the bottom of the team's kicking order. All players MUST wear their official Yellow Kickball shirt in order to play.

Equipment:

All players must wear athletic shoes. Rubber cleats are allowed. NO METAL CLEATS OR SPIKES ARE ALLOWED! Game ball will be the official YELLOW KICKBALL supplied by YKC. The field will have the dimensions of an official softball field. Bases are 60 feet apart and the pitching rubber is 46 feet from home plate. First base and home plate will have a safety base, an extra base next to the original that the runner must step on so to avoid collisions. Between third base and home there will also be a commit line (see rules section for an explanation). The official YKC home plate will be twice the width of a regulation home plate.

Umpires:

Each team will submit the names of four team members who will serve as umpires throughout the season. Each of the four people must attend a preseason rules training session in order to be well versed in the YKC rules and regulations. The Umpires are there to make the calls; coaches are not there to make calls. Please let the Umpires do their assigned job.

The Game:

A game consists of 5 innings or 1 hour, which ever comes first. Intentionally delaying the game in order to take advantage of the game's time limit is not permitted. No warm-ups are allowed after the first inning in order to keep the flow of the game. An inning started and not completed at this time will be erased from the record. Games tied at the end of regulation go in the records as a tie. Tiebreakers will only be used for the playoffs. Each half inning consists of 3 outs.

Beginning the game:

There will be a pre-game conference before each game at which time team captains must have lineups prepared and each player's eligibility will be determined. Home team will be determined by a coin toss during the pre-game meeting. When a coin in not available just use evens and odds (the children's game where you put out one or two fingers). If one team is not ready to play (at least 8 eligible players) by 10 minutes after the scheduled game time, the team that is ready to play will win by forfeit.

GAME RULES
Pitching the ball:

The pitcher may only take 3 steps before releasing the ball. The pitcher must have one foot on the pitching rubber at time of release and may not cross the pitching rubber until the ball is kicked. A pitched ball must hit the ground once prior to touching home plate. A pitched ball must touch the plate to be called a strike; otherwise it is a ball.

Kicking the ball, fielding and outs:

Kicks must be made by a part of the body below the knee. If a "Double kick" (the ball hitting the kickers foot and/or leg twice in one kicking attempt) occurs in front of home plate it is an out, if on or behind home plate it is a foul ball. Bunting is not allowed. Kickers must contact the ball behind the front plane of home plate. A ball kicked in front of the front plane of home plate is considered a foul ball. Such a kick can be caught for an out if it is caught before hitting the ground. The pitcher, as well as the infielders, is not allowed to advance past the pitcher's mound until the ball is kicked (imaginary line from connecting first and third base). The catcher must remain behind both home plate and the kicker until the ball is kicked. Failure to abide by this rule will result in either a ball being called, or on a kicked ball all runners being called safe. Three strikes make an out. A foul counts as a strike, except on the third strike there is one courtesy foul. Four balls make a walk, and the kicker is awarded first base. Outs are also recorded if a kicked ball is caught before it hits the ground in fair or foul territory, a kicked ground ball is fielded to a base for a force-out, the defense tags a player with the ball who is not in contact with a base, or if the defense throws the ball and contact the runner at the shoulders or below who is not in contact with the base. If the runner intentionally uses his/her head or neck to block a ball it is an automatic out. A kicker who is running to first base may overrun first base. If any other base is overrun the runner is at risk of being tagged out. If the kicker turns left (into fair territory) when overrunning first base, he/she may be tagged out. When a kicked ball contacts a base runner, the runner is out and the ball is dead. All base runners are to return to the base they occupied before the pitch. There is no leading or stealing. Runners must stay in contact with the base until the kicker contacts the ball. If the runner attempts to lead or steal he/she will be out and the ball will be dead. Tagging up is permitted. After a fly ball is caught, a runner can attempt to advance to the next base as long as the runner goes back and touches, or is touching, the original base when the ball is caught. A run scores when a runner crosses home plate before the third out, except when the third out is the result of a force play or when the kicker is called out before reaching first base. Infield fly rule. With less than 2 outs, runners on 1st and 2nd or bases loaded a fair fly ball to the infield that can be caught by an infielder, which also includes the pitcher or catcher, with ordinary effort is an "infield fly". The kicker is out and the ball remains alive. Runners may advance at their own risk. No player from the kicking team, other than the kicker, may be within 10 feet of home plate during play.

Running and scoring:

Runners must stay within the base lines or be called out at the umpire's discretion. Fielders must stay out of the base lines and not interfere with base runners. If it is deemed that a fielder interfered with a runner, the runner will be awarded the base. In the case that a fielder is in the base line in order to make a play, the runner must try to avoid contact at all cost. If in the umpires opinion the base runner interfered with the fielder the runner will be called out. Commit line: Once a runner running between third base and home crosses the commit line that runner must continue to home plate and cannot go back to third base. All plays at home are force plays. If the runner passes the commit line and the catcher has possession of the ball and is touching home plate before the runner touches the safety base, the runner is called out. A fielder can still hit the runner with the ball before he/she reaches home plate for an out. When the pitcher controls the ball and the pitcher is within 5 feet of the pitching rubber, the play is over. Runners that are more than half way to a base may continue to that base; runners not yet half way to the next base must retreat to the previous base. Running past another runner shall result in the passing runner being called out. Ties go to the runner. Over throws - A ball is considered "in play" when it is in fair territory or when in foul territory, it is within ten feet of the foul line; otherwise it is "out of play". When the ball is "in play" a runner can advance at his/her own discretion. When the ball is "out of play" a runner gets teh base he/she is running to, plus one more base.

Substitutions:

In case of injury, a time-out is called by the head umpire. If the injury occurs in the field a player of the same sex must replace the player. If the player is unable to return, the player's spot in the kicking order is to be skipped. Players removed due to injury who wish to return to the game resume their original place in the kicking order.

General rules:

All challenges and disputed calls must be made by either the captain or co-captain. Other team members disputing calls may be ejected from the game. Teams must have base coaches at both first and third bases.