Parity Guidelines - The goal is to create an equitable system for recruiting and drafting players that gives every association team a reasonable chance to win any game they play.

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Terms

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Parity:

To provide reasonable guidelines that will foster and maintain a league of competitively balanced recreational softball teams.

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Free Agents:

At the conclusion of the regular season all players are considered free agents - unless their manager resigns them to play for the following season. All unsigned players are free to either enter the draft or sign to play with another team as a new player.

 

New Players:

The term “new player” will be used to describe a new recruit – a player that has not played in the association before, an old recruit – a player that is returning to the association after time away, or an unsigned free agent. New players can be recruited to play for an existing team, used to create a new team, or become eligible for the draft.

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Team Roster:

A team, as defined by our by-laws, consists of a minimum of 14 players and a maximum of 20. The actual size of the team roster (between 14 and 20) will be determined by the team manager.

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Honorary Players:

Managers can designate a player or players to be an Honorary Player – an association member who seldom plays due to health related issues. An Honorary Player does not take up an active roster position but is still eligible to play when circumstances allow it.

 

 

Guidelines:

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Option One:

All association team managers will submit a team roster consisting of a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 14 active players - including up to two new recruits - to the Association Commissioner by the March Board Meeting. 

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Second Option:

Managers will have the option to retain all their players from the previous season provided each of those players had signed a waiver form to play in 2017. The roster must contain at least 14 and no more than 20 players none of which can be newly recruited players – new players can only be added via the draft. The roster will be reviewed and approved by the commissioner prior to the draft. The commissioner will consider any extenuating or special circumstances and evaluate the situation based on the parity guidelines. The team roster is to be turned in to the Association Commissioner by the March Board Meeting.

 

Waiting List:

A waiting list will be formed consisting of senior athletes interested in playing softball but did not participate in the draft. Should a team lose a player during the season (injury, illness, moved away, quit the team, etc.) the manager of that team may replace that individual with a player of equal caliber (if possible) from the waiting list. 

 

Preference Card:

A senior athlete who is eligible for the draft* can request to be placed on a specific team by completing a preference card prior to the exhibition game. 

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A senior athlete who is eligible for the draft* can request not to be placed on a specific team by completing a preference card prior to the exhibition game.

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The Preference Card will be used by team managers, like the exhibition game and the rating system, as another means of evaluating senior athletes prior to the draft.

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*A player is eligible for the draft if they have signed a 2018 waiver form.

 

Example of a Preference Card:

Players Name:

Instructions - check all boxes that apply to you including teams names

 

I prefer to play for a specific team. __

Team Name:

 

I have no preference. __

 

I prefer not to play for a specific team. __

Team Name:

 

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Rating System:

A rating system will be established to identify the skill level of each member of the association. The skills to be assessed include the ability to run, hit, and field. The player will be given a number that corresponds to their skill level.

1 = an athlete that can run, hit, and field at a high level – a three skill player.

2 = an athlete that can perform all three skills at an above average level and/or does two of the three skills at a high level. Example – A player that can hit and field at a high level but doesn’t run well. Another example is a player whose skills are all above average but not at a high level.

3 = an athlete that exemplifies the average skill level of a senior softball player and/or they are a one skill player. Example – A player that can hit at a high level but the ability to run and field has declined.

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Team Rosters will also be evaluated using the same rating system to help determine the average skill level of the team. Here is an example of how the rating system will be utilized:

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The Creampuffs have two players with a one (1) rating, eight players with a two (2) rating, and six players with a three (3) rating for a total of sixteen players on the team. The rating numbers are added up for a total of 36 points – in this case. The total number (36) is divided by the number of players, which in this example is 16, and that equals a team average of 2.25. This number will be used to compare it with the other teams in the association.

 

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Petition the Commissioner:

A manager can petition the commissioner with a request to add a new player to their team any time after the draft or during the season. The commissioner, with advice from the parity committee, will evaluate the request, to insure it meets the parity guidelines before assigning the player to a team. The player will remain inactive until a decision has been reached.  

Commissioner is responsible for assigning all new recruits to a team. The decision will be based on several factors: maintaining parity - using the rating system, standings, and team needs.

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