NATIONAL ADULT BASEBALL ASSOCIATION

2008

Tournament Entry and Eligibility Rules

·         Age Requirement:  This rule is what makes the NABA philosophy of operating fair, well-organized and enjoyable amateur baseball tournaments possible.  In tournaments with 28+, 38+ divisions, and 48+ divisions, players must have reached their 28th, and 38th and 48th birthday respectively before the end of the calendar year to be eligible to play on a team within that division.  You must be a minimum age of 18 by the tournament play date to play in any NABA tournament.  Women are eligible to participate in any NABA tournament provided they meet the age requirement eligibility rules for their respective divisions.  A manager of a team may at any point during a game question the age of opposing team members.  We request that all managers have copies of their player’s contracts with them during games to afford proof of player eligibility.  Managers not having player contract copies with them when requested to offer them by an opposing manager may face possible protest and investigation of their roster.  It is required that all players have a valid picture ID in the event a player’s age or identity is questioned.  Any player unable to produce a valid ID will be ineligible to continue in the game and any subsequent game until a valid ID is produced.  If it is found that the player or players in question is ineligible, then the offending team will not only forfeit the game of the filed protest, but all games played up to that point in the tournament, regardless of whether the ineligible player participated in the previous games.

·         Concept:  All NABA tournaments use the mix’n match concept.  All players must have NABA affiliation unless the tournament is indicated to be an “Open” NABA tournament.  Simple majority will determine division eligibility (if a roster has 8 - 18AAA players and 7 - 18AA players, that team must play in the 18AAA division). 

·         Division Selection Requirements:  All division determinations are subject to final approval and/or the decision of the Tournament Rules Committee.  While most teams have the ability to determine what division they will play in, an over ruling can and will be made by the National NABA Tournament Rules Committee if one or more of the following applies to the team:  1) You must move up a division if you won a World Championship Tournament in the NABA the proceeding year; 2) Previously played in the past 2 years any NABA tournament and made the playoffs in a respective division; 3) Previously played in the past 2 years in any NABA tournament Championship game in a respective division; 4) Previously played in the past 2 years any NABA tournament and had a record of .500 or better in a respective division; 5) Does not meet the ex-professional player requirement rules stated below; 6) Your team is represented with 4 or more players from a team that won the World Championship the prior year, and 7) If your team deposit is received after a division has completely filled you may be moved to another division.  Again, the National NABA Tournament Rules Committee reserves the sole right to align divisions and determine player and team participation and eligibility.  If a team drops out of a division upon check-in the NABA will do everything we can to fill the void.  However, the NABA reserves the right to begin the tournament without a said team and issue a forfeit win to the opposing teams when necessary, and/or to delete a division and add it to another division.  PLEASE NOTE:  NABA may choose to combine two divisions for purposes of pool play only provided that every team meets the pro-rule for each division established by NABA.  After pool play is complete, NABA may take the records of each team in the combined division and re-seed each team into a higher and lower division based on each teams’ record for playoffs and championship games.  For example:  where a 6 team pool is needed, if 16 teams sign up for the 18A division, and 4 teams sign up for the 18AA division, obviously the NABA cannot create an 18AA division.  We may therefore, combine the 16 teams in 18A with the 4 teams in 18AA for purposes of pool play only.  After pool play is complete, each team will be re-seeded for the playoffs and championship games.  For purposes of this example, if NABA at the World Series has 8 teams’ in the playoffs for 18AA and 8 teams in the playoffs for 18A, the NABA would take the top 8 teams during the re-seeding to the 18AA playoffs and the next best 8 teams to the 18A playoffs. 

·         Ex-professional Player & College Player Requirements:  Players who are under verifiable professional baseball contracts are ineligible to play in NABA tournaments except for the highest level of play of 18AAA and Wood Bat Divisions.  A player must be out of any level of professional baseball (Major League, AAA, AA, A, Fall League, Instructional or Rookie Leagues) for 60 days prior to the start of a World or National Championship Tournament, to be eligible to participate in NABA World and National Championships with the exception of 18AAA and Wood Bat Divisions.  Therefore, any player who received compensation for playing baseball from a baseball organization listed above within the last 60 days prior to the start of a World or National Tournament is ineligible to play in the tournament (except for 18AAA and Wood Bat Divisions) unless given special permission to participate by the National NABA Tournament Rules Committee.  A participant in the NABA tournament is not considered an ex-professional ballplayer if: 1) The player has been out of a contract of any level of professional baseball for seven complete seasons, and/or 2) The player is 43 years old and has been out of professional baseball for three seasons.  Teams violating this rule will forfeit all games in which that player (or players) played even if the existence of a contract is discovered after the fact.  Final resolution in such a situation is at the sole discretion of the Tournament Rules Committee.  Players who played on a college team or college practice squad, including a club college team are eligible to play only in those divisions according to the NABA rules specified below.  Any player who played with a college team, practice squad or club team in NCAA Divisions I; II; III; NAIA and Junior/Community College must play in the divisions as outlined below.  The National NABA Tournament Rules Committee reserves the right to alter these requirements or make special considerations to these rules.  The following ex-professional player requirements must be adhered to:

·         Any Wood bat division at any age group is considered an open division and anyone is allowed to play.

·         In the 18AAA division anyone is allowed to play.                             

·         In the 18AA division, a team may have up to (2) ex-pros on their roster with no more than (1) being a pitcher and an unlimited number of college players.

·         In the 18A division, no team may have ex-pros on their roster, and may have up to (5) college players with no more than (2) being a pitcher.

·         In the 18-Rookie division, no team may have any players who have ever played any level of professional or college baseball.

·         In the 28AA division, a team may have up to (5) ex-pros on their roster with no more than (2) being a pitcher.

·         In the 28A division, a team may have up to (2) ex-pros on their roster with no more than (1) being a pitcher.

·         In the 28-Rookie division, no team may have ex-pros as defined above participating.

·         In the 38AA division, a team may have up to (5) ex-pros on their roster with no more than (2) being pitchers.

·         In the 38A division, a team may have up to (2) ex-pros on their roster with no more than (1) being a pitcher.

·         In the 38-Rookie division, no team may have ex-pros as defined above participating.

·         In the 48AA division, a team may have up to (5) ex-pros on their roster with no more than (2) being a pitcher.

·         In the 48A division, a team may have up to (2) ex-pros on their roster with no more than (1) being a pitcher.

·         In the 48-Rookie division, no team may have ex-pros as defined above participating.

The NABA reserves the right to refuse any player or team permission to participate in a tournament.  The NABA reserves the right to add, delete or merge divisions based on the number of teams entered at anytime before the tournament, and will give every effort to give teams advance notice, however NABA may not be able to do so.  If a team planned to enter a deleted division, that team may play in another division or receive a refund minus your deposit, or transfer the balance to another NABA National or World Championship Tournament, provided it is at least 5 days prior to check-in.  The NABA also reserves the right to make changes to the rules or make changes in prizes and/or giveaways (but with a substitute or equal or greater value), which would then be effective upon notice to the teams participating in the tournament.                                         (UP-01/08)