Rules you should know!

This week we had a problem with time limits on games and the authority of the head ref.  Here's what WAKA has to say about it:

3.03 Referees have jurisdiction over play and may: 

b. call off a game due to darkness, rain or other cause at the Referee's discretion;

7.01 Regulation games last five (5) full innings.

a. In the event of a tie score at the end of the game, the game shall be marked as a tie. 

b. At the discretion of the league coordinator, a single time limit may be set for all regular season games. Such a time limit may not be shorter than 45 minutes and cannot exceed 90 minutes. A game that finishes by being called off due to a time limit remains a regulation game (see Rules 7.02 and 7.03).

7.02 A game that is called off by the Referee (see Rule 3.04) after three (3) full innings of play shall be considered a regulation game. The game score at the end of the last full inning shall determine the winner. Regulation games called off that end in a tie shall be marked as a tie. 

7.03 A game that is called off by the Referee for any reason before three (3) full innings of play shall not be considered a regulation game and a new game may be rescheduled.

Now what this means is, that not every game has to be played for a minimum of 45 minutes or for that matter for the full 5 innings.  But, if a time limit is set it CANNOT be set for less than 45 minutes.  In other words, we can't set the time limit to 25 minutes.  Since the inception of CT Freedom we have always allowed for a 45 minute time limit.

This is a rule that is seldom enforced due to the fact that the large majority of our games are finished in under 45 minutes, but it is still a rule and the ref has the right and obligation to enforce it.