Rules & Policies

Tournament Rules

The rules that apply to all BABA tournaments are listed in order of precedence below:

Field Rules

  • Unless specifically notified otherwise, no coolers, food, or drinks can be brought into BABA parks.
  • Animals are not allowed in most BABA parks. Please verify with the tournament director before bringing a pet to the field.
  • Managers are responsible for cleaning out their dugouts and will be fined $10 per game if not cleaned.
  • No smoking in the stands, fan, concession, or player areas at any BABA event. Smoking is allowed in the parking lot only.
  • Children must be supervised at all times.
  • Remind your players to refrain from digging cleats into the infield and outfield grass areas.

BABA Policies

The following policies apply to all teams during Bay Area Baseball Association events.

Rules

All teams must follow the rules as outlined above. During tournaments and leagues, managers are required to keep a copy of the BABA rules with them during games.

Team Manager Only

Any issues requiring a BABA director or an umpire must be addressed through the team manager only. No other team representative should approach a director or umpire before or during a tournament or league. Exception: Administrative matters (such as payment or insurance) can be managed by a team representative.

Payment & Wait List

Payment is due when you register and is only accepted online before the tournament. You are not guaranteed a slot until you are paid.

If your division is not listed or if it is full, go ahead and register, and your team will be placed on the waiting list. We will add divisions if there is enough interest, and sometimes teams drop out and make room for other teams. Teams on the waiting list that pay will replace registered unpaid teams.

There are no exceptions to these policies, so please review the items below and plan ahead.

  • You must register and pay online to enter the tournament. We do not accept paper checks or cash. You cannot pay at the field.
  • The payment deadline is one week before the tournament; however, your slot is not guaranteed until you are paid and have produced proof of insurance.
  • We accept these payment types:
    • For Nations Baseball tournaments, we accept payment on their site with a major credit card or debit card with a credit card logo.
    • For nonsanctioned (15/16U and above) tournaments, we use PayPal, which accepts all major credit cards, debit cards, and online checks. PayPal accounts are not required for credit and debit card payments. Other methods require a PayPal account. New accounts
  • You are not fully registered until you have paid! Only paid teams with proof of insurance are placed on the schedule. In full divisions, registered, unpaid teams are moved to the waitlist when a new team registers and pays.
  • To register and pay for tournaments:
    • For Nations tournaments, click the tournament name on the Nations Tournaments page. You will go to the Nations Baseball page for that tournament. Register and pay there.
    • For nonsanctioned tournaments, go to our Registration page to register and our Payments page to pay.

Insurance

All teams must provide valid proof of insurance to play in Bay Area Baseball Association events. If you are playing in a BABA Nations Baseball tournament, and you chose their coverage when you registered, we have access to your insurance certificate, and there is nothing more you need to do.

If you did not elect to purchase Nations Baseball insurance, or if you are playing in a nonsanctioned tournament (15/16U or above), you must upload or fax us a currently valid copy of your team insurance. Please see the Submit Insurance page for details. You will not be placed on the schedule without proof of valid insurance, even if you paid.

Refund Policy

If a team cancels fourteen or more days before the tournament, it receives a full refund. Teams that cancel thirteen to eight days before the tournament receive a 75% refund. A team that cancels seven days or less before the tournament receives a 50% refund. If a replacement team is found, the team receives a refund equal to 100% of the original registration fee, minus a $50 administration fee.

There are no refunds after the schedule is published except as outlined below.

Teams are guaranteed a certain number of games. If rainouts, lighting failures, or other similar situations beyond our control cause a team to receive less than their number of guaranteed games, the team will receive a refund equal to the registration fee divided by the number of guaranteed games, less an administration fee of $50.00. These refunds are called rainout refunds, no matter the cause. Rainout refunds are not given if a rain date is scheduled for the tournament. There are no refunds for forfeits or disqualifications.

Any team that forfeits a game in pool play is immediately disqualified from the remainder of tournament and does not receive a refund. See the BABA Tournament Rules details.

No-Play Requests

  • If you have no-play requests, use the Request No-Plays form. We do not accept no-play requests via email, telephone, or any other form or method.
  • No-plays must be requested a minimum of one week before the tournament start date. Late no-play requests are not considered.
  • Teams are allowed to request up to two no-play times.
    This means that teams can request up to two times not to play. We would like to be able to grant more than that, but it is mathematically impossible to create a schedule with more than two no-play request times. There are no exceptions to this rule.
  • Teams cannot request to play before, after, or at a certain time.
  • Requesting an 8:00 AM and a 12:00 PM no-play does not include 10:00 AM, and so forth.
  • We will do our best to grant no-play requests, but they are not guaranteed. Be ready to play at any time until the final schedule is published.
  • There are no refunds after the schedule is published.
  • If you do not have a compelling reason to request a no-play, please do not request one. No-plays are reserved for teams that have players playing other sports or very serious roster conflicts. Do not request a no-play because you do not want to get up early or stay up late. As stated above, if we have too many no-plays, we can’t grant all of them, and you might cost another team a game because they didn’t have enough players.
  • Schedule changes after the schedule is published are $100 per change. You can pay for the change on the Schedule Change Payment page.

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