It has been brought to my attention that there are some discrepancies between what people THINK they can use and what they REALLY can use. I can understand when bat policies change and people may think that things are different. Our policy has NOT changed, regardless of the new USSSA standards etc. We are STILL an ASA (bat) league.
I would like you to pass this information along to your teammates and inform them that the umpires will try to be more clear on these policies and will be watching for illegal bats. Players should be aware of what they are swinging and in my opinion, after this, if a player is swinging an illegal bat then they should be ejected from the game as per our stated rules.
Note: (Sanctioned league/tournament play) Any batter, after entering the batter’s box, discovered using an altered or non-approved bat is immediately ejected and suspended for the rest of the game/tournament. In addition, there will be a review by the League Disciplinary Committee. A second offence will result in a minimum one year suspension.
Our bat policy clearly states that we follow the ASA bat policy.
Regardless of the changes brought forth by different associations. Our bat policy is the following…
IF IT DOES NOT HAVE AN APPROVED ASA STAMP, THEN IT IS NOT LEGAL.
There is no grey area in this policy. If the bat has the new USSSA thumbprint, it STILL has to have the ASA stamp. If you are not sure, then ask me and I will get you a definite answer.
Here are some helpful links
Our league link to the bat policy http://gtcspl.slopitchcentral.ca/admin/bats/
ASA standards that are already posted on our site. This is the only one you should have to look at http://www.asasoftball.com/about/certified_equipment.asp
If it is NOT on this list, then it is NOT legal – period http://www.asasoftball.com/about/getManufacturerDetail.asp
ASA is the first and only priority
SPO policy – relates mainly to Super Series as it clearly states that leagues have choice
http://www.slopitch.info/news/approvedbats.htm
SPN policy – again, same statements as above
http://www.slo-pitch.com/content/2012-slo-pitch-national-bat-policy
Please convey this message to your teams immediately and make sure that we are not swinging improper/illegal equipment.
League insurance will not warrant any misuse of equipment
Thank you




