Summer Competition Rules

Umpiring Team Duties 

• Teams will be allocated umpiring duties as part of the competition draw
• MWSA will only provide paid plate umpires for the first Teeball and Modball games on Saturday mornings. Team must source their own umpires for all other umpiring duties.
• In addition to the plate umpire, teams need to supply two base umpires per game. Only the Umpire In Charge (UIC) can approve a "2-man" game (one plate umpire, one base umpire)
• All umpires must be registered with one of MWSA's clubs
• Teams can pay umpires to perform their team duties. In the “umpire marketplace”, teams are only to contact each umpire once per week in respect of a duty. Do not persist with requests if umpire has already declined. Preferred payment for private umpiring at MWSA is $40 plate umpire and $20 per base umpire (a consistent amount ensures there is a level playing field for every team seeking umpires)
• Any umpires at MWSA under 18 years of age must be approved to umpire that grade by the UIC (approval may be given for specific times, specific grades)
• MWSA will maintain a contact list for those umpires who are willing to be contacted by the team manager via the “umpire marketplace”.

Junior Blues and Umpire Development

• Junior Blues and Intermediate Umpires will be allocated by the UIC as part of the as part of their devlelopment program. These umpires are not to be paid by the responsible duty team.
• Where possible, Junior Blues with Mentors will be allocated to Division 3 games and may umpire for new to softball senior teams (e.g. an entry level C grade team) 

MWSA Local Rules

The official Softball Australia endorsed playing rules that apply for all Softball Australia competitions can be found at https://www.softball.org.au/resources-/official-playing-rules

MWSA Official Rule Book (adopted November 2024) can be found here

Local Rules for Teeball (coming soon)

Local Rules for Modball (coming soon)

Grounds Set Up & Pack Up

There is a morning & afternoon roster to set up and pack up the grounds each week. Grounds duty allocations can be found at the end of each week’s draw and roster.

SET UP

Collect the trailer from the lock up area – each club has the combination for the padlock
Set up the pitching & batting mats for diamonds 5 to 10. Diamonds 5 & 7 require the 43 foot pitching mat.
Put out the bases & benches for diamonds 5 to 10.
Check the diamonds for safety hazards and fix them – if unable to fix please contact Doug Stracey for direction on what to do.

Shelters are provided for teams on diamonds 5 to 8 and 10. The first team to play on the diamond is to pick the shelter up from outside the Rueb Hudson canteen and erect it. Please make sure the tent is pegged securely with 2 pegs for each leg.  It may not be windy when you put it up however the shade will be up all day and conditions change. There are no shades for diamond 9.

PACK UP

Please check the draw as you may be last game on that diamond.  Some diamonds may only be used for one ot two timeslots on a day so please check the draw.

The last team to use the diamond is to pack the shelter up and return it to the Rueb Hudson canteen. Please put the bases and the benches in the middle of the diamond neatly piled.

For Diamonds 1 to 5 please collect mats, bases & benches and put them in/on the trailer and return the trailer to the lock up area & lock it securely. Assist putting shades and anything else into Rueb Hudson canteen storage – if not already packed away.

For other diamonds, put the mats (rolled not folded), bases & benches near home plate. Take down the shades & return them to the Rueb Hudson canteen.

All teams are to report any damage to the shade (to Doug Stracey) so we can get it repaired

Please remove all rubbish from the diamond and put it in a bin.

Scoring Team Duties

All teams must nominate a scorer and the scorer is responsible for that team’s submission of results. Ideally, scoring duties during the game will be shared across several players/families in a team. 

Results will be entered via RevSport (the platform used across all Softball Australia clubs) MWSA regularly runs scoring courses to help our scorers learn to record this information. Registration details will be available on the noticeboard near the Rueb Hudson Canteen and on MWSA’s social media.

Incident & Injury Reporting

All incidents and injuries should be noted in the scoring app in the Notes section on the day.

V-Insurance Group is the appointed insurance broker for Softball Australia. Click the link below for access to:

All insurance enquiries including claim forms must be submitted to insurance@softball.org.au for the final sign off (all parties must have signed the form before it is sent).

Wet Weather & Ground Closures

The golden rule is games are on unless you hear otherwise. A decision on morning games will be made by 7:30am and afternoon games by 12:00pm. Cancellations will be published on the home page of website and via Facebook & Instagram.

 Working with Children Checks (WWCC)

The Working with Children Check (WWCC) is a requirement for anyone who works or volunteers in child-related work in NSW.

It involves a National Police Check (criminal history record check) and a review of reportable workplace misconduct.  

If approved, a WWCC is granted for 5 years before it must be renewed.

Apply for your WWCC (there are no fees payable for volunteers in local sporting associations): New Application - NSW Working with Children Check

Renew your WWCC (again there are no fees payable for volunteers): Renewal Application - NSW Working with Children Check