Summer Kickball 2026 - Rules · Slugger Athletics Kickball League

Slugger Athletics Kickball League Rules

Summer 2026 Season

Official rules for a competitive, fair, and fun season. By participating in the league, all players agree to abide by these rules.

Cheat sheet

The most important rules at a glance. Full details below.

Game length: 7 innings or 55 min. Hard stop 9:30 PM.
On the field: 10 max, 8 min. At least 3 women required to field a full 10. With only 2 women available, max 9 fielders. With 1 woman, max 8.
Batting order: No more than 2 men in a row.
Pitches: Underhand only, ball must bounce below 1 ft, max 3 bounces.
Strikes/balls: 3 strikes = out, 4 balls = walk. With 2 strikes, the first foul is a courtesy; next foul = out.
Walk + female on deck: Male goes to 2nd, female takes 1st (no kick).
No bunting. Soft kicks count as fouls (or out with 2 strikes).
Pegging: Below the neck only. Headshots = runner safe (unless they ducked into it). No pegging on a base.
Base running: No leading off or stealing. Leave early = out. Slide any way you want, including headfirst.
First touch (tag-up): Runners may tag up the moment a fielder first touches the ball in the air - a clean catch isn't required.
Defense pre-kick: Outfielders stay on the grass. Infielders behind the 1st-3rd diagonal.
Sidelines: Stay clear of 1st and 3rd base lines. If a fielder collides with a sideline player going for a ball, the runner is automatically out.
Run cap: 5 per inning. Mercy: 15 after 3, 10 after 5.
Forfeit: 10-min grace period, then 7-0 loss.
Cleats: No metal. Rubber or sneakers only.
Conduct: Be cool to umps, opponents, and teammates. Umpire's call is final.

Game format

Game length: 7 innings or 55 minutes, whichever comes first.
Hard stop: Field lights go off at 9:30 PM. Games must finish by 9:30 regardless of inning. Keep things moving.
Players on field: Maximum 10, minimum 8 to avoid forfeit.
Gender rule: At least 3 women on the field at all times to field a full 10 fielders. If a team can only field 2 women, they must play short with a maximum of 9 fielders. With only 1 woman available, the maximum is 8 fielders. Teams cannot field a 10th player to compensate for fewer women.
Batting order: No more than 2 men may kick in a row.

Pitching & kicking

Pitching: Underhand only. The ball must bounce below 1 foot. No more than 3 bounces allowed.
Pitch speed: Pitches must be delivered at moderate speed. The umpire may call a pitch a ball if delivered too fast, at their discretion.
Strike zone: Ball must cross over the width of the plate and be below the kicker's waist.
Strikes: 3 strikes = out.
Balls: 4 balls = walk.
Walk with female on deck: If a male kicker is walked and the next batter is female, both players are awarded a base. The male advances to 2nd base and the female takes 1st base (no kick required).
Fouls: With 2 strikes, the first foul ball is a courtesy and does not result in an out. A subsequent foul ball with 2 strikes results in an out.
Kicking line: All kickers must kick behind the plate line.

Catcher positioning

Field overview diagram showing the kicking box, catcher position, pitching mound, bases, and the 1st-3rd diagonal

The catcher must be positioned within or directly behind the kicking box.
The catcher must remain behind the horizontal plane of the kicker, parallel to the front edge of home plate.
The catcher may not make contact with the kicker, nor position so closely to the kicker as to restrict the kicking motion.
Catcher interference: If the catcher contacts the kicker or interferes with the kicking motion, the kicker is awarded first base. All runners advance one base if forced.

Defensive positioning

Outfielders must remain on the grass until the ball is kicked.
Infielders: Since there is no painted infield line, infielders must not cross the imaginary line running from 3rd base to 1st base (the 1st-3rd diagonal shown in the diagram above) prior to the ball being kicked.

Sideline & team area

Players not on the field must stay clear of the 1st and 3rd base sidelines. Bench, on-deck, and sideline players should not stand or sit in foul territory along the baselines where they could interfere with a play.
Sideline interference: If a fielder pursuing a live ball runs into or is impeded by a sideline player, the play is dead and the runner is automatically out. The umpire may also return other runners to their previous base at their discretion.
Repeated violations may result in a team warning or ejection at the umpire's discretion.

Bunting

Bunting is not allowed.
A bunt is defined as a soft or short kick without a full swing or follow-through.
Determination is at the umpire's discretion.
A bunt is treated as a foul ball.
If a bunt occurs with 2 strikes, the kicker is out. No courtesy applies.

Outs

Caught fly ball.
Force out at a base.
Runner tagged or hit by a thrown ball below the shoulders.
Pegging is allowed but must be below the neck.
Headshots = runner is safe, unless the runner ducks into the throw.
Pegging a runner who is in contact with a base is not allowed. Runners are safe while on a base.

Base running

No leading off or stealing.
Runners must remain on base until the ball is kicked. Leaving early = out.
First touch (tag-up): A runner may tag up and advance the moment a fielder first touches the ball in the air. The ball does not have to be cleanly caught. This prevents fielders from intentionally volleying or batting the ball in the air toward the infield to delay a runner from tagging up.
Overthrow to first base: Runner and batter each get 1 base only.
Overthrow to any other base: Runners may keep advancing at their own risk.
Sliding is allowed, including headfirst. Slide however you want.
Play remains live until the ball is back to the pitcher or the umpire calls time. Once time is called, runners must return to their base.

Scoring

Run cap: Maximum 5 runs per inning.
Mercy rule: 15-run lead after 3 complete innings = game over. 10-run lead after 5 complete innings = game over.
Tied games (regular season): If the game is tied after 7 innings or 55 minutes, the game ends in a tie. Each team is credited with half a win and half a loss.

Substitutions

Players may be substituted at any time during the game.
One-way sub rule: Once a player is subbed out, they cannot return to the game.
Teams may borrow players from other teams during the regular season with opponent approval.

Courtesy runners

Courtesy runners may be used at any time.
Same-gender replacement: Girl for girl, guy for guy. No exceptions.
A courtesy runner does not count as a substitution and the original kicker remains in the game.

Ghost girl rule

The ghost girl rule allows teams to maintain the no-more-than-2-men-in-a-row batting order rule when they have an uneven gender ratio (such as 7 men and 3 women).

When it applies: Used when a team has 3 or fewer women available to bat. The ghost spot is added to the end of the batting order, filled by a rostered woman.
Captain's choice: The team selects which woman fills the ghost spot at the start of each inning.
No back-to-back: The same player may not be the ghost girl for two consecutive innings.
Two women available: The back-to-back restriction is waived.
One woman available: She fills the ghost spot every inning.
Offensive role only: The ghost girl does not affect the defensive lineup. The team still fields 8-10 players with at least 3 women.
Ghost on base: If the ghost girl is on base when her ghost spot comes up to bat, that spot is recorded as an automatic out.

Rosters & player eligibility

Roster lock: Rosters lock at kickoff of Week 1. After Week 1, no new players may be added except as injury replacements.
Injury replacements: A player may be replaced if injured. Once replaced, the injured player cannot return for the remainder of the season or playoffs.
Playoff eligibility: All playoff players must appear on the team's official roster. Using an ineligible player during playoffs results in an automatic forfeit.

Forfeits & grace period

Grace period: Teams have 10 minutes after scheduled start time to field the minimum 8 players. After 10 minutes, the game is a forfeit.
Forfeit score: Recorded as a 7-0 win for the team that showed up.
A team that forfeits two or more regular season games may be removed from playoff contention at league discretion.

Rainouts & makeup games

In the event of rain, the league will attempt to reschedule games within the same week.
Friday makeups may be scheduled when fields are available.
If a game cannot be made up that week, the league will determine whether the game is canceled or rescheduled to the rain buffer week (Wednesday, July 1, 2026).
League decisions on weather and rescheduling are final.

Equipment

The league provides game balls.
Teams are responsible for their own cleats and any other personal equipment.
Metal cleats are not permitted. Rubber cleats or sneakers only.

Standings & tiebreakers

Regular season standings determine playoff seeding and division placement. If two or more teams finish with identical records, ties are broken in this order:

Head-to-head record between the tied teams.
Run differential (runs scored minus runs allowed).
Total runs scored across the season.
Coin flip.

Playoffs - Wednesday, June 24, 2026

All 6 teams advance to playoffs, split into two divisions based on regular season record:

Premier Division: Top 3 seeds (#1, #2, #3).
Rising Division: Bottom 3 seeds (#4, #5, #6).

Each division operates as a single-elimination bracket. The #1 seed in each division receives a first-round bye and advances directly to the division championship.

Playoff night schedule

7:00 PM: Premier #2 vs #3 (Field 1). Rising #2 vs #3 (Field 2).
8:00 PM: Premier Championship - #1 vs winner (Field 1). Rising Championship - #1 vs winner (Field 2).
Home team: Higher seed is the home team.
Tied after 7 innings: One extra inning is played. If still tied, bases loaded with 1 out format until a winner is determined.
Roster eligibility: See Rosters & Player Eligibility section. Ineligible players = automatic forfeit.

Umpire policy

The umpire's decision is final.
Players may respectfully ask for clarification, but arguing calls is not permitted.
No player may attempt to influence or pay umpires for favorable calls.
Disrespect toward umpires may result in ejection.

Conduct & sportsmanship

Slugger Athletics is a recreational league. The expectation is competitive play within a respectful, sportsmanlike environment. The following behaviors will not be tolerated:

Cursing at, threatening, or verbally abusing umpires, opposing players, or teammates.
Physical contact intended to intimidate or harm another player.
Fighting or instigating a fight.
Playing while visibly intoxicated or impaired.
Throwing equipment in anger.
Racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise discriminatory language or behavior.
Excessive arguing with umpires after a ruling has been made.
Intentionally injuring another player.

Discipline process

First offense: Verbal warning from umpire or league official.
Second offense: Ejection from the current game.
Third offense or single severe incident: Suspension or removal from the league at league discretion.

A player ejected twice in a season is automatically removed from the league with no refund.

Questions? Contact Slugger Athletics league management.