As defined under TOURNAMENT PLAY RULES FOR SELECT/TRAVEL TEAMS.


Section 6 - Protests and Penalties

  1. Protest of any umpire's ruling shall be made to the Tournament Umpire-In-Chief (UIC) and/or Decision Committee before play is resumed.
  2. Protests of other tournament conditions must be made to the Host's Tournament Director.
  3. An illegal player is a player not qualified to be a member of the team due to age or a player not listed on the team's roster.
  4. Protests of illegal players shall be permitted at any time during the game.
  5. Penalty for use of an illegal player shall be removal of the player and the team manager from the game and tournament roster. The manager shall not be permitted to serve as manager or coach for the remainder of the tournament season and one additional year. The player shall not be permitted to participate in tournament play for the rest of the tournament season. The player shall not be replaced.
    1. When the illegal status of a player is established, the player and manager shall be removed at that time and the game shall be declared a forfeit.
    2. For interpretation of this rule, the penalty shall be assessed against the person in charge, (manager or coach) when an illegal player is used.
    3. A manager or coach removed under this rule may not be replaced on the team roster for the remainder of the tournament season. Should the manager and coaches all be eliminated under this rule, the team shall be removed from tournament competition at that point, and current bracketing adjusted by the tournament director. The penalty for the use of an illegal player shall be the removal of the player and the team manager from the game. The manager shall not be permitted to serve as a manager or coach for the remainder of the tournament season and one additional year. The player shall not be permitted to participate in tournament play for the remainder of the current tournament season. (The season ends upon completion of the Nationals.)
  6. It is a basis of protest when the manager fails to present the roster and copies of birth certificates when requested to do so by the Host's Tournament Director, or his representative, or the manager of the opposing team.
  7. The penalty for use of illegal equipment shall be removal of the equipment from the game. Once illegal equipment is removed from the game, the penalty for use of or reappearance of said equipment is the removal of the manager from the game.
  8. Seriously inappropriate conduct on the part of a manager or coach, on or off the playing field, may result in penalties assessed against the league. Such penalty, to be imposed by the Zone Vice President following consulting with PONY Headquarters, may be rejection of the league's application for membership in PONY Girls Softball and Baseball the following year, or acceptance of the membership application on a probationary status.
  9. Seriously inappropriate conduct on the part of a manager, coach, or player, on or off the field or play, such as, but not limited to, fighting, drinking, publicly audible use of foul or abusive language may result in the removal of the individual from further tournament play for the remainder of the tournament season. Players removed under this section may not be replaced on the roster.
  10. Uses of artificial noisemakers are prohibited. The manager will be warned when an artificial noisemaker is used by the manager, coach, or player. If the action is not stopped, the game is forfeited.
  11. The forfeiture of a tournament game may result in the elimination of the team from the tournament.
  12. Spectators will not make disparaging remarks about players, managers, coaches, officials, or tournament staff; commit acts of unsportsmanlike conduct; or use artificial noisemakers. The penalty for violation is the host's enforcement of local park rules on the spectator or such action as deemed appropriate by the Tournament Director.
  13. When a team is removed from the field of play, for any reason, when a legal game should have continued, the umpire will grant the team one minute to re-enter the field of play and resume the game. If the team refuses to return to the field after one minute, the umpire will declare a forfeit to the opposing team. The Tournament Director will have the authority to remove the team from the tournament. Regardless of the Tournament Director's action, the manager of the team that refuses to continue play will be suspended automatically from the balance of the games to be played in the tournament and shall not be permitted to participate as team manager or coach until notified by PONY Zone administration. PONY Zone administration will conduct an administrative review into the circumstances and impose additional penalties or actions, as they deem appropriate, on the manager and league.