League Structure
League Structure
Aberdeen Softball Association
The Hub City Men's 12 inch slow pitch softball league (The League) Is one member of Hub City Softball Association, Inc. The Association is a collection of several softball leagues in the Aberdeen area, and meet to plan each softball season. Activities include; negotiating player development fees, meeting with city officials regarding usage fees, planning repairs, and negotiating umpire pay. The Hub City Men's 12 inch softball league is provided two seats (or votes) for associated activities.
USA Softball Affiliation
The Hub City Men's 12 inch Softball League is sanctioned by USA Softball, and USA Softball of South Dakota. Any rules and regulations not described in this manual are determined and described by USA softball in the 2024 Rulebook. Our league reports team and manager information for sanctioning purposes and pays a sanction fee for each player in our league.
USA Softball Team and Player Classification
The League attempts to track team classifications and reports them to USA softball Dakota yearly, though USA softball South Dakota makes the final classifications. The process used to classify teams can be found at USA softball South Dakota's webpage, under "By Laws." Classifications are in line with the USA softball national guidelines. Information includes team and player classifications, how classification is made, past tournament results, and instructions for requesting reclassification. Inquire to a league official for team specific classification information (players and team). Player classification notices, deadlines for appealing player ratings, and other information can be found at www.usasoftballofsouthdakota.com.
USA Softball of South Dakota Contact Information
USA Softball of SD Commissioner: Gary Young: usasoftballsouthdakota@outlook.com
USA Softball of SD 12" Men's Slow Pitch Deputy: Sam Mooney: samueljmooney@gmail.com
USA Softball of SD NE Regional Rep: Durran Schmidt: durran.schmidt@dacotahbank.com
USA Softball of SD 14" and 16" Deputy: Jon Ewart: jjewart@nvc.net
When inquiring about State Tournaments, USA Softball Classifications, or roster issues, please reach out to a League officer or the regional representative and they will connect or contact the corresponding person. Past seasons where teams have jumped over the league representatives and/or the regional representatives have resulted in confusion and miscommunication.
USA Softball of South Dakota Website: https://usasoftballofsouthdakota.com/
League Officers
Hub City Men's 12 inch Softball League aims to be a team/player driven league. Decisions regarding league-specific issues are discussed and voted on during pre-season league meetings each year. The league meetings are where the successes and failures of the previous season are identified and discussed, and new rules and changes to structure are put in place. Part of that negotiated structure includes the establishment of 4 League Officer Positions; President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Officers are elected during league meetings and serve two year terms. After the 2024 season, all League Officer positions will be open for election. Individuals with questions or interest in becoming a League Officer are encouraged to connect with the League Officials. In 2019, The League voted to make the total League Officer reimbursement $4000, with the League President responsible for the distribution of those funds among the League Officers. The duties of the league officers include, but are not limited to:
- Collecting Fees and Making payments on The League’s behalf
- Organizing divisions and generating schedules
- Reports and publicizing league standings and schedule
- Address player conduct and illegal activity issues
- Scheduling league meetings and developing agendas
- Maintain league accounting and bookkeeping
- Handle player issues and disputes
- Contact with umpires for questions and negotiation
- Reporting to USA Softball South Dakota, and paying USA Softball sanction fees
- Collecting official rosters and checking in bats during the start of the season
- Maintain The League’s softball inventory and record transactions
- Organize and run end-of-the year championship series
- Notify team managers of rainouts and make-up game scheduling
- Opening the fields on game nights
- Attending and representing The League in the Aberdeen Softball Association organizational meetings
Role of the Managers
Managers play an integral role in our league. They are the main contact point for the transfer of information from league officers to the teams and players. They represent their team, their players, and their fans. Many penalties and consequences for violations (i.e., missing league fees, roster violations, equipment issues, and player conduct) are applied to the designated manager of the violating team. Duties of the manager are (but not limited to):
- Submitting League Fees and Forfeit Checks
- Ensuring Official Roster compliance
- Contact point for their team with league officials
- Submitting team information and requests
- Managing their players’ conduct during games
- Can be responsible for their teams’ fans’ conduct during games
- Helping to ensure leaving a clean dugout after each game
- The manager, or his designated replacement, is the only person allowed to discuss/contend umpire calls on the field
- Ensure equipment being used meets league specifications
- Complete lineup cards and communicate lineups to opposing teams and umpires
Waivers, Forms, and Rosters
In 2024 Teams will complete an online Team Registration Form to provide contact information, team names, and other related descriptions. Additionally, teams will submit the Official Roster Form by April 25th. After submitting the Official Roster and Waiver Form, any changes to a team's roster (player additions or releases) need to be approved by or communicated with a league officer. Teams DO NOT need to have their players sign the Official Roster &Waiver Form prior to turning it in. League Officials will bring the unsigned rosters around to each team during the first week of play to collect player signatures. Any players that do not sign the Official Roster & Waiver Form will need to sign it prior to ever taking the field. A player who has not signed is an illegal player and can be ejected from any game he has taken the field in. By signing, the player agrees to the information and description of risks involved in playing the game of softball found on the Official Roster & Waiver Form.
League Fees
League Fees are collected yearly from each team. In 2022 the League Fees have been set at $1200 per team. Checks can be written to: "Aberdeen Men’s 12 inch Softball". League fees are collected to pay for a number of items: Player development fees (Set by the Aberdeen Softball Association), Field usage fees, USA Softball sanction fees (includes city-required liability insurance), paying the umpires, softballs, and league officer pay. The League presents a financial report at the first meeting of the year, prior to each season. Additionally, collected player fees are used for field and complex improvements on a yearly basis, in combination with city funds and their parks and recreation team.
Forfeit Checks
League Officers collect four $25 forfeit checks written to Aberdeen Men’s 12 inch Softball League. The League has decided to use this method as a preventative measure against last-minute forfeits. When a team does not provided 24 hour notice of forfeit to a League Official, a $25 forfeit check will be cashed for each game that was not played. Teams are schedule for two games per night, so if a team forfeits both games without providing 24 hour notice, two $25 checks ($50 in total) are cashed. The amount cashed is then given to the team(s) the forfeiting team was scheduled to play. In the rare event all four of a team’s forfeit checks are cashed due to forfeits w/o 24 hour notice, the team will not be allowed to play any further scheduled games until four additional forfeit checks are turned in to League Officials.
Divisions, Start Times, and Playing Nights
In 2024 The League will utilize Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights for season play. The number of nights used is dependent on the number of teams registered to play. The League will utilize a four division format, with D Division playing on Tuesday nights, C Division playing on Wednesday nights, and A and B Divisions playing on Thursday Nights. The League will either use a double header format or an alternating teams format for nightly play, depending on the structure of each division. Playing times will be 6:30pm, 7:30pm, 8:30pm, and 9:30pm. Generally, The League tries to schedule teams to play in back-to-back games, though there are times when this does not happen as a means to get all match ups to fit on the schedule. The tentative start date for the 2024 season is Tuesday April 30th. The season will consist of 13 weeks of regular season play, scheduling 24 regular season games for each team. The season will conclude with a double elimination tournament for each division, entry costs are covered via the initial league fees.
The league will recognize both regular season division winners and each divisional bracket champion.
Rainouts & Make-Up Games
City Officials are in charge of calling off games until 3pm. League officers are in charge until 6:30pm/game time, after which, the umpires are responsible for deciding if conditions are safe enough for play.
In 2024, Rainout games will be rescheduled on Fridays, as availability of umpires and open field schedules allow. League officers will communicate updated schedules with team managers and post changes and updates on both this website & their league facebook page (Aberdeen Men's 12" Softball).
Team managers will be contacted by League Officers in the event games are postponed before 6:30pm. The League posts rainout and game cancellation information on this website, its league Facebook page, and submits public service announcements to the major radio stations in Aberdeen (Hub City Radio & Dakota Broadcasting).
In the event that a game cannot be completed because the schedule is full, a coin flip will be performed to determine the winner and loser as it relates to the standings.
Team Division Assignments
A team's assignment to a division is made with consideration of a number of factors with an aim to balance the level of competition within each division. Roster make-up, state classifications, previous season performance, and known tournament performances in the previous summer are all taken into account. Teams are able to request which night/division they would like to play on when they complete the online Team Registration Form. The League's team of officials is designated as the entity in charge of making the final decision with regards to team placement within the league, again, with the aim to maintain competitive balance within each division.
Methods of Correspondence
Email: schedules, notices, and other league information will be communicated via email. Each team should provide a working email that is checked on a regular basis.
Text Messaging: Text messaging will be utilized to communicate with team managers regarding forfeits, rainouts, and other team-specific communications. When a manager has received a text message, League Officers ask that a brief response is sent so that indication is made that the message was received. In the event a text message does not garner a response, a follow up phone call will be made.
Facebook: The League maintains a Facebook page, Aberdeen Men’s 12inch Softball, on which information regarding standings, schedules, meeting notices, updates, and other information will be posted.
Field Postings: Standings and schedules are regularly posted at the Moccasin Creek softball complex. This information can be found within a display box attached to the building that houses the bathrooms and umpire’s room.
HubCitySoftball.com: The League has a website to house league information such as; schedules, standings, rosters, and other league information. It is our hope that it continues to grow and to be a useful tool for players, managers, and fans. We are open to feedback and suggestions to try and make viewing and interacting with the webpage a valuable experience. The webpage was developed using a suite of Google applications and at a minimal cost.
End of Season Divisional Tournaments
The end of the season will consist of a double elimination bracket for each division. Teams will be entered into the tournament at no additional cost and will play to determine each division champion. Regular season records will determine seeding within the brackets. The highest seeds will be the home team up until "the hill" game, where the team in the "winners" bracket will be the home team regardless of seeding. In the event the "If" game is played, a coin flip will be used to determine who is home team for the final match. Prior to the start of the postseason each team's roster will be locked-in and no further pick-up players will be allowed.