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Softball Speeds vs Baseball Feeds

New Rule Changes for 2014

NATIONAL FEDERATIONOF STATE
 HIGHSCHOOLASSOCIATIONS






NEWS RELEASE

New Rules Regarding Electronic Devices Approved in High School
Softball

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Contact: Theresia Wynns
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 3, 2013) — Two new rules regarding the use of electronic
devices in high school softball were among the five changes approved by the National
Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Softball Rules Committee at its June 10‐12
meeting in Indianapolis. All rules changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of
Directors.
With the addition of Rule 1‐8‐6, team personnel are permitted to use electronic devices
to transmit or record information pertaining to their players or team’s performances. This is to
be done only in the team’s bench or dugout areas, and the information obtained may be used
for coaching purposes during the game.
“The committee felt that with the advancement of technology, it was time to allow
electronic devices to be used,” said Theresia Wynns, NFHS director of sports and officials
education and staff liaison for softball. “It focused on what was good for softball and that the
devices could be a useful tool to aid in coaching.”
According to Rule 3‐6‐11, information obtained by electronic devices shall not be used
to review decisions made by the umpires. Wynns said thatthe committee strongly opposed the use ofinformation obtained by
the electronic devicesto dispute an umpire about a specific call on the field.
“The committee did not want to give teams a competitive advantage,” she said. “It also
did not want to hamper the progress of the game.”
In other changes, the committee established definitions for “team members” and “team
personnel.”
Team members are players listed on the team’s roster and lineup as submitted to the
umpire at the pregame meeting. Team personnel consist of all school representatives located in
the team dugout, including but not limited to coaches, managers, certified athletic trainers and
scorekeepers.
The committee also revised Rule 1‐5‐2c by eliminating “smooth” from the description of
the taper, noting that not all bats have smooth tapers.
Fast‐pitch softball is the fifth‐most popular sport for girls at the high school level,
according to the 2011‐12 NFHS Athletics Participation Survey, with 367,023 participants
nationwide. The sport ranks fourth in school sponsorship with 14,142 schools offering the
sport.

This press release was written by Jason Haddix, a 2013 spring/summer intern in the NFHS
Publications/Communications Department. He is a senior at Indiana University‐Purdue University Indianapolis
studying journalism and medical imaging.

###
About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and
performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education‐based interscholastic sports
and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by
building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and
rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing
rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the
District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,000 high schools and 11 million participants in high school
activity programs, including more than 7.6 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on
interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; offers online
publications and services for high school coaches and officials; sponsors professional organizations for high school
coaches, officials, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource ofinterscholastic athletics and
activities. Formore information, visittheNFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:  Bruce Howard, 317‐972‐6900
  National Federation of State High School Associations
  PO Box 690, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206
  bhoward@nfhs.org

http://www.mpssaa.org/assets/springsports/softball/Softball%20Rule%20Changes%202014.pdf

First post of the new CMWsoftball updates page

Designing a new fun logo for practice shirts and maybe some other uses later in the seasons.