Rule changes for Dixie Youth Baseball now and later

Bats, age and where you go to school now part of changes and discussions

By Brian Nowlin

Rule changes in sports occur each year and at all age levels. Dixie Youth Baseball may have several changes coming in the next few years, including changing the date that determines the age of the players and bat rule changes that will be more in line with BBCOR restrictions. In addition to those rules that will come in later years, there is a change in where players can participate that begins this season.

The age change could affect which league some players are eligible to play in and would possibly line up with the start of the year (January) or the start of the school year with a player’s age in September being the determining factor. This is not in play this year and additional discussions will likely take place.

The velocity of a batted ball and the danger it poses to pitchers has been discussed at all levels. High schools and colleges recently changed to BBCOR bat standards that are in line with ball exit speeds from a wooden bat. With composite bats creating exit speeds off of the bat that have become increasingly fast, Dixie Youth is also examining a change to the bat standards. Again, this will not take place this season and a 2018 start date is more likely.

One notable change this season has to do with where players can participate in leagues. In the past a player was required to play in the league/county where his or her home was located. The rule book for 2016 now states, “Any player may play local league and be eligible for tournament play for a league in either the boundary where he resides or the boundary of the league where he attends public or private school (excluding home schools).

With this change, a kid who attends a school outside of the county they live in could go play in that league. For instance, if a child lives in Charlotte County and attends private schools like Fuqua or Kenston Forest in this area, they could play in Farmville or Blackstone with those leagues instead of their home league. That is also the case for public schools where a student could live in another county like Prince Edward, but attend school in a nearby or neighboring public school such as Charlotte. They would now be eligible to play in the league where there school resides instead of where their home is located.

These interesting changes and likely forthcoming changes are the newest things being looked at by Dixie Youth Baseball. There will no doubt be even more to come and the hope is that changes are made in order to make the best possible decisions for the children involved.