Rules

Last updated: August 2026

Eligibility

• Age divisions are 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, and 18U. A player's division is set by her age on August 31 preceding the current season year. A player may play up one division; she may never play down.

• Every player on a roster must appear on the team's online roster in the Top Dawg coach dashboard before her first game. Paper rosters at the field are not accepted.
• Proof of age (birth certificate, passport, or state ID) must be available on request at every event. A team that cannot produce it for a challenged player forfeits every game that player appeared in.
• A player may be rostered on only one Top Dawg team per age division per season. Guest players are allowed at the tournament director's discretion and must be declared before the team's first game.

Classification

• Teams declare a class — A, B, C, or Rec — at sanctioning.
• Rec teams must be organized through a recreational league and may not hold tryouts.
• Top Dawg Administration will reclassify teams based on win percentage.

Sanctioning and Insurance

• Every team pays the annual sanction fee once per season before it can enter an event.
• Every team must upload a certificate of insurance showing team general liability and participant accident coverage. See the insurance page for what the certificate must show.
• A team whose coverage lapses during the season may not take the field until a current certificate is on file.

Entries and Refunds

• Entries are confirmed only when the entry fee has been paid. An unpaid entry does not hold a spot.
• Refund schedule: full refund through the entry deadline; 50% for four days after the deadline; no refund after the schedule is released.
• If Top Dawg cancels an event before any game is played, every team receives a full refund. If weather stops an event after it starts, refunds follow the Weather section below.

Game Play

Unless stated here, Top Dawg events are played under NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) softball rules for the current year.

• Time limits, run rules, and tie-breakers are posted per event — see each tournament's event page for its format details.
• Metal cleats are allowed in 14U and up only.
• Batting order may be 9, 10 (DP/Flex), or the full roster. The choice is made at the plate meeting and applies for the whole game.
• Free substitution applies only when batting the full roster.

Conduct

• Coaches are responsible for their players, parents, and fans. One warning is issued to a team for spectator behavior; the second offense removes the head coach.
• Any player, coach, or spectator ejected from a game is suspended for the rest of that game and the next game. A second ejection in the same season is a season suspension.
• Physical contact with an umpire or director results in immediate removal from the complex and a minimum one-year suspension from Top Dawg events.
• Protests must be made on the field before the next pitch, cost $100 cash (refunded if upheld), and are decided on the spot by the tournament director. Judgment calls cannot be protested.

Weather

• Directors will shorten time limits, convert games to "time remaining," or move to coin flips only when necessary to complete an event.
• Refunds for weather: 100% if no games are played; 50% if one game is played; none if two or more games are played.
• Lightning within 8 miles clears the fields for a minimum of 30 minutes from the last strike.

Ranking Points

• Points are earned by finishing place according to the published points table on the rankings page and are summed across the season. Season championships pay double.
• Points are posted within 48 hours of an event. Questions about a posted result go to info@topdawgfastpitchsoftball.com within seven days.
• A team that forfeits a bracket game receives participation points only for that event.