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4/24/23
2023 Post-Season Awards Nominations
The nomination period for NCSCA’s All-District/All-State awards is now open. The window for submitting nominations is 4/24 through 5/8. Nominations will not be accepted after Monday, 5/8/23. Nominations can be submitted by North Carolina high school softball coaches who are association members. Player performance for awards selections is based on all games played prior to our state playoffs. This includes regular season games and any tournament games (conference and non-conference). DO NOT submit your nominations until AFTER your last game is played. The nomination form and complete instructions are available in our Members’ Area.
3/17/23 rev. 4/8/23 rev. 5/8/23
Important Announcement Regarding Game-Ending Rules
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) has announced that effective immediately, all high school softball games under its jurisdiction must adhere to only the official game-ending procedures as described in the NCHSAA Handbook. This means that no game may be automatically shortened to less than 5 innings as allowed under the official “10-run rule”. NCHSAA does not recognize any of the “15 runs after 3 innings” rules that are included in many conference by-laws. However, NCHSAA will temporarily allow the loosing coach to declare the game ended after 3 innings if a 15 run threshold has been reached. A decision to end a game in this manner is at the sole discretion of the loosing team’s coach.
Our coaches association (NCSCA) is currently working with NCHSAA to recommend a uniform and permanent solution to this issue. NCHSAA has stated that the issue will be on the agenda at their next Board of Directors meeting in May. Until a solution is worked out, we urge opposing coaches to discuss their situation with each other and umpires on game day prior to the beginning of the game.
For more information, please see your Athletic Director, or contact NCHSAA. Read NCHSAA’s announcement here.
UPDATE: On 5/3/2023 NCHSAA officially enacted a rules change regarding this issue. Effective July 1, 2023, a statewide “15 after 3 rule” is in effect for softball.
3/15/23
2023 NCSCA Scholarship
GRADUATING SENIORS: Apply now for for the 2023 NCSCA scholarship. This year, our four scholarships have been increased to $1000. Two will be awarded in our eastern region and two in our western region. Applications must be completed and submitted by May 1, 2023. Applications must include a recommendation from your high school coach. For guidance in applying, please contact your coach. Complete information is linked here: Scholarship Application.
1/28/23
2022 Financial Statement
The Association’s 2022 year end financial statement is available for review in the Members’ Area.
1/26/23 rev. 3/15/23
Bat Testing Planned for 2023 North Carolina High School Softball Playoff Finals
This year, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) has stated that they intend to continue their practice of physically testing all bats presented for use in the state playoffs finals. Every bat will be tested for compression compliance using approved bat testing equipment and standards. Any bat that fails the compression test will be rejected for use in the championship games. Testing will take place at the FINALS game site(s) prior to the beginning of the first game of each classification’s three-game final series. It applies to all classifications, 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A, and will affect all eight teams who advance to the finals. Please be aware that the result of physical testing takes precedence over listing on USA Softball’s Approved Bats List. Since bat testing is not easily accessible in North Carolina, this means that even if a bat is shown as legal on the list and has been used legally throughout the entire season, players could be confronted with their bat being rejected for use in the finals.
Last year, bats were tested at the state finals with a highly unusual number being rejected. Certain Easton “Ghost” bats are of particular concern.
Follow this link to find USA Softball’s Approved Bat List . Any questions regarding this subject should be directed to your school’s athletic director and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
See how bats are properly tested with the G4 SSL Bat Compression Tester: USA Softball Bat Testing Educational Video To avoid invalid testing results, proper testing must be conducted by qualified individuals and, where required, include threshold exceptions published for “Non-Linear” bats.
12/27/21
Softball Needs Officials
In recent years we have seen a decline in the number of qualified individuals who participate in our sport through offering their services as game officials. Most notably, we see fewer younger people becoming umpires each year. This is a huge problem since we cannot play games without umpires. Statistics over the past ten years reveal that as umpires have become fewer, the number of high schools fielding softball teams in North Carolina has steadily grown with a corresponding increase in the number of games being played. In our state, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) governs, certifies, and manages officials for all high school sports. NCHSAA’s goal is to provide game officials all across the state who are competent, fair, and consistent in their craft. Officiating softball is an exciting profession to be part of as the overall skill level of our athletes continues to increase each year. We encourage anyone who would like to participate in our sport as an umpire to become an NCHSAA certified official. To find out how you can become a qualified softball umpire, you may access information here.
3/19/19 revised 2/2/21
Illegal Equipment
NCHSAA no longer requires umpires to check players’ equipment prior to each game. This, in effect, puts more responsibility on you as coach to make sure your players’ equipment is both legal and game ready. Catcher’s gear with failing straps, cracked helmets, broken face masks, loose or missing attachment screws, cracked and out-of-round bats, and illegal bats, are all your responsibility to check for and not allow to be used in a contest. Remember, the penalty for using an altered bat or a bat that is NOT on the USA Softball legal bat list is: batter is out, batter is ejected, and head coach is ejected! The list of legal bats can be found here.
9/13/18 rev. 12/27/21
North Carolina High Schools… Need a Softball Game?
If you need to add games to your softball schedule, check out our listing. To add your team to the list, send your open dates and contact information to [email protected] .
Advertise your Scrimmages, Tournaments, Camps and Clinics.
Send the information you want posted to [email protected] and we will place it in our “Events” area.
Photo by Donnie Roberts www.the-dispatch.com