Bats

Our normal decision point for a bat to be considered legal is that the bat is labeled as ASA approved or USSSA approved with either a number or an official stamp. That being said, there are exceptions and we strongly urge all players and teams to check the official web sites for ASA and USSSA for the governing organizations interpretation and listings of approved bats.

Although our league operates with NSA affiliation, we do not follow their legal bat approvals as their policy is more lenient than either ASA or USSSA. We operate a recreational league with an important mandate to safety for all members.

One of the real challenges with legal bats appears to be a year to year variance in approval / non-approval. In the past, bats have been approved only to be changed to unapproved when subsequent testing occurs and discrepancies are found (eg: BPF rating is now found to exceed 1.20).

bats

In addition, teams utilizing old bats (manugactured pre-2000) will find that these bats are missing the appropriate labeling. The league policy has been to allow these bats to be used under a grandfathering clause.

You should certainly avoid purchasing any bat that has a cigarette package type warning alluding to personal injury risk before you ensure that the bat will be deemed acceptable by the Pickering Mens Slo-Pitch league!

A sample warning example follows:

WARNING:: This high performance bat is capable of producing batted ball speeds that present a risk of serious injury OR DEATH to players, coaches, and spectators.
Experience to date seems to indicate that bats so labeled are most likely not legal for use within our recreational league!

Should an umpire remove a team bat, which he judges to be illegal for league play, we strongly recommend that you review the approved lists. If there is a contradiction or ambiguity, please contact your division convener, who will then bring the matter forward to the appropriate members of the executive. Under no circumstances should a team attempt to use this bat again until the matter has been resolved and documented by our league umpire-in-chief.

Links of Interest:

Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA)

United States Speciality Sports Association (USSSA)

National Slo-Pitch Association Canada (NSA)