The NCAA Softball Rules Committee determined at its July 7-11 meeting in Indianapolis that it will follow the Amateur Softball Association's (ASA) new bat standard to be effective January 1, 2004.

"The ASA has done extensive testing in the last year and is creating significant softball-specific data," said Kathy Veroni, chair of the rules committee and head softball coach at Western Illinois University. "The committee has been following the bat standard issue closely and believes this is a positive move for softball."

The ASA announced the standard June 30 and is now working on the details about how bats will be certified. Bats with the ASA 2000 seal, which signified approval under the original ASA standard, will not be eligible for use in collegiate games unless they also meet the new standard.

NCAA rules, however, do allow for a bat that is listed on the approved-bat list to be used in competition without the seal, so a bat currently owned by an institution that doesn't bear the new ASA 2004 mark but is on the list could be used in a game.

As a result, though, it is likely that some of the very highest-performing bats on the market may not be eligible for play under the new standard. Bats that satisfy the new standard will be posted online as soon as possible. Likewise, a list of bats that do not conform to the new testing standard will be listed online.

ASA committee member Dee Abrahamson, who also is the secretary-rules editor for the Softball Rules Committee and associate director of athletics at Northern Illinois University, said the ASA equipment standards committee is working on the details of the transition to the 2004 standard.

"I would advise players, coaches and institutions to either delay purchasing bats until the testing is under way and some determinations about the highest-end bats can be announced, or purchase bats on the approved 2004 standard list," Abrahamson said.

The change in the bat standard follows four years of ASA study. The 2000 standard was established by relying on a nationwide consensus bat-testing method approved by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). Field testing and scientific lab testing showed that some of the numbers used in the calculations were no longer applicable and some bats tended to increase performance values the more the bats were used. Furthermore, study showed that some bats previously approved under the 2000 standard were exceeding performance standards. Fifteen bat models were banned as a result, although some models were recertified by manufacturers.

The increased body of knowledge led the ASA to enact science-based recommendations to improve the ASTM standard.

Concerns the ASA still needs to address during the transition period include whether bats currently on the market that do not meet the standard can be recertified (by adjusting the actual weight or weight distribution, for example), such as was allowed when certain bats were banned in August 2002.

"It is a tougher transition for the collegiate and high-school games because we begin play right as the standard goes into effect," Abrahamson said. "The ASA championships will not be required to play under this rule for about six months after the NCAA schools have dealt with the issue."

The ASA expects to have more information about the process in August. Information will be available on the ASA Web site (www.softball.org) and the NCAA Web site (www.ncaa.org; select Sports and Championships; under the "Softball heading, choose Sports and Rules Committees and then the Softball Rules Committee link).

Bat research

The Softball Rules Committee also is asking the Championships/Competition Cabinet to allocate $50,000 for two scientific tests that would further verify the legitimacy of the ASA bat standard for use in the collegiate game.

The first half of the allocation would be used to repeat a field study done by the ASA in October to verify swing speed. The ASA used men's slowpitch players to determine a top bat swing speed of 85 miles per hour to be used in the ASA 2004 standard. Since fastpitch players have less reaction time to swing, the assumption is that the swing speed will be less while the pitch speed will be greater. It has been mathematically proven that the incoming pitch speed, which would be higher in fastpitch than the 25 miles per hour used by the ASA in the testing protocol, makes less of an impact on the ball-exit speed than the swing speed does.

"The science indicates that on paper, the standard applies to fastpitch and slowpitch softball," Veroni said. "The committee wants to verify the information in a field test once and for all to make sure that the ASA standard is indeed serving the needs of our membership, as we believe it does. Testing done for softball just two years ago was very limited. Now, we have specific softball testing done in slowpitch. The next step is to use our players to further the body of knowledge."

The remaining $25,000 would be applied to a study on student-athlete reaction time. Although some research exists in this area, the accepted reaction standard assumes that it takes .4 seconds to recognize and react to a batted ball, based on a review of literature conducted before 1996.

"Again, the committee is looking to enhance the body of knowledge in softball research and verify that the testing method is indeed adequate for our game," Veroni said.

The Championships/Competition Cabinet will review the budget request at its September meeting.

Other issues

The ball standard the rules committee voted on and the divisional championships committees approved two years ago will become effective in January 2004 and will require a maximum COR of .47. The previous standard was .50. The rules committee reduced the COR to both slow down the speed of batted balls and more closely match field play with bat results in the lab. The NCAA was the only organization using a .50, which means that balls were regularly produced and available at .47.

Veroni said this is a welcome change for manufacturers and will ensure that the bat standard testing is more applicable to the college game.

"Hopefully," she said, "our coaches have been diligent in reading the rules the last two years to have depleted any stock of the .50 COR balls and are ready to go in January."

The rules committee also recommended to the three division championships bodies to delete the jewelry rule from the rules book. The rule -- which currently allows only for emergency medical bracelets, necklaces that are affixed to the body with tape, and barrettes -- is becoming increasingly difficult to enforce as jewelry is worn in new and creative locations.

"We don't spend time checking baseball players for jewelry, and I have never seen a jewelry injury in 32 years of coaching," Veroni said. "I think this will be welcomed by umpires and student-athletes."

The committee also recommended that Marge Willadsen, head softball coach and administrator at Buena Vista University, become the next committee chair.

Other highlights

Softball Rules Committee
July 7-11/Indianapolis

In addition to the actions described in the accompanying story, the Softball Rules Committee made changes listed below. For a complete list of major and editorial rules changes, go to www.ncaa.org and select Sports and Championships. Under the Softball heading, choose Sports and Rules Committees and then the Softball Rules Committee link.

The 10th player will now be referred to as the flex, which is consistent with the new high-school terminology. The definition of flex player will be updated to read: "The player for whom the DP is designated to bat and who is initially listed in the 10th spot on the lineup card." This better defines the role of this player, not just where her name is listed on the lineup card, since the flex also can be a player who is designated to just run, not bat, for the DP.

Determined that laser etching, other than on the barrel of the bat, is permissible. The new definition also will refer to the required certification marks to prevent the use of customized bats.

The following sentence will be added to the definition of force play: "If a forced runner, after touching the next base, retreats for any reason toward the base she last occupied, the force play is reinstated."

Determined that neither coaches nor players shall intentionally remove any lines from the batter's box or on the field, starting in 2004.

Deleted the exception that allows for a player to remove her helmet if no apparent play is obvious. The committee doesn't want a player in the act of running the bases to determine whether a play is obvious.

Interference will be called in the case of a runner initiating physical contact with a fielder attempting to field a foul ball (as long as the fielder has a reasonable chance to get the ball). The effect is a dead ball with a foul ball charged to the batter and the offending runner called out. An exception will be added to specify that if the foul ball is a bunt attempt with two strikes on the batter, the batter also would be called out.

If a batter is hit by a pitch as she runs out from the front of the batter's box, a "no pitch" shall be called because a pitch that hasn't reached the plate cannot be a ball or strike.

A starting pitcher should be credited with a win in situations where she has pitched the required number of innings, her team is ahead or tied when she is replaced, she re-enters the game with her team behind and her team subsequently recaptures the lead. She cannot receive credit for both a win and a save, so the win should be awarded.

The committee clarified that cell phones and pagers cannot be used on the field of play.