24 23.03 Choke-up rings on bats are allowed for use in 6U, 8U, 10U and 12U age divisions. 23.04 Bats: All bats must be unaltered official softball bats, round, no more than thirty-four inches (34") in length and not more than two and one-quarter inches (2 1/4") in diameter, and the markings showing that they are stamped "OFFICIAL SOFTBALL," "YOUTH SOFTBALL" and/or "FASTPITCH SOFTBALL" must remain throughout their normal life. The umpires will check all bats before the game. Any illegal bats will be removed from the dugout before the game. The National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) maintains a list of illegal bats, and Diamond Youth Softball will honor this. 23.05 Use of an illegal bat will result in the removal of the bat from the playing field and may result in an out and ejection of the player using the bat. Non-compliance will lead to the offending player and coach being ejected from the game. NOTE: Umpires have the authority to remove any bat that he/she deems unsafe due to the bat's color, condition, etc. Equipment/Gear/Safety 23.06 No player wearing a hard substance in its final form such as leather, rubber, plastic, plaster or fiberglass when worn on the hand, wrist, forearm or elbow shall be allowed to participate unless the substance is covered by a minimum ½ inch thick, high-density closed-cell polyurethane or a similar material of the same thickness to protect injury. Written permission must be obtained from both a licensed medical physician and the player’s parent or guardian and submitted to the league president during league play and the tournament director during tournament play for approval. 23.07 LEAGUE OPTION: Leagues may use the double safety base. 23.08 Face shields are recommended for all infielders. 23.09 Items in the dugout area, such as bats, balls, gloves, batting helmets, catcher's equipment, bat bags, ball buckets, etc., must be stored in a manner to not to be a safety hazard to the players, i.e., off the floor. Equipment and other items deemed not essential to the game should not be in the dugout. 23.10 Coaches should remain inside the dugout on defense. 23.11 The batter's helmet shall be constructed of Ultra High Impact Plastic or High Impact Plastic Shell. The shell shall be of one-piece construction or two pieces if they snap into a single unit like the one-piece construction type. The helmet shall have pieces for the ears and full protection for the head and temple. The padding shall be of heavy rubber or similar material. The use of the web-type suspension inside the helmet is not recommended. It is recommended that all future replacements of present stocks be of the padded type. A face guard, which is attached to the batting helmet, is required for play in all divisions. 23.12 A player must not remove her helmet while at bat or while running the bases. The helmet must be worn by any offensive player while on the playing field or outside the dugout area, such as a player/bat girl, on-deck batter, batter, base runner, or base coach. PENALTY: Removal of the helmet while on the playing field shall be that for a first offense, the player shall be warned by the umpire; for a second and subsequent offenses in the same game, she shall be called out. If the violation is by a player/bat girl, on-deck batter, or base coach, the penalty for their second offense is removal from the game and from the field.
