The league can improve. By including bylaws that enhance the game as it is played in Ireland, the issues surrounding dwindling participation and disorganization can be addressed. If you don’t agree that games lasting 90 minutes or more, coupled with extended travel time, is unreasonable and alienates players; or if you don’t agree that umpires don’t enforce lateness rules; or if you don’t think there is any issue recruiting and retaining adequate numbers of women players to have gender equal lineups, then you will certainly not agree with these bylaw changes. Embrace the status quo.
But it is clear the status quo is failing. When you have special rules to allow the same players on multiple teams across the divisions, and teams cannot fill a lineup of their own players, there is a problem.
These issues are related. If I can go play tennis at my local club, guaranteed to be back home in about 2 hours, why wouldn’t I do that? Compare this to softball, where you are not guaranteed to be back home in less than 3, and probably closer to 4 hours? Tennis suddenly becomes very attractive; coincidentally, a lot of women play tennis (and some of them are former softball players, unsurprisingly). The start times are adhered to, along with rules that are agreed upon in advance. That softball game almost never starts on time; and even when it does, the game play is very slow. Sometimes umpires ignore or are unaware of the league bylaws (and many WBSC rules). Part of this is the nature of the game’s slow pace, and this is enhanced by the general inability of most participants, especially new ones but umpires as well, to understand the game and play it well. These issues can be mitigated by tailoring the rules to speed up the game, help improve skills, and allow everyone the chance to participate and enjoy softball, safely and fairly.
The impact of not making these changes has been felt for far too long. Stop dithering, hand-wringing, pearl-clutching, expressing the collective ignorance of “not-so-common common sense” by implementing disingenuous half-measures and engaging in delay tactics of multi-year plans never intended to be realized. Make real change, and do it now. The following proposals are real change.
Make 1-1 count the standard, and no new innings after 90 minutes!
Problem (reason for rule change): This is multifactorial. Games are too long, often exceeding 90 minutes. Long games are a factor in discouraging participation, as when combined with travel to and from games, and when faced with up to four hours of commitment to softball for an evening, many choose to opt out entirely. Pitchers are, on average, not skilled enough to reliably throw strikes to force batters to swing, which is well understood by batters, who are reluctant to swing until the third pitch is thrown. Batters reflexively do not swing at the first two or three pitches, wasting a lot of time.
Proposal “a”: The batter will begin their at-bat with a 1-1 count (one ball, one strike).
Rationale: This measure will shorten each at-bat and reduce the overall game time. This measure will assist pitchers. The batter is encouraged to attempt to hit the ball, which increases the chance of the ball being put into play, making the game more interesting for all participants.
Proposal “b”: No new innings will be started after 90 minutes have elapsed from the start of the game.
Rationale: This measure will ensure no games exceed 90 minutes plus the time required to finish the current inning. If a league game cannot be decided in 90 minutes, a league review to establish why may be required. (HINT: You’re doing recreational softball wrong.)
Reward loyal male players!
Side note: this is sarcasm. It is a quote from the league chairperson at the start of 2025, their validation of why they chose to fail again on implementing full gender equality requirements for lineups.
Problem (reason for rule change): The league has evolved to allow the same players to register and play on multiple teams across multiple divisions, due to player shortages, specifically women players. It discourages teams to recruit and complete rosters with their own players, and leads to confusion with unnecessarily complex bylaws regarding player eligibility, which often requires protests and forfeits for rule violations.
Proposal: Allow any team to play any number of men from their pool of registered players, without restriction, provided there is a one-run-per-inning award to the opposing team for each additional man in the batting lineup after the 5th man. For example: 6 men and 4 women = 1 run per inning for their opposition; 7 men and 3 women = 2 runs per inning; 8 men and 2 women = 3 runs per inning; 9 men and 1 woman = 4 runs per inning. If “extra player” rules are in place, an additional run per inning would be assessed for each additional man player: for example, for 6:6 there is no penalty, but for 7:5 there is a 2 runs per inning penalty, and so on. A team could even play 11 men and 1 woman (batting two extra men), with 6 additional men after the 5th, giving 6 runs to their opposition each inning.
Rationale: Let’s reward those loyal male players. This change would allow all of a team’s extra men players to be in the lineup, though with a penalty that encourages gender equality. This change would allow for the league to eliminate any policy allowing players to register with multiple teams, and simplify “exemptions” bylaws.
Start games on time, or stop trying.
Problem (reason for rule change): Umpires do not enforce current rules regarding game start times.
Proposal: Remove all reference to a time limit for a forfeit to be declared based on a scheduled game start time. Replace such references to “at whatever time players arrive, and begin play when possible”, as is the current standard.
Rationale: To have these rules in place without enforcement shows a complete disregard for the bylaws and a total disrespect of others’ time. It would seem that lateness must always be tolerated in Ireland without accountability. Do not include bylaws that are not enforced.
Alternative: The league could explicitly state the importance of punctuality, and empower umpires to hold teams accountable for not arriving on time for games. Enforce all the bylaws, not just the ones you like.