Participants must arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of the activity to confirm their registration, receive instructions and rules, and meet their teammates.

Category

There is one category: 50+ mixed.

Number of players

A team is made up of nine (9) players chosen at random by the Organizing Committee.

Game principles

The rules of the game are derived from baseball.

The attacking team scores points until it gets three (3) outs.

• Points are scored using pitches that allow the player and his team to move around the bases.
• A game between two teams consists of seven (7) innings. An inning includes one at-bat for each team.
• A team is at bat until it has accumulated three (3) outs.
• A player at bat has a maximum of three (3) pitches to throw. A player pitches until he reaches either a “safe hit” (one, two, three bases or a home run), or an out.
• Players making safe hits must position themselves appropriately on the playing field according to the results obtained (1st, 2nd or 3rd base).
• Throughout the game, teams must respect a line-up established and submitted to the official scorekeeper by the team captain at the start of the game.
• When the sandbag falls behind the line during a participant's throw, he may take it back and play it. However, if the bag falls in front of the throwing line, i.e. in the playing area, the bag is considered played.

Throwing distance

The game is placed at a distance of 21 feet from the back support of the game to the throw line corresponding to home plate. Sandbags must be thrown from underneath. All sandbags thrown from above are void.

Layout of the game and players around the game

The game is set up so that chairs can be arranged: two to the right of the game (1st and 2nd base) and one to the left of the game (3rd base), opposite the 1st base chair.

Each player sits along the side of the game, set back so as not to interfere with the pitcher's view. It's important to keep the same chair throughout the game.

A line on the floor clearly indicates the pitcher's boundary line. When the thrower touches this line with his foot, he loses his throw.

Equipment

Pocket baseball is played on decks with nine (9) 4-inch openings. The official Rendez-vous Acadie 50+ bag weighs a maximum of 5 1⁄2 ounces and a minimum of 5 ounces, and measures 3“ x 4” when filled.

Teams

Teams are made up of nine (9) players chosen at random by the Organizing Committee, including a captain. Each gender must be represented on the team.

The captain enters the line-up of his players before the start of the match. The line-up is valid for the duration of the game.

The captain is the only person admitted to the scorer's table. Immediately after an end, and not after the next, the captain may check the scorekeeper's results and ask for any errors to be corrected.

Procedure

The captains toss a coin to determine which team starts the game. The winner has the choice of starting the round or being the second to play.

How to keep score

• a) Each player is entitled to three (3) throws.
• b) Once a player has thrown a sandbag into one of the game's holes, he/she is no longer allowed to throw another sandbag. If, following a throw, a bag remains suspended from one of the game openings, a volunteer from the Organizing Committee will remove the bag before another throw is made. To be valid, a bag must enter and remain in a hole.
• c) If the sandbag enters the 1st base hole, the pitcher will then sit on the first base chair, on the right of the game, and wait for another team member to come and throw his sandbags.
• d) If the sandbag enters the 2nd base hole, the person at first base touches second base and goes to sit at third base; the person who has just thrown goes to 2nd base.
• e) If the 3rd pitcher makes a one-base hit, he will sit in the first-base chair, but the person at 3rd base cannot enter to score a run, because to score a run, you must enter.
• f) When all three bases are filled and the next pitcher makes a one-base hit, only the person at 3rd base will touch the pitching line. If this same pitcher makes a two-base hit, the persons sitting at 3rd or 2nd base will then touch the pitching line and count one base each. If the pitcher makes a 3-base hit, the people sitting at 3rd, 2nd and 1st base cross the pitching line and score one base each.
• g) A home run brings in all players on base, including the person who hit the home run.
• h) The run is counted when the player has touched the bases and the pitching line.

Out

To be out or to constitute a “dead ball”, a person must have thrown all three (3) sandbags without entering any of the holes in the game, or throw a sandbag into one of the holes marked “out”.

A player who sits down in his chair without touching one of his goals or the throwing line is not out. However, the team loses the point.

Behavior

During a game of pocket baseball, talking, clapping, laughing and shouting are permitted as long as they do not interfere with the performance of a player on the opposing team.

No one except the captain is allowed to interfere with volunteers during competitions.

Tournament format

Each team plays four (4) games against opposing teams determined at random by the Organizing Committee.

Tie-breaker

At the end of the 7th inning of the game, if the scores of the two teams are equal, each is awarded one (1) point in the overall standings. No tie-breaker.

For each game won, the team is awarded 2 points. A tie game is worth 1 point. A lost game is worth 0 points.

To determine medal winners in the event of a tie, the following methods are used until the tie is broken: a) tournament ranking, b) number of games won, c) points for, d) points against, e) difference between points for and against.

Medals

The first three positions are awarded medals. The medal ceremony will take place after the event.