NOTE: The roster guidelines have been updated for 2011 with some changes. Guideline changes have been highlighted. The changes are intended to tighten up the online roster process and to limit the ability of teams to significantly strengthen their team after qualifying for a World Series event.

The team manager is responsible for all aspects of the eligibility of all players on their online roster. This includes, but is not limited to players age, legal names of the player, date of birth of the players and all player classification issues. Take the online roster seriously as you will be held accountable for it should an issue occur.

FROZEN ROSTER GUIDELINES

Here are some guidelines to help you understand the USSSA Frozen Roster rules.

1)       For 2011 rosters will be frozen on April 1, 2011.  At that time the top 25% of team in each tournament that do not already have a frozen roster, will be frozen The only exception is Elite World Qualifying Tournaments. Teams that win Elite berths are frozen immediately. Players may play with other teams until that date with the exception of teams frozen to Elite World Series qualified teams.

        Note that all names on the online roster must match the names on the online rosters. Managers may make changes to the first names. Only the State Office can change last names or birth dates. Any manager that is found to be altering online names on purpose to gain a competitive advantage is subject to suspension.

Note: 15-18 U teams will not have their rosters frozen until after the high school season. Teams that have qualified for the Elite World series on Thanksgiving or MLK will have their rosters frozen immediately. 1

2)       Once your roster is frozen, the players on your roster that played in the qualifying tournament or have played since then , can only play with your team in USSSA tournaments.  A player that did not play in your qualifying tournament or in a tournament since then is not frozen to your roster. 

3)    Teams may drop as many players as they wish from their roster. They are no longer limited to three drops.   Only the manager may release a player.  Once a player is released from a roster, he may not return to that roster during the year.

4)       Teams may add up to 3 players to their  frozen USSSA roster. You must have an open spot on your roster to pick up a player. You can not drop a player to create an open spot. All adds and drops must be done online and only the manager of record may make those changes. Here are guidelines for adding players to frozen rosters:
a) Players being added to a AAA/AA/A or All star level team must have a traceable playing record in the USSSA online system for this season or the
 previous season. Players without a traceable playing history can not be added to a frozen roster without approval of the State Director.
b) Players being added to a frozen AAA/AA/ A/ or All Star team may not come from a roster frozen at a higher classification than they are playing at. For example a player can not be released from a frozen AAA roster to go to a frozen AA roster. Teams with frozen rosters may not add players from two divisions higher than they play under any circumstances.
c) Players frozen to a major roster may only go to another major roster regardless of age.
d) Ages 15-18 now have a 25 player roster.
e) Players added to an official online frozen roster that can not participate for any reason can not be replaced whether he has played with the team or not.
 

5)       Players may play up to an older age bracket even if they are frozen to a USSSA roster.  However, a player may never play on two different teams in the same tournament. Players may NOT be on two frozen rosters in the same age even if one is Major and one is AAA. Players playing on teams in multiple age divisions shall not be permitted to participate on any team below the classification of the oldest team they participate on.

6)       You can only win one berth in USSSA.  Your frozen roster is based on the date you won your tournament or were in the top 25% of teams in a tournament without a berth.. 

7)        A team may not give up a berth that they have won in USSSA unless they have used all available pick ups and are down to a roster of less than 9 players. At that point they can disband and release all players from their roster. Teams wishing to disband must have the approval of the State Director.

8)       Frozen roster rules do not apply in league play. 

9)    Rosters are frozen until the World Series for your age group is completed. If you have qualified for the Elite 32, your roster is frozen until the completion of that tournament. For a schedule of World Series events, go to www.usssabaseball.org. 

10)     Teams that win a tournament at the AAA or AA owe a play up  tournament at the next higher level.  This play up should be played on the next weekend that the next higher division is offered, but does not include Holiday weekends or NIT'S. USSSA reserves the right to reclassify a team at any time during the season if their record warrants being moved up or down in classification.

13)  I no longer have the ability to unfreeze a roster. Once a roster is frozen, it is under the control of our National Office and only they can approve  changes to the roster.  Make sure your online roster is correct. Always list all players that may play with your team

Frozen roster rules are intended to allow managers and teams to plan out their season knowing they will have a roster of players.  The intent is not to limit a player’s ability to play baseball.  We strongly encourage that all requests for a release be honored, as there are very few legitimate reasons to keep a young player from playing baseball. 

If you have any questions about any of these rules, you can call the State Office at 714-848-1850 at any time or e-mail me at cciandella@aol.com   

Thanks

Craig Ciandella