With its roots in schoolyard games and children's gym classes, kickball is on the rise as a competitive recreational sport for adults. Played in a manner similar to baseball, kickball derives many of its basic rules from this parent sport. Due to the many differences between the two sports, however, kickball's rules on stealing bases often differ from baseball's.
Basics
Kickball is played on a baseball field. Pitches in kickball involve rolling or bouncing a large rubber ball on the ground, with a kicking box surrounding home plate used to designate strikes and balls. Similar to baseball, kickball uses three strikes for an out, four balls for a walk and three outs before batting and fielding teams switch places. Once a ball is kicked and is not called a foul ball, a runner may advance to first base and beyond until she stops at a base or is tagged out.
WAKA Rules
The World Adult Kickball Association, or WAKA, has published a set of rules for all levels of adult kickball since 1998. Although there is no central governing body for all of kickball, the WAKA represents an attempt to introduce universal, formal rules for the sport. According to WAKA rules, a player on base must remain in contact with the base until a ball is kicked. Stealing is not permitted. Those who steal a base or who are not in contact with a base when the ball is kicked are called out.
Ball in Play
Although the above rule applies to situations in which the pitcher has control of the ball and a kicker is in the kicking box, advancing when the ball is in play may also constitute stealing under certain circumstances. For example, if a fielder has control of the ball and no players are attempting or able to advance, that fielder is supposed to return the ball to the pitcher. If an on-base player attempts to advance while the fielder is doing so, WAKA guidelines state that the referee can penalize that player for attempting to steal a base. Unlike stealing while a player is in the kicking box, however, stealing in this situation can only be penalized by sending the offending player back to the base he came from.
Children's Rules
Supplementing the rules published by WAKA, Neighborhood Sports has posted a set of rules governing kickball for children aged 4 and up. Similar to the WAKA rules, Neighborhood Sports states that neither leading off of a base nor stealing is permitted. Although some of the rules for kickball differ depending on the age of the participants, any player who attempts to steal or is caught off base when the ball is kicked is called out.
Variations
While both the WAKA and Neighborhood Sports rules for kickball state that stealing is not permitted, there is no central, universal set of rules for kickball. Rules may vary depending on where you are playing, and stealing may be permitted in your local school or adult league. Therefore, it is best to consult local players or local rule books to determine whether stealing is permitted in your league.
Member Comments