League Rules & Regulations

Transfer Guidelines

A player who lives outside the boundaries/city limits of the team he/she is wishing to play for must first register with the closest Baseball Alberta Association within their zone (Home Association) and pay the Baseball Alberta Player Registration fee (Competitive fee for ‘AAA’/’AA’ or Community fee for ‘A’) through the Home Association. The Home Association may charge that player up to $25 for administrative costs.

If a player has been registered with an association in the prior 2 Baseball Alberta seasons at the AA or AAA level, that now becomes the home association for that player and would no longer be considered an import. That player will always have the option to return to play in their closest Baseball Alberta Association if they so choose.

The player may then apply to transfer through the Transfer Request Application. The transfer request must be signed by both the President of the outgoing Association and the President of the receiving Association to indicate their approval or denial of such transfer.

The transfer form and $25 fee must be delivered to Baseball Alberta (no forms without payment will be accepted) no later than Noon on the Initial/Final Roster submission date. Only players who have been approved transfer will be allowed onto an approved team roster. Any transfer request that occurs after May 31st will result in the transfer fee increasing to $100.

Player transfer requests are handled as follows:

• If the incoming President denies (or refuses to sign) the Transfer Request, the player has no appeal and will not be granted transfer.

• Any transfer that is signed by both the outgoing and receiving President and delivered with required form and $25 processing fee will be deemed approved Baseball Alberta.

• If the outgoing President denies (or refuses to sign) the Transfer Request, the player may still submit the transfer request with the required letter and $25 processing fee. This will be considered an appeal and will be decided by the Registrar. If a player wishes to appeal past the Baseball Alberta Registrar, the Executive of Baseball Alberta will have final ruling on the matter.

There will be an additional charge of $100.00 to any player wishing to appeal beyond the transfer decision made by the Baseball Alberta Registrar. Appeals will be brought forward to the Executive Committee upon receipt of payment. If the player is transferring to a higher division of play (i.e. from ‘A’ to ‘AA’), the appeal will be approved in order to give the player a higher level opportunity for development.

Baseball Alberta will not support lateral transfers (‘AA’ to ‘AA’) without support of the outgoing Association President unless transferring from a part-time program to a full-time program or unless a ‘AA’ team has not been formed/guaranteed at that point or unless the player is transferring from an Association that has permitted players to transfer in or unless extreme circumstances can be proven. Regarding lateral transfers, Baseball Alberta will support lateral transfer requests where the outgoing Association has permitted players to transfer in, based on an assessment of their total number of registered players at the age category to ensure that they can maintain their program. The intent of this rule is to support the development of both strong ‘AA’ and ‘AAA’ programs in areas when player transfers to ‘AAA’ programs are occurring.

Player Transfers are not required for female players who want to play on an all-female team at their age category in another Member Association if an all-female team is not available in their Home Association.

Association Transfers:

• Two or more Associations can apply to Baseball Alberta to form a team from their respective associations, subject to approval of Baseball Alberta. These associations must be able to demonstrate, through the application process, that there is a necessity to work together to form a team at an age category.

• These associations must fill out the Association Transfer Application and have signatures from all Presidents involved (the transfer fee of $25.00 does not apply)

• Deadlines for Association Transfer Application will be the same as the above deadlines for individual player transfers.

Residence Criteria:

In some cases, players who are registering with a different Association this season than they registered with last season because of a change of residence may be requested to provide additional information to support the change of address or be required to submit a player transfer.

1. Player residency will be defined as the residence of the player’s parents or legal guardians. Acceptable proof of a players residence will be a certified true photocopy of government issued identification (such as a driver’s license or passport) of the player’s parent(s) or legal guardian.  Players who are subject to the joint custody of parents who are not cohabitating may use the address of either parent for the purposes of player registration.  For extra clarity, billet addresses will no longer be accepted as residency for Baseball Alberta registration.

2. Players will not be required to submit proof of residency at the time of registration with Baseball Alberta. Any player playing in Baseball Alberta’s leagues may be required to submit proof of residency directly to Baseball Alberta upon request of the Registrar.  The Registrar may make this request of players selected at random from League rosters or in situations where questions have been raised regarding the residence of a player.

3. If a registered player in 11U, 13U, 15U, or 18U category has changed his permanent place of residence to another location within the province, he may register with a team at his new place of residence at any time during the season with the consent of the Baseball Alberta Executive Director.

4. A player who has registered with another baseball organization, or comes from an area where no organized baseball was available, and who changes his permanent place of residence, after Baseball Alberta registration deadlines have passed, may be granted registration with Baseball Alberta teams upon written request to the Baseball Alberta Executive Director.

Transfer Examples:

The following examples are intended to help players, parents, and Associations understand the player transfer process and its outcomes.  Please note that these are only examples and each transfer case is evaluated on its own specific circumstances.

'AA' to 'AA' Transfer:

George Brett registers to play baseball in the 13U category with Mudville Minor Baseball, his Home Association.  Mudville has historically fielded a 13U AA team.  Mudville Minor Baseball assesses its registrations for the season and determines that they only have eight (8) registered players at the 13U category. George tries out for and is offered a spot on the 13U AA team in nearby Yomiuri.  In order to play for Yomiuri Minor Baseball, he needs to get a player transfer from Mudville. George plays for Yomiuri for the 2016 season.  In 2017, George is required to register as a player with Mudville Minor Baseball.  Mudville now has enough players to field a 13U team.  George plays for Mudville for the 2017 season.

'AA' to 'AAA' Transfer:

Ted Williams played AAA baseball in the 15U category for Springfield Minor Baseball, his Home Association.  As a first year 18U player, Springfield evaluates him and does not offer him a spot on their 18U AAA roster for the 2016 season.  Ted tries out and is offered a spot on the Shelbyville Minor Baseball 18U AAA team for the 2016 season.  In order to play for Shelbyville's 18U AAA team, Ted needs to get a player transfer from Springfield.  Baseball Alberta will support this transfer without the support of Springfield based on the opportunity for Ted to access a higher level of play.