(3) Playoffs
a. League teams must complete, sign, and submit a commitment form to participate in the WOBA League Championship tournament. OBA teams must also complete, sign and submit a commitment form for OBA classification if they wish to enter the OBA Championship tournament. These commitments may be changed at the July Classification meeting. Commitment forms are to be handed in upon arrival at the Classification meeting. Classification may be changed by the local or by vote of the WOBA Board of Directors at the Classification meeting. No changes are allowed once the Classification Meeting has been adjourned unless there are extenuating circumstances that warrant reconsideration of a team’s classification. Under this scenario the extenuating circumstances are to be presented to the WOBA executive who will make a ruling within 2 days and contact the affected team. All classifications are subject to OBA approval.
Teams not submitting commitment forms at the meeting will not participate at the league’s year-end tournament nor be classified for OBAs. The team coach is responsible for completing and signing the commitment forms and they are encouraged to attend the July Classification meeting.
Once, a WOBA Championship tournament schedule has been published, any scheduled team withdrawing from or not participating in the tournament shall be levied a fine and pay to the host $250 for Double Elimination format and $350 for Round Robin format.
Teams that commit to an OBA Championship tournament are subject to a $500.00 fine should they withdraw after the WOBA Classification meeting. The fine is to be paid directly to Baseball Ontario.
b. If no application to host the playoff tournament has been received by the Classification Meeting, then a Municipality shall be appointed by the Board of Directors, or an alternative playoff series approved.
c. All OBA qualifier tournaments or series are to be held on Civic Holiday weekend, with the exception of 18U which will be played 1 week prior to Civic Holiday. The only exception is if all teams involved agree 2 weeks in advance to hold it on a different date.
d. Play-off sites will be awarded at the annual meeting of the WOBA, if a Municipality has applied by that date. Otherwise, play-off sites shall be awarded by vote at Board of Director meetings, up to one (1) month prior to the Classification Meeting. In order to be considered, a request must be received prior to the start of the meeting. All play-off applications must include a facility report similar to OBA format. All games must be completed prior to the OBA play-offs. This applies to WOBA play-offs only.
e. The President shall appoint a Convenor for Senior OBA play-off. The senior Playoff convenor shall:
(i) Establish a playoff format and schedule for senior playoffs that is consistent with the needs of teams wishing to compete in OBA senior playoffs. The convenor should attempt to establish a schedule that is acceptable to participants but will have final authority in setting playoff dates and times.
(ii) Arbitrate matters under dispute. The convenor’s decision in such matters shall be final.
f. The tournament format for WOBA play-offs:
(i) When seeding of teams is done to divide up the divisions for playoff tournaments the Championship division will be 8 teams and 8 teams in the 1st consolation division. The last 2 consolation divisions will be different than 8 teams if needed.
(ii) When seeding is calculated the standings will be based on the first 10 games played. If a team has played less than 10 games, no more than 2 ties per team can be awarded for unplayed games
(iii) All tournaments shall be round-robin format with a guaranteed 3 game minimum. The tournament host is to submit a draft tournament schedule to their appropriate Vice-President for approval two to three (2-3) weeks before the tournament start date.
(iv) A tournament host may request permission from the WOBA Executive to change the format of playoff (i.e. double elimination format; 4 team round robin format).
g. Where there are more than 8 teams in an age division there shall be a Consolation tournament as well as a Championship tournament for WOBA. The breakdown of the two tournaments will be established based on team standings. Standings for 10U and older shall be determined by winning percentage on a team’s first 12 league reported games. Standings for 9U and under (Rookie ball) shall be determined by winning percentage on a team’s first 10 league reported games.
Seeding shall take place 3 weeks prior to a division’s respective tournament. For the purpose of seeding only, for 10U and older, each unplayed/unreported game is awarded a tie. For the purpose of seeding only, for 9U and under (Rookie ball), each unplayed/unreported game is awarded a loss. To clarify, 2pts=win, 1pt=tie, 0pt=loss. Seeding is calculated on W%, if there is a tie then RF% is used between the tied teams.
Team pairings for any double elimination tournament format with 5 or more teams shall be determined by pairings as set out in the league’s tournament convenor package. Brackets are drawn up such that the top 2 teams are at opposite ends of the first-round brackets.
g. League year-end standings shall determine the home team in the first round of games of a league championship tournament, regardless of tournament format, whereby the team finishing with the higher standing during season play will be the “home” team for their first tournament game. A coin flip shall be used for all games thereafter.
h. Entry fees for WOBA play-off tournaments will be established annually by the Board of Directors (See Table of fees)
i. Playoff tournaments shall be held to decide the OBA reps as well as to declare the WOBA Champion. Major Rookie teams shall compete in one tournament to declare both the WOBA champion and the WOBA rep to the OBA championship tournament.
j. Applications to host the playoff tournament are to be in the hands of the WOBA Secretary as early as possible.
k. Banners shall be provided for the WOBA Tier 1Champions of Rookie Ball, Mosquito, Peewee, Bantam and Midget.
l. A set of medallions shall be provided for the WOBA Champion and Finalists teams in all series and all tiers.
m. OBA Qualifiers are to be completed by the second Tuesday in August. Team pairings will be drawn at the WOBA Classification meeting in July, in the event a division’s classification requires a qualifier. Baseball Ontario will provide their final classification after the Rep Council meeting end of July. The Qualifier’s play down method must be approved by the WOBA Executive. This method shall consist of one of the following:
i) home and home style; or
ii) a double elimination tournament with a minimum of 6 teams; or
iii) a round robin tournament; or
iv) a combination format determined, with input from teams if needed, and WOBA executive.
Teams that advance to the OBA Championships shall be ranked by winning percentage with the highest team named as WOBA 1, the second highest as WOBA 2, etc. and this information be provided by the WOBA Secretary to Baseball Ontario by August 15.
n. For the qualifier tournaments all teams in a series are eligible provided they have fulfilled their commitment of minimum 12 games played to the league. League standings will not count for pairings. Teams will be drawn from a hat for pairings at the Classification Meeting.
o. The maximum number of WOBA teams allowed to enter any OBA Championship will be determined by Baseball Ontario. If necessary, a qualifying tournament will take place.
p. No WOBA tournament may start earlier than 4 pm on a weekday. In the case of rain outs the tournament shall be completed in the week following the original scheduled dates. The Convenor and Vice President will work with the teams to complete the tournament schedule if rained out. Completing the tournament as close as possible to the original date is required.
q. Players must meet the eligibility rules as published annually by Baseball Ontario to be eligible for WOBA play.
r. Level 1Umpires are allowed to umpire in Mosquito and higher playoff and tournament games but only with a level 2 or higher Umpire. This rule can be mutually waived by both coaches in an emergency situation.
s. OBA tie breaker rules shall be the method of breaking ties for tournament play when the tournament format is not a double elimination format.