Division Notes

  • Teams/Groups/Individuals are expected to read the division descriptions and place themselves in the most appropriate division. If players are unsure of which division to register for, they are welcome to contact the office for further clarification or advice.
  • The ESSC Division offerings are based on the experience and skill level of a team - not on a team's competitive behaviour. All ESSC players and teams are expected to play with a ‘fun-first, winning-second’ attitude regardless of their division.
  • The ESSC reserves the right to move any team up or down a division (regardless of where they registered) based on a team's past results. The ESSC gathers statistics on all registered teams each season, and strives to align the divisions as fairly as possible.
  • The ESSC reserves the right to move any team up or down a division (regardless of where they registered) based on total registration numbers. The ESSC rarely runs odd numbered divisions, or divisions with a low number of teams, so in these cases division realignment is necessary.
  • If the ESSC feels that a division has a clear skill discrepancy during the regular season, teams may be moved up or down a division mid-season, or in some cases a division will be split come playoff time to allow for multiple Championships.
  • For certain sports, when possible, the ESSC incorporates a seeding round as part of the regular season schedule. In these cases, divisions will be re-aligned and standings reset after the completion of the seeding round. For 16 Week Leagues that incorporate a seeding round, standings will not always be reset after the completion of the seeding round, but division realignment will still occur.

Slo-Pitch Divisional Re-Alignment

The ESSC has always gathered previous records / statistics on all registered teams and moved teams up or down divisions when necessary, but in in the past couple years there has been a more comprehensive approach. The main reason for this initiative is that Slo-Pitch has become our largest sport, and with over 1,000 teams registering each year, we were starting to see more of a skill disparity within current divisions. By realigning teams into more appropriate divisions, we expect that all teams will experience a more enjoyable season with closer games and more skill-parity within divisions.

A large misconception within the Club is that divisions are based on a team’s attitude or competiveness, when in reality they are based on a team’s average skill level. We expect all of our divisions to abide by the same fun-first sportsmanship guidelines and we hold teams in all divisions to the same standard.

Teams who meet one or more of the following criteria are candidates to be moved to a higher division by the ESSC:

• Division Champion within the past 3 seasons
• Division Runner-up within the past 3 seasons
• .750 winning percentage (regular season) or better in the most recent season
• .600 winning percentage (regular season) or better with a strong run differential in the most recent season
• 3+ seasons in the ESSC with a .500 or higher winning percentage

In order to assist teams in choosing the most appropriate division at the time of registration, we have updated our current division descriptions. Please click any of the Divisions below to read the updated description.

Really Recreational

This division will feature teams with little to no playing experience. If more than a couple of the players are experienced in the sport or are quite competitive in nature, the team should move up to a higher level. Teams in this division must have a “fun first” approach to every game. Most players in the Really Recreational division will still be learning the rules of Slo-Pitch, meaning that the flow of the game will not always be natural, due to players having limited experience in batting, base running, fielding, and pitching.

The following points describe the level of play that should be expected:

  • Most batters will not place hits, and will concentrate primarily on making contact with the ball.
  • Home runs are not frequent, and strike-outs are more commonplace than other divisions.
  • Pitchers will not throw strikes consistently. Batters might walk more than in other divisions.
  • Fielding errors and base-running mistakes will happen more frequently. Not all players will understand lead-offs, tagging-up, force plays or sacrifice flies.
  • Teams might rotate players throughout the field each inning, as opposed to playing designated positions for the entire game.

Recreational

This division is for teams consisting mostly of inexperienced players who are learning the fundamentals of the game. Some players in the Recreational division will still be learning the rules of Slo-Pitch, meaning that the flow of the game will not always be natural, due to players having limited experience in batting, base running, fielding, and pitching.

The following points describe the level of play that should be expected:

  • Most batters will not place hits, and will concentrate primarily on making contact with the ball.
  • Home runs are less frequent, and strike-outs are more commonplace than other divisions.
  • Pitchers will not throw strikes consistently. Batters might walk more than in other divisions.
  • Fielding errors and base-running mistakes will happen more frequently. Not all players will understand lead-offs, tagging-up, force plays or sacrifice flies.
  • Teams might rotate players throughout the field each inning, as opposed to playing designated positions for the entire game.

Recreational Plus

This division is for teams consisting of a mix of experienced and new Slo-Pitch players. The flow of the game will be quicker than the Recreational division as there will be less stoppages and rule clarifications.

The following points describe the level of play that should be expected:

  • There is likely a few experienced batters on each team that can place hits, along with some inexperienced players who concentrate primarily on making contact with the ball.
  • There might be 1-2 players on a team capable of hitting a home run and strike-outs will occur less frequently than in the Recreational Division.
  • Pitchers will throw strikes more consistently; however, walks will still occur.
  • Fielding and base-running will be more consistent than in the Recreational Division.
  • Teams might rotate some players throughout the field each inning, but some players will play designated positions throughout the entire game.