ROU i The BUCS Rounders Championships shall be conducted in accordance with the following BUCS sport specific regulations, the BUCS general regulations, and the Rounders England (RE) Official Rounders Rules 2023-2025. Further event specific requirements, rules, and regulations will be contained within the entry and pre-event information for each Championship.
ROU i.i The Rounders England Policy and Procedures for Transgender and Non-binary players in Rounders shall be followed.
ROU ii In the event that these regulations contradict the BUCS general regulations, these BUCS sport specific regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
ROU iii In the event that these regulations contradict the Rounders England (RE) Official Rounders Rules 2023-2025, these BUCS sport specific regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
ROU 1 Championships Rounders England, on behalf of BUCS, will host annually a Rounders Championships as listed in Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’), subject to entry numbers. All competition specific event information will be available in the event entry information and pre-event information.
ROU 2 Organisation and format
ROU 2.1 The Championships shall consist of three Regional Qualifier events, followed by a National Finals.
ROU 2.2 Institutions/Playing Entities can enter a maximum of two teams into each Regional Qualifier event and can enter these teams into as many of the three Regional Qualifier events as they wish.
ROU 2.3 The National Finals will consist of a maximum of nine teams. The winner, runner-up and third placed team at each Regional Qualifier event shall qualify for the National Finals. If a team enters multiple Regional Qualifier events and finishes in the top three places at more than one of these, then additional teams may also qualify for the National Finals based on how they performed in the Regional Qualifier events, starting with any fourth placed teams from affected Regional Qualifier events.
ROU 2.4 2nd teams will be permitted to qualify for the National Finals; however, they will not be eligible for BUCS Points.
ROU 2.5 The format for each event will be determined based on the number of teams. For example, where there are only four or five teams, all teams may play in a single round robin league stage, followed by semi-finals, a final and a 3rd place playoff match, whereas if there are six or more teams, the teams may be split into separate groups for the first stage. The number of matches, innings, and balls per innings will also be determined on an event-by-event basis.
ROU 2.6 In any round robin/group stage, three points will be awarded for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss.
ROU 2.7 Where a walkover is awarded/conceded, the result will be recorded as a 3-0 win to the non-offending team and in the case of a round robin/group stage match, three points will be awarded to the non-offending team and three points deducted from the offending team.
ROU 2.8 If at the conclusion of any round robin/group stage two or more teams are on equal points which needs to be broken to determine which team(s) shall progress further, the teams shall be ranked based on their rounders difference (the higher the better). If there is still a tie, any remaining teams shall be ranked based on their rounders scored (the higher the better).
ROU 2.9 If there is a tie at the end of any knockout stage match, each team will receive an additional five balls, followed by a further three balls if still tied.
ROU 3 Squads and teams
ROU 3.1 At each Regional Qualifier and at the National Finals, for each team entered the squad for the event, and the team for each game, shall consist of a maximum of 15 players and a minimum of six players, of whom no more than nine may be on the pitch at any one time. As a Mixed Championships, as per rule 3 (A) of the Official Rounders Rules 2023-2025, teams are not permitted to have more than five male players on the pitch at any time. For clarity, there is no minimum number of males required to be on the pitch at any time.
ROU 3.2 Following teams being entered on BUCS Play for each event, players who wish to be eligible for selection for a team must apply to join, and be accepted into, the team’s squad (maximum 15, minimum six as per ROU 3.1) on BUCS Play by the deadlines listed in the entry information. Individuals who are not in the squad on BUCS Play will not be eligible to compete.
ROU 3.3 Where an institution/Playing Entity enters two teams into the Championships, individuals are not permitted to be named on a team sheet, or play, for both teams at the same event. Furthermore, where an institution/Playing Entity enters two teams across the Regional Qualifier events and/or has one or both of these teams qualify for the National Finals, an individual is not permitted to be named on a team sheet, or play, for their institution/Playing Entity’s 2nd team if they have previously represented the 1st team in the Championships. For example, if an individual represents their institution/Playing Entity’s 1st team at the first Regional Qualifier event, they are subsequently not permitted to represent their institution/Playing Entity’s 2nd team at any subsequent Regional Qualifier events or the National Finals.
ROU 4 Disputes at events In line with REG 7.7, should a dispute occur at an event, the event appeal panel for Rounders shall comprise of the Tournament Director and/or a BUCS Staff Member.
