New League Age Determination Date Goes Into Effect
Last May Babe Ruth Baseball accepted a recommendation from USA Baseball to change the league age determination date for its players starting in the 2006 season.
The league age determination date is the age a player has attained as of a specific date, for the purpose of placing the player in a particular division. The old date in the baseball divisions of Babe Ruth was July 31^st.
Starting with the 2006 season, the date in all divisions of Babe Ruth Baseball will be April 30 of the current year/season.
For example: Under the old regulation, a baseball player who turns 13 years old in May, June or July of 2006 would have been considered league-age 13 for the entire 2006 season. That would have been the case, despite the fact that such a player likely would have played most or all of the regular season (which generally ends in June) without having actually reached his or her 13th birthday. Under the new regulation, such a player will have a league age of 12 throughout the 2006 season.
USA Baseball represents amateur baseball in the U.S. as a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Baseball Association Federation (IBAF). Virtually every major national youth baseball organization in the U.S., including Babe Ruth, is a USA Baseball National Member. USA Baseball recommended that the league age determination date be changed from July 31 to April 30, for the 2006 season for all youth baseball organizations.
“We realize that our local leagues will take a little time to become accustomed to the new league age determination date,” said Joe Losch, vice president of operations and corporate secretary for Little League Baseball and Softball. “We are confident the changes can be implemented, and the transition will be a smooth one.”
Below, Hilltop has prepared a list of questions and answers regarding all changes made in conjunction with the new league age determination date.
1	Q	What exactly does “league age determination date” mean?
	A	The league age determination date is the age a player has attained as of a specific date, for the purpose of placing the player in a particular division. For more than 55 years in Little League, that date was July 31.
2	Q	What is the new league age determination date for baseball?
	A	The age of a baseball player as of April 30 of the current year is that player’s league age for the current season.
3	Q	What was the reason for the change in baseball?
	A	The chief reason was so that most players on a team will spend the majority of the regular season at the same chronological age as their league age. Currently, more than 95 percent of all local Babe Ruth programs start their seasons before May 1. Under the old regulation, a baseball player who turned 13 in May, June or July of the current year would have been considered league-age 13 for that entire season. That would be the case, despite the fact that such a player likely would have played most or all of the regular season (which generally ends in June) without having actually reached his or her 13th birthday. Under the current regulation, such a player will have a league age of 12 throughout the 2006 season.
4	Q	Will this help our league retain more 13-year-old players in the transition to a Division where the diamond is the standard size?
	A	Absolutely. One-fourth of those players who would have been moved up to the 13 yr old division (where they were the youngest of the young) would have another year of eligibility in the Majors Division, and thus may be better prepared for the larger diamond.
5	Q	In baseball, what about those players born in May, June or July who would have been league-age five in 2006 (eligible for Tee Ball Baseball), but now will be considered league-age four (not eligible)?
	A	Those players will be permitted to register and play in the 2006 Tee Ball Baseball season.
6	Q	Is this confusing for leagues with Little League Baseball and Softball programs?
	A	It should not be. Babe Ruth has made available ample educational materials, charts, etc., that give clear and concise direction to volunteers and parents in determining league age. Other programs with baseball and softball divisions have operated without any difficulty for several years.
7	Q	What is USA Baseball?
	A	USA Baseball is the governing body for amateur baseball in the United States, and represents amateur baseball in the U.S. as a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Baseball Association Federation (IBAF). Virtually every major national amateur baseball organization in the U.S., including Little League, is a USA Baseball National Member.
8	Q	How much research and thought went into this change?
	A	More than four years of study went into this decision, along with years of discussions with senior volunteers at the local level. Input from individuals after the initial announcement of the change also was taken into consideration.
8	Q	Is Hilltop the only organization making this change?
	A	No. All indications are that all youth baseball organization members of USA Baseball in Haverford Township have accepted this change. Without changing these organziaions would not be eligible for inter-league or tournament play.
9	Q	Why was the July 31 date originally used?
	A	When the July 31 league age determination date was settled upon in the mid 1940s, Little League was confined to Pennsylvania and a few other states, and it was the only youth baseball organization (for 12-year-olds and below) of any significant size. The date was chosen because it was the date used in Williamsport, Pa., schools to divide grade levels. When other youth baseball organizations began springing up (primarily for young teens) in the 1950s and ‘60s, they adopted Little League’s determination date so there would be a smooth transition when a player moved from one program to another.
10	Q	Why doesn’t Babe Ruth use the determination date that schools use?
	A	There are local Babe Ruth leagues in every state of the U.S., and scores of countries around the world. Schools in the U.S. use widely different dates to determine the grade in which a child will be. Some use Jan. 1, some use a summer date, and some use a date in the fall. There is not one specific date that could be used that would allow students that are in a particular grade to also be on the same Babe Ruth team. All local Babe Ruth leagues worldwide must have the same league age determination date.
11	Q	What about having 13-year-olds in the Majors? Won’t that upset the balance?
	A	No. The overall average age difference in all divisions of baseball will only be about three months greater. Babe Ruth has been advised, in consultation with experts in this field (including Dr. Barry Goldberg, Director of Sports Medicine at Yale University and Chairman of the USA Baseball Medical and Safety Advisory Board), that the physiological differences (based on this change) in children of this age will be miniscule, and negligible at most.
12	Q	Does this change mean that one age group will have to “skip” a year and move up sooner?
	A	No. Every player in all divisions will still have the opportunity to have one full season each year at each age group. No player will be forced to “move up” any sooner than he/she would have under the old league age determination date.
13	Q	Does this change mean that some players will receive two years of eligibility at a certain age?
	A	Yes. Baseball players with birth dates in May, June or July of 2005 will be the same league age for the 2006 season as they were in 2005. For example: A player who was born on July 15, 1993, is a league age 12-year-old for the 2005 season. That player will AGAIN be a league-age 12-year-old for the 2006 season. Remember, however, this will only be the case for one year.
14	Q	Will it be difficult for local leagues to institute these changes?
	A	It should not be. For baseball, the simplest way of explaining it is this…A baseball player’s chronological age on April 30 of the year in question is his/her league age for the current year.