Respect the Game
Play ball!Little League's sportsmanship programme. No extra rules, but a way of looking at things: respect for the opponent, the umpire, the game and yourself.
The opponent
Without an opponent there is no game. You play against each other, not at each other.
The umpire
An umpire is a volunteer who makes decisions in a split second. Sometimes they get it wrong. That is part of the game.
The game
You keep to the rules, also when nobody is watching. And you leave the field tidy.
Yourself
You may be gutted by a strikeout. You do not throw your bat, and you are back in it when your team needs you.
Fun · sportsmanship · respect
Why this programme exists
Little League has been playing with children since 1939, and has learned in that time that a youth tournament is as much about the sideline as about the field itself. A child who gets jeered stops playing baseball. An umpire who gets torn apart does not come back next year.
Respect the Game is therefore not a separate rulebook but the tone in which we run the tournament. The concrete agreements are in the code of conduct.