Umpire's Guide to Baseball Canada Championships 13U-Men's 2026

Baseball Canada's national umpire program runs in steps: Level 4 Trained (4T), Level 4, Level 5, then International Recommendation. An umpire can stop at any step.

Level 4 Trained (4T)

• Recommendation from your Provincial Supervisor, based on passing base and plate evaluations the previous season
• Current provincial Level 3 certification
• At least four years of experience
• Age 18 or older during the current season
• Attendance at a national certification clinic and payment of the national fee
• A score of at least 80% on the national exam
• Two positive field evaluations a year (one plate, one base) by a Senior or Master Course Conductor

All requirements must be met in the same year. A 4T umpire can be assigned by their province to a Minor Baseball Canada Championship.

Level 4: a successful umpiring assignment at one Baseball Canada Championship in a minor category.

Level 5: a major assessment at a Minor Championship, retained at the first Major Championship. The designation is kept even if a later championship produces a minor recommendation.

Source: Baseball Canada Umpires, The National Program (Level 4/5), https://umpire.baseball.ca/index.php?currp=216&page=227

• Pay the annual national certification fee ($75).
• Attend the annual national certification clinic.
• Complete the national exam each year. The pass mark is 80%; an umpire who scores below 80% is given an improvement plan by the High Performance Portfolio Lead.
• Complete plate and base evaluations where applicable: two positive evaluations a year (one plate, one base) are required for Level 4 Trained. Level 4 and Level 5 umpires are exempt from annual plate and base evaluations for three consecutive seasons after their last championship, as an umpire or supervisor.
• All criteria must be met in the same season; an umpire with missing requirements restarts the process the following year.
• Inactive status: an umpire who is not actively umpiring can stay certified by paying the annual fee and completing the annual exam, and this can be maintained indefinitely.
• Once an umpire has worked a Canada Games Championship, they cannot be assigned to another Canada Games Championship as an umpire.

Source: Baseball Canada Umpires, The National Program (Level 4/5), https://umpire.baseball.ca/index.php?currp=216&page=227

• Assignment: the Umpire Supervisor team is assigned by Baseball Canada. The umpiring team is assigned by the Baseball Canada Umpires Committee through nominations from the provincial baseball associations. Expect 3-4 supervisors and 9-15 umpires depending on the event.
• Crews: in the round robin, umpires usually work in regular crews of three. For medal-round games the supervisor often changes crews and sometimes uses four or even six umpires for the final games.
• Umpire meeting: held on arrival day, and the umpires, supervisor, host committee chair and Baseball Canada Representative meet before the Pre-Championship meeting to discuss ground rules and crews. The lead Supervisor of Umpires attends the Pre-Championship meeting.
• Conduct expected of managers: the manager is responsible for the team's conduct and deference to umpires. Players are not to address the umpires; profanity, personal insults and any attempt to "show up" the umpires are never tolerated; umpires must not be confronted off the field.
• Dress code: an umpire failing to adhere to the dress code is fined $100.
• Official rules: games are governed by the Official Rules of Baseball, with the Baseball Canada modifications.

Source: 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships, sections 3.1, 3.16 and 5; 2026 Participant's Guide (Team Staff).

• The clock is 90 seconds, timed by the umpires with a stopwatch, for the entire game including extra innings. It starts once the last out of the inning is recorded, wherever on the field the out was made.
• The pitcher gets five preparatory pitches, or eight if entering the game, and may not exceed eight warm-up pitches within the time.
• The catcher is instructed to throw to second base with 30 seconds left.
• Batter: must be entering the batter's box as time expires, or when instructed by the home plate umpire. Penalty: an automatic strike.
• Defence: must be ready to play as time expires. Penalty: an automatic ball added to the count.
• Neither the automatic strike nor the automatic ball is added to the pitch count.
• Umpires use discretion when the catcher is at bat or on base when the inning ends.

Source: 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships, section 5.8.

Rule 6.06(d) applies to any bat not complying with these standards:

In all divisions the bat must clearly show the manufacturer's original markings, including the length-weight differential where applicable. If not, the bat is considered illegal.

A player follows the bat rule of the division they are playing in for that game: a 13U-aged player in a 15U game, or a 16U-aged girl in a 15U game, uses the 15U bat rule.

Source: 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships, section 5.12.

All penalties and enforcement guidelines on collisions at home plate and slides at bases apply as outlined in rule 6.01(i-j) of the Official Rules of Baseball.

In addition, any offensive or defensive player who, in the umpire's judgment, makes malicious contact with another player shall be ejected. Contact is considered malicious if, in the umpire's judgment, it is the result of intentional excessive force or there is an intent to injure.

After the ejection, the Technical Officer's automatic sanctions include 3 games for intent to injure (1 game may apply instead if incidental contact occurred and the athlete was ejected).

Source: 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships, sections 3.15 (d) and 5.9.

• When a pitcher reaches the maximum pitches for a rest threshold, they may exceed it to complete the at-bat. If the coach signals the umpire that it will be the last batter, the count reverts to the threshold on the pitch count log; if not, the actual number is recorded.
• The umpire advises the scorekeeper of the coach's last-batter notification. Once the coach has made the declaration, the pitcher must be removed after that at-bat.
• A pitcher who throws to a new batter after exceeding the maximum, with no last-batter signal, is a pitch count violation.
• Automatic balls from an intentional walk do not count; only pitches thrown do. The automatic strike or ball from the between-innings clock is not added to the pitch count.
• A pitcher removed from the mound cannot return to pitch in the same game; a second trip to the same pitcher in the same inning causes automatic removal.
• Violation penalty: ejection of the head coach or manager, a fine and an automatic one-game suspension. Everyone, including scorekeepers, must raise the issue when a pitcher is about to become ineligible.

Source: 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships, sections 4.4 and 5.8.

The Baseball Canada Technical Officer reviews all ejections of coaches and players, and can also review incidents that did not result in an ejection (from personal observation, witness reports or video). Where a hearing is held, it starts with the respondent reading the umpire's ejection report, or being told the alleged violation if there was no ejection. For a routine ejection the Technical Officer may waive the hearing. The decision goes to the team's chef de mission and is final.

Automatic or minimum sanctions

• Contact with an umpire: automatic suspension set by the Technical Officer
• Intent to injure: 3 games (1 game may apply instead if the contact was incidental and the athlete was ejected)
• Throwing at a batter: 1 game
• An ejection after a game: 1 game
• A second ejection in the championship: 1 game; a third: 3 games

In divisions with the re-entry rule (13U, 15U Boys, 16U Girls, 19U Women's), if a player is ejected and the team has no more substitutes or legal re-entry, the game is a forfeit. Umpires must not be confronted off the field; anyone who does so faces disciplinary action by the Baseball Canada Rep.

Source: 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships, sections 3.15 and 5.11, and 2026 Participant's Guide (Team Staff).

Travesty of the game: enforced by the Technical Officer and the umpires. The consequence is an ejection, first the manager and then the player(s) involved. It is defined as an attempt to intentionally lengthen or shorten a game or manipulate the score by any means that has players not "playing to win". Examples: batters or runners deliberately trying to make outs, pitchers obviously trying to miss the strike zone, fielders obviously trying to make errors.

Anthem standoff: if the two teams stand off during the National Anthem, the umpire-in-chief warns the head coach of the offending team(s) that anyone who does not return to the dugout area immediately after the anthem will be ejected, along with the head coach. Any umpire shall eject any player, coach or team personnel after the warning is issued.

Tobacco and vape: use of vape (e-cigarette) products and all tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco, by on-field participants (players, coaches, managers, umpires and others) is prohibited. Offenders caught using them are ejected from the game.

Source: 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships, sections 2.4 to 2.6.

• The protesting team must tell the umpires before the next pitch, play or attempted play. No protest may be made on a judgment call. It must come with a $100 cash deposit.
• The umpires suspend play and inform the opposing team's manager and their umpire supervisor that a protest has been lodged.
• The Protest Committee (three people, chaired by the Baseball Canada Technical Officer), the head coaches, the umpires and, if desired, the chefs de mission go to a private area away from teams and spectators.
• The committee hears the game umpires first, who explain the play and their decision, then the protesting head coach, then the opposing head coach if necessary.
• The umpires put the committee's decision into effect and resume play from the point of suspension. The decision is final, and no further argument is entertained.

Source: 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships, section 3.14.

• Length: seven innings (6 1/2 complete innings if the home team is ahead). All games require a winner; there are no ties.
• Mercy rule: ten runs after five innings (4 1/2 if the home team is ahead); fifteen runs after four innings (3 1/2 if the home team is ahead).
• Round-robin extra innings: each team starts every extra inning with a placed runner on second base and no outs. If the #6 hitter had the last plate appearance, the #7 hitter bats and the #6 hitter starts on second. Visitors still bat in the top and the home team in the bottom.
• Tiebreaker and medal-round games: traditional extra innings, no placed runner.
• Suspended games: a game suspended for any reason (curfew, darkness, power failure, weather) resumes from the point of suspension. A game is suspended when the Technical Officer declares it and tells teams to leave the park; a delay where teams stay at the field has no impact on pitching rules.
• Pitch timers: Baseball Canada does not use them at national championships.

Source: 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships, sections 4.4 (p), 5.5 to 5.7, 5.10 and 5.15.