Tournament Types

No matter the tournament type, keep PFAA up-to-date on your plans.  We need to provide you documents in order to participate in any tournament and it can take time to get them ready.  DO NOT EXPECT PFAA will be able to help if we are notified at the last minute of your intentions.  To start a conversation email tournament.organizers@pineforge.org about your interest in participation in any tournament when you start your tournament team practices!  We will be happy to assist and help you through the process.

There are two main types of tournaments you can participate in with your tournament team.

1. Locally run tournaments.  These are essentially fundraisers for area baseball/softball clubs.   They are independently run.  They typically start on a Friday evening and run through Sunday if your teams plays well.  Check for a guarentee for of minimum games.

2. Babe Ruth Baseball/ Babe Ruth Softball/Cal Ripken Baseball Tournament Trail.  This is run by Babe Ruth League or one of their affiliated organizations (e.g. the PA State Babe Ruth League).  The tournament starts with district or state tournaments, winners advance to the  regional (Mid-Atlantics for PFAA) tournament, and the winner(s) advance to the Babe Ruth League World Series.  Districts start just after the regular season ends, with state tournaments starting a week or two after districts, Mid-Atlantic the following week, and the World Series starting a couple weeks after the regional tournaments.

Local Tournaments

Requirements for local tournaments vary by tournament.  Please talk to coaches who have moved to older divisions for advice on finding these tournaments, and advice on registering and preparing.

You will need to pay a tournament fee, and provide proof of insurance (COI - Certificate of Insurance).  To get the appropriate COI, you will need to provide PFAA with the  legal name of the organization wanting the COI, their business address, and their role (Tournament host, facility owner, sponsor, ...)  Once  you have that contact your division commissioner with that information and you will get a COI.  Give us a couple of days to get you the COI.

Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken Tournament Tips

Pine Forge AA strongly encourages each division to enter a team in the appropriate tournament trail.

1. Get a copy of the official rules from the PFAA President.  Read them!

2. Always submit a full roster.  If you can have 15 players on the roster, but only have 12 committed to playing, ask players that might be willing to sub for a regular player who can't make a game.  If you can't get up to a full roster, just add players who you never expect to play.  Once your roster is used in a tournament, you can not add players, you can only replace existing rostered players. Once they leave the tournament trail roster, they cannot return for the year.

   1. Carrying extra players give you flexibility between tournaments on the tournament trail.  Say one of your regular player goes on an unexpected vacation during districts, but you manage to find a sub.  If you only rostered 12 players, you have to drop your regular player to add the sub.  Unfortunately the regular player is ineligible to play at States or beyond.  After districts you need to find another sub, unless the first sub decides to continue playing.  With extra players, you simply replace a player you never expected to go to a game with you sub.  Your regular player can stay on the roster, and you still get to bring 12 players to districts.

3. Use the rule book to determine what documents you need to bring to the tournament and start working on your tournament binder right away.

4. Ask PFAA board members, and coaches from the next division up for advice, what to look out for, and tips on preparing.  There are a lot of coaches who have been on the tournament trail, learn from their experience!

Certificate of Insurance (COI)

To get a COI