Middle School
Philosophy for Interscholastic Athletic Competition
The member schools of the Shoreline Conference who participate in middle school interscholastic athletic competition are committed to providing activities that will enhance the educational growth of their student athletes. Participation in athletics, both as a player and as a spectator, is a significant component of the educational experience and should contribute positively to the knowledge, skills and emotional patterns that students possess, thereby enabling them to become better persons and citizens. The elements of competition and winning, although they exist, will be controlled to the point that they do not determine the nature of the program. Therefore, no team standings will be kept and championship tournaments will not be allowed.
Shoreline Conference Middle School Division Members
Shoreline Season and Game Limitations
SPORT Start Date End Date # of Games
Soccer 3rd day of school Before DST 12
Field Hockey 3rd day of school Before DST 12
Volleyball 3rd day of school Before DST 12
Cross Country 3rd day of school Before DST 6 *
Basketball Monday after Thanksgiving, Before February Break(s) 12
tryouts may be earlier
Baseball April 1 First week of June 12
Softball April 1 First week of June 12
Outdoor Track April 1 First week of June 12
Teams must have 10 practice dates before their first game
** No more than two games scheduled per week.
*** Three games permissible (to add a make- up)
Shoreline Conference Middle School Division Sports Specific Information
The following rules will be followed unless changes are agreed upon by the schools Athletic Directors in advance of the game.
Supplemental periods are provided to allow more participants to receive game time.
All coaches are expected to play as many participants as possible prior to the extra period. The supplemental period is for those participants who don’t receive adequate time in the previous periods.
Soccer
• Two 30 minute halves will be played followed by two supplemental halves of 10 minutes.
Basketball
• Four 8 minute periods with stop time will be followed by two 8 minute supplemental periods with stop time.
• Half time will be five minutes.
Baseball & Softball
• A batting order of more than 9 is permitted, up to 12 batters
• When a team runs through the entire batting order the side is out and they take the field.
• Team uniforms may be somewhat inconsistent.
• Coaches do not have to be in uniform.
• Games are 7 innings in length with no supplemental innings due to time and field constraints.
• Use of BBCor bats (baseball)
• In effort to complete games in a reasonable time frame, games are limited to 2 hours. A new inning cannot begin after 1 hr and 45 minutes has passed. However an inning in progress should be completed.
• The mercy rule is in effect. The mercy rule is defined as a team being up by at least 10 runs after 5 innings of play.
Volleyball
• Hale-Ray, Lyme-Old Lyme, North Branford are the only schools with teams
o Game is Best of 3
o Supplemental Game - Best of 3
Field Hockey
• Westbrook, Eliot, NB, Old Saybrook and HK only
o Two 25 minute halves
o One supplemental 10 minute period if rosters allow and teams agree
Cross Country
One Female Heat
One Male heat one
Course meets should be within 1.5m to 2.2m
