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.
Roster/starting lineup should be provided at the beginning of the contest.
Home Color: Dark Away Color: Light/White
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.
Roster/starting lineup should be provided at the beginning of the contest.
Teams will shake hands at the conclusion of the Varsity game as well as the conclusion of the JV/supplemental varsity game.
Baseball & Softball
A batting order of more than 9 is permitted, up to 12 batters.
Roster/starting lineup should be provided at the beginning of the contest.
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 NFHS compliant bats (baseball).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
Game is Best of 3
Supplemental Game - Best of 3
Roster/starting lineup as should be provided at the beginning of the contest.
Field Hockey
Westbrook, Eliot, North Branford, Old Saybrook and HK are the schools with teams
Two 25 minute halves
One supplemental 10 minute period if rosters allow and teams agree
Roster/starting lineup should be provided at the beginning of the contest.
Cross Country
One Female Heat
One Male heat
Course meets should be within 1.5m to 2.2m
Each year will rotate male/female heat first (2023- female heat then male heat)
Outdoor Track & Field
A typical season includes 4-5 meets
Each school would typically host 1 meet
The order of events will be shared by the host school
Throwing events are dependent on host school’s preference
Intramural programs may modify the total number of meets (typically 2-3 meets)
OTHER
Both schools should make concerted efforts to reschedule postponements.
• The 2 Shoreline schools below participate in another MS conference with: Colchester MS, McGee – Berlin, Rocky Hill MS, Beman MS- Middletown
1. East Hampton MS 2. Cromwell MS
Resources:
CIAC Middle School Guidelines
https://www.casciac.org/pdfs/MSGuidelines22-23.pdf
Updated - March 2026
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