Tournaments

What are Leaguerette tournaments?
Each spring season, there are four Leaguerette tournaments. In these tournaments, teams from all five Hillsborough County Leaguerette organizations compete against each other.

When are the tournaments, and which teams are eligible to play in each tournament?

Where are the tournaments played?
Most tournaments are played at J. C. Handley Field in Brandon. Some tournaments are played at Ed Radice Park in northwest Hillsborough County.

How is the tournament game schedule determined - bracket,  ladder,  round robin, or some other system?
Each tournament is structured as a double elimination tournament. This means that each team stays in the tournament unless and until the team loses two games. The tournament champion is the team remaining after every other team has lost two games. Second, third and fourth place finishers are determined based on which teams advance farthest in their game schedule.

How does a double elimination bracket work.
A double elimination tournament bracket looks like two traditional tournament brackets right next to each other. One bracket is called the winners' bracket, the other is called the losers' bracket. All teams start in the winners' bracket, which is prepared in the usual fashion . . . teams are divided into pairs, and each pair plays a first round game (depending on the number of teams in the tournament, some team(s) may get a "bye"). If a team wins the game, it advances to the next round. If a team loses, it drops out of the winners' bracket, but then is assigned a spot in the losers' bracket. In the losers' bracket, every game is a contest between two teams that already have lost one game each. If a team wins a game in the losers' bracket, it advances to the next round in that bracket. If a team loses a losers' bracket game, the team is out of the tournament. Eventually, there remains only one team in the winners' bracket, and only one team in the losers' bracket. These two teams meet in the championship game . . . one undefeated team against a team with only one loss. If the undefeated team wins, meaning the other team loses its second game, then the undefeated team is the tournament champion and the other team is the second place team. If the undefeated team loses, so that now each team has one loss, the teams immediately play one more game to decide the championhip.

What days and nights of the week are tournament games played?
Games are played all day and into the night on Saturday, and every weekday evening. Games generally are not played on Sunday.

What times of day are tournament games played?
On Saturdays, games begin as early as 8:00 am. The first game on a weekday evening usually begins around 5:00. The last game of the day on Saturday or a weekday may be scheduled to begin as late as 9:00, but afternoon and evening games frequently start late because earlier games run long.

How many games will a team play in one day?
On a Saturday, each team usually will play at least two games (assuming the team is still in the tournament). If the last day of the tournament is a Saturday, a team that comes from the loser's side of the bracket may play four, five or even six games if the team keeps winning.

How many days does each tournament last?
Because the Early Bird and Spring Break Tournaments are open to all teams, they usually take five to eight days to complete.

Do tournaments start or finish on particular days of the week?
There is no set rule on this. Some tournaments start on a Saturday, others start on a weekday evening. Some end on Saturday, some end during the week.

Are tournament game rules the same as regular season rules?
There are differences. Some of these are:
     In regular season games, the "run ahead" rule applies only if it is mathematically impossible for one team to tie the other, even if it scores the ten run maximum each inning remaining in the game. In tournaments, the usual "run ahead" rule provides that a team is declared the winner if it is ten runs ahead at the end of any inning, beginning with the third inning.
     In some tournaments, there is an absolute time limit. When time expires, the team ahead when the last inning was completed may be declared the winner.
     In some tournaments, a foul ball may count as a third strike.
     In some tournaments, strict pickup rules apply.

Are trophies awarded for participating in the tournaments?
The County usually awards trophies the top two, three or four teams in each age division. The number of trophies awarded in a tournament depends on the number of teams in that age division participating in the tournament, and is determined solely at the discretion of the County.

Is there a fee for participating in a tournament?
Our league pays an entry fee for each team participating in each tournament. We do not charge individual players or teams for participating in the tournaments.

Do teams from outside of Hillsborough County participate in the tournaments?
No. The tournaments are strictly for Hillsborough County Leaguerette teams from the five local leagues - Temple Terrace, Brandon, Lutz, North Tampa, and Town 'n Country.

Do non-Leaguerette teams participate in the tournaments?
No. The tournaments are strictly for Hillsborough County Leaguerette teams.

Are there any tournaments in the fall season?
No. The only tournaments are during the spring season.

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