CSS League Policies

Published by Evan Wagner

Sep 22, 2026

Chico Senior Softball League Policies
(Revised September 02, 2026)

1. Chico Senior Softball (CSS) Refund Policy:
Please understand that annual player registration fees are used to support the entire season in advance. These fees help cover the cost of team uniforms and hats, secure playing fields through contracts, purchase required CARD liability insurance based on player participation, and other league expenses.

If you would like to withdraw from the league (team) and request a refund, you must contact a member of the CSS Board of Directors or email the board at board@chicoseniorsoftball.com.

The CSS refund policy shall be as follows,
a. Prior to the draft: A player may request a full refund of their registration fee.
b. After the draft and prior to the sixth scheduled game: If a player sustains a season-ending injury or experiences a life-changing event, the player may request either:
1) a 50% refund of their registration fee, or
2) a $100 credit toward the next season ($50 for the 2nd division).
c. After the sixth scheduled game: No refunds will be issued.

Please note: Hardship cases may be considered by the CSS Board. The CSS Board will serve as the final arbiter in all circumstances.

2. Playing in Multiple Divisions:
League players can play in their age-appropriate division and any division that has a lower/younger age classification.
You cannot play in an older age classified division if you are playing in more than 1 division, only a younger division.
Any player wishing to play in multiple divisions will have the fee(s) reduced to half the normal fee for the 2nd and/or 3rd division they register for.

3. Playing in an Older Age Range Division:
If you choose you can play "Up" a division if you think that fits your skill level more appropriately, register for the division you'd like to play in. Once registered please email the Chico Senior Softball Board of Directors at board@chicoseniorsoftball.com stating your intention to play in a division above your age classification & a brief explanation so the league is aware The CSS Board of Directors will follow-up with you should they have any questions.

4. Managers:
Managers are volunteers. Prior to each season an email will be sent to all CSS players soliciting volunteers to manage in the upcoming season. If there are more volunteers than available teams, the board will ask if any of the prospective managers will voluntarily drop out of the Manager position. If there are still too many managers, new managers will be given priority and the remaining managers will be selected by random draw.

5. League Draft and Player Team Placement:
Players are placed on teams each year via an annual draft for each division, held on different nights, a few weeks before the season begins. Nothing in the draft is based on the previous year's results.

The number of teams per division is based annually on the number of registered and paid players before the draft. Additional consideration is given to Chico Senior Softball Rules, which states that teams will have a maximum of 13 players per team.
Players must be registered with their league fees paid to be included in their division’s draft. Unregistered players, players with incomplete registrations, and players registered but unpaid will not be included in the draft.

For players that register after the draft, Chico Senior Softball will make the best efforts, but there is no guarantee those players registering after the draft can or will be placed on a team.

As per Chico Senior Softball Rules, team’s managers are not required to accept new players if doing so will exceed a 13-player roster. This policy is to avoid the overloading of teams, which leads to reduced playing time for the existing players of those teams.

6. League Draft - Masters Division Only:
The Masters use a draft to determine teams. The draft will be held after the registration is closed and at least 1 week before the season begins. The draft will be as follows:
1. Each manager, with co-manager when present, will be responsible for drafting his team.
2. The draft order will be determined by random draw and will be in a ‘serpentine’ format.
3. All managers will be ranked and assigned to their team in the appropriate round. For example, if a manager is ranked 10th in a 4 team league, they will be that teams 3rd round pick regardless of the draft order. If there are co-managers they will be ranked as well
4. If all managers agree that ranking is not necessary, then there will be no ranking of the managers and drafting will be done using only 1. and 2. above.

NOTE: To facilitate #3 above, the 3 Masters Board members will rank all the players. Those rankings will be averaged to create round by round player ranking (for a 4 team league players ranked 1-4 is round 1, 5-8 round 2, etc). The Board may solicit player rankings by others if needed. Board members who are managers or co-managers will not participate in the rankings. The goal is to use the average of 3 independent rankings.
Once the draft is complete, players may be traded. All trades need the approval of each Manager.

7. Team Shirts & Hats:
Each year Chico Senior Softball (CSS) will provide 1 team shirt and 1 hat for each player of each team up to the current maximum roster size at the time of the draft.

CSS will provide the typical, one logo color, CSS team shirts and hats to all teams. Teams can work with the CSS Board of Directors before the season should they want to pay any extra costs for customizations to the typical CSS team shirts through the CSS shirt vendor. No CSS funds will be provided to any team to get custom shirts outside the CSS annual shirt order. The CSS Board will not entertain requests to customize hats.

All team shirts used for CSS League play, custom or league provided, are required to include,

1. The current year CSS “Badge” in the left-front shoulder area of all shirts.

2. The CSS defined sponsor(s) on the back of all shirts.

Any team that chooses to have custom shirts and/or hats are free to do so as provided above. Teams that choose to get custom shirts and/or hats can then do with those CSS provided shirts and/or hats whatever they choose to do with them.

8. CSS Board of Directors Composition:

The CSS Board of Directors (BoD) consists of nine (9) members. The CSS bylaws do not explicitly establish a required composition or representation of the Board by division.

To promote balanced representation across all CSS divisions, the goal shall be to have at least two (2) representatives from each division serving on the Board of Directors.

Board members shall be elected by popular vote. Following the election, the Board positions shall be determined as follows:
1. Division Representation: The candidates receiving the highest number of votes within each division shall be selected first, with the goal of ensuring that at least two (2) elected Board members represent each CSS division.
2. Remaining Positions: After the division representation requirement has been satisfied, any remaining Board positions shall be filled by the candidates receiving the highest number of votes overall, regardless of division.
3. Eligibility: If there are insufficient candidates from a division to provide two representatives, the remaining positions shall be filled based solely on overall vote totals.

This process is intended to maintain the democratic principle of popular voting while providing balanced representation of the CSS divisions on the Board of Directors.

9. Chico Senior Softball Hall of Fame Policy:

Purpose: The Chico Senior Softball (CSS) Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a longstanding commitment and significant service to the league, both on and off the field.

Election Frequency: Hall of Fame elections will be held every two years, in even-numbered years.
Recognition: Each Hall of Fame inductee will receive:
• A commemorative Hall of Fame hat
• A Hall of Fame jacket
• Permanent recognition on the CSS Hall of Fame display board

Eligibility Criteria: Nominees should meet the following criteria:
1. Have participated as a CSS player for a minimum of 10 years. This does not require the nominees be a current player.
2. Have consistently demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship.
3. Have made significant contributions to CSS beyond playing, such as serving as a manager, Board of Directors member, operations volunteer, committee member, or in other leadership or service roles.
Meeting the minimum eligibility requirements does not guarantee induction.

Nomination Process:
• Nominations may be submitted by any member of the CSS Board of Directors.
• Board members are encouraged to solicit input from the general CSS membership when considering nominees. This can be done by emailing the members of CSS.
• Nominations must be submitted to the Board between June 1 and June 30 of each election year.
• Each nomination should include a written justification describing the nominee's qualifications and contributions, addressing the eligibility criteria and any other relevant accomplishments.

Selection Process:
• The Selection Committee shall consist of the CSS Board of Directors.
• The Board will review all nominations and vote on each nominee.
• Election to the Hall of Fame requires the affirmative vote of at least seven (7) of the nine (9) members of the Board of Directors.
• Inductees will be announced during the annual CSS All-Star Game.

Program Administration:
The Vice President of the CSS Board of Directors is responsible for administering the Hall of Fame program, including overseeing the nomination process, maintaining Hall of Fame records, and coordinating the induction and recognition of new members.