The Wiff is Life League's (WILL) Rules Committee, Adam Carosone, Dylan Coyle, and Jacob Davey, voted and approved the rulebook for the 2018 season. The rulebook does feature some changes in this 5th season of the WILL. The edits come in three categories, preseason, gameplay, and postseason. The full rulebook can be read HERE, the following is a brief recap of the changes.
Arguably the biggest change comes in registration rules. Players can now sign up as individuals and be entered into the Free Agent Pool, all individuals will be signing contracts with teams this year. Teams will also have the option to take part in a preseason draft of the Free Agent Pool. Trades are a go for 2018 as well, with all trades going through the rules committee. Entry fees will go as follows, $65 for a team not electing to participate in draft, $60 for a team participating in draft, and $15 for an individual registration (with $2 being refunded for each gameday not signed to a team). Read the change in full in the rulebook under section 80 "PRESEASON". Any questions or concerns contact a member of the rules committee here.
In the gameplay side of things, the major changes are the addition of the tested rules in the FWILL Tournament. Stealing and foul tips into the zone for strike three were both approved. The pitch speed infractions were tightened up a little bit, with now their being only 1 no pitch warning and 1 warning resulting in a ball before the pitcher is removed from the position. Other minor word changes were made and all can be seen by looking at the full rulebook here.
Lastly, the postseason changes were thought of by the rules committee to create a more balanced playoff. The bracket seeds will now be determined by an overall points system, not division. The point system does put an emphasis on division games though, hence a team will get 2 points for a division win and 1 point for a non-division win. No points will be awarded for a loss. A new payout system is also approved for 2018. A prize pool will be developed and released on draft day, but nonetheless teams will get paid per series they win in the playoffs. Years past saw just the finalists getting prize money. The rules committee is very optimistic about the changes made for the 5th season of play for the WILL and cannot wait to get on the field.