This policy was approved by Issaquah Little League Board of Directors on 10/30/2022.

PETITION TO PLAY UP
To ensure we have balanced, fair, and equitable play; all players are required to register for the Division as determined by their birth date. Players are eligible to Petition to Play Up to the next higher division or Play Down to a lower division. All Petitions are heard by the Player Agent (Baseball: BB_PlayerAgent@issaquahlittleleague.org, Softball: SB_PlayerAgent@issaquahlittleleague.org) for review and approval. The general policy is to never allow a player to skip a Division, you may only Petition to Play Up if you have already completed a season in the Division you would otherwise be registered for. In addition, the policy recognizes a difference between players where the Little League age cutoff separates them from their grade level peers.

Skills evaluation (Baseball / Softball) is required for petitions to play up into AAA and above. Players unable to attend skills eval (Baseball / Softball) and are petitioning to play up, must attend a make-up session or they will be placed based on defined age. 

INSTRUCTIONAL

• There are no Play Ups from T-Ball at age 4-5.
• At Age 6, Players may Petition to Play Up, depending on previous experience or if they played T-Ball previously.
• At Age 7, player may Petition to Play Up to AA if they played A the prior year.
• At Age 8, player may Petition to Play Up to AAA if
  • They played AA the year prior and/or score in the top 25% of AAA eligible players on their skills evaluations (Baseball and Softball).
  • AND must be drafted and placed on a AAA team. If The Player is not drafted to AAA, they will be placed on an AA team.

COMPETITIVE

At any level with a Skills Evaluation (Baseball / Softball), players scoring in top tier of next age level may be contacted and/or asked to consider the next level up, depending on circumstances. The Player Agent may opt to bring up players from younger divisions to fill a roster to ensure balanced teams for competitive play. Priority placement is given to players of the little league age for their defined division and those players will be drafted first; petitions are only considered if there is available space after priority placement for each division.

•  At Age 9, player may Petition to Play Up to Coast if:
  • They played AAA the year prior and/or scored in the top 25% of eligible Coast players on their skills evaluations (Baseball / Softball).
  • AND must be drafted and placed on a Coast team. If The Player is not drafted to Coast, they will be placed on a AAA team.
• At Age 10, player may Petition to Play Up to Majors if:
  • They played Coast the year prior and/or scored in the top 25% of eligible Majors players on their skills evaluations (Baseball / Softball).
  • AND must be drafted and placed on a Majors team. If The Player is not drafted to Coast, they will be placed on a Coast team.
  • The Player Agent may opt to bring up players from younger divisions to fill a roster to ensure balanced teams for competitive play.
• At Age 11, Players may Petition to Play Up to Majors if:
  • They played Coast the year prior and/or scored in the top 25% of eligible Majors players on their skills evaluations (Baseball / Softball).
  • AND must be drafted and placed on a Majors team. If The Player is not drafted to Majors, they will be placed on a Coast team.
  • The Player Agent may opt to bring up players from younger divisions to fill a roster to ensure balanced teams for competitive play.
• At Age 12 and above Petitions to Play Up are based on skill evaluations (Baseball / Softball) by Division managers.

PETITION TO PLAY DOWN

All players are required to register for the Division as determined by their birth date. Players are eligible to Petition to Play Down to the next lower Division. All Petitions are heard by the Player Agent for review and approval. The general policy is to allow a player to play down one division at the request of their Parents, if circumstances warrant.

INSTRUCTIONAL

• At Age 7, player may Petition to Play Down to T-Ball if they have not previously played an organized baseball program or if there is sufficient concern regarding the players success at the age defined level.
• At Age 8, player may Petition to Play Down to A if they have not previously played A or if there is sufficient concern regarding the players success at the age defined level.

COMPETITIVE

• At Age 9, player may Petition to Play Down to AA if there is sufficient concern regarding the players success at the age defined level.
• At Age 10, player may Petition to Play Down to AAA if there is sufficient concern regarding the players success at the age defined level.
• At Age 11, Players may not choose to play AAA, unless they attend Skills Evaluation and special circumstances warrant it. If an 11-year-old does play AAA they are not eligible to Pitch.
• At Age 12, Little League requires all players to be drafted into Majors, unless special circumstances warrant a District Evaluation and waiver. If a 12-year-old does play Coast they are not eligible to Pitch.
• At Age 13 and above Petitions to Play Down are not available.

Note: For all Petitions to Play Up or Down, players with experience outside Issaquah Little League in the prior season will be reviewed by the Player Agent to determine equivalency and treated accordingly.

Little League Age Charts

• Baseball: https://www.littleleague.org/downloads/2023-baseball-age-chart/
• Softball: https://www.littleleague.org/downloads/2023-softball-age-chart/

Baseball Registration Information