We will be following these new standards next year which we have been discussing at the meetings and in our communications for the several months.  The new standards effectively make any bat used in the Rookie, Minors and Majors BASEBALL divisions (ages 7-12) for the 2017 season ILLEGAL for 2018.  Below is the information from USA Baseball regarding the reason for the change.  Please ensure that any bat purchased meets the new standard.

USA Baseball, the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the U.S., in conjunction with participating national member organizations announced today the decision to adopt a new method for measuring bat performance in the testing of youth bats. Informed by the research of leading scientists on the USA Baseball Bat Study Committee, and supported by its NMOs, -- including the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), Babe Ruth Baseball/Cal Ripken Baseball, Dixie Youth Baseball, Little League Baseball and PONY Baseball -- USA Baseball has concluded that recent advancements in science, engineering, technology, and the materials available to fabricate non-wood bats, now allow the manufacturers to construct youth bats that can perform at a wood-like level through the entire range of lengths and weights of youth bats.

The new USA Baseball bat standard (USABat), which will apply to bats that are classified below the NCAA and NFHS level of play, will be implemented on January 1, 2018, allowing the bat manufacturers sufficient time to bring these bats to the marketplace.

"USA Baseball is pleased, with the support of our participating national member organizations, to announce the USABat standard," said USA Baseball's executive director/CEO, Paul Seiler. "Beginning with the launch in 2018, we will take another step forward in making our game more uniform at the youth level and ensuring the long-term integrity of the game."

Similar to the NCAA and NFHS BBCOR standard, which helped to eliminate discrepancies with different length bats and thus provide a more direct measure of bat performance, the new USA Baseball bat standard will allow youth baseball organizations in the United States to reach their goal of establishing a wood-like standard, a standard that will provide for the long-term integrity of the game.

You can view further information at www.usabaseball.com.