Please scroll down for questions specific to summer ball.

My child wants to try baseball  - is it too late for them to start?

It's never too late to start playing.  All divisions are based on development and new players are welcome.  Starting at Rookie all divisions are structured into tiers to allow for similarly skilled players to be grouped together.  All players attend spring sort outs where their skill level is assessed in order to place them in the appropriate grouping.   

I think my child is a weak player at this stage in his/her development.  Can s/he play down a divison?  

We are open to a discussion about this situation.  You should register your child in the appropriate age category and take them to that sort out session.  Please contact the VP Spring Program or the division convenor in advance and let them know so that the assessors can watch your child specifically to see if placement in a lower division is appropriate.  Most of the time the child is just fine where they are.  Keep in mind that our programs are tiered from rookie up so similarly skilled players are together.  

How do I figure out which division applies to my child?

Little League uses August 31 as the cut off for age determination.  Our spring program tab has a chart showing date of birth ranges.  You can also access Little League's age determination chart to see where your child falls.  

My child would like to be on the same team as their friend.  Do you accept friend requests?

Note that in all divisions, siblings are automatically placed on the same team unless otherwise requested.  

We do not accept friend requests in senior, junior or major divisions.  We will accept RECIPROCAL friend REQUESTS in T-Ball, rookie and minor - and in the all girls league where we have the highest number of new, young participants.  Please note that it is ONE request per player. The registrar must receive an email from a parent of BOTH players.

In Rookie and Minor team balancing is the priority so there are no guarantees.  There are times when friend requests cannot be honoured if the alignment will negatively impact balanced teams. We hope that most players will enjoy meeting new friends and that parents will not find it necessary to make friend requests.    Also, players must be assessed at the same level.  The player in Canadians (A) will be given a chance to move into Nationals (B), but not the other way around. 


My children are twins (or were born really close together) and are in the same division  - can they be on the same team?

Siblings in the same age category are always placed on the same team unless the parents request otherwise. In a tiered program both players have to qualify for the same division.  For example, if one sibling qualifies for Canadian (A) and the other for National (B) we will move the A player to B but not the other way around. 

The age categories used by your league (August) are different from other sports like hockey (January). This means my child can't always play with the same group of friends. Can you change your dates?

No.  Age determination for all Little League programs in the world is standardized and uses August 31 as the cutoff.  This date is in line with school age cutoff dates in the U.S.A where high school baseball programs are huge and where this date aligns to their use of August 31 as school age determination date.   Some South Ottawa parents say that this difference gives their child a chance to find more best friends in baseball.  

My child is very athletic and good at baseball.  I feel s/he should play up a level.  Is this possible?

No. It is rare that a child's skill level is so great that it makes it appropriate for them to move up.  Unless they pose a significant safety issue to other players we would not accommodate this request.  Just about all our levels are tiered which means that highly skilled players are grouped together and are not playing with beginners, therefore a safety issue is unlikely.  

My child is league age 6 and will be in rookie for the first time.  Is it possible for them to play in the Rookie Canadian (A) category?  
Virtually all 6 year olds and many 7 year old beginners are best suited for the National level (B) in their first rookie spring season.  The Canadian division uses the pitching machine and players are better off transitioning into rookie with the tee/coach pitch format which is used in the National and Provincial divisions.  Capable 7 year olds and most 8 year olds will be aligned to the Canadian division.  All players will be assessed and streamed according to their skill level.  

We live just outside your boundaries and none of my children go to school in your boundary.  Can we sign up in South Ottawa?

No.  Unless you live inside our boundary or have a child (player or sibling) who goes to school in the boundary you cannot play in our league. Check our boundary tab for a full list of details and to determine which league you should be part of.  If the league where you live does not have a program for your child, please let us know and we will request permission from them.  This sometimes happens in younger divisions where other leagues might not have programs for very young children.  In this case you will have to go back to your home league  programs become available to your child. 

The only place where boundary restrictions do not apply is in 19U - this is a district level program so players from anywhere in the city are eleigible to join teams outside of the boundary where they live.  Not all leagues have enough players to have their own team, so it is common to combine players to form teams.  South Ottawa gives SOLL returning players exclusive sign up initially - usually until late February at which time we will accept outside players.   For questions on this level please email the convenor or the President.   

We live in South Ottawa boundaries and my children played here last season.  We are moving. Can we still register in your league?

Yes.  As long as you register your child each year (and don't skip a year of playing) you can continue in South Ottawa and are considered grandfathered. This includes playing on our all star teams.  Please inform the registrar - a waiver form is required and we'll get it done for you.

Summer Ball Program

Please visit the summer ball information page under "programs" for a full description of summer ball at each level.   

My child did not play in the spring program. Can s/he register for summer ball?

Only spring players are eligible for the summer program however if we have spots available we can offer non spring players a chance to play.  They are ineligible for summer all-star teams but can be eligible for spots on non all-star teams. That said we strongly encourage everyone to play spring ball as it is considered preparation for summer ball.  Anyone interested should contact the registrar in mid-May. 

Is the summer program intended for highly skilled players?

No. The summer program is open to all players.  Spring national players are welcome to tryout for all-star / Canadian level summer teams.  

What happens if my child cannot attend the tryout dates? 

SOLL holds tryouts for All-Star / Canadian teams on the first weekend in June and posts the information early in the year so that families can plan accordingly. Attendance is considered mandatory for anyone wanting a spot on an All-Star team.   Reasons for not attending must be significant and unavoidable, and the league must be notified as soon as the conflict is known and in advance of the tryout.  If the reasons are considered acceptable, the player will be assessed according to the direction of the selection committee.  No player is automatically assigned to an All-Star team regardless of skill.  

Players self-selecting to the national (B) program are usually not required to attend the AllStar / Canadian tryout sessions. Depending on registration numbers for nationals a tryout session may be necessary.   

My child played in the spring Canadian level program.  For the summer program, s/he has been placed in the national program - is there an error in assessing?

In most spring programs there is a Canadian (A) level and a Nationals (B) level.  The summer format has fewer teams at the All-Star and Canadian level. Inevitably some spring Canadian players will play in the summer national division.  Due to this factor, the summer national program is often a higher level of play than spring. 

example: Spring Majors - 80-90 total registrants formed into  4 Canadian teams (approx 44 players) + 4 National teams (approx 44 players). 
Summer Majors format will have 1 All Star team (13 players) + 1 Canadian team (13 players) -- therefore except for those 26 players all other players will be in the summer national division.  Summer nationals teams will generally be stronger than spring nationals teams.