Q: What is SMGF?
A: We are Santa Monica Girls Fastpitch, a non-profit, all girl recreational softball league. We are affiliated with USA Softball and currently carry a "B" classification. Our local district is Los Angeles/South Bay in the Southern California section. We offer a spring program with five divisions ranging in ages from 4 to 14 years old. We also offer a traveling program in the fall.

Q: How do I register my daughter?
A: You can use our online registration by clicking on the Registration button.

Q: What ages are eligible to play in Santa Monica Girls Fastpitch?
A: We currently have five Divisions that play in our spring recreation league. The division for which your daughter is eligible is based on her age as of September 1st.

• 6 & Under (6U) (ages 4 thru 6)*
• 8 & Under (8U) (ages 7 and 8)
• 10 & Under (10U)  (ages 9 and 10)
• 12 & Under (12U)  (ages 11 and 12)
• 14 & Under (14U)  (ages 13 and 14)

* Six-year-olds may play in the 8U division if evaluated at a skill level appropriate to the older (8U) division.

Q: Can I get a refund if I cancel?
A:  Please refer to our Refund Policy Page.

Q: When are tryouts?
A: Santa Monica Girls Fastpitch does not hold tryouts and there are no "cuts."  If your daughter is in 10U, 12U or 14U and has never played in our league, she may be asked to come to a skills evaluation.  Every girl is placed on a team and we make every effort to balance each team.

Q: How are teams formed?
A: Our league strives to form balanced teams by distributing players across teams as fairly as possible.  New teams are drawn each year prior to the start of the practice season at a meeting chaired by the Player Agent. 
 
Q: Do I have to be a resident of Santa Monica for my daughter to be eligible?
A: No, absolutely not!  While the majority of our girls reside in Santa Monica, we serve the greater West Los Angeles area. We have players from such communities as Westwood, West LA, Sawtelle, Palms, Rancho Park, Culver City, Cheviot Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Topanga, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Venice, Marina del Rey, Playa del Rey, Westchester, Inglewood, Century City, Beverly Glen, Beverly Hills, Mid City, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw, Hancock Park, West Beverly, and Park La Brea. There are no residency requirements nor must your daughter attend a Santa Monica school.

Q: My daughter is new to the sport.   What equipment will she need?

Each player is expected to provide:

• A decent quality leather glove.  Please avoid the temptation of an inexpensive plastic or synthetic leather glove.  These gloves have no pocket to speak of and will prove frustrating to your young player.  Softball gloves are bigger, as they must be, than the baseball counterpart.  This is due to the size of the ball, 10" in 6U and 8U, 11" in 10U, and 12" in the older divisions.  A good used glove that fits and is broken-in is an excellent choice for the younger girls.
• Sliding protection: sliding pants/knee pads.
• Rubber molded softball cleats -- no metal cleats.
• Black softball pants. Some teams in the older divisions may elect to use blue softball pants.  The league will provide a shirt with number and socks.

    Optional Equipment:

• Bat: each team is supplied with a bat but many players elect to provide their own.  The bat must meet an USA Softball specification which, in general terms, means it must have the USA Softball "home plate" stamp.  

Bat Length by Height and Weight Guide:

Bat Length by Age Guide:

• Helmet: batting helmets with face guard and chin strap are required.  While the league provides each team with two helmets, there are obvious hygiene issues involved with sharing helmets.  Most players bring their own helmet.  The helmet and face guard must display the NOCSAE certification stamp.
• Equipment bag: players bringing more than just a glove to the game may wish to use an equipment bag to store all of the above.  Catchers with their own gear invariably gravitate toward the wheeled bags.

Q: What will the time commitment be for my daughter?
A: Typically there is a 60-90 minute practice on one weeknight, and about 2-1/2 hours of warm-up/game time on game days.  The youngest division, 6U, might have weeknight practices, and about 1-1/2 hours of time for warm-ups/games on Saturdays.  Game day is Saturday for the 6U and 8U divisions.  The 10U, 12U, and 14U divisions have games scheduled on Saturday and possibly a few additional Sunday games as well as an occasional weeknight game.   In the older divisions, 12U and 14U, there may be weekend games played outside of Santa Monica, e.g. El Segundo, San Pedro, Wilshire, that would require some additional time for travel.  The end of season tournament for 8U and older divisions will be held end of April/beg May.
 
Q: How do I get my daughter on a team with her friends?
A: We allow one player request per registrant for the 6U & 8U Divisions.  Although we do not guarantee any request, we will do our best to be accommodating.  Bear in mind the following: one request only, the request must be mutual, i.e. Betsy and Susie must request each other, and we cannot guarantee the request can be fulfilled.  The 6U division does not have this restriction.
 
Q: What kind of pitching will my 6U daughter face?
A: The (6U) division is Coach pitch/T-ball.  The girls have an opportunity to hit coach-pitch but after three pitches, players will hit off the tee.  Players do not strike out and the entire team bats in each inning.  The 8U division faces opposing pitchers but, after four balls the batter will see coach pitch.  10U and older divisions face opposing pitchers.
 
Q: Is my daughter's practice/game canceled?
A: You should be hearing from your manager by phone or email about practice or game cancellations. Cancellations most often occur due to the city closing the fields because of wet conditions. If this occurs, please stay off the fields; they can be damaged if played on! Find out about field conditions by clicking on Fields and/or calling the hotline or by clicking on the link to twitter. You can also click on the Status button immediately below Fields. Please be aware that these sources are both provided by the City of Santa Monica and may not be synchronized.  We have no control over that. We will only post game cancelations on the website if the entire day is wiped out due to field conditions.
 
Q: How can I get involved?
A: We are an all-volunteer organization and can always use the time and effort put in by people willing to step up. During the registration process, everyone will be asked to work in the Memorial Park snack-bar, at the league-wear tables, or take advantage of the buy-out option. There are many other opportunities to help such as field preparation, scorekeeper, practice coach, silent auction, yearbook, etc. If you want to get involved, please speak to your team manager, or email SMGF at info@smgfp.org. If you know someone who would like to become a team or league sponsor or would like to become a sponsor yourself, please download a sponsorship form here.