Bay Area Baseball Association (BABA) is a loose association of "select" teams. Select teams are different from Little League or drafted teams in that they hold their own tryouts, select their own players, design and order their own uniforms, are responsible for their own funds and fundraising, and decide for themselves which tournaments and leagues in which to enter.

BABA does not dictate any regulations to the teams in its association outside of the rules of conduct and play in its tournaments and leagues.

BABA tournaments and leagues are all sanctioned by Nations Baseball. Teams must be members of Nations Baseball to play in BABA events.

8U teams and below play closed-base, coach pitch baseball. 9U and above play open-base, kid pitch baseball, with lead-offs and stealing. 13U and above are allowed to wear spikes. The mound-to-base distances are as follows:

• 7U-8U
  40-60
• 9U-10U
  46-65
• 11U-12U
  50-70
• 13U-14U
  54-80
• 15U+
  60-90

1. Go to www.nations-baseball.com.
   
2. Click on join now at the top right if you have not already done so.
3. Complete the form.
4. Login with the email address and password that you used to register.
5. Click on Teams > Add New Team.
6. Complete the form.
7. Follow the prompts to complete your registration.

In 2009, you have two options for registration. Nations Baseball registration includes insurance. However, Nations Baseball recognizes that many teams have previous insurance that does not expire until December 2008. For that reason, Nations Baseball has created two registration options for the 2009 season only.

• Teams with insurance
  If your team already has accident and liability insurance through another organization, you can elect to register for $90. This fee includes your registration fee and insurance coverage for January 1 - July 31.
  
  When you re-register for the 2010 season, you will pay the regular fee, and your insurance will cover you from August 1 - July 31.
  
  
• Teams without insurance
  If your team does not have accident and liability insurance, you must choose the regular registration option for $140, which includes annual accident and liability insurance coverage from August 1 - July 31 (the same as the baseball season).
  

You must re-register your team every August. You use the same user ID and password each year so that you can view all the teams that you have managed from the same screen.

Team Age
Your team age is determined by the age of your oldest player on April 30 of the current year from January through July and on April 30 of the following year from August 1 to December 31. To determine your team age, input the birthday of your oldest player in the BABA age calculator.

Team Class
Nations Baseball determines your team's class after you register.

Explanation of age and class

Follow the steps below to add players to your roster. You must have already added a team to follow these steps.

It helps greatly to have copies of your player's birth certificates on hand to follow this process.
 

1. Login to the Nations Baseball website.
2. On the menu bar, click Teams > Player Admin.
3. From the drop-down list, select the team to which you want to add players.
   
   
   
4. Click the Add a Player link on the left.
5. Type the demographic information about the first player to add in the text boxes to the right. You must input the information exactly as it appears on the player's birth certificate. You can add a nickname in the Nickname text box if the player goes by another name on the field.
6. A pane displays with player matches for the player you entered.
7. Important! Check the box under confirm for each player match for the player that you are adding.
8. Click add player.
9. Repeat steps 4 - 7 for each player to add.

Soon the website modules will be updated, and parents will be attached to players. Parents will be notified when their players are added to rosters, and they must approve roster moves before those moves are official.

You can use the Player Administration page to attach birth certificates to players. Once approved, those players are certified, and their age cannot be questioned on the field. (Managers do not have to carry those certified players' birth certificates with them.) This process is optional.

Follow these instructions to attach birth certificates to players:

1. Login and click Teams > Player Admin.
2. Choose your team from the drop-down menu.
3. Click the BC link next to the first player for which you want to upload a birth certificate.
   A pane displays where you verify the player's demographic data.
4. Verify that the player's name and birthdate are correct, and click Submit.
5. Specify whether you are going to upload a PDF file or an image file by clicking the appropriate button.
6. Click Browse, and select the birth certificate file to upload.
7. Upload the file.
8. When the message says the upload is complete, you can close the upload window.
9. Return to the Player Administration page (it should still be open), and repeat steps 3-8 for each subsequent player.

The birth certificates are reviewed by Nations Baseball and are approved or disapproved within about 48 hours.

Sign up for tournament notifications and product discounts with Bay Area Baseball Association.

Click the Join BABA link in the upper right menu.

Many teams form 501(c)(3) organizations under which to run their teams. Operating your team within the framework of a nonprofit corporation allows you to purchase items tax free and encourages donors to give to your organization because many donations to a 501(c)(3) are tax deductible.

Some people have their accountants or attorneys file the paperwork for 501(c)(3) status for them, and some people file the paperwork themselves. The application is highly detailed with several required supporting documents and requires a minimum of a few days to compile. However, teams will save hundreds of dollars by compiling the application themselves.

Very simply, the steps are

1. Form a corporation.
   Corporations must be in a certain form. Your attorney will know how your Articles of Organization must be written. Be sure to inform your attorney that your corporation will be a nonprofit.
2. Write by-laws.
   By-laws must be written a certain way. Read the IRS documentation and samples of other organizations' by-laws before writing your by-laws.
3. Compile financial, historical, projectional, and other supporting documentation.
   There are many pieces of supporting documentation that must accompany the nonprofit application.
4. Apply for nonprofit status with the IRS.
   The minimum application fee is $300.

Complete information on forming a nonprofit is available on the IRS Charities & Nonprofits website.

Bay Area Baseball Association formerly offered a service whereby teams could pay $200 and have nonprofit status through the National Heritage Foundation (NHF). NHF has discontinued this program due to a change in the tax code.