NFHS ruling on composite baseball bats

Beginning this fall, composite-barreled baseball bats will be banned in high school competition.

The National Federation of State High School Associations announced Wednesday July 7th 2010 that it will forbid the use of composite-barreled baseball bats, starting in the 2010-11 school year. Composite tapers and handles will still be allowed.

Similar to the regulations the NCAA adopted last summer, the ban applies to all baseball bats with composite barrels. Composite bats are designed to play similar to wooden and aluminum bats. However, through normal usage, composite-barreled bats fall out of compliance with safety regulations.

To be more specific: Hitting with the bat causes the graphite to stretch and the barrel to flatten. This causes balls to leave the bat much faster than what is allowed.

According to the NFHS, the ban will remain in effect until composite-barreled bats can consistently meet the “Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution” BBCOR safety standard.

The NFHS governs the playing rules for more than 18,500 high schools across the United States. It should be noted that not all high schools and high school organizations are affiliated with the NFHS.