The Combined Teams Option for Tournament Play: What Local Leagues Need to Know

The Combined Teams option benefits players and local Leagues by providing children with the chance to play Little League® when one, two or three league(s) does not have enough registered participants to offer a particular division of play. Combined teams are commonly used to provide opportunities to participate in the Softball and Teenage Divisions of play during the regular season. Tournament Combination requests must be submitted by June 1.

The Tournament Combination Form provides an opportunity for any chartered league to participate in the annual Little League International Tournament by combining players from another chartered Little League to form a tournament team. Those leagues which do not have enough players to field a tournament team may do so my using the Tournament Combination Form available through the Little League Data Center.

The Little League Data Center provides the ability for a local league to charter a combined team or teams for tournament play by simply logging in and following a few simple steps.

Submit Form

1. Navigate to Tournament Combination Requests

The option to submit a tournament combination request is found under the Manage Forms section of the Data Center.

Step 2: Start a New Tournament Combination Request

To start a new tournament combination request, click the appropriate link on the Tournament combination requests page.

Step 3: Select the Division for the Request

Select the division for the request from the drop down list and click the “Create New Tournament Combination Request” button. Only divisions for which your league is eligible to combine will be listed.

Step 4: Select Leagues for the Request

Select the leagues for the request from the list that is provided. Please note leagues within the same district that have regular season teams in corresponding charter divisions are eligible to request a tournament combination, as well as leagues with approved regular season combined teams or interleague play agreements. Additionally, leagues can only combine once in a tournament division and other factors may lead to some leagues being unavailable. Please note that only leagues with which you have participated with via interleague play and/or combined teams will appear. Requests involving leagues not on the list must be submitted in writing through your District Administrator.

Step 5: Review Player Age Breakdown

Review and update your league’s player age breakdown as needed. These numbers need to properly reflect the number of players, per age, per division listed for the regular season.

Step 6: Provide Additional Comments and Save Changes

In the allotted area, provide a narrative that explains the reason for your request and click the “Save Changes” button.

Step 7: Submit for Approval

When all information is complete, click the “Yes, save changes and submit for review” button. This will send a notification to other leagues involved. Once all leagues have confirmed their participation in the combination, it will be submitted to the District Administrator for review. Once reviewed by the District Administrator, the Region office will review the form, in conjunction with the Little League International Charter/Tournament Committee. You can view the status of your request at any time on the Manage Forms page on the Data Center.