Jerry - here is the contact website page for NFHS:
http://www.nfhs.org/nfhscontact.asp
Please contact them ASAP with your interpretation of the 2003 BESR rule, and see if you can get them to modify it immediately. Then get back to us as soon as you have accomplished this so we can incorpaorate your version of the rule into our seasons games.
re: "What if the sticker came off in the course of the game? The bat is still just as "safe" or "unsafe" as it was with the sticker affixed."
With so many bats that look a like, I certainly could never tell for certain which bat that sticker came off; and, whether or not it was legal to be used any further in a game. Untell such time as the NFHS issues another decision on this issue, I will discontinue the use of any such bats.
*************************
Bats with BESR Standard Legal Immediately
in High School Baseball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Elliot Hopkins
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (March 22, 2002) Effective immediately, any bat that meets the Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR) performance standard (BESR certification mark on the bat) is legal for high school baseball competition governed by National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules.
In June 2001, the NFHS Baseball Rules Committee voted that all non-wood bats must have the BESR certification mark to be legal for high school baseball, effective January 1, 2003. Since many bats with the BESR standard are already on the market, this interpretation by the NFHS allows those bats to be used in the 2002 high school season.
When purchasing bats, individuals can now be assured that no matter what materials are used in the bat composition, if it has the BESR certification mark, it is legal, said Elliot Hopkins, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Baseball Rules Committee. Whether the bat composition is titanium, ceramic or whatever, if it has the BESR mark, it can be used immediately.
Hopkins said that bats with the BESR mark still are not required until January 1, 2003. Bats that are legal by current rules still can be used for the 2002 season; however, all bats must have the BESR mark for the 2003 season.
The BESR mark ensures a maximum exit speed of 97 miles per hour and that the bat has met the moment-of-inertia requirement. In addition, bat rules that were changed for the 2001 season, which are also a part of the BESR standard, have the following requirements: maximum of 2 5/8 inches for the diameter of the bat barrel and a minus-3 differential between the length and weight of the bat (a 33-inch-long bat, for example, cannot weigh less than 30 ounces).
All recent changes in bat requirements have been to minimize the risk of injury to high school student-athletes, and maintain the balance between offense and defense and keep within the sound traditions of the game.