Outfield Fence Height

A friend is on a committee that is building a new field. He asked about the height of the outfield fence.

He said Little League recommends 4 ft high, but he couldn't find anything from NFHS.

Would a 4 ft high outfield fence generally meet the standards of all rule sets?

Thanks

Big Daddy Michigan said:

A friend is on a committee that is building a new field. He asked about the height of the outfield fence.

He said Little League recommends 4 ft high, but he couldn't find anything from NFHS.

Would a 4 ft high outfield fence generally meet the standards of all rule sets?

Thanks

Click to expand...

No - high school and college require 6'-8' fences. And you want 6' fences anyway. A 4' fence is something that someone can easily go over and hurt themselves so I would want to avoid it on that basis alone. You don't want a fielder running full speed jumping and then going T over A onto the other side of the fence if you can help it. 6' fence will keep the player in the field of play. Another reason is that 6' fences will prevent line drives directly hitting a spectator.

Relevant Rule:
NFHS (i.e. High School) requires 6' to 8' fences:
ART. 3b. From the top of the outfield fence to the ground should be 6 feet to 8 feet

NCAA rule is the same:

The below is from an international guideline for softball and baseball fields.
6.5.1
Height—The top of the fence shall be a minimum of 8ft, 0 in. (2.44 m) above grade or of a greater dimension that ensures protection of spectators from a fouled line drive or related trajectory


USSSA as far as I am aware, doesn't have a requirement. Don't have the other rule sets in front of me, but they might have something...

Go with 6'-8' fences

Big Daddy Michigan said:

A friend is on a committee that is building a new field. He asked about the height of the outfield fence.

He said Little League recommends 4 ft high, but he couldn't find anything from NFHS.

Would a 4 ft high outfield fence generally meet the standards of all rule sets?

Thanks

Click to expand...

USA has a minimum of 4'(3' if temp fence") but recommend an 8' fence.