B. TEAM REGISTRATION AND ELIGIBILITY
Teams must be registered with their sponsoring club. Their sponsoring club must be affiliated with Virginia Youth Soccer Association. Players must have actively participated during the 2009/2010 season on a recreational team. Each team will have no more than 7 players. No guest players and no travel team or carded players are allowed.
Players may only play on the team with which they are registered. No player shall play for more than one team throughout the Tournament.
All teams must provide a roster on which all team players, player numbers and team officials are listed. All teams must also possess and show current U.S. Youth Soccer recreational player passes which they obtain from their sponsoring club. Player passes must be signed by both the player and an authorized club representative. Birth certificates and/or passports will not be accepted. All teams must have approved Medical Release forms for each player signed by a parent or legal guardian.
Teams will register at the site coordinator’s tent at the field of play on Saturday morning. Player passes, team rosters, and medical release forms will be checked and verified at registration. Two copies of the team roster will be provided to the Tournament Committee at registration. Until teams provide each of the above documents they may not participate in the Tournament.
Teams will register at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled kick-off of their first game.
C. PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
The Tournament is limited to the following age groups:
AGE GROUP BORN ON OR AFTER
U14 August 1, 1995
U13 August 1, 1996
U12 August 1, 1997
U11 August 1, 1998
U10 August 1, 1999
U9 August 1, 2000
U8 August 1, 2001
The Tournament Committee reserves the right to combine age groups if necessary.
D. REFUNDS OF REGISTRATION FEE
Once a team/club has been notified of a team’s acceptance to play in the tournament, its registration fee will not be refunded unless a replacement team can be found. No refunds will be issued for teams dropping out of the tournament once the schedules have been posted.
Should cancellation of some/all tournament games occur due to circumstances beyond the Tournament’s control, the Tournament Committee will determine the refund amount. There are upfront costs to hosting a tournament that cannot be recovered, therefore no team will receive a full refund of their registration fee in the event of tournament cancellation.
E. PLAYER EQUIPMENT
All players and teams participating in the Tournament must meet the following equipment requirements:
· No metal cleats or metal-tipped spiked cleats will be used
· All players must wear shin guards
· No jewelry will be allowed
· When the color of jersey is similar or identical, the home team must change their jersey. The visiting team will also help to resolve any uniform conflicts.
· The referee will determine if a jersey change is required.
· All players must have uniforms with unique, individual numbers on the shirt. Unique numbers may be created with tape if necessary. Should a team change jerseys due to a color conflict, numbers will not be required on replacement jerseys. However, the coach must provide a player’s uniform number if requested by the referee.
· Casts: players who are wearing protective casts are permitted to play provided the following conditions are met:
- The cast is wrapped in foam or other protective material that will protect other players.
- The player with the cast does not attempt to use the cast to an advantage or in dangerous manner.
- The referee approves the cast. Such approval will not be unreasonably withheld.
· Referees will check all equipment prior to each match. No equipment changes may be made after the referee’s check without permission from the referee.
· The referee will have the final say concerning the acceptance of equipment for play.
F. INCLEMENT WEATHER
Every attempt will be made to have all games played; however, the Tournament Director reserves the right to cancel or modify any game due to weather conditions prior to the start of the game.
It is the responsibility of the participating teams to check the tournament website for updated field conditions.
Unless the website or hotline indicates fields are closed, teams and coaches must be at the game site and ready to play on time as scheduled. Failure to appear will result in forfeiture of the game.
Should a game be terminated prior to completion, and at least one-half has been played, the match will be considered as official and the score at that time will stand.
G. REFEREES
Referees will be used for all games. A one-man system will be used. If a referee fails to arrive at the field as scheduled, the game will proceed using a volunteer referee(s) selected by a Site coordinator or other Tournament Official until the scheduled referee arrives. The score from any such game is official and no protests are allowed.
Referee interference/abuse will not be tolerated. Any player, parent, coach or spectator (to include pets) will be ordered removed from the tournament site should their behavior in any way hinder the ability of the referee to perform his/her duties.
H. TEAM FIELD POSITION
The home team is the team listed first in the official game schedule. The home team has first choice of which side of the field it occupies for its coaches, players, parents and spectators. The visiting team, its coaches, players, parents, and spectators will occupy the opposite side of the field unless otherwise directed by a referee or tournament official. Coaches are responsible for the behavior of all players, parents, spectators and pets on their sideline.
Coaches and substitute players will remain at least one meter from the sidelines and within the technical (bench) area at all times. Parents and other spectators will remain at least 3 meters from the sidelines at all times. .
No one is allowed at the end of the field between the touchlines or behind the goal, and no coaching is allowed behind the goal line.
THE TOURNAMENT WILL FOLLOW FIFA RULES AS AMENDED:
