Tournament Headquarters
The tournament headquarters will be located at the North French Soccer Complex, 1700 North French Road, Getzville, NY 14068. Telephone numbers for the Headquarter staff will be handed out to the teams at registration.
Registration and Player Eligibility
Team Registration
· The coach, or a representative from the team, is required to register their team on Friday, May 23th between 4 and 9:00 PM at the site to be determined or Saturday May 24th between 7am and 11:00am at Tournament Headquarters (North French Soccer Complex, 1700 North French Road, Getzville, NY). If you plan on registering Saturday morning, please leave yourself enough time to get to your game if it is not at North French.
· Each team, on checking in at registration, must provide a local phone number and name/location of hotel, if applicable, of the designated contact person who can be reached at any time, should the necessity arise.
· Changes to roster once a team has checked in can only be made with the approval of the tournament director.
Teams from US
· A certified roster from the appropriate member association.
· All players must have current, Medical Release forms or equivalent, Player Registration Cards, and Team Rosters.
· Permission to Travel Forms, if necessary from appropriate member association.
· Players’ numbers MUST be listed on the AIM Tournament Team Roster.
Teams from Outside the US
· A team roster which includes name, jersey number, date of birth for each player. It must be signed and stamped by the local soccer association registrar. Guest players can be written in at the bottom of the roster with the names of absent players crossed out. Each player on the roster must have a valid player book.
· Players’ numbers MUST be listed on the tournament Team Roster.
Player Eligibility
Only players listed on the approved "AIM Roster" at registration on Friday night or Saturday morning may play in the tournament. There is a maximum of fourteen (14) players for age groups U-10 (playing 7 v 7), a maximum of eighteen (18) players for age groups U-11and 12 (9 v 9 play), and a maximum of eighteen (18) age groups U-13 through U-19 (11 v 11). There is a maximum of three (3) guest players per team and they are required to have the same documentation as a regular player. No player can play for more than one team in the tournament.
Age Groups are as follows:
Age Group* Max Roster Ball Size
U-19 Born on or after 8-1-1988 18 5
U-18 Born on or after 8-1-1989 18 5
U-17 Born on or after 8-1-1990 18 5
U-16 Born on or after 8-1-1991 18 5
U-15 Born on or after 8-1-1992 18 5
U-14 Born on or after 8-1-1993 18 5
U-13 Born on or after 8-1-1994 18 5
U-12 Born on or after 8-1-1995 18 4
U-11 Born on or after 8-1-1996 18 4
U-10 Born on or after 8-1-1997 14 4
* Combining of age groups will be done at the Tournament Committee’s discretion, if needed.
Teams
Home teams are determine by the team listed first in the schedule.
If at all possible teams should be prepared with two sets of shirts. If there is a conflict in the uniform colors the home team will be required to change.
During all tournament games, teams are required to locate their players’ "bench" in an area physically separate from that of their, or the opposing team’s, spectators. In most field locations, the most convenient way to accommodate this is to place the players on the opposite side of the field from the spectators. Please seek the referee’s approval in advance for any desired exceptions. The referee’s ruling is final. No coaching activity during the game should take place from any area outside of the immediate vicinity of the team’s "bench" area.
Player Credentials
Player passes will be checked against the team’s certified league roster as well as the AIM roster at team check-in. A certified AIM roster must be presented to the referee (or appropriate field marshal) prior to each game. The shirt number of each player will be the same that is on the roster or they will no play. In addition, all passes for players listed on the certified AIM roster must be held by the referee for the duration of each match. Passes for players receiving red cards during the match will not be returned by the referee at the conclusion of the match (see also section on suspensions).
Prevailing Rules
The tournament will be played under the Laws of FIFA, USYSA and NYSWYSA unless otherwise stated.
Modifications – Notes on the Laws of the Game
Duration of Games
Games for all age divisions in the preliminary rounds (Saturday and Sunday) shall consist of two 30-minute halves with a five minute half-time period. Ties will stand and there will be no tie-breakers or overtime periods in the preliminary rounds.
Finals (on Monday) shall be played in accordance with local practices:
U-19 and U-17: Two, 45 minute halves
U-16 and U-15: Two, 40 minute halves
U-14 and below: Two, 35 minute halves
Substitutions
Substitutions shall be performed from the midline at the following stoppages of play, with the permission of the referee:
· after a goal
· at half time
· prior to any goal kick
· after an injury at the referee’s discretion
· prior to your throw-in
· on a yellow card for the carded player
If a National Team (16 years and older) is participating in an age division, a limit of only six substitutions is permitted.
Field Size for U10 & U11 and U12 Field (NYSWYSA rule)
All tournament play for the U10 age division will be 7 v 7,including the goalkeeper, on a field with maximum dimensions of approximately 60 x 40 yards, with modified goals. All tournament play for the U11and U12 age division will be 9 v 9, including the goalkeeper, on a field with maximum dimensions of approximately 85 x 60 yards, with full sized goals.
Equipment
ALL PLAYERS MUST WEAR APPROVED SHIN GUARDS.
Players can play with casts provided they are wrapped or of soft material, with permission from the referee.
Suspensions (Red and Yellow Cards)
Yellow Cards
· Players receiving 1 yellow card during play are not required to leave the field of play.
· Players receiving 2 yellow cards in one game are awarded a red card and subject to all rules concerning red cards.
· Yellow cards do not carry over from one game to the next.
Red Cards
· A player receiving a red card during play shall be removed for the remainder of the game and will be suspended from play during the next tournament game.
· A coach receiving a red card during play will be removed from the field and the location of the game for the remainder of the game and will be suspended from the next tournament game, they are not allowed within the location of the game during their suspension.
· A player receiving a second red card during the tournament is prohibited from further tournament play.
· All red cards will result in the loss of one point from team standings.
· A red card for violent conduct may result in elimination from further participation in the tournament, as determined by the tournament director.
· After a red card is awarded, the coach must surrender the player’s pass to the referee. It will to be brought to the scorekeeping tent by either the referee or field marshal, and can be retrieved after the suspended game is served.
· All red cards will be reported to NYSW in the post-tournament report.
Early Termination of Play due to misconduct
If the referee terminates a game for misconduct by the coach, players and/or spectators, the referee will record the score, minutes into the match, explanation, and the names and/or jersey numbers of those people responsible. Representatives for each team must report to the main tent immediately.
The tournament director with the aid of the discipline committee will determine disciplinary action and penalties as well as the game outcome. Offending teams can expect to lose points in their standings. The tournament director will determine the outcome of the match for each team: win, loss, draw, or forfeit.
Tournament and Match Schedules
All teams are guaranteed a minimum of 4 games. Two game will be played on Saturday and two on Sunday. The tournament committee will do its best to schedule games with a three (3) hour separation.
Game balls are provided for each game in accordance with the rules.
Game Schedule
Matches will be played between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. A select number of matches may be played later, under the lights. Your team must be available to play at the time scheduled, as there are no reschedules permitted. See also the section on forfeits. In the event of inclement weather or unplayable fields, the tournament committee reserves the right to reduce the number of games and/or reschedule games as deemed necessary. Any schedule received prior to team registration on Friday should be considered preliminary.
Early Termination of Play due to Weather
If a game is suspended due to weather problems, field conditions, or other situations beyond the tournament’s control, after completion of the first half, that game shall be considered complete and official. If a game is temporarily suspended for any of the forgoing reasons before completion of the first half, each team involved must check with the tournament headquarters for instruction.
If the tournament is in progress and terminates due to weather problems, field conditions, or other situations beyond the tournament’s control, refunds, if any, will be made based on the discretion of the tournament director.
Format
Each age group is played as round robin. The size of the age group will determine if a semi-final is played on Sunday afternoon. If there is not a semi-final played on Sunday afternoon then the two top teams in the age group or divisions with the age group will advance.
For Semi-Finals:
Not all age groups or brackets have semi-finals. When the winner of an individual game automatically advances to a championship game (on Monday), that match is considered a semi-final. A semi-final is subject to the same rules and procedures as a regular tournament game with one exception; In the event of a tie at the end of regulation play, penalty kicks will be taken until a winner is determined. There are no overtime periods.
For Finals (Monday games):
In the event of a tie at the conclusion of regulation play, two 10-minute overtime periods will be played to determine a winner. If the game is still tied at the end of the two overtime periods, penalty kicks will be taken until a winner is determined.
Referees
All referees are certified by USSF. Three (3) man system will be used in all age groups except U10.
Refund Policy
Once accepted into the tournament there is no refunds unless approved by the tournament director. If a refund is approved it will be processed within 45 days of the approval.
Forfeits
A forfeit is declared when:
· A team does not show up for a match. A grace period of 10 minutes beyond scheduled kick-off time or the completion of the preceding game, whichever is later, shall be allowed before a forfeit is declared.
· A team has less than 7 players after the 10-minute start time grace period.
· A team is playing with illegal players.
· A team abandons the game.
· A team’s conduct creates an early termination of the game.
If a match is forfeited, a score of 1-0 (win) is awarded to the winning team and the forfeit is noted on the game report.
Standings
Standings will be posted at tournament headquarters as soon as possible after the conclusion of games, and posted to the web site as soon as possible each day.
For Preliminary Rounds:
Standings within a group shall be determined on the basis of the following:
Win - 6 points Draw - 2 point Loss - 0 points Shutout – 1 point winning team
Red Card (Violent) – Minus 1 point
Tie breakers:
- Winner of head-to-head games
- Most games won
- Highest total goal differential (maximum of 4 goals per game)
- Fewest total goals allowed
- Most shut-outs (not counting 0 to 0 ties)
- FIFA penalty kicks to be conducted at a North French field one hour after the tied teams’ last game (of all in contention) on Sunday.
Match and Score Reporting
Referee complete game reports after the completion of each game. The game reports are given to the Field marshals at each venue. The field marshals will call the scores, any cards (yellow & red) into the Scoring Administration area at Headquarters. When all the scores have been received for the playing period just completed the Scoring Administration will update the Scoreboard located at the Headquarters field. Scores are also posted on a daily basis to the tournament website.
Protests
Referee decisions are final and are not subject to protest. Protests pertaining to violations of the tournament rules or the Laws of the Game must be submitted in writing to the protest committee at tournament headquarters within one hour of the game’s completion. A $100 cash bond must accompany each protest and is refundable only in the event that the protest is upheld by the protest committee. The protest committee will review the protest within one hour of submission. The decision of the protest committee is final.
Conduct
Coaches have total responsibility for the conduct of their players, coaching staff, and team spectators. At no time shall foul or abusive language or misconduct be permitted at any field or other facilities being used for the tournament. The referee has the authority eject coaches who are either unable or unwilling to control themselves or their sidelines.
No alcohol is allowed on any property that is being used for the tournament. ALL FACILITIES ARE SMOKE FREE.
Awards
All U10 players will receive a participation award.
Players on the Champions and Finalists teams within U11-U19 divisions will receive awards based on the outcome of the championship game immediately following the game.
Dos and Don’ts
All of the fields are located on town or school grounds that have formal policies restricting , alcohol, and fires.
Please, no Tail gate parties, camping, cooking, smoking, or alcohol on premises.
Parking at some fields is limited. Please park in the designated areas and not on the streets and walk to the near-by fields, or car pool to your game.
The tournament committee works very hard to provide you with the best facilities and the best level of competition for each division. We promise to do everything that we can to ensure that players and spectators have the most positive soccer tournament experience possible.
The tournament Director’s interpretation of the foregoing rules and regulations shall be final. The tournament director reserves the right to decide on all matters pertaining to the tournament.
Thanks and have a great Tournament!!
