IYSA Rules and Regulations

Written by: IYSA

The entire text of Division II is included below for convenience.

Approved October 13, 2002

DIVISION II - PARTICIPANT RULES

RULE 1. DEFINITIONS

ADD means the addition of a player to a team's roster.
ASSOCIATION means Idaho Youth Soccer Association.
ELIGIBILITY TO PLAY means registered, not under suspension.
FIFA means the Federation Internationale de Football Association for which the United States Soccer Federation is the United States affiliate.
INVOLUNTARY RELEASE means the removal of a player from a team's roster at the request of team authorities.
IYSA means the Idaho Youth Soccer Association.
MEMBER means an Organizational Member of IYSA as defined in the IYSA Bylaws.
REGISTRATION means the signing of an intent to play the sport of soccer and the paying of fees to become a member of this Association.
ROSTERING means assignment of a registered player to a team.
SANCTIONED EVENT means the authority extended by USSF or one of its affiliates, i.e. IYSA, to conduct an official competition and/or travel out of the state or country.
SUSPENSION means the temporary withdrawal of rights and privileges such as, but not limited to: the right to play, coach or otherwise administer or participate (directly or indirectly) in the game of affiliated soccer. Any person or group (team, club, league, Member, Board, etc.) that has been suspended shall be in less than good standing for the entire term of the suspension with all rights and privileges withdrawn unless specifically stated otherwise by the suspending authority.
TEAM means a group of seven or more, not to exceed 18 soccer players of a specified USYS age group, properly registered with a Member and under the guidance of one or more coaches.
TRANSFER means the movement of a rostered player from one team to another team.
USSF means the United States Soccer Federation.
USYS means the United States Youth Soccer.
VOLUNTARY RELEASE means the removal of a player from a team's roster at the request of the player.
YOUTH PLAYER means an individual of at least 5 years of age after August 1st or one who has not reached 19 years of age prior to August 1 immediately before the start of any seasonal year.

RULE 2. REGISTRATION AND FEES FOR PLAYERS

Section 1. General

All coaches, players and managers associated with an Organizational Member (Member) must be registered.

Section 2. Youth Players

A youth player is one who has not reached the age of nineteen years of age prior to August 1st immediately preceding the start of any seasonal year. A player who reaches his nineteenth birthday on or after August 1st of the current seasonal year shall be allowed

to complete the seasonal year.

Section 3. Local Registration

1. Residency - A player must register in the Member's area in which he or she resides with his or her parent(s) or guardian(s), or in the case of a student in residence at a boarding school, college or university, the player may register in the Member's area in which the boarding school, college, or division of the college or university is located. Any other questions of residency may be determined by IYSA.

2. Interstate Play - All players or teams wishing to compete in a league operating in a state other than the state in which they are registered, must receive written permission by submitting the appropriate form and dues to IYSA. Permission must be obtained from a) the State Association where they are registered, and b) the State Association where they wish to play. Approvals, if granted, are

applicable for only one seasonal year and a new approval must be obtained each year.

3. Date of Registration - the player is registered from the moment the player signs the Registration form and pays the appropriate fees.

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4. Registration Fee - The player registration fees for the seasonal year shall be determined by the IYSA Board of Directors.

5. Insurance - All players registered with IYSA are required to have in effect the medical insurance program approved and/or provided by the Association. The cost of insurance (liability and medical) is set by the insurance company each year. Therefore, an increase or decrease in costs shall be passed directly on to the IYSA Member.

6. Medical Release Form - All players are required to submit a properly completed registration form to their Member Registrar as well as a Medical Release Form.

7. Member Registrar - Each Member shall have its own Registrar, who shall submit the appropriate fees and forms to IYSA after verifying the player's proof-of-age document.

8. Deadlines - All registration fees, forms and team rosters must be submitted by the deadlines to avoid late charges: August 1st - Fall Competitive rosters September 15th - Fall Recreational rosters February 1st - Spring Competitive rosters March 15th - Spring Recreational rosters 9. Member Responsibilities - Each Member shall be responsible for insuring proper registration of the players and coaches, affiliation of the teams, proper accounting of fiscal transactions and accurate reporting to the Board of Directors of this

Association.

10. Non-payment of Fees - No player may participate in any IYSA-sanctioned event, including State Cup Tournament, if such player fails to pay (or make arrangements for payments satisfactory to IYSA), any fees, dues, travel expenses or other amounts payable by such players to IYSA or any of its sanctioned programs.

11. Freedom of Choice - A player must be allowed the freedom of choice to participate in any aspect of the soccer program that is offered by his/her Member, i.e. if a player has both recreational and competitive programs available, the player may make a choice in which program he/she wishes to participate.

12. Illegal Recruiting

a. Recruiting or attempting to recruit any player or player's parents or

guardians with offers of material goods, gifts, free trips, scholarship or a similar benefit is illegal recruiting. Nothing herein shall prohibit teams or clubs from helping players with fees and equipment when documented financial need exists.

b. Recruiting or attempting to recruit any player, or player's parents or guardians to leave a USYSA team with which the player is registered for the current seasonal year in order to play with another USYSA team during the seasonal year is illegal recruiting. A player is registered with a IYSA team for a full seasonal year when the signed player pass card, fees, and USYSA registration are submitted to IYSA as part of a IYSA Team Roster form approved by the State Registrar.

c. Recruiting or attempting to recruit any team to leave a USYSA club with which the team is affiliated for the current seasonal year in order to play with another USYSA soccer club during the seasonal year is illegal recruiting.

d. Holding team tryouts at any of the following times is illegal recruiting:

• on or before Memorial Day holiday of the previous seasonal year (U11 boys & girls excepted).

• during the fall season of the current seasonal year (U15-UI9 boys &

girls excepted).

• between the fall and spring season of the current seasonal year (UI5 - U19 boys & girls excepted).

• during the spring season of the current seasonal year.

e. Allegations of illegal recruiting may be subject to a hearing by the IYSA Appeals and Protest Committee.

f. Any individual or club found guilty of illegal recruiting shall be subject to discipline by the IYSA Appeals and Protest Committee.

Section 4. Competitive Registration

1. Registration - Each competitive team shall be required to submit to the Member registrar the following forms: coach registration form, competitive roster, proof-of-age document, play-up form (if needed), and medical release form.

2. Member Registrar - The Member registrar will make sure that the players are properly rostered in the appropriate age group and submit the competitive roster, along with the coach registration form, and any necessary play-up forms to IYSA.

3. Player Passes and Coach Passes - Player passes and coach passes will be issued by IYSA and are required for all IYSA-sanctioned events.

4. Names - Competitive players must use their first and last name as it appears on their proof-of-age document on all registration materials.

5. Adding a Player - A team may add an unlimited number of currently unregistered players to its rosters in a given age division throughout the seasonal year subject to the maximum roster limitation of 18 players.

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6. Transfers - Any player signing a Player Registration Form/Roster is bound to that team for the entire seasonal year unless granted a transfer or release. A transfer will only be granted if the following conditions are met:

a) A dissolved team - defined as a team, which has been registered and been playing but ceased to exist. Players from a dissolved team shall be considered a transfer.

b) A team may not roster any player who was previously rostered during the seasonal year to another team, or the same team, unless a written request, stating the reason why this action has been requested, has been made to and approved by the State Association on a form provided. A team may not roster more than three previously rostered players in any seasonal year.

c) A player is considered rostered to a team when the player's team first participates in any competition approved by the State Association or its member leagues, clubs or teams. The following is considered a nonrostered player thereby not requiring a transfer form: 1) a player on a school team when IYSA administers the school program, i.e. junior high, high school; 2) a player on a recreational team; or 3) participation as a guest player where permitted by the rules of a specific competition, and with proper authorization.

d) A transferred player shall serve a seven-day waiting period before being eligible to play; the player becomes eligible to play on the eighth day from the date the transfer is approved by the State Registrar.

e) All requests for transfers shall be submitted on the appropriate form to the IYSA Registrar, and shall contained the following:

1) signature of the player;

2) signature of the parent/guardian of the player if the player is under 18 years of age;

3) signature of the releasing coach, club coach or a letter of authorization from the board of directors of the releasing member

or club;

4) signature of the receiving coach.

f) In the event the releasing coach, the club coach or the board of directors of the releasing member or club fail to sign the appropriate form, the failure to sign may be protested as outlined in the Hearings & Appeal Manual.

The following, while not exclusive, are valid reasons for not releasing a player during the seasonal year:

1) when the player individually or as part of a group of players

requesting release would leave the releasing team with an

insufficient number of healthy players to field an 11-player team.

2) when the player was illegally recruited as outlined in Rule 2,

Section 4, item #8;

3) when the player is indebted to the releasing team, club or member

(money, uniforms, other tangible goods)

7. Release of Player - A coach shall be permitted to release a player from his/her own team roster only under special circumstances, e.g. moving from the area, repeated unexcused absences from practice sessions and/or games, or repeated ungentlemanly or unladylike conduct at practice sessions and/or games by submitting the appropriate Add/Drop/Transfer form. Dropping a player against

his/her will from a team is prohibited unless the coaches show cause.

8. State Cup Competition - Additional rules governing rosters and players for competitions leading to the Snicker's U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships (commonly called "State Cup" in Idaho) are referenced in Rule 8.

Section 5. Recreational/Developmental Registration

In addition to the general registration rules, the following guidelines are suggested for recreational and developmental players and teams.

1. Registration - Players can either be registered on a recreational roster or listed alphabetically as long as the same pertinent data is provided.

2. Team Organization - Teams shall be organized as follows:

a. age-based teams

b. no "playing up"

c. teams formed by geographic proximity

d. random team assignments

e. no recruiting

f. one reciprocal request honored per player

3. Program Guidelines - Refer to the IYSA Recreational and Developmental Soccer

Program Guidelines for additional information.

Section 6. Types of Teams

IYSA recognizes three types of teams:

1. Girls' Teams are teams with females only.

2. Boys' Teams are teams with males only.

3. Coed Teams are teams with both males and females and shall be considered a Boys' team for any sanctioned league or competition.

RULE 3. REGISTRATION AND FEES FOR COACHES

Section 1. General

As part of the USYS and IYSA KidSafe Program, all coaches must be registered with their local Member and IYSA.

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Section 2. Fees

Fees will be determined by the IYSA Board of Directors.

Section 3. Registration

1. Coaches will submit an Application to Coach to their local Member. Once their Application is approved, they will need to submit a Coach's Code of Conduct and Coach Registration Form along with the appropriate fees to their Member Registrar who will then submit the required paperwork and fees to IYSA. These forms must be completed and submitted every seasonal year.

2. As part of the KidSafe Program, coaches will also need to submit an Employment/Volunteer Disclosure Form to the IYSA post office box. This form must be completed and submitted every two years.

RULE 4. AGE LIMIT DEFINITIONS AND ROSTER LIMITATIONS

Section 1. Proof-of-Age

Proof-of-Age shall consist of any one of the following: a birth certificate, a uniform services identification and privilege card (DD Form 1173) issued by the uniformed services of the United States or birth registration issued by an appropriate government agency, board of Health Records, passport, alien registration card (green card) issued by the United States government, a certificate issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service attested to age or a certification of an American citizen born abroad issued by the appropriate government agency. A birth certificate from a foreign country must be accompanied by a notarized English translation. The translator's qualification must be attached. Hospital, baptismal or religious certificates will not be accepted. Any player may be called upon to prove his/her legal age by the Board of Directors, the Registrar, the District Commissioner or the Member President.

Section 2. Age Division

1. The age group that a player is assigned to depends upon the player's age on August 1st of the seasonal year. U-19 player has not reached 19th birthday before August 1st U-18 player has not reached 18th birthday before August 1st U-17 player has not reached 17th birthday before August 1st U-16 player has not reached 16th birthday before August 1st U-15 player has not reached 15th birthday before August 1st U-14 player has not reached 14th birthday before August 1st U-13 player has not reached 13th birthday before August 1st U-12 player has not reached 12th birthday before August 1st U-11 player has not reached 11th birthday before August 1st U-10 player has not reached 10th birthday before August 1st U-9 player has not reached 9th birthday before August 1st U-8 player has not reached 8th birthday before August 1st U-7 player has not reached 7th birthday before August 1st U-6 player has not reached 6th birthday before August 1st 2. Play-Up Consents - A player may play-up to an older age group a maximum of two years, unless granted special permission from the IYSA Board of Directors after evaluation by the State Director of Coaching & Player Development or their designee.

Section 3. Maximum & Minimum Roster

1. No competitive team shall be allowed to roster more than eighteen players or less than nine players at any given time during the seasonal year.

2. Suggested maximum roster sizes for recreational teams are as follows:

U-6 to U-8 = 8

U-9 to U-10 =10

U-10 to U-18 =16

Section 4. Improper Registration

Any team playing a player who is over-age or who is improperly entered on the team's roster shall forfeit the game(s) in which that player took part and may face further disciplinary action by the Member and/or Board of Directors of this Association.

RULE 5. MULTIPLE ROSTERING

If permitted under club, league and Member rules, and subject to State Cup Rules, a player may be rostered on a maximum of two IYSA teams provided that the teams are in different leagues and subject to any overriding tournament or league restrictive rules. A player registered with IYSA may also be registered with and/or play with another organized youth soccer association, e.g. AYSO.

RULE 6. AMATEUR GAMES

A youth player will be permitted to play an unlimited number of amateur games without losing his/her youth eligibility. The youth player must obtain permission from his/her youth coach or other authorized team official. The youth coach or other authorized team official shall, in writing, or by form, request eligibility clearance from the State Youth Association. The youth coach or other authorized team official shall, in writing, or by form, request permission from the State Amateur Association. When the above clearance and permission have been granted, the State Amateur Association has sole discretion in permitting a youth player to play senior games and will be responsible for establishing the procedure under which this will be implemented. In the event of a conflict between an amateur trial game and a youth game, the youth game shall take precedence. A youth player who is required to sign an amateur form shall retain youth eligibility.

RULE 7. RULES OF PLAY

Section 1. The FIFA "Laws of the Game" and rules of the USYS with the exceptions noted and allowed by USYS and IYSA and as adopted by the local Members shall apply to any and all competition sponsored by this Association. Player under 10 years of age may play soccer in accordance with the USYS Modified Playing Rules for their specific age group. Section 2. IYSA will not sanction games involving teams under 10 or younger, unless such games are conducted with not more than eight (8) players per side.

RULE 8. STATE CUP COMPETITION

Section 1. General

In addition to Rule 2, the following requirements must also be met to compete at the State Cup level.

Section 2. League Play

Each competitive team must be registered and compete in a four-team approved league during the current seasonal year to be eligible to compete in the State Cup Tournament.

Section 3. Continuity of Rosters

The team must demonstrate continuity of rosters between the league and National Championships competitions by maintaining a minimum of nine players common to the rosters of both competitions.

Section 4. Transfers

Once a competitive player is placed on a State Cup team, the submittal of the roster binds that player to that team for the Seasonal Year, unless he/she is granted a transfer. A player is bound to the first team they are rostered to for State Cup play. Under no circumstances can a State Cup qualifying team have more than three transfers per seasonal year.

Section 5. Snicker's U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships

Rules governing rosters and players for competitions leading to the Snicker's U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships (commonly called "State Cup" in Idaho) supersede IYSA rules.

RULE 9. PERMISSION TO TRAVEL

Section 1. Domestic Travel

Any team wishing to travel out-of-state (within the U.S.) for either a tournament or exchange play must request permission from IYSA by submitting an Application to Travel Form with the appropriate paperwork and fees as outlined in the IYSA Travel Guidelines. Recreational teams will not be allowed to travel outside their geographical boundaries of their district unless special permission is obtained from the IYSA Board of Directors.

Section 2. International Travel

Any team wishing to travel outside of the U.S. (including Mexico and Canada) must submit the appropriate fees and paperwork to obtain IYSA's permission to travel and also submit the appropriate fees and paperwork to USSF for permission to travel as outlined in the IYSA and USSF Travel Guidelines.

RULE 10. PERMISSION TO HOST A TOURNAMENT OR GAMES

Teams, clubs, leagues or Members wishing to host a tournament or games must request

permission from IYSA by submitting an Application to Host a Tournament and Hosting

Agreement along with their tournament rules, medical procedures and fee.

RULE 11. PERMISSION TO HOST TEAMS - FOREIGN AND INTERSTATE

Teams wishing to host teams from another state or another country must request permission from IYSA. If the team is from another country, they must also request permission from USSF.

RULE 12. RISK MANAGEMENT

Pursuant to the USYS KidSafe Program, all coaches, volunteers, employees and program administrators who are involved with any sanctioned or sponsored program of any Member of IYSA are required to be registered with the Association.

RULE 13. RESOLUTION OF DISPUTE

A dispute between or within any Members shall be handled as outlined in the IYSA Hearings & Appeals Manual.

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