Rules and Regulations

1.1

To remain in good standing, each active and associate member club shall:

1.1.1

Comply with the Constitution of the League.

1.1.2

Remit all outstanding monies to the League.

1.1.3

Notify the League of the current list of its elected or appointed officers.

1.2

Affiliate with a District Association and be subject to the constitution of the governing association.

2.1

Two weeks after the start of official season, all player names will be registered on the GBYSL website. If requested by signed waiver, a player's name can be withheld from the publication on website. Any late registrants must be sent to statistician upon registration.

2.1.1

All players shall be registered with the Ontario Soccer Association.

2.1.2

A player clearly registered on a team roster shall remain with that team until the 31st day of December of the same calendar year at which time he/she becomes a free agent. (This does not apply to players that move their place of residence to another center during the current season.)

2.2

Two (2) weeks prior to the first scheduled game of the season, all clubs shall submit a legible copy of each registered team's roster to the League Statistician.

2.2.1

Each club will be responsible to submit, by the first day of August, a list of each team's OSA Registrant numbers as issued by the OSA.

2.2.2

Players are eligible to play only if their name appears on the team roster. If a team adds or removes any player from the team roster, any changes to a team roster must be immediately submitted to the League Statistician.

2.2.3

Players who are added to a team's roster after it has been submitted to the League may not dress for a game until their registration with the Ontario Soccer Association has been confirmed.

2.2.4

Any team using illegal players shall forfeit all games as per OSA rules and the club shall forfeit its performance bond.

2.3

Each member club shall provide the League with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of their coaches and manager.

2.3.1

The League must be notified in writing within seven (7) days of any change made in team officials during the season.

2.4

In order for any player to be eligible to participate in a given team's playoffs, year-end tournaments or cup games, they must be registered with the team prior to August 1 and have played a minimum of three (3) regularly scheduled games with that team.

2.5

Teams may have any number of affiliated players from one younger age group team in their club, but use no more than four (4) affiliates in any game.

2.5.1

2.5.2

2.5.3

Any affiliated players may play with only one other team, and must have played a minimum of three (3) regular season games in order to play in a play-off game.

Eliminate rule which prohibits L6 players to participate in GBYSL

Player can play on a maximum of three teams within the same co-ed age group. If  an appropriate age team is unavailable to a player, he/she may register with another club in order to play at his/her own age division. Individual clubs may work out arrangements amongst themselves regarding movement of these players. It is incumbent on individual clubs to arrange for call-ups.

3.1

General
The League shall offer scheduled competition for all age divisions that have four (4) or more teams registered with the League.

3.1.1

Length of Games, Ball Size and Game Night

3.1.2

In the event that the game needs to be shortened, an agreement between the coaches and referee can be made prior to the start of the game.

3.1.3

The Under 8 division may split the halves into quarters if both coaches agree prior to game start.

4.1

All players must wear regulation shin guards, covered with proper socks, and other equipment as stated in the FIFA Rules.

4.2

All players shall wear numbered shirts for all games. No two (2) players of the same team shall wear the same number, nor any player change their number during the game without the consent of the referee. Numbers must be of reasonable size and in a colour contrasting to the body of the shirt, so as to be easily visible.

4.3

The home team must change uniform jerseys in the case of a colour conflict.

4.4

Goalkeepers uniforms must not conflict with that of the game officials or opposing team.

5.1

The home team club is responsible for providing a playing field with the proper markings and goal nets.

5.2

Each club must provide maps showing the location of their home pitches. All maps will be submitted to the League Registrar prior to the completion of the schedules so that they may be included in the coaches packages.

5.3

The home team club shall be responsible for providing and paying for a qualified referee.

5.3.1

In the case of all age divisions, the referee shall be qualified to officiate Youth Recreational level or higher and must be at least two (2) years older than the age group being refereed.

5.3.2

For games involving U18 division teams and higher, older and more experienced referees should also be appointed whenever possible.

5.3.3

For games involving U12 division teams and higher, linesmen should be appointed.

6.1

A team bench will be designated on either side of the center line, or as stated by the referee prior to the start of the game.

6.1.1

Opposing team officials will coach within one (1) metre of their bench and are not permitted to walk up and down the sideline.

6.1.2

Team officials shall only consist of those persons listed on the game sheet.

6.2

Spectators must be two (2) metres away from the field of play and three (3) metres outside of the bench area and seated within reason.

6.3

No person shall observe or coach the game from behind the goal line.

6.4

Clubs are responsible for the conduct of their players, officials and spectators on and off the field of play during a scheduled game by the League.

6.5
6.6

Team officials are subject to discipline by the League.
No smoking is prohibited on soccer fields and all spectator areas.  Coaches must enforce this rule. Postings must be made to publicize.

7.1

All games will be played as per the schedule provided by the League.

7.2

Official game sheets that are supplied by the League shall be completed by both the home and visiting teams.

7.2.1

Game sheets shall be turned over to the referee at half time of each game.

7.3

All games shall start promptly at the appointed time.

7.3.1

No game shall kick off later than fifteen (15) minutes after its scheduled start.

7.4

Games shall not begin with less than seven (7) players available to each side at the time of kick-off. A team unable to field seven (7) players shall have the game declared forfeit and a score of 1-0 awarded in favour of the other team.

7.4.1

The exception to Rule 7.4 will apply to teams playing in the Mini Soccer divisions, wherein a team unable to field four (4) players shall have the game declared forfeit and a score of 1-0 awarded in favour of the other team.

7.5

Player substitution shall be permitted with the consent of the referee during stoppage in play as follows:

• Goal Kick
• Scoring of a Goal
• Processional Throw-ins
• Injury of a Player
• Half Time
• Start of Overtime Period (if applicable)
• Half-time of Overtime Period

7.5.1

No substitution is allowed for any player(s) ordered off the field by the official.

7.5.2

All substitutions will enter the field at the half line, after the substitute player(s) have left the field.

7.5.3

The exception to Rule 7.5 will apply to teams playing in the Mini Soccer divisions, wherein a team may make a substitution during any stoppage in play.

7.6

If a referee stops a game before the completion of the allowed time as specified in the Rules and Regulations for reasons of inclement weather, ground conditions, failing light, or other natural events, it must be replayed in its entirety if less than one-third (1/3) of the second half of the match has been played.

7.6.1

If more than one-third (1/3) of the second half has been played, the result of the match at the time of the stoppage will stand. The referee will be the sole judge of the time lapsed.

7.7

The referee shall record the game results as per the game sheet. Both coaches are responsible for emailing both teams game results to the League Statistician within (24) hours and mailing or delivering game sheet to statistician within a reasonable time.

7.8

During playoff games, all games shall have a winner. In the event that a game is tied at the end of regular play, the following format for determining a winner will be used.

7.8.1

U12 and U14 divisions shall play two (2) ten (10) minute halves. U16 and U18 shall play two (2) fifteen (15) minute halves.

7.8.2

If the game is tied after over-time periods, penalty kicks as per FIFA law will apply.

8.1

In the event that a scheduled game cannot be played or completed, that game must be re-scheduled within seven (7) days of the designated date and played within three (3) weeks of the original date.

8.1.1

The home team must provide three (3) alternate dates for the visiting coach to choose from. Both teams involved shall mutually agree upon the new date.

8.1.2

If a date cannot be agreed upon, the home team will contact the League President who may arbitrarily assign a new game date.

8.1.3

After a new game date is set, the home team shall report the changes to the League Registrar within forty-eight (48) hours.

8.2

Any team not abiding by the re-scheduled date will forfeit that game and the score will be recorded as 1-0 to the team complying.

8.3

Games which need to be cancelled because of weather should be cancelled by the home team coach two (2) hours before kick-off, based on the weather at that time.

8.3.1

In the event that a game has not been cancelled, but the weather at the time of kick-off poses a threat to the players, the referee has the authority to cancel a game at the last minute.

8.3.2

Each team shall provide the names of at least two (2) contact people (coach plus manager or one other parent) who can be reached at the required time in the event of a weather-related cancellation.

8.3.3

The visiting team will be granted a forfeit if the home team coach has not advised the visiting team coach or manager of a game cancellation, causing the visiting team to travel unnecessarily.

8.4

Re-scheduling for mini soccer will be the same as for regular soccer, with the exception that no penalty will occur if the game is not played.

9.1

Abandoned or no-show games shall be reported to the League Registrar within forty-eight (48) hours of the scheduled kick off time.

9.1.1

In the event that a team has abandoned a game through no fault of their own, the game may be re-scheduled as per Rule 8.

9.1.2

The team who has abided by the scheduled game date shall be awarded the game with the score being recorded as 1-0.

9.2

Clubs with a team having two (2) or more no-shows in one season may be subject to penalization at the discretion of the Board.

9.2.1

Any team having two (2) or more forfeits during the season, without attempting to re-schedule games, shall not be permitted to participate in the playoff/tournament rounds.

9.2.2

Teams found responsible for a no-show game shall be fined twenty-five dollars ($25.00) by the League plus any officiating costs involved.

10.1

A champion shall be decided for each age division that records game sheets and keeps statistics throughout the season.

10.1.1

Prior to developing schedules for the season.

10.2

Each division championship shall be decided using the following criteria.

10.3

Points will be awarded for each game (during regular season of play) as:

• three (3) points for a win
• one (1) point for a tie
• zero (0) points for a loss

10.3.1

The final League statistics, calculated from all game sheets properly submitted to the League Statistician three (3) days prior to the date of the first game on the playoff schedule will form the basis of each team playoff berth for their division.

10.3.2

If an age division has been split due to a large number of teams registered, the mathematical formula as per Appendix A will be used to determine point standings

10.4

In the event that two (2) teams tie in points for their division, the following will be used to determine the team who will retain the higher playoff berth.

• the team with least goals against
• the team with the most goals for

10.4.1

In the event that there is still a tie, a deciding game will be played on a neutral field under Ontario Cup rules.

10.5

In a division that has a large number of teams, only those teams who retain the top eight (8) berths shall be eligible to compete for the League Championship in the cup rounds.

10.6

The team that remains undefeated during the cup rounds shall be declared the League Champions for their division.

10.7

One (1) first place team trophy will be awarded per age group within the League.

11.1

The Leagues Disciplinary Committee consisting of the Referee-In-Chief and President will deal with all discipline matters arising from any League games.

11.2

Referees will advise the Referee-In-Chief of any red cards and blue sheets (special incident reports) issued within 48 hours of the occurrence.

12.1

Protests based on the referee's interpretation of FIFA law will not be acknowledged.

12.2

All protests arising from games shall be sent, in writing, along with a fifty dollar ($50.00) deposit to South-West Regional Soccer Association by registered mail or courier within forty-eight (48) hours, with the exception of weekends and holidays. Loss of protest will result in loss of protest fee.

12.3

All protesting teams must send a written copy of the protest to the team that is being protested against.

13.1

Appeals against a decision of the League shall be submitted in writing to the South-West Regional Soccer Association in strict accordance with the Canadian Soccer Association Constitution.

14.1

In the concept of fair and equal play for all, any child who signs up in different age groups plays in this League. There will be no try-outs or cuts.

14.2

All matters not provided for affecting the conduct and operation of the League and its member teams, shall be dealt with by South-West Regional Soccer Association.

14.3

The FIFA Law Book and the Ontario Soccer Association rules shall be the prime guidelines.

Appendix A

Explanation of the math used to equalize the point standings when age divisions that have been split into two groups due to a large number of team's registered and uneven game numbers exist.
To be able to compare the points earned over a season that has an uneven number of games played, they must be converted to a common number fraction. This common number fraction is achieved by multiplying the number of games for each of the different groups of games. For example, if some teams played 9 games, some teams played 10 games and other teams played 11 games the formula 9 x 10 x 11 = 990 is used.
To get comparable top numbers of the fraction, the team's points for the season are then multiplied by the same number as the games played for the season to get 990.
Example:
if 11 games played, the number is 90 (9 x 10)
if 10 games played, the number is 99 (9 x 11)
if 9 games played, the number is 110 (10 x 11)
Therefore the formulas are as follows:
11 games: (points for season x 90) / 990
10 games: (points for season x 99) / 990
9 games: (points for season x 110) / 990
If a team wins every game in the season, the results would be:
11 games: (33 x 90 = 2970)/990 = 3
10 games: (30 x 99 = 2970)/990 = 3
9 games: (27 x 110 = 2970)/990 = 3