Technical Guidelines Elementary Soccer

Revised September 10/14

 

General Rules

 

• These rules are in addition to the published rules of the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA), and apply to both Elementary Boys and Girls Outdoor Soccer.
• All games will be refereed by OSA qualified officials.

 

• All games will be centrally timed and start at the sound of a horn. Teams have 2 minutes to show up after the horn has sounded. Failure to do so will result in a loss. The horn will signal the end of the half and will sound again to signal the beginning of the 2^nd Three blasts of the horn will signify the end of the game.

 

• Each game time slot is 25 minutes with the following breakdown:
  3 minutes – Time for teams to get on the field with a brief warm-up
  10 minutes – First half of game play
  2 minutes – Half time
  10 minutes – Second half of game play
  Times may be altered during the tournament at the convenor’s discretion depending on timing. There will be NO timeouts or injury time due to time constraints. Duration of games may vary year to year depending on the number of teams entered in the tournament.

 

• A team may bring and dress a maximum of 15 participants. Games will not be played on a regulation sized soccer field, and as such all teams will be allowed a maximum of 7 players and 1 goalie (8 total) on the field at one time. At least 6 players and a goalie are required to begin a game. Substitutions are made on goal kicks, own throw-ins, or half time as per OSA rules. Two coaches are permitted.

 

• Running shoes are permitted, but soccer cleats are strongly recommended. Cleats must be rubber studs…NO METAL SPIKES are permitted.   Shin pads are mandatory, no exceptions, and socks must completely cover shin pads.

 

• A size 5 regulation outdoor soccer ball will be used.

 

• All teams must wear the same colour numbered and identifiable shirts, with no number conflicts, or face possible disqualification. Teams should also bring alternate jerseys or numbered pinneys in case of jersey colour conflicts. Specified home team (first team listed on schedule) will be required to change jerseys if necessary.

 

• One warning will be given for foul throw-ins.

 

• All free kicks are indirect and opposing players must be at least 5 yards from the ball.

 

• Goalkeepers may not drop kick the ball, and must throw it within 7 seconds.

 

• Goal kicks (from the ground) can either be taken by the goalkeeper or by a defensive player. They must be taken within 5 yards of the goal.

 

• Pass backs to the goalkeeper are allowed.

 

• There will be a coin toss prior to each game to determine who gets the kickoff or choice of side. On the kickoff, the ball must be passed forward to cross the centreline before play can commence. After each goal, the ball will be placed at centre for a kickoff by the team that was scored on.

 

• There are no offsides, but obvious ‘cherry picking’ will be called. A player may advance past the defending team as the ball is being advanced by their own team. They will be called for ‘cherry picking’ if they are found standing beyond the defending team when the ball is not being advanced by their own team.
• Yellow cards and red cards are in full effect. Any purposeful body contact or major rule infractions will result in appropriate actions up to and including yellow or red cards, removal of the offender from the tournament, or forfeiture of games at the discretion of the referee. A player receiving a red card will be ejected from the current game and shall not be allowed to play in the subsequent game. An accumulation of 2 yellow cards in a game will also result in an ejection from the current game and the subsequent game. The team will play short-handed for the remainder of the game in which the ejection took place.
• Handballs will result in a free kick for the opposing team. A handball is considered any contact from the shoulder down to the fingertips. Any handballs in the goal crease (18 yard box) will result in a penalty shot for the opposing team. The goalkeeper may not use his/her hands outside of the crease (18 yard box).
• There will be no overtime in round-robin play. Any ties in round-robin play will remain a tie.
• Referees decisions are FINAL. Zero tolerance for verbal abuse towards officials is in effect. Any violations will result in immediate action, up to and including removal of the offender from the tournament or forfeiture of games. Zero tolerance for trash-talking. Violations will result in a free kick, and possible removal of offenders from the tournament or forfeiture of games.

Playoffs

 

• All ties in standings are broken by the following:

Head to Head

Least goals against

Most goals for

+/-

(if teams are still tied, a penalty shoot-out between the tied teams will occur)

 

• Teams will be seeded according to their results from round-robin play. The top 2 teams from each division will be placed into a single-elimination bracket tournament. Timing for games will be the same as in round-robin play. If the game results in a tie after regulation time, overtime will be played.
• Overtime in playoff rounds will consist of a 5-minute sudden victory period. If both teams fail to score in the 5- minute sudden victory, a penalty shootout will occur.
  ****For the first round of playoffs, the 5-minute sudden victory overtime might have to be eliminated, and a shoot-out occur immediately following regulation time, depending on time constraints.
• Penalty shootouts will take place as follows:

 

Only players who were currently on the field will be allowed to shoot. 5 shooters from each team will be chosen from the field to start the shoot-out. All kickers and the 2 goalkeepers will follow the referee’s instructions as to where they should be on the field. All kicks will take place in the same net. Both teams will have all 5 shooters kick a penalty shot. If the game is still tied after all 5 shooters from each team have gone, then one by one the coaches may select their sudden victory kickers. No player may kick twice until everyone has kicked, and all players who were on the field must shoot before the players who were on the bench may shoot. This will be tracked by the referee and the convenor. Goalies may be used as a shooter.

 

 

Team Responsibilities

 

• All teams must complete the league eligibility sheet and fax or email it to the league convenor within the specified time frame.
• Teams that arrive late must be prepared to play right away without a warm-up. If a team is late to a game by more than 2 minutes they will forfeit the game.
• Shin pads are mandatory, no exceptions. Socks must cover shin pads completely.

 

• All teams must wear the same colour numbered and identifiable shirts, with no number conflicts, or face possible disqualification. Teams should also bring alternate jerseys or numbered pinneys in case of jersey colour conflicts. Specified home team (first team listed on schedule) will be required to change jerseys if necessary.