Revised December 30/19

All teams will be allowed a maximum of 8 players, including 1 goalie on the field at one time.  Substitutions are made on the fly.  A team may bring up to 20 participants.

As a co-ed tournament it is always a pleasure to watch both male and female players play together.  In order to promote the spirit of co-ed a minimum of 3 girls are on the field at all times.

Each game will be 24 minutes, two twelve minute halves with a two minute half-time.  The first game will begin at 9:00 am SHARP.  For every minute you are late for a match, that time will be deducted from the game.  If a team is 5 minutes late, the game is forfeited.  There are no time-outs in round robin play.

It is the coaches’ responsibility to submit the proper SSAF eligibility sheet to the convenor and SSAF Vice President 1 week prior to the tournament.

A size 4 regulation outdoor soccer ball will be used.

Shin pads are mandatory for all players.

Running shoes or turf shoes must be worn.  No cleats for indoor soccer.

No slide tackling.

Kickoff at center will be determined by coin toss or referee.

An indirect free kick at the spot of the foul will be awarded for any unintentional foul.

When the ball goes out of bounds it is a “kick-in”.

The goalkeeper may not use their hands outside the crease.

A 2-minute penalty will be assessed for any purposeful body contact or major rule infractions (careless or reckless play, or use of excessive force).  The team assessed the penalty will play 1 man short for 2 minutes.  The player may return to play when the penalty has expired.  Penalties will expire if the opposing team scores a goal.

Handballs will result in a free kick for the opposing team (direct or indirect at the referee’s discretion).  A handball is considered any contact from the shoulder down to the fingertips, at the referee’s discretion.

After a goal is scored, the ball will be placed at center for an indirect kick-off by the team that was scored on.

All spectators must stay in the stands at all times and cannot stand behind the nets.

Each team is responsible to bring pinnies (different colour than the team uniforms) in case of colour conflicts.  If only one team brings pinnies, the other team will wear them.  If both teams have pinnies, a coin toss will decide who will wear them.

If a team fails to show up on time for kick-off, a 5 minute grace period will be allowed after which a 2-0 score will be applied.  If both teams fail to show up for a scheduled game, a 2-2 score will be applied.  (If we give 0-0, it does not make sense considering our goals against is the 2nd option for breaking ties in standings).

There will be no overtime in round-robin play.  Ties in standings will be decided by the following criteria:

Head to head
Goals against
Penalties for
Goals for
Coin toss

Referee’s 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.  Zero tolerance for trash-talking is also in effect.  Violations will result in a 2-minute penalty and removal of offenders from the tournament.

Overtime in playoffs will consist of a coin toss for possession or choice of side.  The team that wins the flip will choose to have 1st possession or choose which side they would like to start on.  Overtime will be a 5-minute sudden victory period.  If both teams fail to score in the first 5 minute sudden victory, a 2nd 5 minute sudden victory period will be played.  If both teams fail to score after the 2nd sudden victory, a penalty shootout will occur.
5 penalty shooters will be chosen by each coach and submitted to the referee before commencing a shootout.  A coin toss will take place at this time to determine which team will shoot first.  The winner of the coin toss may choose if their team will shoot first.

Penalty shootouts will take place as follows – 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 alternate their 5-penalty shooters in the order listed on their sheet.  If the game is still tied after all 5 shooters have gone, then one by one the coaches may select their sudden victory kickers.  No player may kick twice until everyone dressed has kicked.  If teams have a different number of players then an equal number of players on each team will take a penalty shot based on the number of players on the smaller team.  The referee will track this.

In the quarter finals and semi-finals, each team will have one 2-minute timeout per game.

In the championship game, each team will have one 2-minute timeout per half.