Northeast Girls NPL Rules and Regulations 2017-2018 Season Updated: August 14, 2017 Northeast Girls NPL Page 1
Appendix 1: Rules and Regulations Specific to NE NPL Girls Date Approved by US Club Soccer: National Premier League: Northeast Girls NPL. Scope and Order of Precedence: The rules in this Appendix 1 Competition Rule Supplement are supplemental rules, approved by US Club Soccer, that are specific or unique to the National Premier League designated above. In the event of a conflict between the rules in this Appendix 1 and rules in the base NPL Competition Rules and Regulations, this Appendix shall prevail for this National Premier League. Rule Changes: With respect to the National Premier League designated above, the following rules shall replace the rules of the same number in the NPL Competition Rules and Regulations document with respect to this NPL. 1. Definitions No changes 2. NE Girls Roster Rules 2.7 Roster Freeze Date. Players may be added to the NE Girls Roster until April 30 th, 11:59pm of each year. 2.8 Player/Club Tie. A player may only be rostered to one (1) NE Girls Club each NE Girls Season, except pursuant to the Transfer Regulations provided below. For the 2017-2018 NE Girls Season, the following clubs are considered separate and individual clubs. Club/Team loyalty rules apply: Albertson SC Connecticut FC Continental FC East Meadow SC FC Boston FC Bucks FC Stars FSA FC Match Fit Academy PDA North PDA South World Class FC Page 2
2.9 Initial Roster Submission Date; Roster Add Periods. An initial NE Girls Roster with a minimum of sixteen (16) Full-Time NE Girls Registered Players must be provided by each NE Girls Team by August 15 th of each NE Girls Season. No NE Girls Roster will be accepted prior to July 1 of each NE Girls Season. Additional players may be added to the NE Girls Roster of each NE Girls Team as provided in the attached Exhibit B. 2.12 Club Loyalty Rule. 2.12.4 NE Girls Clubs with multiple teams in the same age groups will be considered separate and individual clubs as designated in Rule 2.8. Any NE Girls Registered Player or ECNL Registered Player that appears on a roster for any NE Girls Team is tied to the NE Girls Club of that team. Example 1: Any NE Girls Registered Player who is rostered to any age NE Girls Team for PDA South is eligible only to play for another age eligible NE Girls Team for PDA South for the NE Girls Season. She is ineligible to play for PDA North in any NE Girls Competition for the NE Girls Season. Example 2: Any ECNL Registered Player who plays for any age NE Girls Team for PDA North may only play for another age eligible NE Girls Team for PDA North for the NE Girls Season. She is ineligible to play for PDA South in any NE Girls Competition. Club Loyalty applies to the individual ECNL Registered Player and not the ECNL team as an entirety. (Clarification: one ECNL player may be club tied to PDA-N and her ECNL teammate may play for PDA-S.) 2.13 Discovery Players. The NE Girls NPL does not recognize discovery players. All players rostered on an NE Girls NPL team are considered full time players on either a NPL or ECNL team. 2.15 ECNL Players. An ECNL Registered player may play for any NE Girls Team in the NE Girls Club for which the player is age eligible. Age Eligibility is determined by Exhibit A of these Regulations. Regardless of age, any ECNL Registered player that appears on any NE Girls Roster for any NE Girls Team will count as one (1) of the twenty-six (26) maximum player roster limit for the entire NE Girls season. A younger ECNL Registered player playing up for an older NE Girls team will count towards the twenty-six (26) roster limit. There is a limit of four (4) ECNL players allowed to participate in NPL games per team for the entire regular and playoff season. Regardless of the number of games, once an ECNL player appears on any NE Girls Roster she will count towards the four (4) ECNL player limit for that NE Girls Team. ECNL Players in Playoffs. An ECNL player must participate in 25% of a NE Girls NPL regular season competitions to be eligible to play in the NE Girls NPL Playoffs. Specifically: U13 & U14 = 6 games, U15-U17 = 3 games, U18/U19 Finals = 3 games Page 3
2.16 US Soccer Development Academy (DA). Any player rostered at any time on an 2017-2018 US Soccer Development Academy team is ineligible to participate in NE Girls NPL competitions during the 2017-2018 season. 2.17 U12 Teams. All U12 teams are considered NPL teams, regardless of the number of U12 teams fielded per club. All players are considered NPL players and governed by the NE Girls NPL eligibility rules. No standings will be kept for the 2017-2018 season. If a Club has multiple U12 NE Girls NPL teams, one (1) pool may be utilized for both teams. Only 2006 players officially rostered to U12 NPL teams/pool are eligible to participate in U12 NPL competitions. Specifically, a 2006 player playing up and rostered in the U13 NPL or Pre-ECNL division is not eligible for the U12 player pool. U12 players may move between teams on a day by day basis. If a Club/team plays more than one (1) U12 NE Girls NPL competition on a single day (see Rule 2.18.1 below), players are tied to a single team for the entire day. 2.18 U15 Trapped 8 th Grade Players. Trapped U15 2003 NE Girls NPL 8th graders will be allowed to participate in select U14 NPL regular season competitions with restrictions. Competitions are limited to NE Girls NPL U14 regular season games actually played in September and October, 2017 only. If a game is rescheduled for any month other than September or October, trapped U15 8th graders may not participate. Trapped U15 2003 players must be in 8th grade during September and October, 2017. Specifically no players attending high school (9th-12th grades), regardless of whether or not they participate in a Fall high school sport, may participate in any U14 NPL competition. NE Girls NPL registered players only. Trapped U15 2003 ECNL players are ineligible. (Reminder: DA players are ineligible for all NE Girls NPL competitions.) Only 2 trapped U15 players may appear on a game day roster. All trapped players must participate in a U14 competition before a player may participate in a second competition. 2.19 One Game Per Day Limit. Every NE Girls Registered Player and ECNL Registered Player may only play on one (1) NE Girls Team or one (1) ECNL Team per day, and may only play one (1) NE Girls Competition or one (1) ECNL Competition per day. A NE Girls Registered Player may play on different NE Girls Team within her NE Girls Club from game-to-game during the NE Girls Regular Season pursuant to the Fixture Tie Rules. 2.18.1 U12 Exemption U12 division may host multi-club festival type play to assist in minimizing travel for this age group. In this format U12 NE Girls NPL players, tied to one (1) team for the entire day, may participate in more than one (1) U12 NE Girls NPL regular season competition on a single day. Note: This is exemption applies to U12 competitions only. Any U12 player pulled up to an older team is limited to one (1) game per day, regardless of age group. Specifically, a U12 player who appears on a U13 or older game day roster may not participate in a U12 competition on the same day. Page 4
2.20 Fixture Tie. Saturday and Sunday Regular Competitions: A NE Girls Register Player or ECNL Registered player will not be fixture tied to a specific age team for any regular NE Girls Regular Competition played on a Saturday or Sunday. Specifically: If a player appears on a game day roster for the U-16 NE Girls XSA (home) vs YFC (away) NE Girls Competition played on Saturday, May 17th, she is eligible to be rostered for the U-17 NPL XSA (home) vs YFC (away) NPL match played on Saturday, June 7th. Weekday (Monday-Friday) Regular Competitions: A NE Girls Registered Player or ECNL Registered Player is fixture tied to a specific age team for any regular season NE Girls Regular Competition played during the week, Monday through Friday. Specifically: If a player appears on a game day roster for the U-16 NE Girls XSA (home) vs YFC (away) match played on Tuesday, May 6th, that player is ineligible to play for any other age NE Girls XSA team (home) when they play YFC (away) regardless of when other matches are scheduled. This is also retroactive in that if a player has competed with one team on a Saturday or Sunday, she is ineligible to play with another age team in a weekday game at a later date. 3. Competition Rules 3.5 Cancelled Competitions. If a NE Girls Competition is suspended by weather and at least the first half was played, the game will be considered a full game. If any NE Girls Competition is cancelled, the participating clubs shall attempt to reschedule the NE Girls Competition. If the participating clubs cannot agree on a rescheduled date, the NE Girls Advisory Committee shall recommend to US Club Soccer if and how such NE Girls Competition shall be rescheduled. If the NE Girls Advisory Committee finds that it is impossible to reschedule such cancelled NE Girls Competition, the NE Girls Advisory Committee shall recommend to US Club Soccer that the NE Girls Competitions shall be considered a non-played game and neither team shall be awarded any points. In the event that any games are cancelled pursuant to this Rule 3.4, US Club Soccer shall alter the method by which NE Girls standings are determined for impacted ages groups (for example change to a point-per-games basis). 3.5.1 Cancellations less than 72 hours to game time (weather related): These competitions should be rescheduled as soon as possible. The new competition date must be reported to the NE Girls Administrator for posting on the NE Girls schedule within one (1) week of the cancelled competition. 3.5.2 Foreseeable Cancellations (projected field conditions, tournament conflicts, religious holidays, proms, etc): The agreed rescheduled date must be reported to the NE Girls Administrator for posting on the NE Girls schedule at the time of cancellation. Specifically, the new date must accompany the old date. 3.5.3 Fall Season Rescheduled Game Deadlines: The NE Girls Fall Season Competitions (Sept Dec) must be completed by February 28 th. Page 5
3.7 Competition Referee Fees. Referee fees for each NE Girls Competition will be paid for by the home team based on the pay scale set forth in the attached Exhibit C. 3.10 Deadline for Regional Competitions. All NE Girls Competitions (U-12, U-13, U-14, U-15, U-16 and U-17 age groups) must be played by June 3, 2018 of the NE Girls Season. The NE Girls Administrator may extend this date under extreme circumstances at the NE Girls Administrator s sole discretion. 3.9.1 U-18 Competitions: All U-18 NE Girls 2014-2015 Regular Season Competitions must be played by Sunday, May 20, 2018. 3.11 Substitutions. Once a NE Girls NPL Registered Player (or ECNL player) is substituted in one half of any NPL Competition, such Player may not re-enter the game for the duration of the half. There shall be a maximum of seven (7) substitutions in any half or in any overtime period of any NPL Competition. 3.11.1 U-13 and U-14 amendment to substitution rules. A player may re-enter a half if, due to injury during the competition, the team would be forced to play the remainder of the game with less than 11 (9 for U12) players on the field. The following restrictions apply: This amendment applies to U-13 and U-14 NE Girls NPL teams only. Applicable for NE Girls NPL regular season and playoff competitions only. NPL National Finals competitions adhere strictly to NPL base Rules and Regulations governing substitutions. This is permitted for injuries sustained during the game only. The injured player may not re-enter the game at any time. If injured in first half, she may not enter the game in the second half. Permitted only when all other substitutions have been made. Only 1 player may be substituted per injured player and must play the remainder of that half. 3.11.2 U12 amendment to substitution rules. U12 NE Girls NPL regular season competitions will have unlimited substitutions. 3.19 Tie-Breakers 3.19.1 There is a 5 goal differential limit per each NE Girls Regular Season Competition. Example: A competition with the final score 6-0 will be scored as 5-0. Likewise, 8-1 will be scored as 6-1. 3.21 Official NE Girls Competition. When both teams take the field and the referee signals the start of competition, the match is considered official (pursuant to weather cancellation half competition Rule 3.4) and the results may not be challenged. Any change to the competition status must be communicated in writing by the referee to the NE Girls Administrator prior to the start of the NE Girls Competition. Page 6
4. Game Day Procedures 4.1 An official NE Girls Game Report must be completed for each NE Girls Competition. The NE Girls Game Report must be provided by the home team. In addition, each team must provide 2 copies of their Official US Club Roster. One copy goes to the referee and the other copy is collected by the home team. 4.3 The NE Girls Game Report must be completed in full, signed by both teams and the referee. The NE Girls Game Report and Official US Club Roster for both teams is to be submitted to the NE Girls Administrator within 48 hours of completion of the NE Girls Competition by the home team manager. 4.4 The home team shall call the score into Demosphere s automated system after each game within four (4) hours of the game s completion using the procedure below: Dial the toll-free number (866) 334-6294. When asked, say or enter the pin number. The NE Girls pin number is 2299. You will then be asked for your game number, which is located on the left-hand column of the schedule on you league s website. You will then be told the division, teams playing and field location if this is the correct game, confirm by saying Yes. When asked, say or enter the score for each team, then confirm. You can do more games in the same call or just say goodbye when finished. 4.5 Uniforms In a one-game weekend (teams will confirm uniform colors with each other) Home Team light shirt, light socks, any shorts Away Team - dark shirt, dark socks, any shorts In a two-game weekend (teams will confirm uniform colors with each other) Note: If either team (home or away) has 2 games, uniform guidelines will apply to both teams. Game #1 Home Team light shirt, light socks, any shorts Away - dark shirt, dark socks, any shorts Game #2 Home Team - dark shirt, dark socks, any shorts Away: light shirt, light socks, any shorts 5. Miscellaneous No changes Page 7
Exhibit A NE Girls Age Group Eligibility NE Girls Age groups for the 2017-2018 NE Girls Season are provided below: U-12 Age Group: Players born on or after January 1, 2006 U-13 Age Group: Players born on or after January 1, 2005 U-14 Age Group: Players born on or after January 1, 2004 U-15 Age Group: Players born on or after January 1, 2003 U-16 Age Group: Players born on or after January 1, 2002 U-17 Age Group: Players born on or after January 1, 2001 U-19 Age Group: Players born on or after January 1, 1999 Players may play for their own age group and for older age groups. Page 8
Exhibit B Registration; Player and Staff Passes; Roster Add Process Types of Player and Staff Passcards for NE Girls Clubs and NE Girls Competition US Club Passcards are passcards validated by US Club Soccer on the US Club Soccer website and then printed and laminated by the NE Girls Club for use in NE Girls Competition and other US Club Soccer competition. ECNL passcards are acceptable for NE Girls Competition. Initial Roster Submission Date August 15, 2017: Every NE Girls Team must have a minimum of sixteen (16) NE Girls Registered Players. Player Add Process NE Girls Competition: NE Girls Registered Players may be added to a NE Girls Roster for NE Girls Competition at any time prior to the April 30, 2018 at 11:59pm roster freeze, provided that they appear on the official NE Girls Roster prior to the game. No player may participate in a NE Regional Competition without a pass. 2017-2018 Player and Staff Fees and Expiration Dates See US Club NPL General Rules for information. Page 9
Exhibit C NE Girls NPL Competition Referee Pay Scale The minimum pay scale for NE Girls Competitions in the 2017-2018 NE Girls Season shall be as follows: For U-12 NE Girls NPL Competitions: Center Referee: $45 Assistant Referee: $35 Assistant Referee: $35 For U-13, U-14, U-15 and U-16 NE Girls NPL Competitions: Center Referee: $65 Assistant Referee: $40 Assistant Referee: $40 For U-17 and U-18 NE Girls NPL Competitions: Center Referee: $75 Assistant Referee: $50 Assistant Referee: $50 Fees for referees are paid by the home team as specified in these Regulations. For NE Girls NPL Competition, it is the responsibility of the home club (or host club for neutral venues) to contact and pay the club s referee assignor(s) to schedule referees. Page 10