Northern Virginia Soccer League (Men's 30+ 7v7 Division)

BYLAWS AND GUIDELINES

Northern Virginia Soccer League (7v7 Men’s Division)

BYLAWS AND GUIDELINES

 I.  TITLE

 The name of the association shall be "The Northern Virginia Soccer League", hereafter referred to as "this league." 

II. OBJECTIVES

A.  The primary objective of this league shall be the promotion and encouragement of soccer through community participation and good sportsmanship.  This league shall stand as a reflection of athletic quality, healthy competition, and soccer education within the community.

B.  In furtherance of objective "A", this league will consist of a scheduled season of games (7 or 8 games), played at the fields at Hellwig Memorial Park, Valley View Park or fields in Prince William County.

C.  Other objectives are to engage community activities, to encourage adult participation, and to promote the finest qualities of soccer.

III. AFFILIATION

This league will be affiliated with Metropolitan, DC, and Virginia Soccer Association (MDCVSA).

IV. MEMBERSHIP

Membership in this league is open to any individual who has an interest in furthering objectives A through C and:

A.  Males and Females must be at least 18 years of age at the time of registration.

B.  Is not suspended or expelled from any other previous league for disciplinary reasons.

League membership is subject to limitation based on NVSC Board approved team roster and league size. Teams will consist of no less than 9 and no more than 15 members.

V.  BOARD OF TEAM REPRESENTATIVES

Management of this league shall be vested in a board of representatives chosen by the NVSC board and the Adult League commissioner.  The Adult league commissioner will be nominated and elected by majority vote of the NVSC board members.  League and board decisions will be made under the following provisions:

A.  Decisions on league bylaws, rules, size, and guidelines shall be approved by 51% majority vote reached by quorum.

B.  Quorum will consist of at least 50% of the board members present at a scheduled board meeting.

C.  The commissioner will have no vote unless deadlock occurs in quorum decisions.

D.  Majority vote can be obtained over the phone or email by commissioner and/or vice commissioner if the situation necessitates immediate action or conditions make a scheduled board meeting infeasible.

E.  In order to hold team status in the league, a team must have at least seven participants registered one week prior to the season starting.

VI. BOARD MEMBERS

A.  Commissioner:  Chairman of the board, liaison with MDCVSA and NVSC, financial liaison with MDCVSA and NVSC, organizes pre-season and end of season meetings, prepares issues for board decision vote, corresponds to team representatives, and league point of contact. 

B. Vice Commissioner:  Acting commissioner in case of absence advertises league registration, liaison NVSC club and league teams.

C.  Secretary:  Document and records board decisions, and takes minutes at board meetings.

D.  Referee Assignor:  Schedules referees for all regular season, chairs board committee on team protests and coordinates payment of referees.

E.  Score Keeper:  Gets scores and cards from referee assignor and keeps standings updated.

F.  Scheduler:  constructs regular season schedule and reschedules make-up games.

G.  Registrar:  Tracks registration of all participants in the league.  Constructs rosters for NVSC and MDCVSA.

H. Captains from each Division will be asked to participate in a board forum for disciplinary and future advancement of the league opportunities.

I. NVSC Board will have final vote in all disciplinary and overriding decisions for the Adult Leagues.

VII. GUIDELINES, RULES AND REGULATIONS

A.  Unless noted in the bylaws, all rules and regulations accepted and documented in the FIFA rulebook govern play for the 7v7 format in this league.  Interpretation of these rules vested in the referee(s) directing play at the time. 

B.  Slide tackling will not be permitted in this league. (Sliding is allowed if no other player is in the area and there is no danger to another player).  A slide tackle will be treated as a foul with the awarding of an indirect free kick for dangerous play awarded to the victimized team at the spot of the foul.  The referee may choose to verbally warn, issue a yellow card, or issue a red card dependent on his/her judgment of the severity of the foul.

C.  Shin guards will be worn at all times during league play.  The referee will judge what constitutes a shin guard.  Failure to wear an approved pair of shin guards will result in expulsion from the game until suitable shin guards are worn.

D. A player is offside if, when the ball is played, they are in an offside position inside a line drawn all the way across the field at the top of the opponent’s penalty area, and then commit an offside offense by:

     - interfering with play

     - interfering with an opponent

     - gaining an advantage

E.  Goalkeepers may punt, kick or throw the ball over midfield.

F. Fighting will not be permitted in this league. Fighting will be defined as any physical contact meant to harm another player by using hands in a slapping or punching manner or kicking another player outside the normal realm of playing contact with intent to harm.  In addition to sanctions outlined in the FIFA rulebook a minimum of a 1 year suspension from the league. A formal petition for an additional league penalty may be submitted to the board by any registered member of this league for fighting in, around, and/or during game play. A majority vote (secret ballot) of 70% is required to approve a league penalty. A league penalty in this case may carry from a one year to lifetime/permanent expulsion.  A player receiving a lifetime expulsion may request after a minimum of 3 years served to be reinstated on a probationary (to be no less than one year) basis. Permission may only be granted by the board.

Any team involved in a fight, as defined by multiple players from one team involved in fighting will result in a team suspension. Both teams will be subject for review of a suspension if both teams are involved. It is at the discretion of the  NVSC Board, after a review of the facts provided by the league commissioner and/or deputy commissioner, to arrive at a decision about the final punishments for team(s) involved.

G.  A win shall be awarded 3 points, a tie shall be awarded 1 point, and a loss shall receive no points.

H.  A team cannot field more than 7 men at any time, although a team may choose any number of women to replace a male player if they are substituting or playing for one of the men’s teams.

I. Standings will be calculated using the following criteria Points (3 for a win, 1 for a tie, o for a loss). It will first be determined by wins, losses, ties. If two teams have the same amount of points, but 1 team has more wins, or less losses, the team with more wins has the advantage. Goal Differential, if a tie still occurs then the winner of the head to head game shall receive the higher ranking.  If the head to head game resulted in a tie or was not played, in the unlikely event a tie still remains Goals For, and Goals Against.

J.  The minimum number of people needed to play a game is five. Each team may not have more than seven players on the field at any time.  The Referee will start the clock at 8:35 or 9:35 and inform the teams that the clock is running. If one of the teams is ready at kickoff and the other team is not ready, a goal will be awarded to the team that is ready. If neither team is ready, the clock runs and they only get to play what time is left on the clock for that half. The game will be a forfeit if a team does not meet this requirement within 10 minutes after scheduled game time (official time kept by the referee present).  If a player is subsequently ejected for disciplinary reasons or lack of shin guards, the games is a forfeit.  A player may leave the field for an injury or rest once the game has started as long as permission is requested to the center referee prior to leaving.  A typed numbered roster of the playing team members will be presented to the referee within 15 minutes of the start of the game.  This will allow for verification of rostered players, jersey numbers and ID’s (if requested) and still allows the game to start at the scheduled time.  Players may be asked to present a players pass (ID, all players must have their ID’s with them at the field, not up in the car) to the referee prior to entering the field.  If a player does not have an ID, then they will not be allowed to play. The player must be wearing the number jersey that is reflected on the official roster that was submitted to the league and referees.  If players arrive after the initial kickoff takes place, that player will report to the Referee.

K.  A game protest must be filed within 24 hours of the beginning of the game.  The protest must be submitted, in writing, to either the commissioner, vice commissioner, or referee assignor to be considered filed.  Protests will only be considered on policy or interpretation, not on referee' judgment calls. A committee consisting of the referee assignor, the commissioner, the vice commissioner and the team representatives from the teams involved, must meet within five days of protest filing and decide by a 60% majority vote if the protest is valid and what action to pursue.

L.  A forfeit shall be counted as a 3 - 0 loss. If a team has a forfeit during the season, they are ineligible to play in the end of season playoffs.

M. Any team that has two forfeits in a session, will not be allowed to play in the following session. The team may request a waiver to this rule, if they have an extenuating circumstance for the forfeits. 

N.  There will be a $10.00 late charge assessed to all players registering after the scheduled close of the first registration deadline. 

O.  Teams may add players up to three weeks after the season has begun.   This deadline will be determined based off the initial schedule and will not change due to match postponement.  The first two weeks, teams must submit a numbered roster to the referee.   Teams playing a game with a player who is not on the team's roster, not registered with NVSC, will be given a forfeit for that game.  No players will be added after registration closes. If it is necessary for a roster to be changed (i.e. ripped or lost shirt) it is the responsibility of the team representative to email an updated typed roster to the commissioner and referee assignor, no later than a day before the game.  The team representative must also present the new typed roster to the referee and inform him of the change prior to play.  Rosters may not be changed once play has begun.

P.  No alcoholic beverages are permitted in, on, or around the field area.  In addition, if for any reason any player becomes unresponsive or incapacitated during any point of the game, the player shall be removed from the game and cannot return to the present game.  Judgement of unresponsiveness is vested in the referee present.

Q.  Injuries, regardless of their cause, must be reported to the head referee, who will then inform the commissioner.

R. Types of shoes have to match the surface that is being played on, example – turf field (turf shoes) or grass. Metal cleats, softball, baseball, track spikes, and golf shoes will not be allowed.

S.  Each player (excluding goalkeepers) must wear like and same color shirt (Teams are to provide their own jerseys. Sponsors of jerseys must be cleared by NVSC to avoid conflicts with club sponsors and non-conforming sponsors.) with their number clearly visible.

T.  If a player, including the keeper (subject to referee decision), receives a yellow card he/she must leave the field for five minutes.  The player may be substituted.  Yellow card issued by a referee must be reported to the referee assignor.  The referee assignor will keep a record of yellow and red cards. Any player receiving a yellow card for dissent will be suspended for the following game.  A third yellow card, received anytime during the season or a yellow received in two consecutive matches, will be counted as a red card and require suspension for the next game played (the player may finish the current game).  If the player received a red card for reasons other than fighting, he is suspended for the remainder of the current game and the next played game.  If the next game is postponed, suspension will occur in the next game played.  A red card for fighting results in a 1 year suspension (If this happens in Spring, the player is ineligible until the next calendar year’s Summer season.)  If a player receives a red card or a season total of three yellow cards in his final game of the season, suspension will be held pending the first game of the next season.  Two red cards issued in any one season prompts immediate expulsion for the remainder of the season and requires petition to the board to return next season.  The board may or may not grant re-admittance. Red carded player needs to leave the facility.

Players that must serve a suspension for 1 or multiple games, those games must be played by their team, games that are forfeited, postponed or not played do not count in game served for suspension time.

Cards-defined.

1 Yellow- must leave the field for 5 minutes

1 Yellow card for dissent- Automatic one game suspension

2 Yellows in one game- must leave the field and facility immediately and will be suspended for the following game.

1 Red- for anything other than violent conduct/fighting. 1 game suspension

1 Red for Violent Red Card. 4 Game suspension

1 Red Card for Fighting- 1 year or longer suspension

U.  A player may appeal a red card to the board, but reversals will only be granted in extreme cases.  Cases in judgement are usually not acceptable.  A player may not appeal his first yellow card. If a player is going to challenge or appeal his or her yellow or red card they need to pay a fee for that challenge ($25.00 per challenge).  If they win the case, they get their money back.

V.  Expulsions will be made without whole or partial refund.

W.  If for any reason a player sustains an open or bleeding wound; it shall be immediately brought to the attention of the referee.  That player should be removed until such time as the wound is cleaned and fully covered to protect from contact by others.  Judgement of fully covered shall be vested in the referee.

X.  Players will be considered an “illegal player” when any or all of the following conditions are presented:

·Player is not listed on numbered roster that corresponds with NVSC and MDCVSA roster.

·Player is not dressed in NVSC or team sponsored jersey with corresponding jersey numbered as noted on official and final roster.

·Player is suspended from match as a result of previous send-offs, accumulation of cautions, additional sanctions from the League and then played in the match in which the suspension was to be served. (in this case, the referee must terminate the match and declare it to be a forfeit – once this situation presents itself, the referee must not let the match continue)

·Players who are not on the official and final team roster as registered with the League

Any team that is found to play, or have played an “illegal player” will forfeit the game in which that “illegal player” was played in.  The forfeit will be recorded as a 3 – 0 win for the opposing team. 

Y.  Substitutions/Team Location:

Substitutions will be allowed at any stoppage in play, with the discretion of the referee.
Substitutions take place at the mid-field line. The player may only enter the field after being given permission by the referee to enter the field.

Teams must be on sidelines, not end lines, and between the two penalty boxes.

Z.  Jewelry will not be worn by any player during the game according to FIFA guidelines, with the following exceptions:

·MedicAlert bracelets or pendants as long as they are taped down to the skin with white athletic tape.

·Wedding Bands with no protrusions, provided that they have been taped down with white athletic tape and have been deemed safe by the Center Referee.

·Earrings may be covered with tape provided that there is not a stud on the back side of the earring and it has been deemed safe by the Center Referee.

All decisions by the Center Referee are binding and there will be no grounds for appeal relating to a Referee decision based on player safety with regards to jewelry.

AA.  The duration of each game will be 50 minutes of playing time divided into 2 equal periods.

BB. If there are 10 or more teams registered at the beginning of the season then two divisions will be created, the commissioner will determine the divisions based on best record from the previous season.

CC. Promotion and relegation is based on the number of teams in each league and further broken down by amount of teams in a division.  Team Managers will be notified at the beginning of the season what the projected breakdown will be for the season. Follow up will be provided to the team managers prior to the beginning of the next season based on breakdown of teams entering play the following season for their designated league of play. Reorganization of the divisions and teams are at the discretion of the League Commissioner(s). 

VIII. Spectators

 Spectators may not be on the sidelines with teams. Captain’s are responsible for keeping sidelines free of any children or spectators.  If a team has spectators on the sideline they will be warned the 1st time during the season this occurs. A 2nd incident will result in a forfeit of the game regardless of reason for spectator being there without permission of the commissioner or deputy commissioner. 

All spectators must be on either the outside portion of the field or in the designated spectator areas of Fields 6,7 or 8.

VIV. DISSOLUTION

In the event of dissolution of the association, the funds in the treasury, after all the creditors have been paid, shall go to the NVSC youth soccer league or other team within Prince William County for the promotion of the game.

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Serving the soccer needs of the Prince william county area since 1973