1.0 Thornhill Adult Outdoor Soccer (TAOS)

The rules and regulations, as described herein, apply to the Thornhill Adult Outdoor Soccer program (TAOS) operating under the general jurisdiction of the Thornhill Soccer Club. The Thornhill Soccer Club is a member of the York Region Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association and is governed by the policies and rules of said associations.

The TAOS program is a recreational, outdoor program serving adult players. The TAOS program or the Thornhill Soccer Club and their respective executives and representatives are not responsible for any injury or accident to the player or any other person involved with the program either during or en-route to and from games, practices or other league functions.

The Thornhill Soccer Club strongly supports a ‘Zero Tolerance’ program and will take prompt and severe actions to deal with any incidents involving harassment, violence and un-sportsman-like actions by individuals or teams. A copy of the Thornhill Soccer Club Zero Tolerance program and the YRSA Harassment Policy is available on request. A copy of the current Thornhill Soccer Club Constitution is also available at the Thornhill Soccer Club office.

2.0 League Fees

-The annual League fee will be determined by Jan 30th of each year by the Thornhill Soccer Club.

-The annual League fee payment schedule is as follows:

• $500 deposit (non-refundable) by April 15th
• Full payment April 30th
• Teams not in good standing (all fees paid) will not be allowed to play.

3.0 Team Responsibility

3.1 Players

-A team may register a maximum of 25 players prior to the registration deadline. Each team is allowed to de-registration a maximum of 3 players during the season. The player registration deadline is July 31^st of each year or as agreed by the league.

-All players must be registered as ‘Recreational/Amateur’ players per OSA Rules and Regulations with the York Region Soccer Association.

-All players on a team must be in possession of a valid OSA player registration book or approved photo ID to be eligible to play. The opposing team official(s) may request the checking of player books/IDs prior to the start of the second half. Players under suspension are not allowed on the bench or on the game sheet.

-Each registered player is a member of the Thornhill Soccer Club with all rights, responsibilities and privileges of an active member.

3.2 Team Officials

-Team Officials shall be registered before they can participate in game activities.

-Each team is allowed to register three (3) team officials.

-The Team Official in charge, normally the coach, is responsible for the behavior and conduct of his/her players, officials and team supporters

-Only registered players and Team Officials may sit on or be in the area of the player bench at the designated team bench area.

-Team Officials, other than those who are also designated as players, are not allowed on the field of play, unless first invited by the referee.

3.3 Game Situations

-Both teams shall provide their pre-filled game sheet prior to the start of the game. Only players on the game sheet shall be allowed to play. Players listed on the game sheet shall be deemed as having played.

-A team requires a minimum of 7 players (including the goalie) to start a game. Each team will be allowed a 15-minute grace period if a team is short players. After the 15-minute grace period, if a team is unable to field a minimum number of players, the game will be recorded as a default.

-The Men’s league may have only 18 players at a game; the Ladies’ league may have 20 players at a game; the Over-35 division and Over-40 division may have 20 players at a game.

-Teams play 11-aside (including the goalie).

-The Home Team provides the Game Ball.

-The Home Team shall change to an alternate uniform if team colours conflict, providing the away team plays in their registered primary colours.

-Each game shall consist of 2 x 45 minute halves; in the event of delays in the start of the game, the League official in consultation with the referee on site shall determine the length of the halves and advise each team prior to the start of the game.

-Player substitutions are in accordance with FIFA and OSA rules; there are unlimited substitutions allowed.

3.4 No shows and protests

-In the event that a team does not show to their scheduled game, the game points shall be awarded to the opposing team and recorded as a 1-0 win; the no-show team will be subject to disciplinary actions.

-In the event a game is abandoned because of fan interference, or the referee is concerned for the safety of any person(s) in the facility in continuing the game, the League shall decide on the result of the game, which may include rescheduling the game.

-Protests may only be made by a team official involved in the game and shall be made in writing within 48 hours of the end of the game to the Thornhill Soccer Club. It shall be accompanied by the protest fee of $250, which will be refunded in the event the protest is upheld.

-Regularly scheduled games must be played as scheduled. Reschedule games (due to inclement weather) will be determined by the league and the match secretary.

-Requests to reschedule games by teams shall not be entertained after the schedules have been published and circulated.

-All Cup Games will be played in accordance with the agreed and published format.

4.0 League Standings

-For League standing purposes three (3) points will be awarded for a win, one (1) point for a tie and zero (0) for a loss.

-The League Champion shall be the team that accumulates the most points after all league games have been played or decided in the League Schedule.

-In the event that two or more teams are tied with the same number of points for the League Championship, the following criteria in priority order shall be used to decide the League Champion:

-Most points accumulated in games played

-Head-to-head results in the League Schedule (this criteria shall be used only when there are two teams tied);

-The team with the best goals scored minus goals allowed record in games played according to the League Schedule;

-The team with the most wins in the League Schedule;

-The team with the most goals scored

-The team with the least goals scored against

-A Penalty shot competition devised by the League management committee.

5.0 Team Promotion/Relegation and New Team Placement

5.1 Division Structure

-Each division will have a minimum of 5 teams and a maximum of 10

-Divisions are structured based on past performance. That is, Division A should be considered the ‘Premier division’ and Divisions B, C, D and so on, as the non-premier divisions. All Divisions, except for Division A are considered as being of equal skill and competition level.

5.2 Promotion to the Premier Division

-After regular season play, the winner and 2^nd place team in each of the Divisions (other than Division A) will be provided the opportunity to move up to the next highest Division.

-If any of these teams decline promotion, then the 3^rd and/or 4^th place teams in the relevant Division will be provided the opportunity to be promoted to the next highest Division.

-The league will decide on the appropriate number of teams in each Division.

5.3 Relegation from the Premier Division

-Once the decision has been made as to the number of teams in each Division, the two last place teams in each division will be moved to the lower division.

-Placement in the lowest Divisions may be made using a random draw.

5.4 Placement of new teams

-New teams will be placed in the Premier Division only when they can show sufficient playing experience in other leagues to play at this level.

-A new team will normally be placed in one of the lower divisions and placement can only be done once the promotion and relegation process, as described above is completed.

-New teams will be placed in accordance to a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis. ‘Team registration’ is complete only when the Thornhill Soccer Club has received a ‘Team Registration Form’ along with the non-refundable deposit.

6.0 Cup and Tournament Play

There is no distinction between the fines associated with Red Cards (Game Dismissals) or Yellow Cards (Cautions) or Special Incident Reports received during regular season games or during Cup/Tournament games.

Game Suspension

-Game suspensions and cards received during regular season play will be carried over to apply to Cup/Tournament games.

-Game suspensions and cards received during Cup/Tournament games resulting from Red Cards (Game Dismissals) will carry-over into the regular season games (providing the suspension was not served during the Cup/Tournament event).

-Game suspensions resulting from Yellow Card (Cautions) will carry-over into regular season games (providing the suspension was not served during the Cup/Tournament event).

-Game suspensions resulting from the number of Yellow Card (Cautions) received are the same for Cup/Tournament events as for regular season games.

-If required, game suspensions resulting from Red Card (Game Dismissals) not served during the regular season will be carried over to the next season.

7.0 Player Numbers and validation of Game Sheets

-Each team is responsible for providing their Game Sheet at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the game. If there is a Convenor at the game, the game sheet is to be presented to the Convenor; otherwise, provide the game sheet to the referee.

-When the Player cards or ID cards have been processed by the league, the player cards are also to be presented to the convenor along with the game sheet. Player cards are not to be provided to the referee or assistant referee unless requested to do so.

-Games will not start until the game sheets are provided.

-The correct player number must be shown on the Game Sheet. Player shirt numbers must be the same for each player each week. Any changes must be noted on the game sheet

Once the Game Sheet has been signed by each of the coaches it becomes the official document of the results of the game. Please ensure the information is correct and complete.

8.0 Discipline

-The League Discipline Committee shall handle all discipline matters and protests (except appeals).

-The York Region Soccer Association will handle discipline in the case of alleged referee assaults. The accused is automatically suspended from all soccer related activity, as per OSA Rules, until the case has been disposed of.

-The team official, who for whatever reason during a game pulls his/her team off the field, will be subject to disciplinary action.

-Team officials are subject to disciplinary action in accordance with established OSA rules. Infractions committed by Team officials are normally reported (by the referee) on a ‘Special Incident Report’ (SIR) submitted to the discipline committee.

-A team that is charged with playing an ineligible player during a game sanctioned by the League will be subject to a disciplinary hearing. Upon being found guilty, the team will forfeit all points in which games the ineligible player participated and will be fined.

9.0 Protests

-Protests based on decisions of the referee will not be acknowledged.

-Protests will be handled as per OSA Policies and Procedures.

-All red card (Game Dismissal) fines or yellow card (Caution) fines or Special Incident Report fines and penalties are final and cannot be protested or appealed.

10.0 Appeals

-Any discipline hearing decision of the League may be appealed to the YRSA Appeals Committee at the following address along with the required appeal fee of $250.

YORK REGION SOCCER ASSOCIATION

101 Bradwick Drive, Concord, Ontario, L4K 1K5

Attention: George Babiolakis

-Persons appealing a decision to the York Region Soccer Association are subject to the decision rendered until the appeal has been deposed of by the YRSA appeals committee.

11.0 League Contact Names

League Director Eddie Gonsalves

League Phone Numbers 905-881-8599 FAX: 905-881-1836

E-mail: admin@thornhillsoccer.com

Website: https://thornhillsoccer.com

12.0 Rates, Dates and other Information

Note: Fines will be deducted from the $250 Team Bond. It is the responsibility of the team manager/coach to collect any fines from the players. If a team does not have a bond, then the fine must be paid before the player is eligible to participate in a game.

12.1 Rates

-Team Registration fee for the 2014 season is $ 3,450.

-Registration fee includes:

• Referee fees
• Player registration fee with OSA (20 players)
  • Additional players will be charged at $30 per player
  • Trophies and Awards
  • New Player Books or ID cards (if needed)
  • Minimum of 18 games

-Refundable Team Bond for the 2014 season is $ 250.

12.2 Minimum Team Fines

• Special Incident Report $ 250
• Failure to show for a scheduled game without prior notice $100
• Game cancellation with 48-hour notice given by the team $ 50
• Playing an ineligible or illegal player $250
  • And forfeiture of the game
  • Game abandoned by referee or bench clearing incident $250
  • 15 or more cautions during the season $ 75
  • 5 or more dismissals during the season $150
  • Protest fee $200
    • Note: protest must be in writing and received by the league within 48 hours of the game being protested.
    • Team official entering field of play without permission of referee $250
    • Missing scheduled coach’s meeting $ 50
    • Incomplete, incorrect or illegible game sheet $ 10

12.3 Player De-registration and additional Player Registration Fee

-De-register a Player $40 per player

• One player is free; additional players are invoiced to the team

-Register a player (above 20 per team) $30 per player

12.4 Minimum Player Fines

CAUTIONS (Yellow Card)

Refer to Appendix A

DISMISSAL (Red Card or Special Incident Report)

Refer to Appendix A

Note: 2 cautions in the same game is the same as a Red Card and will be recorded as a Red card and not as 2 cautions.

The Red Card game suspensions, as listed in Appendix A, are the minimum suspensions; upon receiving a Red Card in a game, the player is automatically suspended from playing in the next game. Additional game suspensions will be listed on the website, or posted at the Soccer Dome, or an e-mail sent to the coach (along with all other coaches/contacts) in the relevant division and league. Game suspensions are determined by the type of infraction and the OSA mandatory minimum suspensions (copy of the OSA policy is attached).

The League reserves the right to increase these fines and game suspensions depending on the severity of the infraction. The League also reserves the right to set performance bonds for teams.

Please refer to the OSA penalties for specific infractions; since we are sanctioned by the OSA we are compelled to abide by their rules and regulations. We will abide by the OSA discipline penalties, as attached.

When the team Bond has a balance of $100 the team must increase the bond to a minimum of $150 prior to the next scheduled game.

Additional rules and regulations:

• If a player is accused of Referee Assault, he/she is automatically suspended from playing in any Thornhill Soccer Club games for at least the next year (12 months).
• If a player is convicted of Referee Assault, he/she is automatically suspended from playing in any Thornhill Soccer Club games for at least the next three years (36 months).
• If a player is suspended in a season for more than 8 games, the player will not be accepted as a registered member of the Thornhill Soccer club in the next 12 months.
• Player suspensions will carry-over from one season to another. Information on suspended players will be published on our website and may be shared with other clubs/leagues.
• Players who have not paid their fines will not be allowed to register or play games with the Thornhill Soccer Club until the fine is paid; this applies to those teams that do not have a bond sufficient to cover the fine. For those teams with a sufficient bond to cover the bond, the coach/manager of the team will provide the name of the players who have not paid their fines.
• Players who have not paid their fee to their team (based on the list provided by the coach/manager of the team) will not be allowed to register with the Thornhill Soccer Club until the fee is paid.
• Teams who have not met their financial commitments to the Thornhill Soccer Club will not be allowed to register their team or any of the players (who are listed on the defaulted team’s roster) until the team is in good financial standing with the club.
• The list of teams who have not met their financial commitments will be posted on our website and may be shared with other clubs/leagues.
• The new OSA Player and Team Registration system allows for a club to indicate if a player or a team is in default (fees not paid) and those teams/players will not be allowed to register with any team or league until the fee has been paid to the club. As we register our players on this new system, we will not be allowed to accept players or teams who have not met their financial obligations either to our club or any other club or league in Ontario.

ADDENDUM TO THE RULES AND REGULATIONS

DISCIPLINE

I received a Red Card. What do I do now?

1. You must leave the game in which you received the Red Card.
2. You must leave the field of play. The field of play is defined as the playing surface and the field perimeters.
3. You mayl be suspended from playing in the next game. The league will advise your team contact of the specific game suspensions. You may watch the game from the spectator area but you may not sit on the player benches.
4. You will be notified if there is to be a disciplinary hearing. Notification will be done through the team coach or team manager and is normally done within 48-hours of the game in which you received the Red Card.
5. The list of suspended players and the games they are suspended from will be posted on the website and e-mailed to the team manager.
6. Please refer to the attached sheet that shows the fines and suspensions for multiple Red Cards.

I received a Yellow Card. What do I do now?

1. If this is the only Yellow Card you have received in this game you continue to play.
2. If this is the second (2^nd) Yellow Card in this game you are automatically ejected from the game and you must follow step 1 and 2 as outlined above.
3. If this is your third (3rd) Yellow Card or more during the season, you will be notified in regards to game suspensions. Notification will be done through the team coach or team manager and is normally done within 48-hours of the game in which you received the Yellow Card.
4. Please refer to the attached sheet that shows the fines and suspensions for multiple Yellow Cards.

I received a Special Incident Report (SIR). What do I do now?

1. If the Special Incident Report is for ‘Referee Assault’ you are automatically suspended from all games and soccer activities, pending a special disciplinary hearing by the York Region Soccer Association.
2. If the Special Incident Report is not for ‘Referee Assault’ you may request a disciplinary hearing. You must request the hearing, in writing, within 48-hours of the incident.
3. For a non-Referee Assault Special Incident Report, this will be treated the same as a Red Card incident. Please refer to the section dealing with Red Cards, as listed above.
4. If a hearing is not requested, the Special Incident Report (for non-Referee Assault) will be dealt with in the same manner as a Red Card incident.

ADDENDUM TO RULES AND REGULATIONS

Notes on RED CARD incidents

Red Cards (Game dismissals) are normally for one of the following offences (as listed on the Dismissal form filled out by the Referee):

1. Uses Offensive, Insulting or Abusive Language

-Directed at a Game Official or directed at a non-Game Official

1. Spits at an opponent or any other person
2. Receives a Second Caution in the same game
3. Denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball
4. Denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or penalty kick
5. Serious Foul Play
6. Violent Conduct

Discipline By Review (DBR) is conducted when the accused does not request a Discipline Hearing, in writing, within 48-hours of the incident.

Discipline By Hearing (DBH) is normally conducted when the accused requests a Discipline Hearing and/or for the following ‘Red Card’ offences:

-Spits at a Game Official

-Violent Conduct (where there is an attempt to injure)

-Special Incident Report (for a non-Referee Assault incident)

Discipline By Hearing (DBH) is also held for:

-Incidents involving multiple Red Cards received by the same player over the season.

-A player playing under suspension

-A player receiving 6 or more cautions over the season

-Failure to attend a discipline hearing (player is suspended until the hearing is held)

Discipline Committee Hearing Dates and Times

The Discipline Committee Hearings are normally held on Thursdays at 9:00 pm at the Thornhill Soccer Club office. Hearings are done on a first-come, first-served basis.

Regularly scheduled Discipline Committee Hearing Dates:

n Every Thursday from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the Thornhill Soccer Club

Clarification of Player Registration

A player is registered when:

• A completed Player Registration Forms has been submitted to the Club Registrar 3 days (72 hours) before the player is eligible to play in a game
  • Completed Player Registration Forms means all the required information has been provided
• A player book or player ID card has been submitted to the Club Registrar for validation.
• The player’s name appears on the official roster for the team.
• If an unregistered player’s name appears on the game sheet he/she is deemed to have played the game.
• Non-registered players are considered ineligible to play.
• The maximum fine for playing an ineligible player is $250 per player!

Clarification of Ineligible Player

A player is ineligible to play when:

• The player has not been registered with the team (see above).
• The player is suspended from playing a specific game or is suspended indefinitely as a result of an incident.
• The player plays under an assumed name.
• The player is unable to produce a validated player book, when requested.
• The maximum fine for playing an ineligible player is $250 per player!

Clarification of Player Suspension

A player is suspended from playing a specific game when:

• The player’s name appears on the ‘Suspended Player List’ as posted on the website or an e-mail was sent to the team officials; it is the responsibility of the coach to ensure the correct player is identified on game sheets when a player receives a caution or is ejected from a game.
• A player may be suspended for more than 1 game depending on the severity of the infraction and the decision of the discipline panel. Please refer to the ‘Standard OSA penalties’ for minimum mandatory game suspensions for specific infractions.

A Player playing on more than one team

• A player may play on more than one team as long as those teams are not in the same division and the coaches of both teams agree, in writing, to the player playing on more than one team.
  1. In the ‘Over-35’ division, a player may play on more than one team providing the other teams in the division agree to this exception to the rule
• A player playing on more than one team must declare, at the start of the season, as to which team he/she will play on during the non-divisional cup competition (league tournaments), where appropriate.

Clarification of Additional Player Registration Fees

• The budget for each team is based on 20 registered players. When a team decides to register additional players (up to 25), then a fee of $30 is charged for each player to register him/her with the Ontario Soccer Association and to process the player’s book.
• If a team decides to de-register a player from a team, the team will be charged a fee of $40 to de-register that player from the OSA team roster. To defray this cost, it is recommended to leave the player on the OSA team roster; if this means that the team now has more than 18 players it is more cost effective to pay the $30 additional player fee than the $40 de-registration fee.

Clarification of Team Budget

• The team registration fee includes the following expenses:
  1. Player Registration Fee with OSA and YRSA
  2. Referee fees for all games
  3. Convenor and referee assignor fee for all games
  4. User fees for use of outdoor fields
  5. Game ball for each team (provided when all fees are paid)
  6. Corner flags and nets on each game field
  7. League management fee
  8. Trophies and awards
  9. Meeting expenses, discipline committee fees
• The team registration fee does not include the following expenses:
  1. Registering more than 20 players to a team
  2. De-registering players from a team
  3. Team Uniforms and alternates
  4. Challenge Cup Tournament Entry fee

GAME SHEETS

Game sheets for each team are now online and can be printed out from our website.

The Players’ Names, TSC ID and OSA ID is pre-printed and taken directly from the TEAM ROSTER. If a player is not listed then that player is not registered and not eligible to play.

Each team official provides the Jersey number of each payer.

Each Team official for each team also fills in the following information:

• Date of game
• Start time of game
• Location of game
• Game reference number (from the schedule)
• What jersey colors are used for this game
• Indicate whether Home team or Visiting Team
• Name of Coach
• Names of other Team Officials on the player bench
• Name of Opponent Team

The completed Game Sheet is now given to the referee by the field convenor to record game results.

After the game, when the referee has recorded the game results, the referee will ask for the coach to sign the game sheet.

If a team requires a copy of either their own game results or the opponent’s game results then an additional copy of the game sheet should be prepared by each team. This should be coordinated prior to the start of the game.

At the start of the season, we will be using a blank game sheet until the league has had the opportunity to process all the players for the team.

Teams will be advised when their Team Roster is complete and that they now are able to switch to the online Game Sheets.

We will also provide pre-printed game sheets to the field convenors but the teams should not depend on these game sheets to be available for all games!

Game Convenors

The majority of games will have an on-site convenor.

The responsibility of the convenor is to:

• Check the game sheet for completeness (as described above)
• Check player cards or ID cards to the game sheet and, where requested, check the player card to the player (verify the photo in the player book to the player)
• Check the player cards to ensure the player has been validated to play on the team (has the stamp for the current season)
• Ensure the team leaves the field in good order (manages their empty water bottles or drink containers, picks up garbage and deposits it into the appropriate waste containers, etc.).
• Game convenors are not empowered to make decisions on game official decisions, rescheduling of games, or deviations from the rules.

Game convenors are officials appointed by the club.

Abusive or insulting language or gestures directed at the game convenor will not be tolerated and, if reported, will result in a team fine up to $250.

The Town of Markham expects garbage to be picked up and deposited into the appropriate containers; failure to do so will result in a fine to the club which in turn will be passed on to the appropriate team.

Duration of games and rain-out situations

Regular season games are normally 2 x 45 min halves; however, the length of these games may be revised based on game situations. As an example, if a team does not have the sufficient number of players and invoke the 15 minute waiting period, the referee may decide to shorten each half.

In the event that a game is stopped due to weather conditions and if less than 60 minutes are played, the game will be rescheduled; normally rained-out games will be rescheduled to be played on a Saturday (unless there is an open time slot available during the week).

Playoff games or make-up games (such as rained out games) will be no less than 60 minutes in duration; in the event of where a series of round-robin games are scheduled on a Saturday or Sunday, the games will be 2 x 30 minute games to conform with OSA rules regarding maximum playing time for teams in one day.

There may also be situations where the two teams agree to play a specific number of minutes; this agreement must be made by the two teams in consultation with the referee for the game. Agreement may not be made to increase the 90 minute game duration but may be made to shorten the game.

Younger Players allowed in the Over-30, Over-35 and Over-40 divisions.

Over-30 Division

• 3 players allowed
  • To be considered Over-30, players must be 30 in the season registered

Over-35

• 1 player allowed
  • To be considered Over-35, players must be 35 in the season registered

Over-40

• 0 players allowed
  • To be considered Over-40, players must be 40 in the season registered

The league reserves the right to consider exceptions based on history of the player with the team in the Thornhill league.

APPENDIX A

Please note, the following information is based on the OSA Discipline Guidelines.

Monetary penalties imposed by the League are list on the columns at the right.