1. LAWS OF THE GAME:
All matches will be played in accordance with FIFA Laws of the Game, except where noted below. The following items will further interpret these rules for purposes of this tournament and/or will provide the administrative framework for the operation of the tournament.
    Goalkeeper may NOT punt or drop kick the ball. May kick ball from the ground and may throw the ball. Otherwise, there are no limits on distance of a played ball.
    Keeper must release the ball within referee’s 6-second count, or result is indirect kick for opposing team at top of 14-yard box.
    Players must be 10 yards from spot of a free kick anywhere on field, and outside of 14-yard box on a PK.
    NO Offside calls.
    Kick-ins will be used for placing the ball inbounds from the touchlines, and no goal can be scored directly from such kick.
    Goal kicks must be taken within 6-yard in-bounds area of goalmouth.
    Goal may NOT be scored directly from kickoff. Kickoff touch may be played forward or backward.
    Field size will be 70 yards in length and 50-55 yards in width.


2. TEAM ELIGIBILITY:
Participation in the 7v7 High Country Classic is open to accept teams consisting of up to 12 players of proper eligibility. At the time of registration, the team representative must present a properly filled out WAIVER AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY. If any team withdraws after being accepted, that team’s entry fee will NOT be refunded.


3. PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:
    All players must achieve the proper age for participation anytime during the calendar year that competition occurs.
    Players must provide proof of age using a government issued photo ID presented to the referee,  for all games requiring age limitations.
No player will be allowed to switch teams during the tournament.
    Any player who is unable to present acceptable identification when asked by a Tournament Official will be declared INELIGIBLE.

Failure to meet any of these requirements will render a player ineligible to participate in the tournament. ANY TEAM USING AN INELIGIBLE PLAYER WILL FORFEIT ALL MATCHES - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. IF YOU HAVE, ANY QUESTIONS ASK A TOURNAMENT OFFICIAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

4. PLAYER EQUIPMENT:

All players and teams participating must meet the following requirements:
    SHIN GUARDS must be worn
    NO JEWELRY will be allowed
    Where jersey colors are similar, the home team, as designated on the schedule, must change their jersey.
    All socks must be pulled up over the shin guards and jersey is tucked in at the start of the match and beginning of half time and overtime periods.
    No duplicate jersey numbers will be permitted either on the sidelines or on the field of play. All jerseys must have a number on them.

5. TEAM FIELD POSITION: (THIS RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED TEAMS NOT ABIDING BY THIS RULE WILL BE DISQUALIFIED)
Both teams must sit on the same side of the field. All spectators must take a position on the opposite side of the field and remain behind the dashed restraining line and/or barrier. Failure to provide an official room to see the touchline may lead to a caution given to the coach. Each team is limited to three (3) bench personnel (i.e. coach, assistant coach, and trainer) in addition to the maximum 12 registered players listed on the roster for that match. Prior to the start of each match, a team representative must submit a lineup card, which lists the player’s name and jersey number to the referee, assistant referee or a field marshal. In addition, the coach, assistant coach and trainer’s names must be on this sheet.

6. PLAYER, COACH, BENCH PERSONNEL AND/OR SPECTATOR BEHAVIOR:
All players, coaches, bench personnel and spectators will conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the spirit as well as the letter of the Laws of the Game. Referees have been instructed to run the matches according to this spirit and will act accordingly. DISSENT FROM PLAYERS, COACHES, BENCH PERSONNEL, AND/OR SPECTATORS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED; CAUTIONS AND/OR DISMISSALS WILL RESULT. Players are encouraged to play all matches with intensity and desire. However, UNNECESSARY PHYSICAL PLAY, PARTICULARLY WHICH WITH THE INTENT TO INJURE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED, CAUTIONS AND/OR DISMISSALS WILL RESULT FROM SUCH ACTIONS. The manager/coach will be responsible for the behavior of their fans and the referee will have the authority to warn and ultimately send off, any manager/coach whose fans behave in an abusive or disruptive manner.

Players dismissed from a match will not participate in the next match. Coaches, bench personnel or spectators dismissed from a match are banned from further tournament participation. Dismissed coaches, bench personnel or spectators within “sight” or “sound” of his/her teams match(s) may be grounds for his/her team(s) being disqualified from the tournament. Players dismissed for fighting may be banned from further tournament participation. Teams are responsible for adhering to this rule. Any team playing a dismissed player outside of this rule will be disqualified from the tournament and all matches played by the team will be ruled to have been a forfeit.
THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE THE PARTICIPATION OF A TEAM IN THE TOURNAMENT IF THE BEHAVIOR OF THE PLAYERS, COACHES, BENCH PERSONNEL AND/OR SPECTATORS CREATES THE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH A MATCH OR MATCHES CANNOT BE COMPLETED WITHIN THE SPIRIT AND LETTER OF THE LAWS.

7. DURATION OF PLAY
All Divisions 25-minute halves - 5-minute half time
In the semi-final and final games, if a clear winner is not decided after regulation time, Overtime (Golden Goal) 5-minute halves – 1-minute half time  will be played. If a clear winner is not decided after the overtime period, penalty kicks are to be taken in accordance with FIFA “Taking of Kicks from the Penalty Mark.”

8. BALL SIZE
All Divisions Size 5


9. SUBSTITUTIONS:

There will be unlimited substitution, with permission of the referee, in any dead ball situation.
All substitutes must enter the playing field from the half way line and should not enter the playing field until the player they are replacing has reached the touchline.

10. INCLEMENT WEATHER:
Regardless of weather conditions, players and coaches must be on the field at the scheduled time, ready to play. The master schedule will be posted at the tournament headquarters. All paper copies of the schedule are only tentative schedules. It is the manager’s/coach’s responsibility to check the master schedule for any changes. Forfeits will be awarded if play has not started within 10 minutes of schedule; a minimum of five players must be prepared to play before a team will be allowed to start a match. The Tournament Director may reduce the length due to weather conditions before the start of a match; all such matches will be considered official. The Tournament Director may also reschedule (time and location) a match before it begins. Only referees or duty manager can suspend a match already started due to weather conditions. Any one single suspension of a match may last no longer than 35 minutes.

Pool Play matches
In the event a referee terminates a match (different from temporarily suspending), before half time, it will be up to the Tournament Director whether to record the score at the time of the termination or finish the game at a rescheduled time and location.
In the event a referee terminates a match (different from suspending) AFTER half time the score will be recorded, as it was when the game was stopped and declared official.
Play-off matches
In the event a referee terminates a match (different from suspending) the score will be recorded as it was when the game was stopped. In the event, a match, other than the final, ends in a tie, the team that earned the most points during the round robin play will be declared the winner. If the teams have the same number of points, the criteria in the DIVISION RANKING CRITERIA will be used to break the tie.
In the event, a referee terminates a final match (different from suspending) while the teams are tied, co-champions will be declared. Both teams to receive Championship trophies

11. PROTESTS:

NO PROTESTS will be entertained.

12. SCORE REPORTING:
A field Marshall or tournament official will be available to answer any questions not pertaining to match situations. At the conclusion of each match, the referee will record the match score. The referee will complete the game report and will turn the report over to the field Marshall or tournament official for posting.

For the sake of scoring, forfeits are recorded as a 3-0 victory. While a forfeit does not automatically disqualify a team from the tournament, it is not within the spirit of the game. Necessary actions will be taken by the Tournament Director to preserve the integrity of this and future tournaments.

13. DIVISION RANKING CRITERIA:

Teams will be awarded points according to the following:
WIN = 6 Points TIE = 3 Points LOSS = 0 Points
FORFEIT WIN = 9 Points (6+3) FORFEIT LOSS = Minus 3 points
Extra points are awarded up to a maximum of three (3) per match for both winning and losing teams. An extra point is received for each goal scored. For example, the Cosmos defeat the Strikers by a score of 5 to 1. The Cosmos would receive 9 points while the Strikers would receive 1 point. Teams are ranked according to total points earned. In the case of ranking ties, the following criteria will be used to break the tie in the order that they are listed:
If Two Teams Tie:
Start with tie breaker number 1

1. Head to head result; if no clear winner,

2. Net goal differential, maximum of four (4) goals per game; if no clear winner,

3. Most goals scored, maximum of four (4) goals per game, if no clear winner,

4. Least goals allowed, no maximum if no clear winner,

5. Most Shutouts, if no clear winner,

6. Minus 1 Game Point for each Red Card/Send-off, if no clear winner

7. Penalty kicks* in accordance with FIFA “Taking of Kicks from the Penalty Mark.”

*If both teams are to advance to the playoff rounds a coin toss will decide the higher seed in lieu of penalty kicks. The team whose official tournament name, as written in the schedule, is first alphabetically will call the coin toss.
If more than two teams are involved in a tie, tie breaker number 2 will be used first to rank the teams. If teams are still tied, tie breaker number 3 will be used to rank the teams, and so on until a tie is broken. Once the teams have been ranked higher or lower, the tie breaking procedure begins for the remaining tied teams with number 1 (See examples below). If more than two teams are still tied after tie breaker number 6 a coin toss will be held with the odd team sitting out. The other two teams will then take kicks from the mark to establish a winner. The winner of this will then play the team sitting out, (kicks from the mark) the winner will advance. When all teams will advance to the playoff rounds a coin toss, as sequenced above, will decide the team’s seed in lieu of kicks from the mark. The team whose official tournament name, as written in the schedule, is first alphabetically will call the coin toss.
Example 1: Three teams have 18 points and have all defeated each other. Team 1 has a goal differential of +6, team 2 is +4 and team 3 is +2. Team 1 is 1st, team 2 is 2nd, and team 3 is 3rd.
Example 2: Three teams have 18 points and have all defeated each other. Team 1 has a goal differential of +6, team 2 is +4 and team 3 is +4. Team 1 is 1st, Team 3 defeated team 2 therefore team 3 is 2nd and team 2 is 3rd.
The tournament reserves the right to adjust pairings of the first elimination round so teams will not play teams already played.
In the semi-final and final game, if a clear winner is not decided after regulation time, overtime will be played. Overtime will be two periods of equal length, per Law 7. If a clear winner is not decided after the overtime periods, penalty kicks will be taken in accordance with FIFA “Taking of Kicks from the Penalty Mark.” In quarter-final matches if a clear winner is not decided after regulation time, penalty kicks will be taken in accordance with FIFA “Taking of Kicks from the Penalty Mark.”
GENERAL
The High Country Classic nor any of its Administrators will not be responsible for any expense incurred by any team due to the cancellation in part or whole of this tournament.
The tournament committee’s interpretation of the foregoing rules and regulation shall be final and reserves the right to decide on all tournament matters.
If not enough teams are realized within a specific age bracket, the Tournament Director shall notify the participants as soon as possible and the participants given the option to play up or to receive a full refund.
High Country Classic and its Administrators are not responsible for the behavior of players, coaches, and spectators off the field, or damages resulting from such behavior. Coaches and players committing breaches of the law may be ejected from the tournament at the discretion of the tournament committee.
PLEASE REMEMBER
AT THE END OF EACH GAME, A TEAM REPRESENTATIVE MUST SIGN/INITIAL THE GAME REPORT.
TO GET YOUR PLAYER CARDS BACK FROM THE REFEREE AT THE END OF EACH GAME.
RED CARDS MUST BE RETRIEVED FROM TOURNAMENT HEADQUARTERS.
PLEASE ENSURE YOUR TEAM REMOVES ALL TRASH FROM THE SIDELINE AFTER EACH GAME.
IN THE EVENT OF A MEDICAL EMERGENCY THERE ARE CERTIFIED ATHLETIC TRAINERS ON SITE.
COACHES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BEHAVIOR OF THEIR SPECTATORS.