AZ State League Format
Draft revision 7/23/2007
First I would like to thank you for your interest in the AZ State League.
Please note three very important facts:
(1) AZSL is designed to bring together the best teams in the state in an environment that nurtures fair play, provides growth and development of elite level players, encourages competition, mentors referees, provides reward for success, and qualifies teams for state cup.
(2) AZSL will be the premier league in the state with every game being a meaningful game toward the road to State Cup.
(3) AZSL is not intended to replace any existing league and we encourage teams to support their local leagues.
What is AZ State
League:
AZSL is a league run by Arizona Youth Soccer Association. It has an oversight committee chaired by an AYSA board member and a board of trustees made up of representatives of member clubs. The day to day operations of the league are run by a league director.
Is AZ State League a
qualifying league for State Cup:
AZSL is one of many leagues throughout the state that teams can play in to qualify for state cup.
Who is eligible to
play in AZ State League:
Any team that is registered through AYSA and meets the following requirements:
(1) Club must provide a home field on Saturdays. AZ State League games will have priority over other league games.
(2) Each team will sign a waiver and AYSA indemnification that states in part that the team upon entering the league will forfeit its rights to use any other league in the state to qualify for State Cup, should the team through violation of AZ State League rules be dismissed from the league.
(3) Each team will sign a waiver and AYSA indemnification that states in part that the team upon entering this league will forfeit its rights of a 30 day notice prior to the start of state cup play to be placed in bad standing and therefore ineligible to play in state cup.
(4) The club president must sign off approving the team playing in the league under these conditions.
Player
Eligibility:
Player eligibility
is governed by the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series rules. A player may not be on the roster of more
than one AZSL team.
Team Rosters:
A.
Players must be registered with the appropriate age group for
the current seasonal year, in accordance with
USYSA Rule 221.2. The number of transfers is limited to five. The number of releases
and adds is unlimited during the season provided the roster does not exceed
eighteen (18) players. U17/18 may roster up to 22 with 18 players set for game
day.
B.
U11-14 teams must enter competition in the age group in which
they are registered with AYSA.
C.
Current U15-U18 teams will be allowed to play up.
D.
A player may move from a tier 2 or tier 3 team to a tier 1
team without the move being considered a transfer.
E.
The team must demonstrate continuity of rosters (Rule 221.1)
between the League and State Championships by maintaining a minimum of nine (9)
players common to the rosters of both competitions.
F.
A team may not release, voluntarily or involuntarily, any
player from its roster unless a written request, stating the reason why the
release has been requested, has been made to and approved by, the State
Association on a form provided.
G.
Division I is limited to teams that previously placed either
in the top 6 or 11 (depending on division, see chart below) of the prior year
State Cup
H.
Players participating in AZ State League may play on any valid AYSA
player pass for the current season.
Guest Player
Rosters
For
U11-U14 playing in the 2007-2008 season and new years that follow in the future
there will be no loan players allowed.
For
current U15 to U-18:
Three
loan players are allowed for U-15 teams and above. As the league ages loan players will be
eliminated.
Member Passes Valid US Youth Soccer member passes will
be used for AZSL play. All US Youth Soccer member passes must be valid for the
current season, have a current player photo and be laminated. All coaches on the sideline must have a valid
USYS coaches pass for the team.
NO PLAYER MAY PLAY IN THE
AZSL ON A
AZ State League Rules:
A copy of the AZSL
rules will be placed on the AYSA (www.azyouthsoccer.org) and AzSoccerEvents
(www.azsoccerevents.com) shortly. These rules are patterned after National Cup
and USYS Region IV league.
What is the
registration deadline:
For all teams August 15th of each year.
State Cup Seeding:
Starting with the 2007 AZSL the teams playing at the U-11 age group only will use the AZSL for seeding purposes for State Cup.
Each subsequent year the next U-11 group will use the league for State Cup seeding.
So for 2007 only the U-11 will use the league for seeding purposes, in 2008 seeding will be determined for the U12, and U-11, in 2009 for U-13, U-12, and U-11 and so on and so on.
For 2007 teams in the ages U12 to U-19 will use the current system for seeding for state Cup
How Do I register a
team for AZSL:
AZSL teams will be able to register at www.azsoccerevents.com through the Got Soccer League Scheduler program. This is the only place that teams may use to register for AZSL. This should help to simplify the process since most teams will already be in the Got Soccer system.
What is the format of
AZ State League:
The format is a 10 game league play style.
U11 to U14 will play a ten game season on the following dates for 2007:
September 8, 29, October 13, 27, November 2, 17, December 8, 15, January 2008 5, 26
U15-19 will play a 10 games season on the following dates for 2007:
To accommodate the numerous requests for
play dates for the older teams, they will play:
On the weekends of September 8/9, 29/30 and
October 13/14, 27/28.
Older teams that request to play all ten
games in the fall will be scheduled for either two games on a weekend or week
night games the weeks of September 11-12, 18-19, 25-26, October 9-10, 23-24,
and 30-31.
The last four games in the Spring session will be played on
Tuesday/Wednesday nights March 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26
Weekend sessions will be March 1-2 and 21-22.
All requests for optional dates must be
submitted before the schedule is set; no requests will be considered after the
schedule is finalized.
CLUB OPTION FOR PLAY DATES: A club may submit a request not to play on certain dates. This request must be submitted at the time of the first club team’s registration. For example: AFSC may request no to have any games scheduled the weekend of their club tournament. A club may request no to play week nights for any age group in the club. All requests will be worked to accommodate the needs of a club whenever possible. Should for some reason, this cannot happen the club will be notified and then the club has the option to play the schedule or not.
ANY TEAM THAT FAILS TO PLAY ALL ITS SCHEDULED GAMES INCLUDING MAKE UP
GAMES WILL BE PLACED IN BAD STANDING AND BE
Teams joining this league agree to waive the opportunity to play in
another qualifying league and waive the 30 day bad standing notification to
AYSA for placing a team in bad standing.
Re-scheduling Games:
Each team may re-schedule up to two AZSL games, provided:
(1) The league director is given seven days notice through e-mail to tommcconkey@cox.net
(2) The re-scheduled game is made up within fourteen (14) days before or after the original schedule date.
(3) The teams use the home teams field or make arrangements for another filed
(4) The teams understand that they are responsible to secure referees and the team that initiates the rescheduled game will pay for the referees.
(5) The league referee assignor will not assign referees for make up games.
How many brackets:
There will be two divisions.
(1) Division I is limited to either the first 6 or 11 finishers from the prior year state cup depending of strength of division, see below, with a minimum of four teams. Should any of the top six teams not enter the league the six slots will be filled:
(a) From the next tier of state cup finishers.
(b) From a vote of the club members based on the one club one vote system, no matter how many teams the club has in the league.
(2)
Division II is open to all teams that want to
qualify for state cup, except if they qualify for Division I based on the rules
of this doc. In
divisions where Division I has six teams, Division II will have six teams as
well. Relegation/Promotion will take
place after the first five games, see below for details.
(3) U-11 team selection. Teams shall be selected based on their prior year record playing U-10 league play as well tournament play. In case of an impasse on selection the one club one vote system will apply.
(4)
For 2007-2008 the
following divisions have been approved (7/09/2007):
U-11 Boys Flight I - 12 teams, Flight II Open
U-11 Girls Flight I - 11 teams, Flight II Open
U-12 Boys Flight 1 -11 teams, Flight II Open
U-12 Girls Flight 1 -11 teams, Flight II Open
U-13 Boys Flight 1 -11 teams, Flight II Open
U-13 Girls Flight 1 -11 teams, Flight II Open
U-14 Boys Flight 1 - 6 teams, Flight II 6
teams
U-14 Girls Flight 1 - 6 teams, Flight II 6
teams
U-15 Boys Flight 1 -11 teams, Flight II Open
U-15 Girls Flight 1 - 6 teams, Flight II 6
teams
U-16 Boys Flight 1 -11 teams, Flight II Open
U-16 Girls Flight 1 - 6 teams, Flight II 6
teams
U-17 Boys Flight 1 -11 teams, Flight II Open
U-17 Girls Flight 1 - 6 teams, Flight II 6
teams
U-18 Boys Flight 1 - 6 teams, Flight II 6
teams
U-18 Girls Flight 1 - 6 teams, Flight II 6
teams
Relegation/Promotion
In six team divisions only. After the first five games the last place
team in Division I will play the first place team in Division II. The winner moves to Division I the loser to
Division II for the last five games.
The date and location will be
determined when the schedule is set.
Where will AZ Sate
League play:
U-11-14 will be played at both club home fields, and regional fields.
U-15-19 games will be played on both club and regional fields.
If you club is submitting a home
field, the field must be approved by the league. It must be of adequate size and condition and
age appropriate. Due to referee scheduling
the home field provided must have enough time slots available to accommodate
all AZ State League teams in the club.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE
LEAGUE SCHEDULE ONLY ONE GAME ON ONE FIELD.
Discipline
Any Red Card that would normally
carry a one game suspension, (double yellow, foul language, last man, etc) the
referee will submit a report to the league and return the player pass to the
coach. A league suspension compliance
form must be completed and returned to the league director before the player is
cleared to resume play.
Any Red Card that would normally
carry more than a one game suspension (violent conduct, spitting at anyone,
fighting, leaving the bench during a fight, etc) the referee will pull the player pass and submit a report to the
league with the pass. The league D &
R committee will review the report and any documentation sent to the committee
by the ejected individual. These
hearings will be by internet and/or phone.
If the committee deemed the incident
to be severe enough a formal hearing may be called.
All suspensions must be documented
through a league compliance form and the player may not play until the
completed suspension for has been submitted and approved by the league.
Any coach that plays a suspended
player will be immediately suspended from the league until a hearing is held
and discipline has been served.
How much is this
going to cost:
The entry fee for the league is $185 plus referee fees.
U11-14 total fee $510.00 (any bracket that has more than 10 games will be an additional $32.50 per game).
U15-18 total fee $585.00 (any bracket that has more than 10 games will be an additional $40.00 per game).
The clubs have requested that they pay referee fees upfront and the league will be responsible for paying the referees.
The clubs also agreed that if a team asks for to reschedule a game they pay the referees out of pocket and forfeit any fees paid in advance
This fee covers:
No performance bond will be required.
For additional
information contact:
League Director Tom McConkey at tommcconkey@cox.net