Official Big D Sports Soccer League Rules

• 6 PLAYERS ON THE FIELD
• TWO 20-MINUTE HALVES
• RUNNING CLOCK
• TIES DURING REGULAR SEASON STAY AS A TIE
• PLAYOFF TIES DECIDED BY OVERTIME & SUDDEN DEATH SHOOTOUT

COIN FLIP/BEGINNING OF GAME
The team that wins the coin toss or (RoSham-Bo) at the start of the game will have first choice to kick-off or choose a goal to defend .    

KICKOFF
Consists of the ball being placed at midfield.  The ball must complete 1 forward rotation before being touched by another player.

CO-ED RULES AND TEAM SIZE
Each team shall field no more than 6 players at any one time. BigD rules allow a team to play with a minimum of 4 people. Anything less is up to the opposing captain and/or staff member as to what will be allowable.  (4guys/2 girls)

TIME
Play will be divided into (2)  20-minute halves separated by a five minute halftime.  There will be a running clock maintained by a referee who will advise both teams when there is one minute remaining in each half.  The clock will only stop during injury time-outs. Any delay tactics, (kicking the ball far out of bounds) will allow the referee (at his/her discretion) to stop the clock.

THE GAMES/SCORING
Regular season games ending in a tie score will be recorded as tie games.  Sudden death will be used in the playoffs.  A sudden death play-off will involve 3 men and 1 female on each team for a five-minute overtime.  If neither team scores after one overtime period, teams will go into a shootout.

SHOOTOUT SPECIFICS:     1.Each team selects 4 players players don’t have to have been playing at the end of regulation.  A coin toss will decide which team shoots first.  The referee will decide which goal to shoot at.
2. Teams will alternate taking direct penalty shots from 15 paces off the goal line at an open goal
3.  If tied after the 1st round, the 2nd round will be SUDDEN DEATH i.e. 1st player from Team A scores & 1st player from Team B misses - Team A wins.  Players who shot in the 1st shootout are not eligible to shoot again until all remaining players present have shot.  If and when 1 team begins to utilize players for the second time, the other team may “recycle” players as well.  Thus, some players on the team with more people present, may or may not shoot.

SUBSTITUTIONS
:There is  substituting “on the fly” .  Subsituting player must wait for his/her  teammate to get off the field before entering.  Also player must come in and out in the same spot i.e. ( can not exit by your goal and have teammate enter by there goal).  

NO GOALKEEPERS
Teams will not be allowed to have a  goalkeeper.

THE GOAL BOX
A goal box will be marked off in front of each goal.  It will extend 1 pace/yard out and extend out to each side of the goal posts. All players (offensive and defensive) must remain outside this area unless the ball is inside the goal box. If the defense is clearly in the goal box area before any shot on goal takes place, and then legally (without the use of the hands) deflects a shot, it will result in the following:  A penalty shot on an open goal 15 paces/yards out.  If a player enters the goal box unintentionally without (in the eyes of the ref) interferring with the course of play, this will not result in a penalty shot.  Repeated occurences will result in a 15 yard penalty shot.  This is up to the ref’s discretion.    

DIRECT KICKS
The ball is to be placed at the point of the infracton and to be put in play by any player on the affected team.  No opposing player is allowed to be within 5 steps of ball prior to kick.  Goals may be scored on direct kicks.  A direct kick is to follow these infractions:   (1) Charging  (2) Roughness (3)Handball (4) Dangerous play/kick (5) Slide-tackles.  Penalties incurred inside the goal box by the defense will result in a penalty kick on an open goal 15 paces out.  Penalties incurred outside the goalbox  but within a 5 yard/pace radius of the goalbox will be kicked from the point of infraction.  NEW CLARIFICATION:  The defense may not be in the goal box.  In addition, the defense can only position themselves in the following area(s) under the following circumstances:
If the penalty is marked off in front of the goal - the defense may stand on either side of goal box.
If the penalty is marked to the side of the goal - the defense must be on the opposite side of the goal box.
In both situations, once the ball has been kicked it becomes a live ball and players may enter the goalbox once the ball has entered the goalbox.

OFFSIDES
There is no offsides.

OUT OF BOUNDS
Anytime the ball goes over either sideline, out of bounds, a  kick- in will ensue.  This will be an indirect kick so no goal can be scored unless touched by any player.


CORNER KICKS.
Ball is placed on nearest corner and kicked in by offensive team.  Goals may not be scored on corner kicks unless touched by another player.  All players must be outside the goal box until the ball enters the goal box and, the defense must be at least 5 paces from the corner.



LEAGUE POLICIES

GAMES:      
During the regular season games are to be played within time allotted (warm up time is     included)

REFS:    
Each game will self ref.  Genltemen and ladies please take care of your sportsmanship will you are on the field.  If a contraversal issuse arrises please contact the nearest BigD staff member to handle the issuse.

FORFEITS:    
If your team forfeits a game during the season, the following rules apply:
First Offense:  Loss of game in standings and warning issued.
Second Offense:  Loss of game and staff reserves the right to remove team                 from playoffs.
Third Offense:  Removal from the league.

If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to call us so as to help us schedule your opponent a game.

Teams have until ten minutes past the designated start time to field a full squad (minimum number of players required according to the rules).
The staff and the opposing team’s captain must approve anything other than that.

STANDINGS:      
The updated standings will be posted weekly, displaying each teams rank within its skill level.

PLAYOFFS:    
All eligible teams make the playoffs (teams that have not abused any policies are eligible).
In certain situations teams at or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. 
Check with the BigD league coordinator to see if  this applies to your league.
Playoffs are single elimination.
BigD reserves the right to schedule playoff games on days other than your regularly scheduled league night.

Seeding:  
Teams may be dropped from their regular season level based on the above criteria. Skill levels may be divided into separate divisions based upon size
of level.

For ties in playoffs refer to soccer rules.

Teams may play more than one game per day. If a team does not have a full squad minimum number of players required according to the rules) by ten minutes past the designated start time, they will forfeit the game (per staff & opposing team captain). Teams winning by forfeit will still be required to ref.  

Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility must be addressed before the start of the game.

WAIVERS:
In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the individual and team waiver.  Waivers are provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the first night of play.  Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with our staff before participating.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:
A formal protest may be filed before a game if an opposing player’s eligibility is in question.  The player in question will be required to provide his/her player information (name, address, phone #, signature) in writing to a BigD staff member prior to the start of the game.  This qualifies as an official protest.  The game will then be played in its entirety as scheduled.  Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility discrepancy by the following business day – decisions will not be made on site.  If the protest is proven to be legitimate, it will result in the forfeiture of the game in question.  Games subsequent to the protested game may be rescheduled.  
The above procedure will also apply for any other “logged” protests.  All rulings by  BigD staff are considered final.

SPORTSMANSHIP:
The idea of BigD is to have fun.  We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved.  Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship.  With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league.

STAFF:        
To coordinate and run the league, our refs and/or staff will be available at all times to help the league run as smoothly as possible. If you have questions regarding schedules, policies, rule interpretations, directions to the bar, etc. please ask.

LEAGUE CANCELLATION/RAINOUT:
Leagues may be cancelled due to existing weather conditions, dangerous or unplayable field conditions, facility constraints, etc.  BigD staff makes every effort to play all scheduled games, thus we will not cancel games until absolutely necessary.  Therefore, if you are calling concerning a decision on a cancellation, remember we will not have an answer until close to the start of the league.  If the league is cancelled, BigD staff will change the voicemail and website ( HYPERLINK "http://www.bigdfun.com" www.bigdfun.com) immediately.  BigD will then call all of the captains.  If a league is cancelled on site, BigD staff will attempt to contact those teams still scheduled to play the remainder of the league day/night.  Depending on the time of cancellation, some teams will have to be notified on site.  If we do cancel, follow the next week’s schedule.  The games that are cancelled will be made up at the end of the season if time allows.  In extreme circumstances, BigD reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund of schedule matches on days other than our regularly scheduled league day/night.

PRIZES:
The top teams in each division will receive a prize of great emotional, spiritual, and most importantly, social value.

These policies are designed to make the league run as smoothly and safely as possible, and provide continuity for its participants.  Each player in the league is responsible for this information: please advise your team of these rules and thanks for playing.