ECSA GENERAL POLICY

I. LEAGUE ORGANIZATION: The Eastern Carolina Soccer Association (ECSA) is an association of soccer clubs, leagues, and associations promoting soccer at the youth level. ECSA is divided into two divisions, Challenge and Recreation. The Challenge Division will use tryouts to selectively roster players to a team based on ability. The use of try-outs, invitations, recruiting or any like process to roster players selectively to any team in the Recreation Division on the basis of talent or ability, is expressly prohibited.

II. CLUB ORGANIZATION:

A. For a club to become a member of ECSA:

1. It must FIRST be an approved member of NCYSA.

2. A club application form must be submitted by the officers of the prospective member club, accompanied by a list of current officers and a current set of constitution/bylaws and club policy.

3. The membership fee of $250.00 must be submitted by club check, money order or cashiers check at the time of application.

B. A new member club will become a non-voting member for a probation period of not less than one year, to include a fall and spring season. After the probationary period, the club can become a full-fledged member by a majority vote of the directors. If the application is not approved, a portion of the membership fee will be refunded.

C. New club applicants must participate in a minimum of three age divisions, or a newly formed club may enter with a U6 team only and work up.

D. All clubs participating in ECSA must participate in BOTH the Fall and Spring seasons.

E. Future clubs will be approved by the Board of Directors.

F. Existing Club members outside of Onslow County will be allowed to continue as members providing the following conditions are met:

1. Participation in three of the following age divisions: U12, U14, U16, GU12, GU14, GU16.

2. Participation in BOTH the Spring and Fall seasons.

3. Failure to meet these requirements may result in removal from membership.

G. Each member club will be assigned a primary color for jerseys and socks which currently stand as follows:

Jacksonville Area Soccer Association	Red
Piney Green Soccer Club	Green
Summersill Soccer Club	Sky Blue
Swansboro Soccer Association	Gold
Richlands Soccer Club	Royal Blue/Gold
Southwest Soccer Club	Orange
Dixon Soccer Club	Maroon
Seashore Soccer League (Carteret)	Royal Blue/White
Havelock Soccer Club	Purple
New Bern Area Soccer Association	White
Camp Lejeune Youth Soccer Association	Teal

III. CLUB RESPONSIBILITIES:

A. To hold registration only on the dates set by ECSA and only at sites provided by the Club.

B. To hold late registration as needed.

C. To assign players to teams within their age divisions as set by ECSA.

D. To secure appropriate coaches for teams, minimum age 16 for U12, GU12 and below or minimum age 19 or High School Graduate for U14, GU14 and above except U19 and GU19 which will have an adult coach age 21 or older. (Note: for coaches under 18, additional supervision by an assistant coach who is of legal age is required.)

E. To secure and maintain playing fields for their teams within the guidelines set by ECSA playing rules.

F. To have a designated club official present at the playing fields during scheduled games.

G. To send two representatives (Club President and Commissioner or designee) to scheduled meetings of ECSA. Any club failing to send a representative to two consecutive meetings will be warned. After three consecutive meetings without a representative the club officers will appear before the executive board of ECSA for possible expulsion. After four consecutive meetings without a representative, the club will be automatically expelled.

H. To adhere to all policies as set forth by ECSA, NCYSA, USYSA, USSF, and FIFA.

IV. TEAM AND DIVISION ORGANIZATION:

A. Team organization shall consist of players, a coach and not more than two assistant coaches. No recreational team will be allowed to move up in its entirety from one age division to the next, and no coach or parent will be allowed to bring in a formed team to play; however, if a club has less than three teams in an age division, the teams should be divided as equally as possible.

B. Divisions of play are as specified in the Recreational and Challenge Policy.

C. A players age for the purpose of division assignment will be his/her age as of July 31. It is highly recommended that each child play within his/her age group, but if a child plays up, a special notation will be made to the Secretary of ECSA at the time rosters are due.

D. If a team plays a player who is ineligible because of age, all games he/she played in will be forfeited, and the player must be moved to a team in his/her age division. Note: this is the only time a player may be moved from one team to another once seasonal play has begun.

E. Team Rosters shall be limited as follows:

1. U6, U8, GU8, U19, GU19 -- no more than 12 players

2. U10, GU10 -- no more than 12 players

3. U12, GU12, U14, GU14, U16, GU16 -- no more than 18 players

F. A member club has the authority to lower the maximum team roster size, however, any child that registers with a club within official registration dates set by ECSA must be placed on a team roster, as long as the ECSA maximum roster size has not been exceeded.

G. Players may be added to a team roster, subject to approval by the ECSA Secretary/Registrar, up to the fourth weekend of scheduled games in a season. All players added to teams after rosters have been turned in to the ECSA Secretary/Registrar must be called in and approved before they are allowed to play.

H. If a team plays a player who is ineligible because he/she was not properly added to ECSA records, all games he/she played in must be forfeited.

I. Conferences within a particular division may be established by the Commissioner's Committee.

V. REGISTRATION:

A. Club registration dates will be the first and second Saturdays in February for the Spring Season and the first and second Saturdays in August for the Fall Season. Rostering of players for challenge teams will be done annually, however, registration fees are due each playing season.

B. Clubs must use the registration forms provided by ECSA for four seasons.

C. Team registration fees are set by the ECSA Board of Directors as follows:

1. Mini-field teams - $100.00 per team

2. Modified field teams - $150.00 per team

3. Modified field challenge teams - $175.00

4. Regulation field teams - $200.00 per team

5. Under 19 teams - $160.00 per team

D. Team registration fees are due to the ECSA Treasurer by the first scheduled game of the season. Failure to pay team fees by the due date will result in forfeiture of all games played before payment has been received.

E. Team rosters must be submitted to the ECSA Secretary/Registrar prior to the first scheduled game of the season. Failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of all games played before the rosters are submitted and a club fine of $5.00 per team.

F. Recruitment for recreation teams of registered or formerly registered players by coaches, parents, or any team or club official is prohibited. Recruitment is defined as any effort to induce a registered or formerly registered player of a team to change teams or clubs in order to produce a "stacked" or "all-star" team.

G. Players registering for U19 and GU19 teams must either have High School eligibility remaining or have previously played on an ECSA registered team.

H. Players may not participate in more than one age division including participation as a "borrowed" player in either U19 or GU19.

I. Teams and games may be "Coed" except GU games which will only have female participants and U19 which will only have male participants.

VI. SCHEDULING:

A. The Commissioner's Committee has the responsibility of aligning conferences and scheduling games for the ECSA member club teams.

B. Rescheduling: Any club commissioner desiring rescheduling of any game must first obtain agreement for the opposing team's club commissioner. Should an agreement be reached, the game may be rescheduled one time by notifying the chairman of the Commissioners Committee seven days prior to the scheduled game, except for bonafide emergencies (ie: death in the coach's immediate family).

C. Rescheduled games will be played within a two-week time frame, weather permitting.

D. Rescheduled games shall be final. Any team unable to make a rescheduled game shall forfeit that game.

E. Any non-conference games postponed due to weather will not normally be rescheduled.

F. The Chairman of the Commissioner's Committee will notify the Director of Officials of the time and place of any rescheduled games.

G. Deadline for entering teams shall be set by the Commissioner's Committee at the time of the Commissioners Alignment Meeting.

H. Teams folding after the approval of the schedule will forfeit their games and the club will be reprimanded. No team fees will be refunded.

I. Any special consideration for scheduling (such as a coach coaching two teams) must be submitted in writing to the Chairman of the Commissioner's meeting no later than the alignment meeting.

J. All recreational games will be scheduled so that no team will have to travel more than 40 miles to play a game. Neutral fields will be utilized when necessary. Challenge teams will generally play within a 60 mile radius of their club.

VII. COACHING:

A. All team practices and games shall be supervised and attended by the coach and/or assistant coach. In the event that the coach and the assistant coach must leave the field of play or otherwise are not able to supervise the team, a parent or other responsible adult may supervise the team for the remainder of the game.

B. No coach shall exceed the following weekly hours of practice:

1. U12, U14, U16, GU12, GU14, GU16 six hours

2. U6, U8, U10, GU8, GU10 four hours

C. The team coach is subject to penalties up to and including ejection from the game and suspension from coaching for the following game for improper conduct of his players, spectators and other team officials.

D. Before each game the coach shall submit to the opposing coach or scorekeeper a completed team scoresheet (the pink copy of the official score sheet or a facsimile) designating the starting line-up as well as eligible and ineligible substitutes. The scoresheet must contain the first and last names and jersey numbers of all players, the age division, team name, and game number.

E. Following each game, the coach is responsible for having the original white copy of the scoresheets (facsimile can be used if no official form is available) signed by the referees and handed in to the concession stand or the designated official at the game site.

F. Each coach is responsible for ensuring that players stay in the bench area during the game (normally seated on the bench), and for ensuring that parents and other spectators stay behind an imaginary line five yards away from and parallel to the sideline extending along the entire length of the field.

G. Any coach that removes his team from the field of play outside those times allowed for by the rules of the game will be suspended from participation in the Association in any capacity for the remainder of the current season and all of the following season.

H. Failure of any coach/team to play any regular season scheduled game or designated ECSA FALL/SPRING Cup Match Tournament game will result in the parent organization being fined $50.00 for the regular season or $100.00 per Cup Match Tournament game. In addition, ECSA reserves the right to take further action.

VIII. UNIFORMS:

A. Each club is to adopt a uniform jersey in their primary color (which has been approved by ECSA) that every player must wear whenever he/she participates in a scheduled ECSA game (effective Fall 1995).

1. On the front of the jersey, the club may have a club logo and/or manufacturer's logo only.

2. Only a one- or two-digit regulation-size number is allowed on the back; no names.

3. Each player will be assigned a number which cannot be duplicated by his/her team.

4. Each team will wear matching socks as designated by the club.

5. Team shorts must all be the same color as designated by the club.

6. Any material which protrudes below the shorts must not match the opposing team's primary color.

7. Shin guards are mandatory for all players.

8. Cleats must meet FIFA and NCYSA requirements.

9. No jewelry of any kind can be worn during a game except for medical alert bracelets or medallions, both of which must be taped securely to the body.

10. Nothing should be added to any portion of the uniform except club logo and player number. This includes, but is not limited to, advertising, names and nicknames.

IX. REFEREES:

A. The director of officials or his designated representative with full authority to speak for the officials will be present at all ECSA meetings.

B. All referees shall be registered with and certified by the United States Soccer Federation.

C. All referees shall be at least 13 years of age and should be at least three years older than the players they are refereeing.

D. The senior referee shall make a final decision at the field of play whether or not to begin a game, discontinue play based upon his/her judgement of the condition of the field, the weather, or any other factors that he/she considers to be pertinent.

E. In the event that only one/two referees are present where three are scheduled, the senior referee will consult with the opposing teams to obtain linesmen. If only one linesman is needed, the home team will provide the linesman. Otherwise, one linesman from each team's club will be used.

F. It shall be the responsibility of the senior referee to notify the director of officials if a player is issued a red or yellow card during a game. If a red card is issued, the referee shall submit a report in writing to the Director of Officials within 48 hours. Penalty for failure to report a red card is a fine of two game fees at the position and level of the game where the card was issued.

G. Referee pay schedule should be in line with the fee schedule set by the Board of Directors. The referee assigner shall be paid a fee equal to ten percent of the scheduled total game fee.

X. YELLOW CARD/RED CARD POLICY:

A. Players:

1. Yellow Card: any player receiving a yellow card will be substituted for at the time of the infraction, and will remain out of the game for the remainder of the quarter or half, and must appear before the club disciplinary committee. If a second yellow card is issued in the same game, it then becomes a red card (see "Red Card" below). If a player gets a post game yellow card then he/she will sit out the first playing period of their next game.

2. Red Card: any player receiving a red card will be ejected from the game, and his/her team must play light for the remainder of the game. He must also sit out during his/her team's next played game. He must be present, dressed out, and sitting on the team bench for the entire game. If the player does not comply with this rule, his suspension from play will be continued until he has complied.

3. Two Red Cards: any player receiving a second red card during the playing season must sit out the next two games. He must be present, dressed out, and sitting on the team bench for the entire two games, and must appear before the ECSA Disciplinary Committee. If the player does not comply with this rule, his suspension from play will continue until he has complied.

4. Three Red Cards: a player who receives a third red card during one playing season will be suspended for the remainder of that season and appear before the ECSA Disciplinary Committee before he can be reinstated to play in ECSA.

5. If a Red Card is issued to a player during his/her team's last game of the cup match or season, the penalty shall be carried over to the following season. If the player is aging out of recreation soccer, the coach of record will appear before the ECSA Disciplinary Committee.

B. Coaches:

1. Yellow Card: If a coach receives a yellow card, his/her club will be notified by the ECSA Executive Board. If he/she receives a second yellow card during the season, he/she will be suspended from coaching the team during the next scheduled game. His/her club will be notified and requested to take disciplinary action.

2. Red Card: If a coach is issued a red card, he/she will be relieved of his/her coaching duties for the remainder of the game in which the infraction takes place, and suspended from coaching for the next scheduled game. The coach may not be present at the site of their next scheduled game. Also, his/her club will be notified by the ECSA Executive Board.

3. Two Red Cards: If a coach is issued a second red card during a season, he/she will be required to appear before the ECSA Disciplinary committee before he/she will be allowed to resume coaching duties.

XI. PROTESTS & APPEALS:

A. Protests of games will be allowed only for incidents involving misapplication of the rules. The judgement of an official may not be protested.

B. If a protest is expected, it shall be noted on the score sheet at the point in the game and prior to the referee's signing the score sheet.

C. Protest fee of $50.00 must be paid by club check, cashier's check, or money order.

D. Procedure:

1. The club shall advise the ECSA President within 48 hours of intended protest.

2. Submit a written protest to the ECSA President within four days of the protested game, along with the protest fee.

3. The President, upon receipt of written protest, will schedule an executive meeting to hear the protest. The President will invite both club commissioners involved (or other club officials), and both coaches, in addition to the ECSA Executive Board.

4. He/she will also request the director of officials to notify the appropriate referees to be present.

5. Referees involved in the protest may, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, forfeit the game fee if the protest is upheld or if they are not present at the meeting.

6. If a correctable situation occurs during a game, the team captain should approach the referee in an attempt to correct the situation before the ball is put back into play.

E. If the protest is upheld then the protest fee will be refunded.

F. Appeals: Decisions of the Executive Committee regarding protests are final and not subject to appeal.

XII. RELATIONSHIP WITH CLASSIC SOCCER

A. ECSA supports member clubs who are affiliated with NCYSA in their efforts to provide classic soccer for their players. However, this support is conditional upon the recognition by such member clubs that the classic programs be organized and conducted in such a fashion so as not to unduly interfere with the ongoing and continuing program of ECSA in terms of try-outs, registration, field utilization, adding and replacing players, etc.

B. Dual registration: A player who is registered with an ECSA team may also be registered with an NCYSA Classic team, but must designate one or the other as his/her primary team. Then he/she shall not participate in both a classic match and a recreation or challenge match on the same day, but must only play on the team designated as primary whenever both teams have scheduled matches on the same day. Any violation of the foregoing will result in that player being declared ineligible for the balance of the current ECSA season. Players will not participate on both a recreational and a challenge team. If a player desires to participate in both ECSA and Classic Soccer then he/she is encouraged to tryout for a challenge team.

C. Scheduling and Field Use: Club officials are responsible for making requests for classic game times and fields to the Commissioner. After the ECSA schedule is approved, no ECSA game will be cancelled or moved to accommodate a Classic game.

XIII. TOBACCO AND TOBACCO PRODUCTS: Coaches, Assistant Coaches, Team Mothers and other personnel performing duties in an official capacity with a team shall not use tobacco or tobacco products on the playing field or sidelines during scheduled ECSA matches.

XIV. If occasions arise that are not fully covered by this policy, or the rules of the game, the problem shall be referred to the Executive Board for resolution or interpretation.