Tournament Rules – Golden Spike Classic 2024 

1.  Any rule not addressed shall be reviewed and interpreted by the Tournament Committee. 

2.  All Decisions by Referees and/or the Tournament Committee are FINAL.  No Protests! 

3.  TEAM/PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:  All teams must be comprised of properly registered and rostered players as defined by the rules of US Youth Soccer.  Teams must be in good standing with UYSA or their respective state USYSA soccer affiliate.  Out of State teams must provide the appropriate travel papers to the tournament director one week prior to the first game.  No out of state team shall play without the proper travel authorization including rosters, laminated player passes, and signed medical releases. 

4.  TEAM ROSTERING AND GAME FORMAT: 

AGE GROUP      ROSTER MAX      GUEST MAX  PLAYERS   MIN PLAYERS   BALL SIZE   GAME LENGTH   HALFTIME  OVERTIME          

U8-U10                        12                           3               7v7                    5                     4                  2x25 MIN          5 MIN           2x5 MIN

U11-U12.                     15                           4               9v9                    6                     4                  2x25 MIN          5 MIN           2x5 MIN

U13-U15                     18                            5              11v11                7                     5                   2x30 MIN          5 MIN          2x5 MIN

U16-U19                     22                            5              11v11                7                     5                   2x35 MIN          5 MIN          2x5 MIN    

Rosters are set at team check-in and NO amendments to the roster will be allowed after a team has checked in.  Player eligibility will be verified prior to each match.  Any team playing a non-rostered or non-registered player will forfeit all matches the player participated in.  A player may only be rostered to ONE team during the tournament, in accordance with UYSA policy 935.3.  U16-U19 teams are allowed to carry a roster of 22 and deactivate up to 4 players as necessary before game time in order to reach the required match roster size of 18 per UYSA policy.  Deactivated players are ineligible to dress for the match. 

5.  FLIGHTS AND BRACKETS:  Bracketing of teams will be determined by the Tournament Committee.  Level of play will be determined by information gathered at registration, previous league results, current UYSA alignment, and other tournament results.  If, during the alignment process, there are inadequate teams to create a bracket for your age group, age groups may be combined as determined by the Tournament Committee.  If there are not enough teams and combining age groups is not possible, teams may be dropped from the tournament and will receive a full refund. 

6.  SCORING AND STANDINGS:  Teams will be awarded points in pool play as follows: 

  • (3) points for each win. 
  • (1) point for each tie. 
  • (0) points for each loss. 
  • Forfeit is scored as a 0-1 loss and (3) points will be awarded to the opponent.  
Game results will be posted to the tournament website as soon as possible after the game report has been provided to the field marshal by the Referee. 

7.  TIEBREAKERS:  In the event of a tie in points at the end of pool play, the following tiebreakers will be used to determine a winner: 

  • Head to head winner. 
  • Goal Differential (max of (4) goal difference per game counted both for and against). 
  • Least goals allowed. 
  • Most goals scored. 
  • Most shut outs. 
  • Kicks from the penalty spot per FIFA rules (site/time TBD by Tournament Committee) 
8.  MATCH LENGTH:  No additional stoppage (injury) time will be added to match length.  In playoff matches, if the score is tied at the end of regulation play, (2) 5 minute overtime periods will be played.  If still tied at the end of the overtime periods, Kicks from the PK spot per FIFA rules shall determine the winner. 

9.  MATCH START TIME (FORFEITS):  Each team must have a rostered coach and the minimum number of rostered players (per #4 above) at published start time of the match or the match may be forfeited.  The Referee will check in each team up to 30 minutes, but no later than 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the match.  Each team must have the Official Approved Tournament Roster and all the required documents at the start of each match.  It is the team’s responsibility to retrieve all documents from the referees after each match. 

10.  HOME TEAM AND UNIFORMS:  The home team will be the team listed first on the game schedule.  The home team has first choice of which sideline they would like to occupy for the match, and will furnish (3) game balls for the match.  The home team will wear their darkest colored jersey and the away team will wear their lightest colored jersey.  The home team will be required to switch to alternate jerseys in the case of a color conflict as declared by the referees.  All players must display a unique number which must correspond to the number listed on the team’s Official Tournament Roster. 

11.  COACHING:  Only coaches/team administrators that are currently registered and rostered for the current seasonal year or tournament will be permitted on the team bench.  Coaching may only occur within the specified technical area. 

12.  SIDELINE POLICY:  UYSA Policy 6315.5 will govern.  Spectators must sit on the same sideline as their team. 

13.  SUBSTITUTIONS:  UYSA Policy 6315.8 will govern; however, ALL substitutions are at the discretion of the referee. 

14.  HEADING FOR U12 AND YOUNGER:  UYSA Policy 6356.8 will govern. 

15.  BUILD OUT LINES FOR U10 AND YOUNGER:  UYSA Policy 6315.1 will govern. 

16.  PLAYER EQUIPMENT:  All players must wear protective shin guards.  No jewelry may be worn.  Casts, splints, and knee braces are allowed provided they are (in the opinion of the Referee) adequately covers and padded to eliminate the possibility of causing injury to other players. 

17.  MATCH DISCIPLINE (CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS):  The Zero Tolerance Policy introduced by UYSA in April 2022 will be enforced at the Tournament.  Any coach, parent, or spectator at the field that berates a referee will result in the team playing the remainder of the tournament with absolutely Zero spectators.  A player who has been ejected shall not be allowed to participate in the next scheduled game and may be determined ineligible for the remainder of the tournament.  This determination will be made by the Tournament Committee based on the reasoning for the ejection.  The Tournament Director/Committee will eject players, coaches, or spectators for any behavior they deem inappropriate.  Cards can be issued to the coaches for unruly spectators and coaches can be ejected from the game.  In the case of ejections of players, coaches, parents, or spectators, they will be asked to leave the premises (minimum 300 yards from ANY playing field).  Failure to comply will result in forfeit of the match. 

18.  DANGEROUS WEATHER/FIELD CONDITIONS: 

  • Playing Conditions:  Games may be temporarily suspended, shortened, or cancelled when fields are in unplayable condition due to inclement weather or other unforeseen events.  Game stoppage will be determined by the Field Referee.  In the event that one referee stops play at a venue for dangerous weather, the Field Marshal will stop play on all fields at the venue. 
  • Suspended Games:  If a game is temporarily suspended due to weather conditions, play will restart per the Laws of the Game.  If/When the game is resumed, it may be subject to a revised match length as determined by the Field Referee or Tournament Committee with an attempt to affect the least number of teams. 
  • Cancelled Games:  Games will be considered complete if at least one full half has been completed prior to stoppage for weather or other circumstances.  The score when play is stopped will be the final score.  The decisions to cancel games will be up to the Referee and the Tournament Committee and no refunds will be given for cancelled games.  If a playoff game is cancelled for any reason other than misconduct, and the game was tied at the time the game was cancelled, kicks from the penalty spot will determine the winner.  Time and location will be determined by the Tournament Committee. 
 19.  DROP OUT POLICY:  Teams that choose to drop out of the tournament will be subject to the following refund policy:
  • Drop before registration closes:  Refund of Team Registration minus $75 administrative fee. 
  • Drop before bracketing:  Refund of 50% of Team Registration fee. 
  • Drop after bracketing:  NO Refund. 
20.  CONCUSSION:  They UYSA Concussion Policy will be enforced.  Certified Athletic Trainers will be on site at each and/or nearby venues.  Concussions will be tracked.  Players must receive official Physician’s release to resume play. 

21.  DISCIPLINE AND CONCUSSION RECORDS:  A record of ejected players and/or coaches, as well as cautions, and concussions will be tracked by the Field Referees on the Official Game Cards.