Sanctioning:

      The basic requirements for sanctioning of tournaments is established by USYSA/OSYSA. Ohio South Youth Soccer Association, Inc. is responsible for sanctioning all USYSA tournaments in Central and Southern Ohio. OSYSA is responsible to insure that USYSA established standards are complied with by all sanctioned tournaments conducted within the OSYSA boundaries. The intent of the USYSA/OSYSA sanctioned tournament procedure is to set a standard of tournament play which all teams entering can expect in terms of age eligibility, match play, and rules and procedures.

Each tournament host is responsible for payment of the OSYSA sanction fee for each and every tournament operated within the boundaries of OSYSA. The sanctioning fee for tournaments that have less than 50 teams entered is an amount equal to 1/2 of the tournament entry fee. The sanctioning fee for tournaments that have 50 or more teams and less than 200 entered is an amount equal to the tournament entry fee. The sanctioning fee for tournaments that have more than 200 teams entered is an amount equal to twice the tournament entry fee.

Friendly games between a team(s) of OSYSA member Associations/League and teams from another USYSA member State Associations must also be sanctioned.

The State Commissioner shall insure that all Tournament Sanctioning rules and regulations are adhered too and enforced.

A) Required Procedures

     In compliance with FIFA/USSF/USYSA regulations, only affiliated teams, clubs, leagues, and State Youth Associations in good standing can be considered as hosts for games and tournaments involving visiting teams from other State Youth Organizations or foreign teams. Only USYSA registered teams or foreign teams registered with their own National Association are permitted to participate in OSYSA sanctioned tournaments. (for games that are not tournaments, see Rules and Regulations for Multi Game Competitions)

     1.All proposed tournaments or with teams from other State or National Associations must have advance approval from OSYSA. For such tournaments or games conducted within the boundaries of OSYSA, a properly completed USYSA Y-09 (Application to Host Tournaments or Games) and supporting material as outlined in these Rules and Regulations must be submitted to OSYSA State Commissioner at least 120 days before the tournament or games.

The USYSA Tournament Hosting Agreement is to be completed by each organization requesting sanctioning of an tournament.

All proposed friendly games with teams from other State or National Associations must have advance approval from OSYSA. For such games conducted within the boundaries of OSYSA, a properly completed USYSA Y-09 (Application to Host Tournaments or Games) must be provided. No other supporting material as outlined in these Rules and Regulations is required for friendly games. For Friendly games only, the form is to be submitted to OSYSA State Commissioner, or District Commissioner or the OSYSA Executive Director at least 7 days before the friendly game(s). Review the Multi Game Rules and Regulations in the Rules Guide to insure that your friendly game(s) are not a Multi Game Event.

     2.The Application to Host Tournaments or Games must include any exceptions to USYSA Rules, such as length of game and authorization of guest players. This information is to be listed in the Rules Modification Section. Once this information has been provided to the potential visiting teams, it cannot be changed by the tournament except in the case of emergencies such as bad weather. All other changes must be approved by OSYSA.

     3.The following must be attached to the Application to Host Tournaments or Games when it is submitted to OSYSA:

a.Proposed letter of invitation
b.Number of divisions and number of teams per division
c.Maximum number of teams that will be accepted for play
d.Maximum number of games per team per day
e.Number of fields including contingency fields
f.Set of tournament playing rules
g.Letter of agreement and commitment from Referee Assigner
h.Letter of agreement from the OSYSA Youth Referee Administer
g.OSYSA sanctioning fee
h.USYSA Tournament Hosting Agreement.

"Select teams" means State, Regional, or National select teams.

     5.Only teams with USYSA player passes are to be permitted to play in any OSYSA tournament. Player passes issued by member State Associations are not to be accepted and any players or teams with such passes are not to be permitted to play in the tournament.

B) Number Of Teams

Due to the shortage of referees to cover games in tournaments, it may be necessary to restrict the number of teams that will be permitted to enter any tournament.

    1. If in the opinion of the State Youth Referee Administrator, the number of referees available to support the number of teams in tournament(s) on any date is not sufficient, the tournament(s) may be restricted to the number of teams that it may accept.

    2. If the State Youth Referee Administrator determines that the total need for referees exceeds those available, he is authorized to establish the total number of teams that the tournament(s) may accept. This limit may be in total or in any single age group.

    3. If two or more tournaments are scheduled for the same time period and the number of teams must be restricted, each tournament must be reduced by the same percentage. The percentage reduction is to be determined based on the total number of teams that can be supported by referees. The percentage reduction is to be based on the number of teams that can be supported and applied equally to each tournament based on the number of teams entered in the tournament(s) last year. This percentage reduction does not apply to a new tournament. But OSYSA may limit the number of teams in a new tournament.

C) State Action

OSYSA will take the following action concerning all applications to host tournaments or games.

    1. Upon review the State Commissioner will grant approval if all of the material is submitted within the authorized time and the SYRA agrees in writing. The application, if approved, will be returned to the hosting organization for mailing with the letter of invitation. If the number of teams is to be restricted, the tournament will be notified by the State Commissioner as well as the notice contained in the agreement letter from the SYRA.

    2. Copies of the Application to Host Tournaments or Games will be forwarded to USYSA National Headquarters for their information.

     3. Copies of the forms are to be forwarded to the OSYSA State Office and the SYRA.

     4. Applications will not be approved if they require the play of more than two (2) games per day by any team.

     5. If the tournament intends to invite foreign teams (excluding teams from Canada and Mexico), OSYSA will forward the application to the National USYSA office for approval.

D) Tournament Action

The Tournament is required to take certain actions in conjunction with providing information about their tournament to other affiliated organizations.

     1. The fully approved application must be copied and enclosed with all invitations. No invitations can be mailed until OSYSA has approved the tournament application form. This means NO INVITATIONS MAY BE MAILED WITHOUT THE APPROVED APPLICATION FORMS. A copy of the approved Application to House Tournaments or Games should be sent to each State Association from which teams are being invited.

     2. The tournament must also include a copy of the approved application form with the tournament acceptance letter.

     3. The tournament must require that an approved league and tournament roster and travel permit be returned by all out of State/Country teams at least 30 days before the tournament date.

     4. The tournament must require that each accepted team submit a copy of their league roster. This requirement is in addition to any requirement by the tournament to have accepted teams submit a tournament roster.

     5. If the tournament is going to allow guest players, they must also require that the accepted team submit a Tournament Guest Player Roster to properly identify guest players. This roster may be the OSYSA Tournament Guest Player Roster sent by the tournament to accepted teams or it may be a separate guest player roster developed by the tournament or authorized by another State Association. No matter which guest player roster is used, it must clearly show which players are guest players.

    6. The purpose of these two rosters is to assure that guest players (if authorized) are properly identified by the team.

    7. A list of the names/addresses of all teams that have not submitted travel permits by the deadline is to be sent to the OSYSA State Commissioner for appropriate action.

     8. Teams cannot be allowed to play in the tournament if they are not properly registered with their state or national association and /or do not have permission to travel.

E) Referees

     The Referee Assigner is responsible for insuring that USYSA rules (including modifications noted in the Application to Host Tournament and Games) are followed.

     1. The appointment of the Referee Assigner must be approved by the OSYSA Youth Referee Administrator. In addition, the OSYSA SYRA must agree with the Tournament Referee Assigner that sufficient number of referees are available to cover all tournament games.

     2. The tournament is to assign only currently licensed USSF officials. No exceptions to this rule will be permitted.

F) Tournament Problems
Teams traveling from other State or National Associations are under the jurisdiction of their registering State Association. Tournaments sanctioned in the geographic boundaries of Ohio South Youth Soccer Association, Inc. are under the jurisdiction of OSYSA.

     1. All player or coach ejections from tournament games must be reported by the referee to the Tournament Committee. The Tournament Committee is responsible for reporting all ejections, or any other irregularities to the OSYSA State Commissioner.

     2. Ejections from the last tournament game are to carry over to the next league game. Cards of ejected players and coaches (along with all details) are to be sent to the league of the ejected player so that the appropriate suspension may be served.

     3. Tournaments are required to submit to the State Commissioner the "Tournament Report" immediately following the tournament. Failure to provide this report and the required information may result in the tournament not being sanctioned for the next year.