Bylaws
Section I
Organization
A. Organization:
The objective, purposes and philosophy of this organization are set forth in the El Reno Soccer Club (ERSC) Constitution.
A. Organization:
1. Teams will be classified by the age (See Section III, A. 3) of the oldest player on January 1 as follows:
Under 19 Under 12
Under 16 Under 10
Under 14 Under 8
2. There will be three ways of dividing the soccer teams:
a. Girls teams only
b. Boys teams
c. Mixed teams
A mixed team can play only in a boy’s league. Present federal law requires that if a girl wishes to play on a boy’s team, she shall be allowed to do so. Therefore, a boy’s team may or may not be a mixed team, but is always considered a boy’s team for the purpose of league play. Mixed teams are not encouraged at the juvenile division level unless a child would be deprived of team participation.
3. The above team classifications shall be strictly adhered to.
1. All players of a team shall be individuals registered with ERSC.
2. Insofar as is practical, all players on a team shall reside in the same neighborhood area or attend the same school.
3. Once a team is organized, its roster shall be maintained without change during each season unless a change is authorized by the General Board.
4. Teams may be organized, consolidated, or re-organized by ERSC without regard to school attendance as required for maximum player participation. Teams may also re-organize to conform to school attendance or residence.
5. No player shall play on more than one ERSC team at one time.
6. No team shall discourage or deny participation to any person who is physically able to play soccer.
1. As necessary to assure participation by everyone who desires to play, teams will be formed with at least 7 players but less than 19 players.
2. Every team should have a designated assistant coach, normally a non-playing individual who shall assist the coach in the operation of the team.
1. Pre-formed teams desiring to register with ERSC must be approved and certified as eligible by the General Board.
2. All teams must be registered, re-registered and/or pre-registered by the dates and times determined and set by the Executive Board.
3. Registration after the closing date may be permitted by the Executive Board. Payment of a late registration fee for registration after the closing date may be required.
4. A team may not add any player’s name to its pre-registration form unless that player is currently registered with that team.
1. Consolidation of two or more teams during a playing season, because of a lack of participation, requires approval of the general board.
2. Each surviving team of a consolidation will complete the schedule of one of the original teams as determined by the Games Committee.
3. The consolidation of teams may be re-organized on the original team basis at the end of the current season, ir desired by the original teams.
1. All team meetings shall be considered team activities. This includes games, practice sessions, scrimmages and instructional meetings.
2. Team activities shall be limited to three during any calender week. No activity shall exceed 90 minutes in duration.
3. The calendar week shall begin with Saturday.
A. Eligibility
1. Any youth who resides in the geographical area of ERSC who is physically able to play is eligible to register.
2. A player may not participate in a practice or game unless his player registration form is on file with the ERSC registrar seventy-two (72) hours before the practice or game.
3. A player’s age on January 1 will determine the playing age of that child for the soccer year dating from September 1 through August 31.
4. A player may play in older division, but not in a younger division, than his age allows according to Section II A. A player who elected to play in an older team will not be eligible to return to the younger team during that playing season.
B. Registration
1. Individual players will be enrolled upon the presentation of the following items to the General Board:
a. Completed Player Registration Form
b. Proof of date of birth
c. Individual registration fee
C. Transfers
1. Transfers are to be discouraged except those resulting from a change of school or residence.
2. The consent of the Genreal Board and of the teams involved will be required for all transfers. For Juvenile transfers, see FCSA Bylaws.
Section IV
Coaches
A. Responsibility
and Duties
1. Coaches are responsible for the gentlemanlike conduct of themselves and their players during all club activities as defined by the Laws of the Game.
2. Each coach is responsible for the proper training and conditioning of the players on his team.
3. Coaches are responsible for maintaining order and respect for the authority of the referees and linesmen during the game.
4. Each coach is to discourage discourtesy for the spectators toward officials and players. Spectators must remain at least 10 yards from the touchline.
5. Coaching is to be confined to the Coach’s Box (5 yards either side of the halfway line and 5 yards from the touchline, thereby forming a rectangular area 5 yards by 10 yards backing onto the spectator restraining line).
6. No coach shall endeavor to run up a high score against any team.
7. Each coach shall assure that all players are registered with ERSC.
8. Each coach shall play each player of his team at least one-half (1/2) of every game.
9. Each coach is responsible for the maintenance and safe keeping of all club equiopment.
10. Each coach is responsible for the proper conduct of the team during the after game handshake.
B. Registration
1. All coaches shall be registered with ERSC by meeting the registration requirements of filling out the Player Registration Form.
2. The registration of any coach may be suspended or revoked by the General Board subject to appeal to FCSA.
Section V
Officials
1. Referees will be assigned by the ERSC Referee Coordinator or the appropriate FCSA Coordinator.
2. The referee will assure that the game report is completed properly and mailed or delivered to the Club within 72 hours of the end of the game.
3. If an official referee does not appear within 15 minutes after scheduled game time, a person mutually agreed upon in writing by the coaches of both teams may act as referee. A game report will be required in the case of an ejection, injury or cancellation.
4. All certified referees must be registered with the Oklahoma City Chapter of the Oklahoma Soccer Officials Association (OCCOSOA).
5. Referees for all home games may be paid according to the fee rate set by the Executive Board.
B. Linesmen
1. The Referee Coordinator will attempt to assign two linesmen for each game.
2. All assigned linesmen will be registered with OCCOSOA.
3. Upon request of the referee, each team will supply one club linesman.
4. Club linesmen shall assist the referee only in determining out-of-bounds and enforcing the 10 yard spectator line.
Section VI
Fields and
Equipment
1. The sizes and marking of playing fields shall be as indicated in Appendix B of the FCSA Rule Book.
2. Responsibility for providing adequate and safe playing fields rests with ERSC.
3. The team designated by the Age Division Comissioner shall be responsible for marking the field, hanging the nets, and providing corner flags.
B. The
Ball
1. The ball size for Junior and Juvenile Division play shall be indicated in Appendix B of the FCSA Rule Book.
2. The
home team will provide a game ball acceptable to the referee.
C. Player
Equipment
1. All players must provide and wear shirts, shorts, and socks during team competition. Uniforms need to be nothing more than a pair of tube-type socks, a pair of gym shorts and a white or dyed T-shirt (warmer clothing may be worn under the uniform as weather requires). All shirts are to be numbered. Numbers should be placed on the back and be at least 8 inches high. Team colors or uniform styles will be determined by each team, subject to approval of the Age Division Commissioner to avoid repetition of colors between teams.
2. Shoes are required. They may be either sneakers, tennis shoes or cleated soccer shoes of either the molded plastic sole type or the screw-in cleat type that leaves a flat surface when lost. When cleats are used, the minimum diameter of any section must be at least one-half inch. In no event can equipment and/or objects worn by a player create a hazard to himself or another player.
3. Shin guards are mandatory in Junior Division and recommended for all other divisions.
4. Emblems or insignia on uniforms are subject to approval by the General Board.
5. In the event that two teams with similar colors compete, the home team will change to uniforms of distinguishing colors.
6. The goalkeeper must wear a target jersey or a shirt of contrasting color to each team and contrasting to the opposing goalkeeper. The goalkeeper’s shirt must also be numbered.
7. All equipment is subject to approval of the ERSC General Board and FCSA games committee.
Section VII
Games
A. Schedules
All intra-club games will be scheduled by the General Board or its representatives. Inter-club games will be scheduled and re-scheduled by FCSA.
B. Game
Duration
1. Activities included within the duration of each game will include the following:
a. pre-game referee inspection
b. first half of play
c. half time
d. second half of play
e. any overtime periods and/or sudden death kick-offs as needed
f. official after-play hand shake
2. Duration in minutes of each activity is as follows;
a. pre-game referee inspection for all age divisions – 30 minutes
b. length of play each half
Juvenile Division Length of Half
Under Age 19 45
Under Age 16 40
Under Age 14 35
Junior Division
Under Age 12 30
Under Age 10 25
Under Age 8 25
c. half-time for all age divisions – maximum of 10 minutes
d. overtime periods
Under Age 16 and 19 Two 15 minute halves
Under Age 10,12, and 14 Two 10 minute halves
Under Age 8 Two 5 minute halves
Each two halves will be separated by a 5 minute rest period.
C. Cancellation
1. Games can only be cancelled or terminated be the referee when, in his opinion, the field is not in suitable condition for play and/or is dangerous to players.
2. If the referee suspends a game before the second half is started, the game will be replayed from the start.
3. If the referee suspends a game after the second half is started, the game will be considered complete.
4. Only the referee coordinator or the referee assigned to a game can cancel a game after 10:00 p.m. Tuesday before the scheduled game.
5. The referee coordinator will be responsible for reporting all cancelled games to the General Board for re-scheduling.
D. Forfeiture
1. If a team fails to appear or to field at least seven players by 15 minutes after the scheduled kickoff, the referee shall terminate the game submitting a report to the appropriate Games Committee, which will forfeit the game.
2. The score of a forfeited game shall be recorded as 1 – 0 in favor of the team that appears.
3. If neither team appears, the referee shall report such occurrence to the appropriate Games Committee, which shall declare a double forfeiture. (Both teams will be charged with a forfeiture.)
4. A team which allows an unregistered player to participate shall forfeit that game and the next game the team wins.
5. Teams failing to comply with Section VI shall forfeit the game.
E. Protests
1. Intra-club protests will be heard and decided by the Games Committee composed of a referee, a disinterested coach, a disinterested Age Division Commissioner and a Vice President. The Executive Vice President will be responsible for selecting the committee members and establishing meeting time and place. Inter-club protests will be handled according to FCSA rules.
2. Protests must be noted to the referee. The protest will then be detailed in writing to the appropriate Age Division Commissioner within 72 hrs. and accompanied by a check for $10.00 protest fee.
3. Copies of the protest shall be delivered to the appropriate Vice President and to the coach of the opposing team.
4. The opposing team coach will furnish a written response to the appropriate Vice President within 48 hours after receipt of a copy of the protest.
5. Decisions on protests will be rendered by the appropriate Vice President in writing to the coaches of the two teams, the appropriate Age Division Commissioner, and to the General Board within seven (7) days of the Games Committee decision.
6. The Games Committee will NOT consider a protest based on the referee’s qualifications or judgment as valid.
7. The Games Committee may uphold or change a game result or schedule a replay of the game when the Committee determines that the referee’s interpretation of the game rules was faulty.
8. Protests involving the conditions of the field, equipment, or facilities will not be considered unless the referee is notified prior to the start of the game and a notation is made in the referee’s game report.
F. Playing season
Playing season will be set by the General Board within the guidelines of FCSA.
Section
VIII
Rules
of Play
A. General Rules
ERSC competition shall be governed by the FIFA rules and interpretations by the FCSA Organization, Rules of Competition and Administrative Rulebook and Association by-laws for Youth Soccer.
B. Ejection and Suspension
1. Both coaches and players shall be subject to ejection by the referee for misconduct.
2. A coach or player who is ejected shall leave the immediate area of the playing field before the recommencement of the game.
a. Refusal by an ejected coach or player to leave the area of the playing field within the time specified by the referee shall result in suspension of the coach or player and immediate termination of the game. The game shall be ordered a forfeiture by the Games Committee and shall not be replayed. In this case only, the game report will be delivered to the Executive Vice President who will deliver copies to the Games Committee for proper action.
b.