WELCOME TEAM MANAGERS, COACHES & PLAYERS
Congratulations on qualifying for the 2008 US Futsal
Northeast / Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. The
Massachusetts Futsal Association in conjunction with New
England Futsal is proud to host this prestigious annual
event. This is slated to be the largest regional
championship to date. Up to 9 courts will be used to
provide for a thrilling competition within two facilities
that are situated within very close proximity to each
other. The finalists in each age group will automatically
qualify for the 2008 US Futsal National Championships being
held in Maryland in July 2008. Additional teams may also be
eligible for acceptance as At Large teams.
Online team registrations
and the event game schedules, game reports and referee
assignments have been arranged to be processed online.
Please click on the 'Registration' link found in the left
hand column and begin the process for securing your team's
spot in the 2008 U.S. Futsal Northeast / Mid-Atlantic
Regional Championships!
Registration and Check-In
A team manager or coach is required to check in on Friday,
February 15 between 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM ONLY at the Mansfield
Sportsplex, 31 Oxford Rd., Mansfield, Massachusetts for
teams commencing play on Saturday. IMPORTANT:
Team registration & check in on Friday February 15th will
only take place at the main facility regardless of where
the games are scheduled for your team. Teams not commencing play until Sunday may check-in on
Saturday night between 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM at the
Mansfield Sportsplex. Please contact Mrs. Brenda Davis at
davisbc@comcast.net
or at
508-498-7280
if other arrangements are necessary.
You MUST present
your US
Futsal player passes and a copy of your current
league approved US Futsal Roster form that
you will leave with the registrar. All Rosters must clearly
designate the Player Jersey Number for each
attending player. Teams should bring at least six copies of
their roster, as they will have to present one to the
Scorekeeper before each match.
Each Youth Player
should have an Authorization for Medical Treatment Form
filled out (commonly referred to as a “Medical Release”) to
ensure that medical services can be provided in the absence
of a parent or guardian.
Click here for PDF version of the US
Futsal Player Registration & Waiver form
All
items must be presented at check-in to the US Futsal
Registration Administrator at the Regionals. Please ensure
that you have all the required paperwork from your state
association. The players do NOT need to be present for
check-in registration - only the team manager, coach or
designated team representative.
Teams will be requested to identify the Hotel at which their
team will be lodged. Also, teams will be requested to
provide or confirm contact information during their
stay, and identify the primary emergency contact number
(mobile phone) that should be used in the event the team
needs to be contacted.
Remember, all teams, players and coaches participating at
Regionals must be registered with the US Futsal
Federation. The US Futsal registration page at
http://futsal.org/usffregistration.htm
will cover the process for you. For teams that did NOT
submit their US Futsal Team ID # with their application,
please email Brenda Davis at
davisbc@comcast.net
with the number as soon as you obtain it upon registering
with the USFF.
To
summarize, each team will
need to present at registration:
1) Player
passes
2) Waiver forms
3) Official USFF rosters approved by the state registrar.
(6 copies)
4) Birth certificates, which must be held by the coach or
designated team representative in case of protest.
5) Player information must also be updated with
Gotsport.com along with team contact information including
a cell phone numbers and hotel number for each team
representative.
Lodging:
Massachusetts
Futsal has arranged for attractive lodging
reserved locally at reasonably discounted prices, to accommodate the
needs of teams participating in the Regional tournament,
especially given the short turnaround for many teams from
State tournaments to Regional championship. Team should book
their accommodations as soon as is possible after completing
their registration process and receiving confirmation from
the registrar. Lodging can be reserved by going to the
'Lodging" link in the left hand column and making direct
reservation with a hotel of choice from those listed.
Make sure you know your hotel’s cancellation and checkout
policies. You may want to call your hotel to verify this
information. Discuss the hotel’s checkout policies and
procedures, in the event your team advances into playoff
rounds; be sure to timely cancel your room if your team does
not advance.
An
entire team cancellation may nonetheless create liability
for room charges.
Most hotels have extensive information about activities in
the area. Take advantage of your trip!
Directions to Host Facilities:
Travel directions to the Mansfield Sportsplex
(the Main facility), Mass Premier Courts and Fore Kicks can be found at the following links:
Facility #A for
Mansfield Sportsplex at 31
Oxford Rd., Mansfield, Massachusetts 02048
Facility Main Telephone #: 508-337-3100
Mapquest link to Facility #1
Facility #B for
Mass
Premier Courts at 97 Green St., Foxboro,
Massachusetts 02035
Facility Main Telephone #: 508-543-2626
Mapquest link to Facility #2
Facility #C for
Fore Kicks at 10 Pine St.,
Norfolk, Massachusetts 02056
Facility Main Telephone #: 508-384-4433
Mapquest link to Facility #3
Schedules
The tournament schedules
and standings will be posted online and made available compliments of New
England Futsal. The
'Schedules/Standings' link is found in the left hand column.
Court assignments are denoted
with a prefix and #. The prefix 'Mans' refers to Mansfield
Sportsplex while the prefix 'MP' refers to Mass Premier
Courts and 'FK' refers to courts at Fore Kicks.
Feel free to advise us of any
discrepancies. Tournament game results and standings will be
posted online regularly during the course of the event, so
our Futsal Regional fans can see them at home or at their
place of lodging.
Please note that last minute adjustments in the schedule may
be required, so always check your team’s schedule just prior to the tournament for any last
minute schedule changes. We will try to advise teams by
email about changes after the schedule is set on the Tuesday
prior to the event, but you should double check to make
sure.
Also make sure that you have provided an easily reachable
mobile phone number for a team contact who will be attending
the Regionals, as requested on the online team application.
Tournament Rules for Advancement from Group Play
All
teams are organized into Group Play Brackets. Group winners
and seedings are determined using the following rules:
-
Most Game Points. Teams are awarded three points for a
win, one point for a tie and
no points for a loss.
-
In the event of a tie, the following criteria shall apply:
o Head to Head Competition. (Does not apply in a
three-or-more-way tie)
o Largest Goal
Differential (i.e., Goals Scored minus Goals Allowed).
o Goals scored.
o Fewest goals allowed.
o Penalty kicks using current F.I.F.A. rules. Initial
round of five alternating
penalty kicks per team, followed by single alternating
kicks if still tied.
Coaches Information
The Regional
Championships will adhere to the FIFA Laws of the game, as
accepted and published on the USFF website at
http://www.futsal.org/usfflawsi.htm,
except as modified or expanded for this Championship and
published on the website.
Coaches and managers must ensure that they are familiar with
this set of Regulations, and their teams adhere to the cited
standards of behavior.
Teams must be at their Court at least fifteen minutes before
their match, and present their USFF Player Passes to
the fourth official at the Court, as well as a copy of their
Player Roster (which clearly identifies each player’s
Jersey Number). The Scorekeeper will review the passes
and rosters. Upon completion of the match each coach must
retrieve the passes from the Scorekeeper, sign the Game card
(verifying the score) and select a player from the opposing
team as an MVP (and so advise the Scorekeeper). These
selections will be a significant part of the overall process
of selecting a US Futsal Northeast / Mid-Atlantic All
Regional Team.
Please especially note the following Rules, some of which
are new to this competition:
The
first two criteria for advancement out of group play, after
team record, are head-to-head results (only in the event of
a two-way tie between teams), then Goal Differential up to
plus-seven or minus-seven per game.
Forfeits are recorded as 5-0 scores. If a team drops out
after playing some but not all group play games, the
Tournament Committee reserves the right to declare all of
that team’s games as forfeits if the interests of fairness
would be served.
All
disputes must be resolved on a timely basis. In particular,
any scorekeeping errors must be addressed to the Scorekeeper
within two minutes after posting or omission of posting,
halftime scores cannot be challenged after play commences in
the second half, and coaches must sign Game cards
immediately after matches to verify the scores.
If
a player or coach is ejected an automatic one game
suspension at a minimum will be enforced. A US Futsal
representative will maintain possession of the player /
coach pass until the suspension is served. The US Futsal
tournament Disciplinary Committee will review the incident(s)
involving each ejection. Upon review of the incident, the
player or coach may be suspended for more than one match.
At
halftime each team will change benches. This ensures that
all your substitutions take place in your defensive half of
the court. This is a FIFA rule.
The
team listed second on the schedule will kick off.
Please make sure that your team is on the court immediately
following the previous match and ready to begin play. There
will be NO grace period for a team to take the court from
the appointed time for its game (three players minimum
constitute a team).
Each team will be permitted one 30 second time-out per half.
Please remember that the goalkeepers in the U16 and below
age groups CANNOT distribute the ball directly across
midfield with a throw or drop kick without it first having
touched another player or having bounced on their team’s
defensive half of the court. This infraction results in an
indirect kick for the opposing team at midfield.
Also note that in the U16 and below age groups, a
team CANNOT score directly from a kick off. Such kicks are
considered indirect and if taken will result in a goal
clearance.
Coaches
are NOT permitted to stand on the touchline during the
match. They (and all other players and personnel on the
sideline) must be seated and instruct their team from
the seated position. If they do not comply, it may result
in a yellow card infraction against the coach.
Player substitutions must take place in front of your
player’s bench. Please remember that a player must
completely exit the court before another player can enter
the court. This infraction may result in a yellow card
violation.
A
player must distribute the ball within 4 seconds of any
restart and the goalkeeper must distribute the ball within 4
seconds whenever the keeper is in possession of the ball.
Advise your players that the ball must be stationary and
placed on the touchline when placing the ball back into play
with a kick in. The player’s foot must also be on the
touchline or off the court when striking the ball during a
kick in. A violation of this will result in a possession
turnover.
Following each game, coaches
are required to report to the timekeeper and sign the
official Game card to ensure the score is correctly
reported. Coaches may also be requested to select game
All-Stars upon completion of each game. Remember to retrieve
Player passes as well.
On
the spectators’ sideline, spectators are to remain behind
the designated line. No one will be allowed near either
end line.
All
teams should shake hands at the end of each game as a
gesture of friendship and sportsmanship.
Regionals Tournament rosters may include up to 12
participating players at any given game and have a maximum of
14 players listed.
The
Rules & Disciplinary Committee reserves the right to decide
on any/all matters and its interpretation of these rules
shall be final. No protests will be entertained upon
Committee decision / ruling.
Note: Under no circumstances will the Tournament Committee
or staff be responsible for any part of any expenses,
including tournament fee, incurred by any team due to, but
not limited to, part or total cancellation of this
tournament.
We
hope to make this event a very enjoyable experience for you
and your family. On behalf of US Futsal, Massachusetts
Futsal Association and New England Futsal, We wish you and
your team the best of luck and all that good sportsmanship
has to offer.
Sincerely,
Richard Ramos &
Tim Kaliff, Co-Chairmen
2008 US Futsal Northeast / Mid-Atlantic Region Championship
2008
US Futsal