Tournament Sponsors

General Rules

• All decisions of the referee are final and may not be disputed.  Formal and informal protests will not be taken into consideration.
• The tournament administration, District Sports, or any other participating sponsor will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by any team or individual participating in the Cherry Blossom Soccer Tournament.
•  3 members of the opposite sex must be on the field at all times.
• FIFA’s Laws of the Game with modifications will be used for tournament play.
• Teams will wear the supplied team shirts unless there is a color conflict.  A coin flip will determine which team changes shirts.
• The tournament administration reserves the right to change any team name that may be considered offensive or inappropriate.

Eligibility

• All players must be 21 years of age or older by 28 March 2010 to be eligible to play in the tournament and attend any tournament functions.
• Players are only allowed to be listed on a single roster.
• Players must be listed on their team’s final roster to play in any tournament matches.
• All players must sign a waiver of liability before participating in any matches.  Waivers are due at the same time as their team’s final rosters are due.
• Each player must present proper identification if requested by tournament administration.  Any played that is unable to produce proper identification will not be allowed to play in any tournament matches.  Ineligible players who have already participated in tournament matches will have those team’s matches forfeited and will not play in any remaining matches.
• Tournament Team Shirts given out by the tournament are the only authorized uniform for tournament play. Any color socks or shorts may be worn with team shirts. Teams may request to the use alternate team shirts, but additional fees do apply starting at $100.00 per team to cover loss sponsorship revenue. Additional charges apply if sponsorship print or logos are on alternate uniform. Alternate team shirts or uniforms must be approved in writing by Tournament Director. To apply for alternate uniform e-mail alex@districtsports.com with written request and front-and-back photo of jersey/shirt. 

Roster 

• A maximum of 16 players are allowed to be listed on the roster.
• All rosters must be coed and include at least three members of each gender.
• Rosters must include players name, gender, address,e-mail address, phone number, and age
• Final rosters are due 18 March 2010. Teams who do not submit a roster by the 18th will be automatically disqualified from the tournament. Waivers will be signed in person by each player at first day check in. 

Registration/Refunds

• Team registration will open on 23 February 2010 and will close when full.  Individual players may not register, only team registrations will be accepted.
• Registration includes 10 tickets to D.C. United season opener.
• Registration includes 16 team shirts to be worn during tournament play.
• Full refunds will be issued to teams that drop out of the tournament before 10 March 2008. There will be no refunds to accepted teams after 10 March 2010.
• Registration will be accepted via on-line registration only.  Full payment is due at time of registration.  Please go to on-line registration page to register and submit payment.
• Team acceptance is on a first come, first serve basis until the 32-team pool is filled.  Teams wanting to register after the pool is filled will be placed on a waitlist should a team that is already registered drop out at any point before tournament play begins. Teams that would like to be placed on a waitlist should contact District Sports at info@districtsports.com. Waitlist is first come, first serve.
• A  partial refund of $350 will will be provided to teams in the event the tournament is cancelled due to weather or other circumstances beyond the tournament administration’s control. Fees withheld by District Sports go to cover team cost of DC United tickets, uniforms, and equipment.
• In the event that the tournament must be postponed an alternate date/location will be made known to all teams as soon as possible. Currently the rain date for this tournament is scheduled for 10  and 11 April 2010.

Tournament Check-In Procedures

• Teams are strongly encouraged to attend the Kickoff Party for the tournament draw on Thursday 25 March 2010.  Team captains will be notified via e-mail and phone on Friday 27 March of their first game time
• Teams should check in to the main tent at least 30 minutes before the start of their first match on Saturday 28 March to receive their team’s shirts if they were not picked up at the Kickoff Party
• All team players will need to sign a waiver form and present a picture ID at check-in
• Lost team shirts are not the responsibility of the tournament administration and  suitable replacements must be made by the team before play begins. 

Conduct

• Players, coaches, and spectators are expected to conduct themselves within the spirit of the Law as well as the letter of the Law.  Displays of temper or dissent are cause for ejection from the game and surrounding field area.
• Alcoholic beverages are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN on National Park Service property.
• Any team or individual disregarding a decision by the referees and/or the tournament administration to either suspend or cancel tournament play will be disqualified for the remainder of the tournament.

• 32 teams will be divided into eight 4-team groups for the first round.  The first round of play will be round-robin style.  Each team will play each other once.
• 3 points – win, 1 point – tie, 0 points – loss.
• The two teams with the most points at the end of the first round advance to the second round.  First tie breaker is goal differential, second is goals against, third is head to head.  Final tie breaker will be a coin flip.
• Second round of play will include 16 teams drawn into a single-elimination knock-out bracket until the championship match.

Tournament Rules of Play

FIFA’s Laws of the Game will be used as the basis of all rules with the following modifications:

• Teams will be coed with at least three members of each gender on the field of play at all times.  Teams may not play unless two of each gender are on the field of play to begin a match.
• Teams will consist of 7 players maximum and 4 players minimum with one player designated as the goalkeeper.
• All players must be at least 21 years of age at the start of tournament play.
• All players must wear proper equipment to play in all matches.  Shinguards must be fully covered by proper socks/stockings.  Any items that have hard plastic or metal parts are considered dangerous and not allowed to be worn during play.  Tournament administration will be the final determination in all matters of safe/unsafe equipment.
• If a team is unable to field a proper team within 5 minutes of the scheduled start time of the match that team will forfeit the match and the opposing team will be awarded a 3-0 victory.  If neither team is able to field a proper team on the field both teams will forfeit the match to be recorded as a 3-0 defeat for each team.
• Games will consist of 2 equal halves.  Each half shall be twenty minutes.
• The field of play has been modified to suit the number of players and field locations.
• Teams are allowed unlimited substitutions so long as two of each gender remains on the field.
• Both teams may substitute on kick-offs and goal kicks.  No substitutions by either team on corner kicks.  Only the throwing team may substitute on throw-ins.
• First round games will end in ties at the end of regulation play; subsequent elimination games from the second round and on will play a single 10-minute, golden goal overtime to begin immediately after regulation time expires.  If still tied teams will go to a 5 round penalty kick shootout.  If the shootout is tied after five rounds a sudden death shootout will commence until a winner is decided.
• Penalty shootouts must include at least one shooter of each gender using only the players on the field of play at the end of overtime.
• Goalkeepers may not throw, punt, or drop-kick the ball directly beyond the half-line.  Infractions will result in an in-direct free-kick from the point where the ball crossed the half-line.
• Goal kicks may not directly cross the half line.  Infractions will result in an in-direct free-kick from the point where the ball crossed the half-line.
• Slide tackling is not allowed, except by the goalkeeper inside their own penalty area, and can be considered either a foul or playing in a dangerous manner as determined by the referee.
• Yellow cards are not cumulative and do not carry over from previous matches.
•  Referees reserve the right to send players who have received yellow cards off the field for a brief "cool down" period.
• Any player receiving a red card shall ejected from current game and is not eligible to play in his/her team’s next match. Any player receiving a second red card during the tournament shall be banned from all remaining matches.