This is an "open" competition. Teams will be placed on a first-come, first-served basis. Register early to ensure your spot in the tournament.
All players must be registered on their teams' registration form before the tournament begins. Any team or player determined by the event director to have falsified age will be dismissed from the tournament.
A team withdrawing from the tournament after its acceptance shall forfeit the entry fee.
Age division placement is determined by the age of the team's oldest player on the day of the tournament. U10 means 10 and under. Coed/boys is allowed. If there is one male on the team roster, the team is listed as a male team. U10 are open which means they can be all male, all female or combined. Adult open can be coed/boys but is not restricted to coed/boys.
NO changes or substitutions to rosters are permitted after a team's first game. All rosters are final at the start of the team's first game. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Five is the maximum number of players on a team; three field players and two substitutes. A team must have a minimum of 2 field players. Players may only play on one team in the tournament. There are no goalkeepers in 3v3. The home team will be the first team listed on the schedule.
May occur at any dead ball situations regardless of possession, but players must get the referee's attention. NO SUBSTITUTIONS “ON THE FLY”.
All players must wear jerseys/shirts during play and each team must bring both light and dark colored jerseys/shirts. No gray shirts. If both teams are wearing the same color the home team (listed first) must change uniforms. In playoff, consolation and championship games a coin toss will determine the home team. U18 and under are required to wear shin guards or they will not be permitted to play. No jewelry. Casts and splints must be padded.
Age U8 plays with a size 3 ball. Ages U10-U12 play with a size 4 ball. Ages U14 and higher play with a size 5 ball.
The playing field is 40 yards long by 30 yards wide.
Goals are four feet high by six feet wide.
The goal box is directly in front of the goal, and it is ten feet wide by six feet deep. There is no ball contact allowed within the goal box; however, any player may run through the goal box. If the ball comes to rest in the goal box, a goal kick is awarded regardless of who touched the ball last. Any part of the ball or player's body on the line is considered within the goal box and is an extension of the goal box. If a defender touches the ball in the goal box it will count as a goal for the attacking team. It is under the referee's discretion to allow the goal.
The game shall consist of two 10-minute halves separated by a 2-minute halftime period OR the first team to reach 12 or more goals and being 6 goals ahead shall be declared the match winner regardless of time remaining. Games tied after regulation play shall end in a tie, except playoff games. A game will be forfeited at the discretion of the referee and the tournament director if a team does not show up to the field after 5 minutes of scheduled playing time. Teams are responsible for waiting until their seed for playoffs has been determined. No timeouts are permitted in 3v3.
A goal may only be scored from a touch (offensive or defensive) within a team's offensive half of the field. The ball must be completely on the offensive half of the field for a goal to be scored -- it cannot be touching the mid-line. A goal cannot be scored directly from a kick off. Penalty kicks are taken from the midfield line.
Playoff overtime shall consist of two 5-minute sudden victory periods (first team to score wins). A coin toss will decide kickoff/direction. A 1-minute halftime will be used if necessary. The first team to score in overtime is the winner. If no team has scored in either overtime period, the winner shall be decided by a shootout. A coin flip will decide which team starts the penalty kick shootout. Penalty kicks are taken from the middle of the midfield line with all players behind the midfield line. The three players remaining on the field from each team at the end of the overtime period will enter a rotation of penalty kicks. Teams will alternate penalty kicks with the higher scoring team winning after the first round. If the score remains tied after the first round of penalty kicks, the same three players will alternate in the same order in a sudden death penalty kick format until one team scores and the other fails to score. If one team has received a red card during the game and finishes with two players on the field, a remaining roster player (other than the red-carded player) may be chosen to kick in the rotation of penalty kicks. If the red-carded player is the last remaining roster player, one of the two field players may kick twice. The opposing coach has the option to pick the replacement player from the bench/field if the other team is left short handed after time expires.
Any team forfeiting two consecutive games in pool play will be removed from the tournament. Any team forfeiting one game in the playoffs will be removed from the tournament.
There is no offside in 3v3.
No slide tackling is allowed under any circumstances. The penalty for a slide tackle is an indirect kick.
In all dead ball situations, including kickoffs, defending players must stand at least five yards away from the ball. If the defensive player's goal area is closer than five yards, the ball shall be placed five yards from the goal area in line with the place of the penalty.
The ball shall be kicked into play (rather than thrown into play) from the sideline.
All dead ball kicks (kick-ins, free kicks, kick-offs, corner kicks) are indirect with the exception of penalty kicks. Goal kicks may be taken from any point on the end line. The “Advantage” rule will be observed.
The kick-off is an indirect kick and may be taken in any direction. The visiting team will have the opening kick-off defending the south goal.
A penalty kick shall be awarded if, in the referee's opinion, a scoring opportunity was nullified by an infraction (the infraction does not automatically result in a red card). The penalty kick is a direct kick taken from the center of the midfield line with all players behind the midfield line. This is a “dead-ball” kick. If a goal is not scored, the game is resumed with a goal kick by the defending team.
Referees have the right to warn a player for any normal yellow-card offense. The player will be required to sit out the remainder of the half of the game. If the team has only three players at the time the player is warned, the player will still have to sit out the remainder of the half and their team will play one player short.
Referees have the right to eject a player, coach or parent from the game for continual disobedience or as a result of an incident that warrants sending off. The team may then continue with their remaining two, three or four players; however, if the player receiving the red card was on the field of play then the team must complete the remainder of the game a player short. The player receiving the red card will automatically be suspended for their next game (no exceptions).
Teams are awarded 6 points for a win, 3 points for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. Teams are awarded 1 point for each goal scored, up to three goals. Teams are awarded 1 point for a shutout (including games that end 0-0). A maximum of 10 points are available for each game. A win by forfeit will be recorded as a 1-0 victory.
No protests will be permitted.
In the event of a misapplication of the official 3v3 Rules, the Tournament Director reserves the right to overturn a referee decision. The event director has final authority regarding all event disputes and issues.
Players, coaches and spectators are expected to act in the nature of good sportsmanship at all times. There will be no abuse of referees or tournament officials tolerated, verbal or otherwise. Any instance of such behavior by a player, coach or parent will result in immediate removal from the tournament grounds. We are all here to play soccer and have fun.
The tournament Rules Committee reserves the right to make the following changes in the event of inclement weather or unplayable fields:
In the event of inclement weather forcing play to be halted and preventing the match from completing during the scheduled time, the score shall stand if at least one-half of the matches have been completed. In the case of matches halted prior to the completion of at least one half, the Tournament Director reserves the right to declare the match final thereby counting the score at the time the match was halted.
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