Bourbon Cup Tourney Rules
Summary of Specific Rules and Regulations
Administrative Rules
1. All teams must register through GotSport and upload 2023 USASA player cards for their rostered players by Sunday, October 29th (Registration Deadline). All players must have a USASA player card or a weekend pass. The waiver must be signed by all rostered team players and delivered to tournament desk 30 minutes before the team plays their first game.
2. All players participating in the tournament must be listed on the official team rosters.
3. It is extremely important for all participating players & managers to be responsible for their conduct and behavior at all times.
4. The Bourbon Cup Tournament Directors reserve the right to use their discretion for resolving conflict or other matters not specifically provided for under these Tournament Rules.
5. The Bourbon Cup Tournament Committee, Director(s) or any sponsors of the Bourbon Cup activities shall not be held responsible for expenses incurred by any person, team, club, league, or any other association if the tournament is canceled in whole or in part. If the tournament is canceled in whole in advance, the teams will be reimbursed their tournament entry fee minus $40 fee to cover website, credit card and processing expenses. If the tournament is canceled in part after games have begun, there will not be a reimbursement of any entry fees.
General Game Rules
6. Shin guards are required during all games.
7. Each team will have a max of 18 players rostered.
8. Each team must have two sets of jerseys (primary and secondary). Each set of jerseys must have a unique official jersey color for differentiation (i.e., every player in a team must have same color jersey with a different number on each jersey). If there is a conflict in jerseys color the home team must wear their alternative jersey.
9. Games will be played with two teams each consisting of not more than eight (8) players, one of whom shall be the goalkeeper.
10. Game kick offs must have a minimum of six (6) players on the field to avoid a forfeit.
11. All games are played in two 24-minute halves with 5-minute half-time interval/break.
12. There will be no offsides.
13. Throw-ins if ball goes out of bounds. Throw ins are indirect and a goal cannot be scored from a throw in unless the ball touches a player who did not throw the ball before the ball goes in the goal.
14. No slide-tackling for all Divisions.
15. All substitutions are on-the-fly. Player substitutions MUST be done at the sidelines by the center line at the middle of the field only. The oncoming player cannot make a play on an opposing player or the ball until the person he replaces leaves the field at approximately the same area that the replacement came on. If two or more players come on at the same time, no play on the ball or opposing player can occur until after ALL replaced players have left the field. During play restarts, substitutions can occur at the discretion of the referee and don’t have to follow on the fly substitution rules.
16. Players can score directly from a kick-off spot without the need of a 2nd touch/pass.
17. All teams shall be responsible for their team spectators’ behaviors & conducts at all times.
18. Ties will stand during round-robin play.
19. Ties in single elimination rounds will be broken by shoot-out. (See Tie Breakers.)
20. Each team will play at least 3 games.
21. FIFA rules apply at all times, except there will be no off-sides.
22. Penalty kicks will be from 12 yards out, spot to be measured by referee (no Turkey Shoots).
23. Five-minute grace periods before forfeits are called. The half will be shortened accordingly.
24. Number of teams in each division and resulting standings after group play will determine positioning for knockout or championship status
25. Team placement is determined using:
- 3 Points for a win
- 1 Additional Point for a shutout win
- 1 Point for a tie
Open Coed Additional Rules
26. All players must be at least 18 years of age as of the registration deadline stated in item 1 of Administrative Rules.
27. A minimum of 3 female players must be on the field of play at all times. If a team has fewer than 3, that team will play down the number of females that they are unable to field.
Tie Breaker
28. After group play, between teams with the same number of points, the following criteria will be used, in order, to determine placement. If 3 or more teams are tied on points once a determination can be made for one team to either take the primary or last position, the criteria below will start again for the remaining teams from the beginning.
- Head-to-head (only used if all teams involved played each other)
- Goal Differential (max +3, min -3 goal differential to be used per game)
- Most Goals for
- Fewest Goals against
- Coin toss
29. During single elimination, kicks from the spot (Penalty Kicks):
• Referee to determine spot at 12 yards.
• The ball must cross the goal line with the shooter’s first touch.
• All rounds: ONLY the 8 players on the field at the end of regulation play, including the goalie, can take the penalty shots.
• Five of the 8 players that were present on the field at the end of the game/end of 2nd half will be chosen for the first round of penalty shots.
• The team with the largest number of successful goals out of 1st 5 shots will be declared the winner. If the result is still tied, the shootout will continue on a “goal-for-goal” (sudden death) basis, with the teams taking shots alternately (i.e., 6th, 7th, 8th, players etc.), and the one that scores a goal unmatched by the other team is declared the winner.
• If there is still a tie at this point, then the sudden death continues and the first five players who started taking penalty kicks will take shots until one team scores a goal unmatched by the other team.
• No substitutions are allowed after the end of regulation play.
• Players will remain on the field.
Referees & Game Officials
30. Referee’s decisions must be respected and adhered to at all times.
31. 1 Referee per game.
32. The Referee has the final say in ALL matters regarding the game.
Red Card Offenses and Disciplinary Measures
33. Any player, coach, spectator, or team manager ejected from the game by the referee or designated tournament official must leave the playing and facility area immediately this will avoid further conflicts. Referee will stop the match until the player has left the area.
34. If a player receives 2 yellow cards in same game, then he/she will receive a red card which will bear a 1 game suspension for their team’s next game.
35. There is no accumulation of yellow cards across games.
36. If a player gets a straight red card, they will have a two-game suspension (they will miss their teams next two games).
37. Any Player/Manager that physically attacks a game officials/Referee or any officials/volunteers would be subject to immediate expulsion from the event indefinitely and possibly from any future participation in any related games/events.
38. Violent conduct consists of – Abusive or obscene language to officials, spitting, intentional violent play, violent conduct of any kind, use of physical violence, any life threats, use of drugs or alcohol, discriminatory remarks to race, color or ethnicity, sexual orientation or other behavior detrimental to the game or players will not be tolerated.
39. Referees will also report all game scores and red card and violent conduct incidents to the event officials/marshals in all game report cards.
Miscellaneous
• All children must be monitored & watched by responsible adults to avoid any incidents & injuries to them.
• Follow all posted rules for use of fields.
• All players need to have a current state or federal-issued ID available at the tournament. If the opposing team questions a player’s age, the opposing team can ask the referee to confirm the age of the player whose age is being questioned by using that player’s official state or federal ID.