The Maryland State Youth Soccer Association announces the 2010 Maryland State Cup, a part of the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series.
**Application found at the end of this annoucement**
TEAM ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to compete in the Maryland State Cup, a team must:
- Be registered with MSYSA and possess a validated roster from an MSYSA registrar;
- Be in good standing with MSYSA and in compliance with all US YOUTH SOCCER (USYS) rules;
- During the current seasonal year (9/1/09–8/31/10) play in an MSYSA or MSSA (Maryland State Soccer Association) sanctioned league, or other leagues sanctioned by another USYS National Association and approved by MSYSA (not applicable to U-19 teams only);
- Agree to honor all sponsorships/contractual obligations of MSYSA while representing MSYSA.
COMPETITION FORMAT
Competition in all age groups and at all stages will be a single-elimination format.
COMPETITION SCHEDULES
- State Cup schedules will be coordinated with league schedules to avoid conflicts. All leagues have been notified of the Cup schedules.
- State Cup matches take precedence over all other scheduled competitions, except for Region 1 Premier League and Colonial League games (Saturday games only) per the agreement by all the Region 1 state association presidents.
- Common sites will be used wherever possible. Site selection will be at the discretion of the Cup director.
- Requests for special scheduling consideration are strongly discouraged and may not be taken into consideration. It is the sole responsibility of coaches to determine if their players have such conflicts. Scheduling conflicts due to a coach training multiple teams will happen, and the Maryland State Cup Committees recomends finding additonal coaches for those teams this may apply to.
- No advance representation can be made with respect to granting any requests to change of dates or match times.
- The decision of the Cup directors relative to all such requests is final and not subject to appeal.
The bullets below represent rules and procedures that are applicable to State Cup play, and maybe different then league play. Teams are reminded of their applicability.
- Players may request a "release" from a team at any time and team official cannot impede the release process when presented with a signed request for a release. Teams may not initiate the "release" of players from their rosters without the player’s consent, except under very limited conditions. Teams which have "released" players other than as set forth in the US Youth Soccer National Championship Rules will not be eligible for Cup play.
- Teams should note that current US Youth Soccer National Championship Rules state that the team to which a player is first rostered is his/her team for Cup play. To play for any other team, the player must obtain a release. Under this rule, there is no distinction between "primary" and "multi-rostered" status. Therefore, the first team on whose roster the player appears (determined by registrar’s date stamp), regardless of whether their intent is to be a "primary" or a "multi-rostered" play, will be their team for Cup play.
- Teams are reminded that all players on their roster that do not reside in Maryland must have written approval from their home state association granting permission to play on a Maryland team. Moreover, since National Championship Rules prohibit players from playing on more than one team in the National Championship Series in the same year, teams are reminded that it is their responsibility to make certain that none of their out of state players have played in any other Cup competition during the 2008-2009 seasonal year.
- Teams MUST familiarize themselves with ALL applicable USYS Rules and MSYSA Rules.
ENTRY PROCEDURE
To be accepted for State Cup play, a team must submit the Maryland State Cup On-line Entry Form. Once the State Cup On-line Entry Form is submitted, the following items must be provided to MSYSA in order for a team’s Cup Application to be considered complete:
- State Cup Entry Acknowledgment Form. Teams get this form when their on-line entry has been successfully submitted.
- Two (2) copies of official MSYSA team roster. Teams that will not be playing until the spring season and do not have an official roster at the time of the Cup application MUST have an official roster with at least 7 players on the team with the submission of the State Cup Application, otherwise they will not be eligible for State Cup play.
- State Cup entry fee of $400.00 for all age groups. Teams may pay fee by credit card as part of their initial on-line State Cup registration or mail a check to MSYSA.
- 4. Check for the Performance bond in the amount of $500.00 for all age groups.
- 5. Four (4) field usage checks in the amount of $85 each. These four checks, plus $85 of the entry fee covers all 5 possible rounds of the State Cup, these checks will be cashed to cover field costs related to State Cup play as your team advances. If your game is not played on the assigned fields at the alloted time, and the cost of an alternate field is more than the field cost of $170.00, then both teams will be repsonsible for the additional cost of the alternate field.
All fees and performance bonds shall be paid by check or money order (except for those entry fees paid on-line via credit card), payable to MSYSA-State Cup, with the team name, age group and confirmation number indicated on the check. Performance bonds for the U-13 to U-19 age groups will not be cashed and will be returned at the conclusion of Cup play if the team has met all the requirements for MSYSA Cup play. Such bonds will be forfeited if a team fails to follow the requirements laid out in 2.2.2 of the Maryland State Cup Rules.
THE COMPLETED CUP ENTRY APPLICATION PACKET SHOULD BE MAILED TO THE PROPER ADDRESS LISTED ON THE STATE CUP CONFIRMATION FORM
Applications for the U-13 age group must be postmarked by September 16th, 2009.
Applications for the U-14 - U18 age groups must be postmarked by February 20th, 2010.
Applications for the U-19 age group must be postmarked by May 15th, 2010.
Applications postmarked after these dates will not be accepted. Metered postmark is NOT acceptable as proof of postmark. Applications must be mailed to the MSYSA office. Hand delivered applications to the MSYSA office will be accepted. Applications sent by registered or certified mail, requiring a receipt, will not be accepted.
CUP DRAWING
The Cup Draw will be held after the application process is complete at a time and place to be named later.
RULES OF THE COMPETITION
The Rules of the Maryland Cup Competition will be the rules governing US Youth Soccer National Championships as set forth by USYS, and supplemental provisions contained in the Maryland Cup Rules. Copies of the National Championships Rules and the Maryland Cup Rules will be provided to teams with acknowledgment of their acceptance in the Cup competition or at the Cup Draw. Teams are not permitted to enter more than one age group competition nor are they permitted to change the age group entered, once they are accepted. Maryland Cup Rules limit participation in the U-13 age group to teams who are rostered at U-13 AND a majority of whose players are U-13 (i.e., born on or after August 1, 1996). Teams are reminded that players may only participate in one Cup competition during the same seasonal year. Players who were on the roster of a team that participated in another state’s Cup competition which was played during the fall, winter, or spring prior to commencement of Maryland Cup competition are not eligible to participate in Maryland Cup play. Teams using such ineligible players in Maryland Cup play will forfeit all games played, and be disqualified from further play, will forfeit their performance bond, and may be subject to further penalties. Teams are solely responsible for verifying the eligibility of all of their players.
REFEREES
The diagonal system of control (referee and two linesmen) using US Soccer Federation certified referees will be utilized for all Cup matches. Each team will be responsible for paying ½ of the referee fees for all of their matches, at the field site, including semi-final and final matches. The fees below are subject to change:
U-13 & U-14 $48.00 per team
U-15 & U-16 $53.00 per team
U-17 – U-19 $55.00 per team
CLUB AND LEAGUE RESPONSIBILITY
The Cup Entry Form is available and is to be submitted on-line on the MSYSA website for the 2010 Maryland State Cup. Clubs and leagues are responsible for notifying their teams that the Cup Entry Form is to be obtained on the MSYSA website.
Teams are advised to print this page for future reference. To print the above information, select the "Printer Friendly" icon at the bottom, left hand corner of the web page.
ON-LINE CUP APPLICATION: The button / link below will permit you to submit your 2010 Maryland State Cup Entry Application on-line. You will have two options relative to payment of the Cup Entry Fee; submit payment by credit card on-line, or submit separate check for the $400 fee along with the other documents referenced above to complete the Cup Entry Process.
