ERSL Team Officials MeetingDistrict Development

April 2015

Agenda

• Introduction

• Communications

• Schedules

• Team Section – Website

• Discipline

• Questions

Communication model

• Inbound Outbound

• Parents & Players ERSL Directors

• Team Officials ERSL General Manager

• Club Rep Coach (cc Club Rep & President)

• ERSL General Manager Parents & Players

• ERSL Directors

Questions, complaints, concerns, and other matters must be communicated to the appropriate Club representative.

DO NOT RESPOND TO E-MAILS FROM THE WEB SITE GENERATOR

Communication model Exception

• All of your Communications are to be directed to your Club except, in the following circumstances you may contact the League directly:

• Reschedules

• Requests for Reschedule (Other)

• New game details

• Discipline

• Requests for reports/documentation

• Hearing Requests

ERSL Pre season statistics – As of Apr 23, 2015

2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005

# of Clubs 23 27 25 23 23 24 26 34 30 - -

# of team applications

495 498 198 201 191 206 699 711 573 608 544

# of withdrawn teams

18 30 25 32 31 30 104 109 119 75 107

# of current teams

487 468 173 178 175 180 595 603 592 510 501

# of teams yet to activate

177 0 6 2 1 3 39 23 - - -

Getting ready for the new season

• The ERSL operates extensively via the web site and email

• Emails from the website come through an email generator. DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS!

• To prepare your team for the season you need to:

• Activate your account

• Enter your OSA # and Personal Details

• Enter your team roster

• Enter your players shirt #’s

• Familiarize yourself with the web site tools

Managing your schedule

Schedules

• Draft schedule will be published by May 11th

• Please review your team’s schedule and report any issues to GM@ersl.ca

• Between May 11th and May 15th we will correct the draft schedule and take Requests to Reschedule “Other” as outlined in the Reschedule Policy

• Final schedule released May 18th

• Changes will continue to occur over the next week as problems are identified – So continue to check your schedule

• Please pay special attention to game fields and game nights – they may vary from your usual

• Season will start Monday May 25th – pending fields opening

Managing your schedule

You are responsible for managing your schedule

Schedule – World Cup Game Days

• The following will be blackout dates in the ERSL Schedule for the 2015 season for WWC:

• Thursday, June 11th;

• Monday June 15th;

• Wednesday, June 17th; and

• Monday, June 22nd.

• The ERSL will not be scheduling games on these 4 dates.

Rescheduling Quick Notes

• December is a holding place until a game has been rescheduled.

• If you have games appearing on your schedule with a date in December they are “up for reschedule” and the Home team must initiate the reschedule discussion with their opponent

• Teams have 2 weeks to work out a new date once a reschedule request has been approved - all games must be played before Sept 13th 2015

• You are permitted to play a rescheduled game in a week where you already have a game; try to avoid rescheduling a game in week where also participating in a Festival

Draft Schedule Week May 11-15

• During Draft Schedule Week – May 11th-15th

• All teams may request to move weekday games scheduled before the fourth Friday in June and after August 31st where the one way travel time exceeds 75 minutes

• If Canada Day falls on a regular game day, all teams may request to reschedule the game

Reschedule Requests – Other con’t

• There are some items which required submission of exception requests before May 1st

• c)     A team submits, by May 1st, an exemption request by email, due to the entire team traveling (travel period may not exceed three (3) weeks). A request received after May 1st will not be accepted;

• e)     A team has Monday night as its regular game night, and submits by May 1st up to one additional exception request, due to a team’s entry into a tournament the preceding weekend. The ERSL may request a copy of the tournament entry form to verify the request; (This also applies to Festivals)

Reschedule Requests – Team Choice

• Before you use your Team Choice reschedule, check to make sure the game does not fall under an “other” policy item

• Each team is entitled to ONE Team Choice reschedule

• Reschedule requests for Team Choice must be made via the web site tool, and must be made 6 complete days before the date of the game.

• A Game scheduled for Monday May 25 must be requested for reschedule by midnight Monday, May 18. The tool will only show games meeting the reschedule criteria

• Once you have made a request for reschedule using the web site tool, your ONE Team Choice is “used” and cannot be reinstated!!

• A Team Choice Request is automatically approved and the opponent is notified instantly (do not wait for an approval).

Reschedules by the League

• Games will be posted by the League for rescheduling (December) if:

a)    At the discretion of the Referee, they are postponed due to inclement weather or unplayable field conditions;

b)   A game is postponed at the discretion of a park official responsible for the operation and maintenance of the field with the authority to close the field to soccer use; and

c)    The Referee does not appear within 20 minutes of the scheduled kick-off time and no other OSA registered, certified and eligible Referee, agreed to by both Teams’ Officials is available to replace him/her.

Arranging a Rescheduled Game

• Any Game appearing with a date in December and any game for which you receive a notification from the web site (Team Choice) must be rescheduled

• The ERSL does not reschedule games for you

• Access your Opponent’s contact information through the “Contact” tab on the web site

• Select Team Contacts in the left sidebar

• Select the desired team from the drop-down menu

• Email addresses and phone numbers for all Team Officials will be displayed

Arranging a Rescheduled Game

• The reschedule process must be initiated by the Home team and BOTH teams must cooperate to complete the process

• First contact your Club to determine where/when there is field availability

• At a minimum, the Home team is required to provide three (3) dates, including at least two separate weekends, for the Away team to choose from;

• You have 14 days from the approval of a request to set a new date and time for the game

• All games must be played before the end of season date – September 13th

• If the request is for either of a team’s last 2 games, the game must be played before the originally scheduled date

Arranging a Rescheduled Game

• You cannot accept a reschedule, on the same day you had previously asked to have a game rescheduled

• Reschedules for U18 teams must be played before August 21st

Once the game is agreed upon:START A FRESH EMAIL

The Home team must send an email to the Away team with the following details:• game number;• new game date• home team• away team• Field• start time

The Away team must forward the email to GM@ersl.ca with the Home team cc’d.

Note: If this process is not followed the game will not be rescheduled

Arranging a Rescheduled Game

• If the teams cannot agree on a date within 14 days of the approval of the request to reschedule, the team responsible for the initiating the reschedule process shall report the problem by email to the ERSL and include emails documenting their attempts to reschedule.

•The ERSL will determine if the teams have made reasonable attempts to reschedule and the appropriate action, as outlined in the policy will be taken

Not demonstrating flexibility isn't reasonable

End of Season date

• The End of Season Date is Sunday September 13th, 2015

• No games will be played after this date except for games postponed or abandoned within 7 days of the end of season date

• If both teams agree to not play a game due to the inability to find a suitable date in their schedules please notify the ERSL in the same way you would send new game details – this game will be deleted from your schedule

Team Section - Website

Team Section

Once you log in to the website as a Team Official there are many things you can do and need to do, including:

• Game Sheets – print game sheets• Suspensions – view suspensions• Game Report – complete game reports• Shirt Numbers – we are working with E2E to bring this functionality

back to the team from the Club• shirt numbers CAN be handwritten on the game sheet

• Change Uniform – change uniform colours• Request Reschedule – request a reschedule

Maintain Team Data

• The majority of communication with Clubs and Teams is through email – maintaining up to date contact information is essential

• 24.08 The e-mail shall be deemed to have been received by Teams:

a) May 1 to September 15 - 72 hours after transmittal of the e-mail

b) September 16 to April 30  - no e-mails will be sent to teams other than for informational purposes

Players and Staff

• To be eligible to play, both players and staff must be registered with the OSA

• Anyone listed on the game sheet is deemed to have played in the game (Players) or been present on the bench (Officials)

• It is your responsibility to ensure only registered players and staff are on the game sheet

• Club Officials enter players to the web site

• Team Staff are entered on the web site so they can be printed on the game sheet

• If you are not registered with the OSA you are not permitted to activate a Team Official Account on the web site

• At least 1 Team Official must activate by April 30th

Team Section of Web site - Game Sheets

Game Sheets

• Before each game you must create a game sheet

• You are only required to provide 1 copy to the referee

• Game sheets are only available via the web site

• The Game Sheet is the official document of the game so please ensure it is complete and accurate; be sure to verify the referee section as well

• At the conclusion of the game the referee keeps the game sheet for submission to the ERSL• You do not submit game sheets to the ERSL

Game Sheets

• If staff or players are not on the game sheet or are listed as suspended they cannot be on the bench

• ALL bench staff shall sign the game sheets

• If players or bench staff are absent, please cross them off the game sheet

• Give the game sheets to the referee at least 15 minutes before kick off

Game Sheet Creation

• Select the game from the drop-down menu

•Click Next

Game Sheets – Select the Players

• Choose the category from which to select players from the drop-down menu

Game Sheets

• There will be a separate list available for underage players who have been pre-approved to play in an older age category

• As per OSA rules you are limited to 2 underage players per game sheet unless otherwise pre-approved by the EODSA

Game Sheets – Select the Staff

• Only 4 Staff can be on the game sheet and on the bench

• You can have more than 4 Staff sign up for your team

• Click Next

Game Sheet Creation

• Click Create Game Sheet

Game Sheet Creation

No Game Sheets?

• 8.4 In the event that a game sheet cannot be printed from the ERSL League Management System due to technical difficulties, the team shall inform the ERSL by email or voice mail that the team was unable to print the game sheet. Notice of the difficulty must be received prior to the game start time. If notice is received after the game start time, the team's Club will be subject to the applicable fine as per the published schedule of ERSL Fines.

• 8.5 When a game sheet cannot be printed from the ERSL League Management System due to technical difficulties, the affected team shall create a hand written game sheet, modify a copy of an old game sheet or use the OSA Team Roster Report and add the additional game information. The ERSL will manually verify the registration status and eligibility of the listed players.

• 8.6 Any Team that fails to produce a game sheet will be subject to a fine as per the published schedule of ERSL Fines.

Game Sheets – Red & Yellow Cards

• Cards are recorded on the game sheet beside each player.

• Red Card offence codes are listed on the bottom of the game sheet:

• The Referee will indicate the applicable offence in the “R” column of the game sheet

• Verify the code being entered by the referee following the game; if a code has not been indicated please ask the referee to add the code.

A. Serious foul playB. Violent conductC. Spits at an opponentD. Denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity by hand ball

E. Denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity by foulF. Offensive or insulting language or gestureG. Receives a 2nd caution

Protesting Cards – Hearing Request

• If you would like to protest a Red Card you must submit a Hearing Request and $50.00 request fee within 72 hours of completion of the game to the ERSL (fee is only payable if found guilty)

• You should request a copy of the referee’s report

• Requests for Hearing are only complete when they are accompanied by the fee; after 72 hours has passed you may no longer request a hearing

• Any coach ejected during a game also has 72 hours to ask for a Hearing – do not return to the field and leave its vicinity.

• Your best resource for guidance when it comes to Discipline matters is your Club Discipline Representative

Game Reporting

• Following the game, collect your copy of the game sheet from the referee

• Use this report to enter the game report via the web site

• You must submit your report within 24 hours

• You will not be required to enter a score, goal scorers, or shutouts

• You will be required to report if the game was completed or not, and enter any cards received during the game

Game Reporting Rule

• Don’t be negligent in your game reporting!

• Submission of Game Reports and Scores

• 11.1 Each Coach shall be responsible for entering the game report, including the score, cards issued by the Referee as well as the game feedback on the ERSL website within twenty-four (24) hours of completion of the game. If the game report is not entered within seven (7) days, the ERSL will utilize the game sheet received from the Referee to complete the game report, and the team(s) which failed to enter the game report will be subject to a fine as specified in the published schedule of ERSL Fines.

Game Reporting - Game Feedback

• Following your Game Report you are asked to complete a series of Game Feedback questions

• The ERSL will monitor the feedback and assist Clubs in correcting inappropriate conduct

• The ERSL will monitor the feedback and assist Districts in improving referee performance

• Clubs will be able to access feedback on their teams in the Club section

Protests

• If you wish to play a game under protest you must inform the referee prior to the kick off and ask him to indicate this on the game sheet

• You must submit the protest fee ($150) within 48 hours to the ERSL

• You will be notified if your protest is valid or not

20.06   No protests pertaining to the decision of the game official shall be entertained.

20.07   Objections to field conditions, goalposts, balls or team colours, shall not be considered as grounds for a protest.

Card Inspections

Card Checks

• There are NO CARD CHECKS in U9-U12 ERSL League play

• Note that you may be required to produce player cards for your participation in Festivals – these are a separate competition, each with their own rules regarding card checks

Discipline

Discipline

• The OSA Discipline policies and procedures are used the ERSL

• There are 2 processes

• Discipline by review (DBR)

• Discipline by hearing (DBH)

• Following a red card the player can request a hearing within 72 hours of the game, otherwise a discipline by review occurs

• The league may also request that the individual attend a hearing

Coaches need to be reminded that regardless of age – players and spectators are their responsibility

Discipline by review (DBR)

• The ERSL Discipline Committee will review all red and yellow card reports and issue a suspension according to the OSA policy

• You can not appeal the outcome of a DBR decision

• The ERSL will employ DBR in all cases that the OSA permits

Discipline by Hearing (DBH)

• Discipline hearings are held when required. The hearing dates for 2015 are posted under the Discipline section of the web site

• At least 3 people will sit on the panel including a Chair

• You can appeal the outcome of a DBH decision to the OSA

• Your Rights of Appeal are available on the ERSL web site

Suspensions

• The league will tell you when a player or official is suspended

• Do not sit out a player and then expect that to count toward a suspension

• A coach will receive email notification of a suspension giving instructions for how he can retrieve the letter from the web site

• The game sheets will also indicate all suspended players on your team at the bottom

• Where disciplinary action results is a suspension, the suspension shall not commence prior to seven (7) calendar days from the issue of the notice of discipline. For example, a player issued with a suspension notice on Friday would serve the suspension for the game(s) scheduled on or after the following Friday.

Important Dates

• April 30th – Mandatory minimum 1 Team Official Activated

• May 1st – deadline for certain Reschedule Requests

• May 11th-15th – Draft Schedule week

• May 25th – Season Start Date

• June 11th, 15th,17th and 22nd – WWC blackout dates

• September 13th – Season end date

Questions

Any questions?

Adjournment

Have a Great Season!