For questions regarding registration, please contact Nancy Shultz at soccer323@aol.com or 843-928-3677.
New Demosphere Feature:12/27/11
To check the status of background checks for your volunteers/coaches simply go to the Team Staff pool and hover over a name of the person and a text regarding the background check status will show.
Notes from Region III Registrar, Jane Llewellyn: (11/4/2011)
Technically, the roster for Regional competition is a new one, think of each level of the National Championship Series (NCS)competition as a new one, each having it's own roster. After State Cup, the coach names the regional team - may or may not be the same players that play at State Cup - just must have at least 9 league players. See info below.
Players may be moved off the State Cup Championship team and replaced w/ club pass players, as long as a minimum of 9 league players remain.
Rules that apply at all levels:
a. Player may ONLY play w/ one team per NCS level of play and must meet age/gender requirements for the team.
b. Team may NOT have more than 5 players that have transferred in from another club during the seasonal year - rostered to the same NCS bound team.
We have three levels of play: Each with their own roster freeze date
1. State Cup - team is chosen that must include at least 9 league players. Make sure rule a &b audit rules noted above are followed
2. Regionals - team is chosen again, must have a minimum of 9 league players (does NOT have to be the same players for State), may complete the roster up to the max size (22 players at Regionals and Nationals for U14-U19) w/ club pass players. Make sure a & b audit rules are applied, plus c & d.
c. In order for a player to be eligible to play NCS, player MUST have joined the club on or before the State Cup freeze date. Example: Your U18 boys State Cup is in Dec, roster freeze late November. Team wins State Cup - a new U18 joins the club in February - player is NOT eligible for the regional or national NCS roster as the player was not a member of the club on or before the November roster freeze date.
d. when a player is rostered to an NCS team, the player is bound to that team UNTIL the team loses. Example: A player plays in State Cup, if his team won state cup, the ONLY regional roster the player is eligible to play with is the team that won State Cup. Coach is not committed to putting the player on the team, but he may not put the player on another team bound for regionals. If the player's team does NOT win State Cup, player is then eligible to play w/ any team going to regionals.
3. National roster is handled the same as regionals.
Game Day Roster: (8/26/2011)
If you are using a club pass player and need a game day roster to take to your match, go to the team page of the team that is using the player. In the blue area where you can edit team info you will see an option to "Clone for Game Day Roster". Click on that and the league 2011-2012 Game Day will automatically come up. You can now add your coaches (remember to choose how they will be added (i.e. head coach or assistant coach) by checking the boxes in front of their names, then add your players (all if everyone from this team is playing or individually if some players will not be playing this match). Once you have this done, click "Clone Team". The team will come up and because the "kind " is tournament you can now add your club pass players. When the team is completed go to print roster and select "Game Day Roster". You will be asked for "Game ID" (this is the game/match number same as you would use for reporting red cards); "Location" (where game is being played); and "Date" (date game is being played). Click Display Roster and if all is correct, print.
Activating Players: (8/11/2011)
To activate players in your player pool for this season there is a new step. If you are in your player pool and look to the right hand side of your screen (beside the archive players link) there is a new link to activate players. Once you click on this link you will see the check boxes and be able to activate players for the upcoming season. Be careful that you choose active players and not archive players as the links are side by side.
Archiving Team Staff: (7/25/2011)
There is a new feature that allows you to archive persons from the team staff pool who are no longer active with your organization. My suggestions would be that you only archive people that have not been with your organization for more than two years or whom you know have moved out of the state. The archive feature is found in the team staff administration, then team staff pool. Remember to filter by Risk Management so you get all of your pool. To the right hand side their will be a link called "Archived People". At this time the link will be empty. In order to archive either select all from the adults by last name or the letter of the last name of the person you wish to archive. Once you have made your selection, the "Archive People" link will show up above the names beside the Risk Management Link. Click Archive People and check boxes will show up. Click the boxes for those you wish to archive then go to the bottom and click "Submit to Archive". These individuals are now archived and to see a list of all of your archived staff you would go to the "Archived People" link and click.
Update on background checks: (7/22/2011)
There is a change in the background check selection. In Team Staff Administration the check boxes no longer appear automatically. You must now select a link labeled "Risk Management Emails" in the header above the list of personnel. This will then open the check boxes and you proceed as always by checking those that you need to send the risk management e-mail to and then selecting the "Send RM Email" button at the bottom of the page. The message will still come from no-reply@demosphere.com.
Changes to the International Clearance Process
BACKGROUND
FIFA requires all players over the age of 12, regardless of their ability or citizenship, to receive an international transfer clearance (“ITC”) from their former country when they are attempting to register to play soccer in a different country (i.e., the United States). U.S. Soccer is responsible for obtaining that ITC on behalf of all players in the U.S. participating in affiliated leagues. FIFA, however, prohibits the transfer of players between the ages of 12 to 17 (minors) unless the player meets one of two exceptions:
(a) The player has moved with his/her parents to the U.S. for reasons other than playing soccer (e.g. work);
or
(b) The player and prospective club are both located within 30 miles of an international border.
If the player can prove to FIFA that either of the two exceptions above has been met, U.S. Soccer would be permitted to request the ITC for that minor player. If the player does not meet one of the two exceptions above, the available options to register are listed below.
In 2009, FIFA instituted the FIFA TMS system. TMS is an online method to provide FIFA with documentation to prove that a player fits either of the two exceptions above. Documents are uploaded into FIFA’s system and are reviewed by FIFA, who then makes the final determination on whether an ITC request could be fulfilled for a minor player. However, U.S. Soccer has received a limited exemption from FIFA from the requirement to use the electronic FIFA TMS system. U.S. Soccer is now responsible for the documentation, review and determination of whether a player meets either of the two exceptions above. Although required to uphold the same standards as FIFA, U.S. Soccer is able to review the documents on an expedited basis and determine whether an ITC request could be made for a minor player.
International Transfer Clearance Options
Under FIFA’s rules, there are four options by which a player born outside of the U.S. can register with an affiliated league:
1. Entry Prior to Age 12 - Players who entered the U.S. prior to the age of 12 (regardless of their current age) can supply a copy of an official document to prove that fact (e.g. – report cards, immunization records, doctor records). If you have a US Citizenship form and it includes the address where he/she resided when they became a citizen, this may also be used as proof.
2. First Registration
a. U.S. Citizens – U.S. citizens born outside of the U.S. (regardless of current age) may simply complete and sign the First Registration form attesting that the player has never been registered at any level to play soccer in any other country. U.S. Soccer can immediately clear the player.
b. Non-U.S. Citizens – A player born outside of the U.S., who is currently over the age of 18, may also complete and sign the First Registration form. U.S. Soccer will contact the foreign federation for confirmation, and once that is received, U.S. Soccer can clear the player.
3. Minors – Any player currently between the ages of 12 to 17 who is NOT eligible for one of the proceeding methods must prove to U.S. Soccer that he/she meets one of the exceptions (a) or (b) above. Once verified, U.S. Soccer will request the ITC from the former federation. Per FIFA regulations, that federation has up to 30 days to respond after which U.S. Soccer can issue a provisional international transfer clearance.
ITC Request – Players 18 years of age and over who are not eligible for the Entry Prior to Age 12 or First Registration options, will need to fill out the ITC Request Form and submit it to U.S. Soccer. U.S. Soccer will then request the ITC from the former federation. Per FIFA regulations, that federation has up to 30 days to respond after which U.S. Soccer can issue a provisional international transfer clearance.
CLUB PLAYER PASS – is a specially printed pass that allows a coach to move players freely within their own club based on player development needs and specific team needs without additional administrative paperwork and cost.
a. Players cannot play down in level and cannot play for multiple teams in the same day. The player may play for no more than one team per day. A team may use a maximum of three club pass players in any one game.
b. Use of the club player pass is permitted in the SCSCL, PMSL, recreation and academy divisions.
c. A player may not play up an age group but in a lower division ( Example: A u14 player on a team in the PMSL Division I may not play on a U15 PMSL Division II team.)
d. A player can play up an age group above the current age group as long as it is at the same level or higher division of play. A player cannot play down in a division below his current level of play. A player cannot participate on another team at his club that is in the same age and division.
(Example: U12 academy player may play on their clubs U13 team only, U13 and older recreation player may play on an oder age team, SCSCL and PMSL division players may play either in the same age group at a higher division of play or in an older age group at the same or higher division of play.)
e. A club pass player can be used during any regular season league game. The club pass system does not apply to tournaments, Region III Premier League or State Cup since those events are governed by their own rules.
f. Due to continuity of rosters for State Cup, clubs are required to register at least 11 players on each team.
Creating Teams for 2011/2012
Team Kind
When creating teams, your league selection remains In House Recreation, Academy, Classic and Tournament. However, now when selecting the team kind, please notice the change in choices. You can now select: Recreation, Academy, Classic I, Classic II, Challenge, Premier or Tournament. You need to make sure that Academy, Recreation and Tournament league and kind still match. For the classic league, you now must select the team kind that matches where the team is playing. If your teams are playing in the Region III Premier League your team kind is premier. If they are playing i the SCSCL then their team kind is Challenge. For teams playing in the PMSL you will select either Classic I (those playing in the highest level of the PMSL), or Classic II (those playing in the second tier of the PMSL or in local leagues that include classic teams). If you clone a team from last year, you must remember to edit team information and change the team kind as cloning would copy whatever was listed from the 2010-2011 season.
For U13 and U14 teams please choose team kind that would correspond with which league they will play in for the spring season. We understand that teams may change the league they play in between fall and spring, but make the best effort to match now and we will handle any changes that occur in the spring.