U15 - U18 Tournament Information

Please read all the information on this page and then register your team at the bottom of the page.

The NEBRASKA CHAMPIONSHIPS is the premier tournament in the state. The teams battle to be declared the Nebraska State Champion and will advance to represent Nebraska at the Region II Midwest Regional. They will play against 14 other states in our region and the winners at U14 and above will move on to the National Championship.

The Nebraska Championships are open to any team that is registered and in good standing with the Nebraska State Soccer Association at the U13 - U19 Age groups. It is designed for Premier and Classic I teams that compete at the highest level of play.

The Nebraska State Soccer Association hosts the Nebraska Championships.

The Championship for U15 through U18 age groups is played during the Fall of the previous year. The Championship for the U13 - U14 and U19 age groups is played during the Spring.

FALL TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
DATES:	Preliminary Rounds October 1-5, 2008. U17 and U18 age groups will play one (1) game a day with their round-robin play on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. U15 and U16 age groups will play their round-robin play on the first weekend. Some age groups will play two (2) games on Saturday; the others will play two (2) games on Sunday at the U15 and U16 age groups. * Any U17 or U18 team who wishes to participate from Districts IV, V or VI will be allowed to play their round-robin games on the weekend of October 4 and 5, 2008. The teams will not have to travel for weekday games. They will play two games on one of the weekend days and one game on the other.
	Semifinals and Finals: October 11-12, 2008
LOCATION:	Games may be played at multiple sites in Omaha or Lincoln.
AGE DIVISIONS:	Boys and Girls: U15, U16, U17, U18
AWARDS:	Team and Individual awards to 1st and 2nd place.
FORMAT:	World Cup Format depending on the number of teams in each bracket. In brackets with an odd number of teams there will be a playoff game. The draw determine teams in the playoff.
LAWS OF PLAY:	Play will be governed by the FIFA Laws of the Game, except where amended by US Youth Soccer Rules of Play, National Championship Policy and/or the Tournament Rules. A complete set of rules will be sent out with the acceptance letter or you can get them by going to the Main Page.
GAME LENGTH:	Age	Game Length	Overtime	Players	Ball Size
	U15 & U16	40-minute halves	15 minute halves	11v11	5
	U17 - U18	45-minute halves	15 minute halves	11v11	5
REFUNDS:	Games may be considered complete if one-half of the game has been completed and the Game Director stops play. See the Policy for the refund policy on the number of games played.
SUBSTITUTION:	Substitution per US Youth Soccer Guidelines
ENTRY FEE:	$450.00
ENTRY DEADLINE:	August 8, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. - Staff will be allowed to take teams or fill brackets through August 20, 2008. Teams entering after the August 8, 2008 may be subject to a $200.00 late fee. No teams will be taken after August 27, 2007 at 6:00 p.m.
TEAM CHECK-IN:	Team Check-in will be held Monday, September 29th, 2008 in Lincoln and Omaha from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Omaha location will be the State Office and the Lincoln Location is Bess Dodson Walt Branch Library , 6701 S 14th Street, 68512.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Players must be registered PRIMARY to the team making application. No GUEST or SECONDARY players will be eligible to compete. Transfer and adding non-rostered players deadline is 14 days prior to your first game (6:00 p.m. - Counting the day of play as one) and any player transferring after the deadline will be ineligible to compete. Please be advised that Nebraska does not permit players to play with hard casts.

All coaches and players participating must carry a US Youth Soccer player pass. Passes must have a picture, signed and laminated. All teams are also required to carry written medical releases from parents/guardians in case emergency medical care is necessary. Medical Releases are not required to be notarized, this is a policy of US Youth Soccer and the Nebraska State Soccer Association.

Players under suspension from any part of last year's Nebraska, Regional or National Championship must serve the suspension before being allowed to compete in Championship play. Suspensions received in Championship Play will be served in the next Championship game(s) that a player or coach participates.

Any out-of-state player wishing to play on a Nebraska team must receive permission (release) from -
1. The state where the player is lives or is registered.
2. The Nebraska State Soccer Association.

TEAM ELIGIBILITY
Note! Primary and Secondary players count towards roster limits.
Teams, consisting of not more than 18 players at any time of the year at the U13 - U15 age group and not more than 22 players at the U16 - U19 age group, must be registered and in good standing with the Nebraska State Soccer Association. U13 - U18 teams must compete in at least one (1) four - (4) team sanctioned league during the current seasonal year and must compete against different teams in each game. A team is limited to five (5) - transferred players before 14 days prior to their first game. The team must demonstrate continuity of roster between league and Championship competition by maintaining a minimum of nine (9) players common to the rosters of both competitions.

All clubs that have teams entered in the Championships will be assigned job duties at the tournament. Failure to complete the assigned duties will result in a fine and/or suspension for the club.

REFEREE
We will only use US Soccer Federation Registered Referees and a 3-Referee System will be used on all matches. Referees accompanying teams to Omaha are invited to "call" games during the tournament. Individuals interested in refereeing contact the Referee Assignor GK Rhoads
gkrhoads@tconl.com
(402) 498-0556

REFEREE ABUSE
Referee abuse will not be tolerated during the tournament. Referee abuse by a player, coach or fan will be reported to Nebraska State Soccer Association within 48 hours of the end of games. The player, coach or fan will be removed from the soccer complex and will not be allowed to return.

CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW/SEEDING -
a. At the U13 Age Group: If all teams entered in the Nebraska Championships are leagued in the same age group, the top four teams will be seeded off the fall league results. In any division with 5 teams or less, teams will be seeded #1 through #4 and the last spot (if needed) will be filled by a blind draw. In any division (6 teams or more) with two brackets the #1 and #4 seeds will be in one bracket and the #2 and #3 seed will be in the other bracket. All other spots will be filled by a blind draw. In the event that a team changes clubs or name a team must demonstrate continuity of rosters between the old team and new team by maintaining a minimum of 9 players common to the team rosters to maintain their spot in seeding. If a team loses their spot they will be put in the blind draw and the next highest team will take their spot. If not all teams entered in the Nebraska
Championship are in the same league (i.e. a team plays in older age group league), the seeding for the top four teams will be reviewed and placed by a group consisting of the Nebraska Championship Committee members , Operations Manager, and Director of Coaching.

b. At U14 and older Age Groups: The top four teams will be seeded from last year's Nebraska Championship results. The Champion will be seeded #1, the Runner-up is
seeded #2, the Semi-finalist that lost to Champion will be seeded #4 and the Semi-finalist
that lost to Runner-up will be seeded #3. In any division with 5 teams or less teams will
be seeded #1 through #4 and the last spot (if needed) will be filled by a blind draw. In any division (6 teams or more) with two brackets the #1 and #4 seeds will be in one bracket and the #2 and #3 seed will be in the other bracket. All other spots will be filled by a blind draw. In the event that a team changes clubs or name a team must demonstrate continuity of rosters between the old team and new team by maintaining a minimum of 9 players common to the team rosters to maintain their spot in seeding. If a team loses their spot the vacated seed spot will be filled as part of the blind draw. If one or more of the final four teams from the previous year does not participate in the current year's tournament, the vacated seed spot will be filled as part of the blind draw.

The Tournament Committee
Nebraska State Soccer
10700 Sapp Brothers Drive - Suite B
Omaha, NE 68138
(800) 909-4458
(402) 596-1616
programs@nebraskastatesoccer.org

COACH OF MORE THAN ONE TEAM
Coaches who coach more than one team need to make sure they have an assistant available at the tournament as we will not be able to accommodate every request for conflicts. Additionally, it is unreasonable to request no early morning games.

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE TOURNAMENT
The entry fee will be forfeited if a team withdraws after being notified of its acceptance and team may be fined and/or suspended.

ACCOMMODATIONS (and rental cars if needed)
Accommodations, Transportation and Expenses - Your Entry Fee includes cost for referees, games, field painting and Referee and Game Scheduler. You will be responsible for transportation, lodging, meals and any other costs associated with the tournament. Accommodations list will be mailed with your Acceptance letter, you will be responsible for finding your own rooms.

REGION II MIDWEST REGIONAL
U13 - U19 age group teams that are declared the Nebraska State Champions will represent Nebraska at the Midwest Regional. Any team that withdraws from the regional or is fined by the National or Regional tournaments the club will be subject to pay the said fine and could be fined and/or suspended by the Nebraska State Soccer Association.

All teams qualifying for the Midwest Regional will be required by US Youth Soccer Region II to stay in their assigned hotel rooming block. If a team does not stay in the assigned hotel rooming block they will not be able to play in the Midwest Regional's.

U13 - U19 age group teams will need to have Birth Certificates for each player or be able to produce them in twenty-four hours. If there is a complaint filed, a birth certificate will have to be produced or the player cannot play.

TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION
Follow the directions on the registration form. To complete the registration process, mail the printed receipt and a check or money order to the address on the receipt.

Register your team here