Rules and Regulations

PREAMBLE
This document is a general guideline for the PHUL 2012 Spring Season. The league always works to ensure fair, safe, and enjoyable play for its participants. The PHUL Administrators hold the power to make decisions in such situations that are not explicitly covered in this document. Please contact admin@phul-ultimate.org with any questions.
PHUL Administrators may change these guidelines at any time, but will give notice of pertinent changes to affected parties.

SEASON LAY-OUT

The following dates are TENTATIVE.

Feb 1:          Division Status Application Forms due
Feb 6:          PHUL informs Boys teams which division they will be participating in
Mar 3:          Captains/Coaches meeting (find out regions, schedule games)
Mar 18:        All game schedules must be complete
Mar 18:        Online registrations, paperwork, and schedules due
Mar 18:        Regular season begins

Apr 28:        Regular season ends
May 2:         Playoffs begin
May 16-17:  Finals

PLAYER GUIDELINES
The minimum grade level to participate in the league is 9th grade.

An illegal player is any player who is eligible to play on a PHUL team, but does not have the proper paperwork (Waiver, Medical Authorization) or league fees (if applicable) turned in. Any team who is found to have played a PHUL game with an illegal player could be subject to the following:

• First and second offense: forfeiture of game

• Third offense: removal from division/league

An ineligible player is any player playing for a team other than the school that they attend, a former player for a team (an alumnus), or a player not enrolled in high school. In the Girls Division, any male player participating in a Girls Division game is ineligible. Any team found to have played a PHUL game with an ineligible player could be subject to the following:

• First offense: removal from league for remainder of year.

Regarding female players:

• Girls may not participate in Boys Division I.

• A girl may participate in Boys Division II, whether it be the primary or secondary (JV) team at her school, if:

  • There is no Girls Team at her school AND

  • Her parent/guardian signs a waiver acknowledging her participation in the Boys Division and awareness of safety risks involved.

• If a school has a team in both the Girls Division and Boys Division II, females:

  1) Must play for the Girls Team

  2) Must prioritize Girls Division events over Boys Division II events

  3) May only play in 50% of Boys Division II Regular Season games. Females may participate in Boys Division II Play-offs, assuming they follow guidelines 1 and 2.

  4) Must submit a Girls Waiver (see above)

• Female players may compete at any team practices or scrimmages per the coach/captain’s approval (no matter which Division the team is participating in).  

Regarding Junior Varsity players:

A player may participate on both a Varsity and Junior Varsity team if they are not a regular starting player for the Varsity team. Seniors in high school are discouraged, but not forbidden, to participate on a Junior Varsity team.

• First and second offense: notice about the situation

• Third offense: forfeiture of the Junior Varsity game

Regarding home-schooled students:
Home-schooled students may be permitted to play for the district that they live in, but must receive permission from the PHUL Administration previous to joining the league.


GAME PLAY
The USAU 11th edition rules will be used for every PHUL game, with the following exceptions:

• Home teams can choose their own shirt color.

• PHUL's official spiking policy is that players are allowed to spike as an expression of celebration, but it should never be used in poor sportsmanship.

• Any clothing considered to be offensive or provocative is prohibited.

• Any language considered to be offensive or provocative is prohibited.

• Boys Division I games must start with seven (7) players on each side in order to count as a PHUL-sanctioned game.

• Girls Division and Boys Division II games must start with at least six (6) players on each side in order to count as a PHUL-sanctioned game.

• Each game must begin within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time unless both teams’ captains agree to delay the game. Otherwise, the game must be rescheduled by the late team. Please refer to 10th Edition Rules (Section VIII.A.4) regarding assessment of points: If a team does not have seven players on the line and signal readiness at the scheduled start time, present team will assess points for late arrival, as specified in the 10th Edition (one point per 5 minutes).

• An adult MUST be present at EACH game or it will be considered a forfeit. This adult must either be 1) a PHUL-approved coach, 2) a USAU-approved chaperone, or 3) an adult 25 or older.

Violation of any of these rules could result in the forfeiture of that game. If there is a conflict that cannot be resolved, please call the PHUL Hotline at 1-888-500-PHUL or email admin@phul-ultimate.org.


GAME LENGTH

• The winning team must score no less than eight (8) points. Otherwise the game must be rescheduled and played again, beginning with a score of 0-0.

• Games are to fifteen (15) points unless agreed upon beforehand by both captains or unexpected conditions force it to be otherwise (less than 15). The game must be won by 2 points. There is a hard cap at 17 points.

• Unless agreed upon by the captains before the game starts or noted on the schedule, each game will be hard capped at two hours and fifteen minutes after the scheduled game start.

• Prior to the game, captains should agree upon one official time keeping device (watch, cell phone, etc.) that will mark the cap time.

• Once the hard cap time has been reached, the current point is finished and the team with the most points wins. If the game is tied, then one more point is played (no longer does the win-by-2 rule apply). A new point begins when a goal is caught.

• If lightning is seen, stop game play and have everyone move to a safe area. Wait at least thirty (30) minutes after the last flash of lightning or sound of thunder before resuming play.

EQUIPMENT REGULATIONS

• Competing teams must wear distinctly different colors during game play.

• Games are played with a white Discraft 175 gram UltraStar disc.

• The use of metal spiked cleats is prohibited.

• Players must wear closed-toe footwear during games.

SCHEDULING

• All teams are required to send at least 2 team representatives to the pre-season Captains and Coaches Meeting on (tentative) March 4th.

• Teams are required to schedule all Regular Season games at this meeting, along with respective rain dates.

• If a team does not send a representative to the Captains and Coaches Meeting, that team is responsible for scheduling all Regular Season games by (tentative) March 12th. The Captains Contact List should be used and will be distributed to all captains and coaches by the PHUL Administration.

• All team schedules must be emailed to by March 18th.

• PHUL will determine which team is the “Home” team for each game for the Regular Season. In play-offs, the higher-seeded team will be considered the “Home” team. Being the ‘Home’ Team includes the right to choose the location of the game (can choose to play at the other team’s home field if agreed upon), the responsibility of setting up the playing field, and the right to choose the team shirt color.

• The “Home” team captains must confirm the game's date, time, and location with their opponent at least forty-eight (48) hours before the game's scheduled time. This must be done by phone, not email.

• Score Reporting: Within 48 hours after every game, both captains must to report the game results on the website. If there is a disagreement, please contact the other captain first and then the PHUL Administration if there is still a disagreement in the game score.

FORFEITS AND CANCELED GAMES
A forfeit results when a team fails to show up to a scheduled game, improperly cancels a scheduled game, does not reschedule and play a cancelled or forfeited game, a team lacks an appropriate chaperone, or the PHUL Administrators decide otherwise.

• To cancel a game, the captain must contact the other captain at least twenty-hour (24) hours before the game's scheduled time. Cancelling a game after the twenty-hour (24) grace period results in a forfeit (if the forfeit is due to a reason that is not jointly decided upon by both opponents’ captain(s)).

• Cancellations must be sent to TracyGibbs@phul-ultimate.org within 24 hours of the cancelled game by the team that cancelled the game. The cancelling team is responsible for choosing a new time and date within 48 hours of the cancellation. If the cancellation is a joint agreement (example: weather), the ‘Home’ team is responsible for proposing a date and location for the rescheduled game.

• If two teams cannot decide upon a date for the rescheduled game, captains must notify the PHUL Administrators by email (admin@phul-ultimate.org) as soon as the problem arises. PHUL will then set a date for the game.

• Forfeits are recorded as a 0-15 forfeit for the team at fault. Their opponent receives a 15-0 win.

• The game may be rescheduled and played in order to nullify the forfeit. The recorded 0-15 forfeit and the 15-0 win is replaced by the rescheduled game's score.

• Even one forfeit results in a loss of the team security deposit.