Rules & Regulations
of
CONNYlacrosse

(Adopted May 21, 1990; Amended and Restated April 8, 1993; Amended Annually Thereafter)

I.  LEAGUE PLAY

1. Each registered CONNY team must play a minimum of seven games with other registered CONNY teams within its age division. Except for a team designated as a “Tier 3” level team, the seven games must be played with no fewer than six different opponents. Any registered CONNY team may schedule any other registered CONNY team. All games must be completed between the official start of CONNY league play of each year (April 1 unless determined otherwise by the CONNY Board of Directors) and the official end of CONNY regular season play (a date determined by the CONNY Board of Directors before each season).
2. Before official start of scheduling (date determined by the CONNY Board of Directors before each season), each member program must post on www.CONNYlacrosse.org the names and contact information (telephone and email) for (1) the one person within the program to whom important CONNY notices and information can be sent with confidence that they will reach the right people in the organization, (2) their program’s representative on the CONNY Board of Directors, (3) the primary contact for boys teams, (4) the primary contact for girls teams, and (5) any designated schedulers. One person may hold more than one of these positions.
3. Each registered CONNY team must post its scheduled games on www.CONNYlacrosse.org before the official start of CONNY league play each year, and must update any revisions of this schedule on a timely basis.
4. Except for a team designated as a “Tier 3” level team, each team must play at least one away CONNY game that requires a trip of at least forty-five minutes one way in uncongested traffic conditions.
5. Home teams must post scores for all official home games on www.CONNYlacrosse.org within one week of their completion. Scrimmage game scores will not be recorded unless agreed to by both coaches.
6. At the end of the regular season (date determined by the CONNY Board of Directors before each season), the Competition Committee will rank the teams within each grade/division according to wins, losses, strength of schedule, quality wins, etc.
7. Based on rankings, teams will be grouped into four-team brackets, according to two criteria: match-ups that promise to be competitive and, wherever possible, match-ups between teams that have not played each other during the regular CONNY season; the number of brackets will be determined by the Board of Directors each year. Brackets are named for colors or other non-hierarchical identifiers.
8. For boys divisions only and only for the top two brackets of Tier 1 at each grade level (within Senior and Junior divisions), the Competition Committee will rank the top eight (8) teams. This 8-team group will be seeded and then play one game during the week before the CONNY tournament at the higher seed.  The four (4) winning teams are then placed in Bracket 1; the other 4 teams are in Bracket 2.  This way the top two brackets are decided on the field.  (Clarification:  A lower-seeded team may elect not to play the game and instead be placed automatically in the second bracket.)
9. Any team has the right to appeal, with detailed written rationale, their bracket assignment to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. A vote of at least 51% of the officers is needed to change an appealed bracket assignment.

II.    TEAMS
Adopted September 27, 2016, amending and superseding previous team criteria, to:

• Organize all teams by grade, with single grade teams preferred where numbers allow.
• Implement a strict oldest birthday cutoff for each grade 5-8 Junior and Senior team. For grade K-4 Bantam and Lightning teams, CONNY will not enforce a strict age cutoff, giving programs the option to use the 9/1 grade 5-7 cutoff date or to keep all players together strictly by grade.

1. Teams shall be a Senior team, a Junior team, a Lightning team, or a Bantam team whose players are not members of a team from another CONNY member program.

a.  Senior Team (8^th Grade or/and 7^th Grade):

A CONNY Senior 8^th Grade Team shall be a team whose players are:

• Students in the Eighth Grade
• Age 13 or Under on the last day of February of the year preceding the start of the CONNY season (i.e., born 3/1/2002 or later for the 2017 season).

A CONNY Senior 7^th Grade Team shall be a team whose players are:

• Students in the Seventh Grade
• Age 12 or Under on the August 31^st of the year preceding the start of the CONNY season (i.e., born 9/1/2003 or later for the 2017 season).

A CONNY Senior 7/8 Grade Combined Team shall be a team whose players are:

• Students in the Seventh or Eighth Grade
• Age 13 or Under on the last day of February of the year preceding the start of the CONNY season (i.e., born 3/1/2002 or later for the 2017 season).

b.  Junior Team (6^th Grade or/and 5^th Grade):

A CONNY Junior 6^th Grade Team shall be a team whose players are:

• Students in the Sixth Grade
• Age 11 or Under on the August 31^st of the year preceding the start of the CONNY season (i.e., born 9/1/2004 or later for the 2017 season).

A CONNY Junior 5^th Grade Team shall be a team whose players are:

• Students in the Fifth Grade
• Age 10 or Under on the August 31^st of the year preceding the start of the CONNY season (i.e., born 9/1/2005 or later for the 2017 season).

A CONNY Junior 5/6 Grade Combined Team shall be a team whose players are:

• Students in the Fifth or Sixth Grade
• Age 11 or Under on the August 31^st of the year preceding the start of the CONNY season (i.e., born 9/1/2004 or later for the 2017 season).

c.  Lightning Team (4^th Grade or/and 3^rd Grade):

A CONNY Lightning 4^th Grade Team shall be a team whose players are:

• Students in the Fourth Grade
• OPTIONAL: Age 9 or Under on the August 31^st of the year preceding the start of the CONNY season (i.e., born 9/1/2006 or later for the 2017 season).

A CONNY Lightning 3^rd Grade Team shall be a team whose players are:

• Students in the Third Grade
• OPTIONAL: Age 8 or Under on the August 31^st of the year preceding the start of the CONNY season (i.e., born 9/1/2007 or later for the 2017 season).

A CONNY Lightning 3/4 Grade Combined Team shall be a team whose players are:

• Students in the Third or Fourth Grade
• OPTIONAL: Age 9 or Under on the August 31^st of the year preceding the start of the CONNY season (i.e., born 9/1/2006 or later for the 2017 season).

d.  Bantam Team (2^nd Grade or younger):

A CONNY Bantam Team shall be a team whose players are:

• Students in the Second Grade or lower.
• OPTIONAL: Age 7 or Under on the August 31^st of the year preceding the start of the CONNY season (i.e., born 9/1/2008 or later for the 2017 season).

2. If a CONNY member program needs to group two grades together, it should strive at scheduling to limit the maximum age difference between players in any youth game to no more than twenty-four (24) months.

3.  A player who is too old to play for his/her grade’s team must play on the next older grade team (see 8^th Grader exception in Regulation II.6 and special provision in Regulation II.7).

4. A player who is age eligible to play for a lower grade team has the option to remain with their grade or “play down” with the younger grade.

5. While CONNY discourages the practice, a player eligible to play on his/her grade’s team may “play up” on a higher grade team (e.g., 12-year old 6^th grader on a 7^th Grade team).

6. By petition to the CONNY Eligibility Committee, an old-in-grade 8th grader (a player currently in 8th grade who turned 14 before the March 1st of the year preceding the start of a season, i.e., born 2/28/2002 or earlier for the 2017 season) may play for a CONNY Senior Team. To do so:

a.  The player’s program must submit a written petition for eligibility to the CONNY Eligibility Committee including the player’s date-of-birth, school, height, weight, and brief lacrosse history.

b.  The Eligibility Committee must approve the petition by a simple majority vote (51%). Except in extraordinary circumstances the Eligibility Committee shall grant the requested 8^th grader eligibility.

c.  An old-in-grade 8^th grader will be eligible to play only once as an 8^th grader on any CONNY All-Star team.

7. Under extraordinary circumstances, and by special petition to the CONNY Eligibility Committee, an old-in-grade 5^th through 7^th grade player (one whose birthday falls before his/her grade’s earliest permitted birthday) may play with a team for his/her grade. To do so:

a.  The player and his/her proposed team must submit a written petition to the CONNY Eligibility Committee showing that s/he meets all criteria for participation on his/her grade’s team, other than age. The petition shall include, at minimum, the player’s date-of-birth, school, height, weight, lacrosse history (number of years, A/B/etc. level, All-Star appearances), details of other sports played and athletic honors earned, and any other circumstances the petitioners feel are relevant. Such petition shall be delivered to the CONNY Secretary and President.

b.  If the CONNY Eligibility Committee declines the petition, the player and his/her proposed team may appeal to the CONNY Board of Directors.

d.  To overrule the CONNY Eligibility Committee’s decision, the Board of Directors, sitting in a properly constituted meeting, must approve the petition by a seventy-five percent (75%) super-majority vote.

8. Under extraordinary circumstance, and by special petition to the CONNY Board of Directors, a ninth grade player may play for a CONNY Senior Team. To do so:

a.  The player must meet the standard age restriction for Senior Team play (age 14 or Under on the March 1st of the year preceding the start of a season (i.e., born 3/1/2002 or later for the 2017 season).

b.  The player must have played on a CONNY team as a 7th and 8th grader.

c.  The player must not be eligible to play for any other lacrosse program offered by his/her school or town.

d.  The player and his/her proposed team must submit a written petition to the CONNY Board of Directors showing that s/he meets all criteria for Senior Team participation, other than grade. The petition shall include, at minimum, the player’s date-of-birth, school, height, weight, lacrosse history (number of years, A/B/etc. level as 8^th grader, All-Star or Select appearances), future lacrosse plans beyond 9^th grade, details of other sports played and athletic honors earned, and any other circumstances the petitioners feel are relevant. Such petition shall be delivered to the CONNY Secretary.

e.  The Board of Directors, sitting in a properly constituted meeting, must approve the petition by a seventy-five percent (75%) super-majority vote.

The use of ninth grade players is further restricted as follows:

f.  No team may have more than two ninth graders on its roster.

g.  No team with a ninth grader on its roster will be eligible for the strongest U15 bracket at the CONNY Tournaments.

h.  No ninth grader will be eligible to play on any CONNY All-Star team.

i.   The CONNY team for which the player last played shall have “first option” on the player. If that team does not want to use the player, s/he can play for any team meeting these criteria.

9.  All member programs shall use the same format when naming teams: Town/Program, Gender, Grade, Local Identifier (A/B/C, Blue/Red/Green, etc.), e.g., Cheshire Girls 6A, Greenwich Boys 8A, Norwalk Boys 7-8 Senior White.

10.  All players and coaches are required to be members of US Lacrosse.

11. Each member organization will require formal registration of all players. Such registration shall require, at minimum, the player’s name, address of residence, date-of-birth, grade, US Lacrosse membership number and expiration date, and signed parental or guardian permission to participate.

12. Each member program must submit a roster of all registered players for each age level to the Secretary before the official start of CONNY league play each year, and must submit any revisions of these rosters on a timely basis, also to the Secretary. These rosters must include, at minimum, each player’s name, address of residence, date-of-birth, grade, US Lacrosse membership number and expiration date, and the grade level within which the child will play if not with his/her grade (e.g., if playing up).

13. All players on a particular team must have a physical examination within the nine months immediately preceding the commencement of CONNY league play. The physical should be of the nature of a preschool exam or school sponsored athletic participation exam.

14. Players who live in a community that sponsors a CONNY team must play for the team where the player lives. If a player’s community does not sponsor a team, the player is free to join the CONNY team of his/her choice. In the case of these players, teams are prohibited from recruiting players from one CONNY team to another CONNY team.

a.  Exception 1: If a player has been playing for a CONNY program outside his/her community of residence prior to the creation of a program in his/her home community, he/she has the option of staying on this team or joining the CONNY program in his/her home community. If, at that time, the player chooses to play in his/her home community, he/she may neither return to the original CONNY team he/she left nor join any other CONNY team, unless his/her original program or home community program ceases to participate in CONNY play. In such out-of-community situations, the coach of the non-resident player should strongly encourage the player to participate in his/her home community’s CONNY program.

b.  Exception 2: If a player had been playing for a youth lacrosse program other than a CONNY member program in his/her community of residence, and that program subsequently joins CONNY, he/she has the option of staying with his/her current team or joining the CONNY program in his/her home community. (This exception also applies to girls’ teams sponsored by CONNY-member programs when they first enter CONNY girls play.) If, at any time, the player chooses to play in his/her home community, he/she may neither return to the original CONNY team he/she left nor join any other CONNY team, unless his/her original program or home community program ceases to participate in CONNY play. In such out-of-community situations, the coach of the non-resident player should strongly encourage the player to participate in his/her home community’s CONNY program.

c.  Exception 3: In extraordinary circumstances, the CONNY Board may grant waivers from this regulation upon written application to the CONNY Board. This application, which must be submitted before the player participates in any CONNY play with the proposed program, should explain what compelling circumstances require that the player play for the proposed program rather than the program indicated under this rule. The application must be submitted jointly by the player/player’s parent(s), the program he/she proposes playing for, and the program with which he/she would play under this rule. Such applications shall be directed to the CONNY Secretary. The Board of Directors, sitting in a properly constituted meeting, must approve the waiver application by a seventy-five percent (75%) super-majority vote.

15. CONNY strongly suggests that a player not simultaneously play for two teams of the same CONNY member organization (e.g. “A” Team and “B” Team; 6^th Grade Team and 7^th Grade Team). Coaches may move otherwise eligible players between teams in the course of the season based on their judgment of the players’ skills and development, but no player should play two levels of competition simultaneously.

16. All member programs shall use the same team naming format: Town/Program, Gender, Grade, Local Identifier (A/B/C, Blue/Red/Green, etc.), e.g., Cheshire Girls 6A, Greenwich Boys 8A, Norwalk Boys 7-8 Senior White.

III.  RULES OF PLAY
CONNY play shall be governed by the current US Lacrosse Rules for Girls Youth Lacrosse and Rules for Boys Youth Lacrosse, except as amended and modified by the CONNY Board of Directors.

Guidelines for managing concussion; hygiene, skin infection, and communicable disease (including bleeding); and lightning and thunder incidents in the US Lacrosse Official Rules for Girls Youth Lacrosse and Rules for Boys Youth Lacrosse have the force of rules of play in CONNY.

Each year, the CONNY Board shall review the CONNY Rules of Play to find opportunities to reduce injury, increase the safety of players, enhance the educational and learning experience, maintain the balance of the contests, and promote a speed and finesse style of play over a style featuring physical intimidation (such as excessive body checks in boys play).

Each year the amendments and modifications to the US Lacrosse Rules for Girls and Boys Youth Lacrosse adopted by the Board of Directors for CONNY play, shall be distributed to all members and officials.

IV.  ALCOHOL POLICY
Adopted March 10, 2009.
CONNY games are youth-focused events. As such, the possession or consumption of alcohol at any CONNY game is inappropriate and prohibited. This prohibition includes the fields, spectator areas, and parking areas. Individuals who violate this policy may be required to leave the game venue, and in flagrant cases, the team affiliated with them may be required to forfeit the game.

Any such action must be reported to the CONNY Sportsmanship Committee for review and possible further action.