2024 Standards of Play Changes

Your APA Umpire panel and board members have been hard at work to fine tune the Standards of Play to continue to improve the spirit of the game that we all love to play. In an effort to continue to strive for the utmost fairness in all tournaments, some edits to the Standards of Play have been approved by the board at our annual face-to-face meeting and will go into effect 30 days from from publishing on February 6, 2024. Therefore they will be enforced starting with the first tournament of the 2024 season. The entirety of the new Standards of Play document is to follow shortly, both in an online version and a printed format. **As a reminder to clubs hosting sanctioned tournaments this year, organizers are responsible for hosting their appointed tournament umpires. This includes rides to and from the airport (if needed), accommodations, and meals. Please be gracious to these officials who are volunteering their time to help make tournaments run smoothly!

Changes:

SECTION I: APA MEMBERSHIP

8. FOREIGN PLAYER POLICY 
9. A foreign player is defined as a player that has not established a permanent United States domicile for 6 consecutive months 
10. A current APA membership does not nullify a player’s foreign  player status as being a foreign player
11. Current APA members are eligible to compete in international  competitions for the APA
12. Current APA Adult members are eligible to vote in APA elections.
13. A limit of one foreign player per team will be allowed to play at  the APA national tournament provided that they meet one of the following requirements: 

 1) They play at an APA sanctioned tournament during the 12 months prior to obtain a current APA rating, granting them eligibility to play in any division as deemed appropriate by the Nationals Committee 2) Provide a written statement from their club president that states their current country assigned rating/handicap and the typical division in which they normally play in. This statement must be signed off by the president of the association in which country the player resides. 3) They play in the A grade.

1. If the division is 3-man then one of those players can be a foreign player. If the division is 6-man then one of those  players can be a foreign player. If a division changes from 3- man to 6-man before the start of the tournament the club must  rearrange players and find a replacement if two of the sections had a foreign player.

SECTION II: STANDARDS OF TOURNAMENT PLAY

14. TOURNAMENT UMPIRES 
15. A Tournament Umpire will be appointed by the Chief Umpire of  the APA for every sanctioned tournament.
16. The tournament umpire is strongly encouraged not to play in the tournament where  they are acting in said capacity 
17. The Tournament Umpire has the authority to use his or her judgment in an unbiased manner to ensure that all teams are abiding by the APA Code of Conduct in its entirety (Section 1, #9). If this is deemed to not be the case, after consulting with the Chief Umpire or an APA Board Member, the Tournament Umpire has the authority to disqualify the team, resulting in a forfeit.

SECTION III: RULES OF PLAY 

1. HOW TO WIN A GAME a.The team that scores the most goals wins the game.
2. In the case of a tie, the section off the field will continue the game until the next goal is scored on a Chukka basis. “Overtime”
3. HOW TO WIN A TOURNAMENT
4. If the format calls for a final, the team that wins that final will be declared the winner of that division.
5. If the format calls for a round robin, the team with the most number of total wins will be declared the winner of that division.
6. Should there be a tie in win/loss record between two or more teams, the first tie breaker will be “head to head”.
7. Should this still result in a tie, then the second tie breaker will be “goals scored”.
8. Should this still result in a tie, then the third tie breaker will be “goal scored against”. 

 iii. In the unlikely event that there is still a tie, then a coin flip will determine the winner.

3. FORFEITS
4. Should a team choose to forfeit a game, regardless of the reason, said team will be considered ineligible for any placings in the tournament. 
5. Should a team choose to forfeit a game, any games that said team plays will be eliminated from any calculations necessary for tie breakers and placings in the tournament.

  QUESTIONS NOT PROVIDED FOR: 23. Should any incident or question not provided for in these  rules arise, the tournament umpire or chief umpire shall be the final judge and their  decision shall be final.

Definitions:

Forfeit – A choice to not play a game or to deviate from the standards of play, resulting in an automatic loss registered in win/loss record. Goals Scored – Total of all goals scored by a team in all games played. Goals Scored Against – Total of all goals scored against a team in all games played.  Head to Head – A comparison of two or more tied teams based on who has won or lost when playing directly against each other. Overtime – In the case of a tie, the section who was off the  field will continue the game until the next goal is scored on a chukka basis. ***If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Chief Umpire Rahul Desai at chiefumpire@americanpolocrosse.org