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Gridiron Rules

Our Prospects by Sports Illustrated Gridiron Classic Tournament Series is crafted differently than others in that it places each team in a “real time, real scenario” playing atmosphere. Prospects by Sports Illustrated sole purpose is to provide a National platform for those teams who deserve their time on a National platform. Our thought process is that all who attend our tournament go away better than they came. Teams that enter the tournament must be prepared to play at least one, possibly two games Thursday night. Reserving a hotel room Wednesday evening is advised. Please make sure you read the rules thoroughly before the tournament! Teams play for a chance to receive and achieve National Rankings for following pre-season via Prospects by Sports Illustrated.

GENERAL

This is a highly competitive tournament, with a single elimination Championship bracket,
which seeds are determined by pool play.

Teams who do not make it out of the pool, will be ranked by Prospects by Sports
Illustrated rankings according to the National tie breakers. The 3rd place team will also
receive a team mention for their placement in the tournament. In the championship
bracket, teams play until they lose and that the final two teams play in the
Championship.

Your team’s placement in the tournament is not confirmed until FULL payment is
received 1 week from the first day of the tournament and according to the National tie
breaker rules.. Registration payments are NON-REFUNDABLE for teams who cancel.
All games will be played in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the National
High School Football Federation and that of Prospects By Sports Illustrated.

Rosters and team certification must be submitted via the National Sports Id website at
https://www.nationalsportsid.com/elite-football-events-verification/ 7 days prior to the
start of the tournament, to be scheduled for tournament play. You must PRINT your
National Sports ID Roster & Picture Roster and bring it with you to certification.

Once certified, all eligible players must wear the GCS certification band on the left wrist
the entire tournament. If the player removes or loses their certification band,
Replacement bands are $5 per player paid at the ticket booth. Once paid, the player
must be recertified by our certification staff.

A player must participate in all games to be considered eligible and to remain in the
tournament for the National tournament.

Teams are required to bring their official team roster and book printed from to National
Sports ID to certification & each game.

All teams are guaranteed 2 games minimum with a possible 4 games, depending on
wins and losses.

Each team should be ready to play 30 minutes PRIOR to their scheduled start times
without any advanced warning. If games are early, we will start up to 15 minutes early.
Sunday championship games should be complete by 8pm.

Schedule will be released 2-5 days prior to the tournament start date.

No Protests will be accepted. If a team forfeits there will be no gate refunds

Every team must dress a minimum of 11 players in accordance with National Football
Federation rules. If a team has less than 10 players, it will be an automatic forfeit.

DIVISIONS

The age group divisions for the National Championship are UNLIMITED:
6u,7u,8u,9u,10,11u,12u, 13u & 14u

SINGLE AGE BREAKDOWN & REQUIRED FOOTBALLS
6U DIVISION *****CAN’T TURN 7 BEFORE July 1st BALL SZ- PEE WEE WILSON K2,
NIKE, BADEN
7U DIVISION *****CAN’T TURN 8 BEFORE July 1st BALL SZ- PEE WEE WILSON K2,
NIKE, BADEN
8U DIVISION *****CAN’T TURN 9 BEFORE July 1st BALL SZ- PEE WEE WILSON K2,
NIKE, BADEN
9U DIVISION *****CAN’T TURN 10 BEFORE July 1st BALL SZ- JUNIOR WILSON,
NIKE, BADEN
10U DIVISION *****CAN’T TURN 11 BEFORE July 1st BALL SZ- JUNIOR WILSON,
NIKE, BADEN
11U DIVISION *****CAN’T TURN 12 BEFORE July 1st BALL SZ- YOUTH WILSON,
NIKE, BADEN
12U DIVISION ***** CAN’T TURN 13 BEFORE July 1st BALL SZ- YOUTH WILSON,
NIKE, BADEN
13U DIVISION ***** CAN’T TURN 14 BEFORE July 1st BALL SZ- YOUTH WILSON,
NIKE, BADEN
14U DIVISION ***** CAN’T TURN 15 BEFORE July 1st BALL SZ- YOUTH WILSON,
NIKE, BADEN

If your age cutoff date conflicts with ours more than one month of our cutoff date, must
play up to the next age level, please notify us ASAP.

CERTIFICATION

ALL TEAMS must complete on-line waivers and all rosters, WITH pictures, and color
copies of original birth certificates, state, passport or military ID via National Sports Id at
least one week before the tournament. Each Head Coach will receive an emailed link to
upload.

All teams must be certified by the Prospects by Sports Illustrated staff…once a player is
certified and “banded” (TOURNAMENT BAND PLACED AROUND LEFT WRIST), all
that is required is the NSID certified roster…Each Head coach is to pre-certify with the
opposing team 10 minutes before the game. If a player loses his PSI band, he must be
recertified before returning to the field. Any player that does not have a band during play
in the game will cause that team to forfeit if it’s proven that that player was not wearing
a band.

Coaches and/or team moms from other teams ARE NOT ALLOWED to be in the open
certification area to watch the actual certification of other teams.

MANDATORY EQUIPMENT

● Helmet (NOCSAE approved) with Face Guard
● Mouthpiece
● Shoulder Pads
● Football Jersey
● Protective Hip and Spinal Pads
● Thigh Pads
● Knee Pads
● Regulation Football Pants
● Socks
● Cleats or other Approved Football Shoes

GAME RULES / FORMAT / SCORING

Overall governance for all football games played are by the National Federation of High
School Football rules.
The PSI Gridiron Classic series is a pool play tournament with a winner only bracket.
Once a team loses twice in pool or by tie breaker they are out of the competition. If pool
play results in a tie by record, the tie breaker rules will come into effect which are for
pool play/reseed.
Semifinals and the CHAMPIONSHIP are a single elimination game, regardless of a
team’s record in pool / bracket play. All games are modified game clock games. After
pool play, depending on the size and number of pools, teams will then be reseeded #1
through #4 and will play 1v4 & 2v3 or 1 v2 ( teams or less) . Once teams reach the
semi-final phase, it is then single elimination.
Unlike other sports, football is a full contact sport so for safety purposes, all games will
have a 20 minute running clock. The game clock will be governed by the PSI refs.
There will only be 2 timeouts per half
Halftime will be 5 minutes long

There will be kickoffs for ALL age groups, except 6u, determined by a coin flip.
Whoever wins the coin toss decides whether their team defers or receives, for
that particular half.
● There will be (1) one Coach on the field for ages 6,7,8 ...No coaches on the field
for 9, 10,11,12, 13 or 14 teams
● Field length for all teams will be 100 yds.
● Major penalties will be ten (10) yards, except unsportsmanlike conduct on any
coach, player or team momparent will be 15 yards. If a player or coach is ejected
by a referee or tournament official for ANY reason, they will be disqualified for the
entire tournament, no matter their official position on that team. i.e. Head Coach,
Park President, Team Mom, etc. NO REFUNDS WILL BE ISSUED!

Two (2) points will be awarded for a successful pass on an extra point run= one (1) point
and a successful pass= two (2) points. Kicks will be 2 (two) if goal post are available.
All interceptions and fumbles can be advanced for yards and or a score.
If a team is winning by 24 or more points at the end of the 1st half or any time thereafter,
the game will be played with a running clock even if the score difference becomes Less
than 24 points. For championship games, if a team is up by 24 in the 3rd quarter, the
running clock will be in effect and will not stop. This rule has become necessary in order
to add a degree of scoring control in games that are between teams that are not
matched in talent, experience, size, etc. It is highly encouraged, and shall be required,
that winning coaches take all necessary steps available to control the high level of
scoring in unmatched games.

Declared Punts – On fourth down, the offense can declare a punt or have it walked off
25 yards or punted with no return for 6u, 7u, 8u, 9u, 10u,11u,12u, 13u & 14u. There is
no rush once a punt has been declared wherever the ball lands or is fielded is where the
offense will start. The ball will not be advanced by a punt return team in any age. Teams
can however field the punt. Punting team must inform the referee of intention prior to the
play, who in turn informs the opposing team. If the ball is snapped over the punter’s
head, the ball must be punted from the recovery spot.
Championship games are single elimination and in regulation fashion, times for all
teams will be 20 minute running clocks. Punts will follow the punt rule in previous
games.

OVERTIME PROCEDURE WITH PENETRATION RULE

OVER TIME IS for Semi & Championship games ONLY. Both Head Coaches will be
called to the middle of the field and will participate in an overtime coin toss. The winner
of the coin toss can decide either to go on offense or defense or choose which end of
the field they will play on. Each team will receive the ball on the 10 yard line and if a
team scores, extra points for a conversion via run which is 1 point, pass for two points. If
no team scores in the first round of overtime, then the penetration rule will be applied.

TIE BREAKERS

Tie Breakers for National Rankings
If 2 teams are tied in points, the following order applies to determine the ranking of
teams:
1. Head-to-Head
2. Points Against
3. Points For
4. Point Differential
In the case where more than 2 teams are tied in points, the above order applies to
determine the ranking of teams:

TOURNAMENT CONDUCT

The Tournament Director will hold ALL teams, coaches, players, parents and fans
accountable for their negative actions, any drug usage or violence within and outside
the facility. If a team, coach, organization, fan, player, etc. is kick out of the tournament,
there will be NO REFUNDSThe Tournament Director holds the final decision on ALL
matters not covered above. Teams that continuously violate the conduct rules will be
banned from ALL Prospects by Sports Illustrated events.
Please always respect the referees, and if you have a situation you would like to
discuss concerning a particular individual, we have appointed a referee in chief who is
available to you. However, they do not have the power to change a referee's decision.
However, we have advised our refereeing staff to treat coaches with respect and they
will expect the same in return. They will not exercise any patience when being sworn,
screamed at or gestured at any time and can recommend that any fan, player, or coach
be ejected from the tournament.
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