[Coach Rip]

CONDUCT: We will grant very limited concessions for inappropriate behavior and no concessions will be granted for cheaters. Everyone is expected to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion during the event. ANYONE who causes or engages in inappropriate and/or unsportsmanlike behavior will be warned ONCE. Any one committing a second offense WILL be removed from the event and will be banned from future events, for an as of yet, undetermined period of time. Anyone caught blatantly cheating or attempting to cheat under this format will NOT receive ANY warnings. Cheaters will be immediately removed from the event, WITHOUT a refund, and WILL be banned from future events FOREVER! Any blatantly illegal equipment found during or after check-in will be confiscated and will NOT be returned. Such equipment will be documented, including pictures, and posted as evidence for public knowledge.


RULE #1: Just because the rules do not say you can not do it, that does not mean you can do it. It is humanly impossible to have every possible scenario covered in text. If the rules do not say you can specifically do it then you can not do it unless you get prior and specific permission to do so before trying to implement it on the playing field. Anything not covered in the rules will be handled by the officials within the spirit of the rules.

PLEF RULE: PLEF is an abbreviation for Player-Ref (props to Ed Scott and the Philly Gang). During a game the participating competitive coaches will be required to make their own calls to resolve plays. This includes but is not limited to proper setup, complete passes, incomplete passes, interceptions, pass interference, tackles, sacks, engaged or unengaged players. In the case of setup with respect to proper player positioning, each coach is expected to POLITELY INFORM their opponent if there is some violation, be it minor or otherwise. They will then allow their opponent to correct the problem without penalty. Repeated failure to setup or properly pivot via protocol WILL result in a penalty. During pass attempts each coach will agree as to the result without outside intervention or comment. If the competing coaches do not agree or can not decide on the result, the ref and/or designated non-participating coach(es) will make the call. The same procedure will be followed for resolving tackles, sacks, etc. In cases where both opponents agree, the agreed upon result IS FINAL! In cases where neither opponent agrees or if either or both are unsure of the result, the decision of the appointed ref/official/designated non-participating coach(es) is final. This means someone not competing in that particular game should be asked to oversee every play at the point where a result is to be recorded.

Team Inspection/Lockdown
Each coach will get a number as they get in the line. If your team does NOT pass inspection your number will be yanked and you will be given another number (obviously much higher than you had at first). You will then go to the END of the line. If your number is called and you are not ready you will likewise get a higher number and go to the end of the line. Once team check-in deadline has passed NO coach will be allowed to check their team in except for in EXTREME circumstances. No coach will be permitted to attempt a team check-in more than twice. If you fail twice you are DONE. So PLEASE come with your team legal and ready to be checked in.

*** Special assistance will be available for ANY NEW COACH TO THIS FORMAT. This is related to helping them make sure their team is legal and ready for inspection. Every attempt will be made to get you into the event provided you give the event staff reasonable notice to do so. ***

GAME LENGTH
Games for this event are of 2 varieties. (1) preliminary rounds, and (2) elimination rounds.
Preliminary rounds should consist of at least 2 rounds per coach, subject to number of participants and time constraints. No one will be eliminated during the preliminary rounds as they are used to get coaches familiar with the format and to determine seeding for elimination rounds. A somewhat complex but thorough point system has been adapted to assure seeding accuracy. Elimination rounds will follow.

Prelims - Friday Night Only - Those participating in prelims will be seeded above all those who do not. The next highest seed will be the FIRST coach to SUCCESSFULLY make it through team inspection and lockdown. Remaining coaches will be ranked in the same manner.

Elimination - Will consist of two 16 play halves with each coach being allowed 2 timeouts per half. At this point, only those coaches who win their matches will advance in the brackets and into the next round. Eliminations will continue until a champion is declared. Elimination rounds can not end in a tie. If an elimination match ends in regulation and the score is tied, the game will go into overtime. Overtime rules will be discussed prior to the opening rounds for the sake of ultimate clarity. There will be no changing ends of the field after regulation ends and overtime begins.


TIMEOUTS
Each timeout called adds a play to the total number of plays in that half. One timeout called by one coach would result in having 17 plays in that half.
If a coach wants to call a timeout with one play left in that half they must do so before their squad on the field is set (before they declare being set) for that play or that timeout will not add a play to that half.
However, the timeout will count and players will be allowed to be reset if desired. This goes for each coach and their squads on the field respectively. Just because the offense has declared they are set and did not call a timeout on the last play of a half does not mean the defense can not call a time out before they are set to add a play to that half.
Calling for a timeout when none are available is not a penalty but extra time or resets will not be allowed, nor will it result in adding a play to that half.