Tournaments
Overview
Ohio Soccer Association (OSA) provides sanctioning opportunities for tournaments run by its membership. Sanctioning allows OSA to cover and handle liability issues (as stated) on behalf of the member organization. As an OSA member benefit, full members are now able to act as “host” (no longer need league to “host” or “approve”) for their own tournaments.
All tournament sanctioning by Ohio Soccer Association will have a $210.00 sanctioning fee. The fee is primarily for advertising on the OSA website at the sanctioned tournaments link and ensures consistency with other OSA advertising policies.
If you would like to advertise your tournament by email, please contact Gina for additional information and pricing.
Before You Begin:
If your club is a full member of OSA, select the following information when completing the online application:
- Hosting District: Ohio Soccer Association
- Hosting League: Ohio Soccer Association
- League President: John Ruffolo
- League President Email: office@ohio-soccer.org
Communicate Better
Are you looking for a better way to communicate weather issues, notify field/schedule changes, and/or promote tournament concessions directly to coaches/parents/audience? We suggest using BAND. It’s free and provides instant notifications right to their phones without having to send a text or email.
All you have to do is:
- Create the tournament group on the app or desktop version.
- Pull the link for your audience to join the group.
- Send it out.
- Post any updates or notifications in the group when you’re ready.
Get started with BAND.
Please submit this additional form at least 30 days prior to the tournament.
Note the added U.S. Soccer fee: $200
If you are cancelling your tournament, please email Gina so your tournament is removed from the website.
Tournament Definitions
II. Definitions of Types of Tournaments & Teams
(Place corresponding letter in appropriate space on application.)
Types of Tournaments
- UT | Unrestricted Tournament: A tournament that is open to all Federation affiliated participants. Any tournament that allows international participants must be an Unrestricted Tournament.
- RT | Restricted Tournament: A tournament that is open only to members of US Youth Soccer and its State Associations.
Select Teams (teams formed by a selection or tryout process):
- S1: generally a team which competes at the highest level of play in a state or region
- S2: generally a team which competes at other than the highest level of play in a state or region
- S3: generally a team which competes in a local area or state
Tournament Select Teams
- S4: a team which is put together for the sole purpose of playing in a tournament or other sanctioned non-league competition, whose roster includes select players who are members of one club.
Recreational Teams
- RT: a team which was formed in a random nature without regard to players’ abilities.
US Youth Soccer ODP Teams
- ODP Team: the official US Youth Soccer Olympic Development team of US Youth Soccer, any of its regions, a State Association, an Affiliate, other Organization Member, or any district or geographical subdivisions thereof.
National Teams
- National Team: the official national team of US Soccer or any other member of FIFA.
II. Hosting Restricted and Unrestricted Tournaments & Games
Applying to Host Restricted Tournaments or Games
- These procedures apply when hosting ONLY US Youth Soccer State Association or US Youth Soccer Affiliates teams for tournaments or games.
- Applications, agreements to host and other required information must be submitted as provided by the designated approving association or affiliate to include:
Not later than the date established by the State Association or Affiliate for submitting an Application to Host a Tournament or Games, the hosting organization must submit to its State Association or Affiliate and, if any game is to be played in another State Association or Affiliate, to that other State Association or Affiliate, for approval a completed Application to Host a Tournament or Games signed by the designated official of the hosting organization and the following items:
- A completed US Youth Soccer Tournament or Games Hosting Agreement, with appropriate supporting documents and information, signed by the president or chief officer or designee of the hosting organization and by the tournament or games director;
- A copy of the approved Rules for the Tournament or Games; and
- Any fees required by the State Association or Affiliate for processing the application. Incomplete applications will be returned and considered as not having ever been submitted.
- The State Association or Affiliate is not required to approve any application not submitted by the deadline established by the State Association or Affiliate. Any application which is not submitted in a timely manner may be subject to late fees if approved. The team must contact its State Association for its specific policies and fees.
- The State Association or US Youth Soccer Affiliate shall make a determination as to whether or not they will sanction the tournament or games in accordance with the policies they have established within their organization for the sanctioning of tournaments or games.
Applying to Host Unrestricted Tournaments Including International Teams (Teams From Outside the United States) and Other Federation Organization Members
- The provisions below are in addition to those required as stated above under “Applying to Host Restricted Tournaments or Games”. All those provisions so stated above must also be complied with.
- For all tournaments and games involving international teams (teams from outside the United States), the Rules for the Tournament or Games must comply with the following substitution requirements: For matches involving players under 16 years of age, the number of substitutions allowed is as provided by the Rules of the Tournament or Game.
For all other matches, the number of substitutions is as agreed to prior to the match and the referee is informed prior to the match of that number. The number agreed to can be as provided in the Rules of the Tournament or Game.
- The completed US Soccer forms Application to Host a Tournament or Games Involving Foreign Teams and Certification Regarding Compliance with the Ted Stevens and Olympic Amateur Sports Act, must be submitted and approved by the hosting State Association or US Youth Soccer Affiliate and any additional fees required by the State Association, Affiliate and/or the United States Soccer Federation for processing the application.
- For all teams that are not members of US Youth Soccer or a US Youth Soccer Affiliate, Proof of medical and liability insurance must be provided by their organization of registration.
- Q: If we have a member that pays the annual member fee, but does not register any players with us in that seasonal year (for whatever reason), are they still covered by D&O insurance? Does OSA have additional risk exposure in this scenario?
- A: Yes, if they are listed on the D&O policy and the claim arises out of operations involving OSA. Might be some potential additional exposure if they are conducting operations that in no way involve OSA. We kind of slide into some gray area here. Intent of the policy is to cover member organizations while operating under the auspices of OSA.
- Q: In our organization , as a benefit of membership, league and club members can sanction tournaments (usually their own for fund raising) and we cover the insurance for those events as a member benefit. If a member league or club sanctions a tournament that is nothing to do with them (maybe receive a kick back, or sanctioning for an organization or company that is not a member of OSA to receive our coverage), do they have additional risk exposure if something happens, does OSA have additional exposure….. can you talk us through this scenario?
- A: Yes, there is additional risk exposure here as the club is using a third party to operate the event. OSA and the club are potentially picking up the negligent acts of the tournament operator. Since OSA is sanctioning the event, you are on the hook from a liability perspective. It’s becoming more common for clubs to use a professional tournament operator to host events. Main thing is to make sure the event operator has their own General Liability insurance in place for their entity and name both OSA and the club as an Additional Insured. By doing so you are less likely to pick up their negligence under the OSA policy. Minimum limits of liability should be at least 1M per occurrence with a 2M aggregate.
