EverplaySSC

🏈Official Flag Football Co-Ed Rules🏈

*Reminder Everplay is Recreational & Social League- Play Safe, Play your best, Have fun.

Sportsmanship Policy: Everplay Sport & Social Club is dedicated to providing a safe and fun sporting environment. All participants should keep this in mind when joining any Everplay League or Event. Because we encourage competitive play while maintaining good sportsmanship, any behavior deemed unacceptable by the Everplay staff may result in consequences such as ejection from the game or event, suspension from the current season, or potentially being banned entirely from Everplay as an organization. This includes actions and behavior toward umpires/referees/field managers, opposing players, and/or teammates. Some examples of unacceptable behaviors include shouting, cursing, physical altercations, and intimidation. Everplay reserves the right to determine actions as violations of the sportsmanship policy and to deal with each instance accordingly. Everplay appreciates it’s participants love for the game and has the ultimate goal of maintaining it’s motto: Play sports, Have fun, Stay social.

Team:

  1. Team rosters shall include a minimum of 10 players, including at least 3 of each Gender.
  2. The maximum number of players on the field is 6, including at least 2 of each Gender.
  3. If a team does not have 6 players and at least 2 players of each gender, they may start with as few as 4 players (if all 4 players are guys, they will lose a down every third play).
  4. When a team has fewer than the required number of players of a specified gender available, players of one gender may not be substituted for members of another gender. For example, if a team has 6 total players available at game time, but only 1 are female, the team must play short with 5 players and so on.
  5. One team being short players for a full 6 on field does not obligate the opposing team to reduce their players on field.
  6. Players may be substituted for each other at any time between plays, provided the on-field gender requirement is met at all times.
  7. All players must be registered with the League to play with the team. Unregistered substitutes are not permitted. Any team found to be playing with an unregistered player will receive a 20 point penalty and the unregistered player will be removed.  Multiple Illegal Players will lead to a forfeit.  In the Playoffs, any team with illegal players will suffer a forfeit.
  8. Team Captains reserve the right to do a Roster Check of the Opposing Team if there is suspected illegal players. 
  9. Late Registration: a team may add players to their roster through any team's scheduled 3rd game, provided the team captain approves, and the player has paid the pro-rated fee for the remainder of the season. All players must be formally registered with the League and paid in full prior to playing.

Officials:

  1. Each game shall be officiated by at least one League-assigned referee.
  2. Referees are responsible for:
    1. Keeping time.
    2. Enforcing all rules and penalties.
    3. Announcing the 5-second count such that all players can hear.
    4. Keeping and recording game score.
  3. The staff shall eject a player from the game if the player engages in any unsportsmanlike behavior.  If a player is ejected from a game, they are suspended for a FULL week (if they participate in more then one league they are suspended ALL all those league games).  If in Playoffs, they are suspended for the entirety of the Playoffs.  If a 2nd Ejection occurs during the Season, that Player is suspended for the remainder of the season.
  4. An ejected player must leave the field and facility immediately; failure to do so may result in removal from the league and automatic forfeits for their team.
  5. Ejected players will receive emails from the leagues ownership team with ruling on suspension or potentially being banned entirely from Everplay Sport & Social Club.  (Any players suspended for games or leagues must not show to participate or spectate or their team will automatically forfeit those games).

  Field:

  1. The football field shall measure approximately 70 yards long and 30 yards wide, or as close to those measurements as the game field will allow, with cones marking each 5-yard line on both sides of the field.
  2. End zones shall extend an additional ten yards past the goal line. The dimensions may vary depending on the size and dimensions of the field.

Equipment:

  1. The League shall provide the following equipment:
    1. Official youth sized football
    2. Field markers every 5 yards
    3. Flag belts and flags.
  2. Players must wear their League-provided t-shirts of the appropriate color for their team.
  3. Players must tuck in their shirts during play; no article of clothing may cover any part of the flag belt.
  4. Players must wear shoes.
  5. Steel cleats are prohibited.
  6. Players may use a ball provided by either team as long as both teams have agreed that the balls are acceptable. If teams are unable to agree on balls permitted, a team must play using only the League-provided youth size football. 
  7. Players must wear the League provided flag belts and flags must remain at the sides and back of each player at all times.

Start of Game:

  1. The referee will flip a coin, heads or tails to be called in the air by one of the team captains. The winning team will choose one of the following options (winner may not defer to the other team):
    1. Choice of offense or defense
    2. Choice of end zone to start the game
  2. Possession and offense shall be the reverse as indicated by the coin toss at the start of the 2nd half.
  3. Play will begin at the 5-yard line of the team with possession.

Game Clock:

  1. Each game consists of two 20-minute halves, with a 2-minute halftime.
  2. Each team is allowed one one-minute time out per half. Unused timeouts in the first half do not carry over into the second half.
  3. The game clock shall be a running clock, except in these cases:
    1. A team uses one of their 1-minute timeouts
    2. The difference in the score is 11 points or less and it is the last two minutes of the second half. In this case, the clock shall stop in the event of an incomplete pass, a team scores, if the ball carrier goes out of bounds, a first down, change of possession (or punt decision) or a penalty. The clock shall be resumed upon the snap at the start of the next possession. The clock shall not be stopped in the first half except in the case of a timeout, regardless of the score.
  4. The extra point conversion attempt shall be permitted after a touchdown regardless of the time on clock.
  5. If the winning team gains a first down with less than 1 minute left in the game.
  6. There will be no overtimes in Regular Season Games.

Line of Scrimmage

  1. The referee shall use a chip/bag marking the line of scrimmage and place the ball in the middle of the field after the end of each play.
  2. The offensive team must have a minimum of 4 players set (2 players if fielding 4 players total) at the line of scrimmage at the snap. Players in motion are not considered set.
  3. Once the center has placed his or her hands on the ball no player may enter the neutral zone until the snap occurs.
  4. The referee shall blow his or her whistle to signify the play may begin.
  5. The defense may not cross the line of scrimmage to rush until after an audible 5 second count by the referee or until the ball changes possession from one offensive player to another. 
  6. Quarterbacks must be at least 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage when receiving the initial snap.
  7. It is illegal for a quarterback to rush the ball beyond the line of scrimmage, even after they are rushed after the 5 second count. (5 yard penalty, LOD).
  8. PLAYERS GOING OUT OF BOUNDS OR PLACING THE BALL SHORT OF THE GOAL LINE WILL ENFORCE THE BALL BEING SPOTTED BACK AT THE FIVE YARD LINE. 

Passing:

  1. A pass is completed when the ball is caught by any player of the passing team who has at least one foot in-bounds.
  2. An eligible receiver becomes ineligible if he leaves the field during the play and remains ineligible until the ball is touched by an eligible receiver or any defensive player. However, if an eligible receiver is forced out-of-bounds he shall be considered eligible as soon as he returns inbound.
  3. If an ineligible receiver catches the ball the pass shall be considered incomplete.

Downs:

  1. The offensive team will have four downs to achieve a first down.
  2. A first down is achieved by crossing the 25 yard line (midpoint of the field).

Gender Rules:

  1. A FEMALE MUST TOUCH THE BALL IN A LEGITIMATE PLAY EVERY THIRD DOWN IN THE ENTIRE GAME
  2. Female players must participate in a play at least once every three downs as either the quarterback, ball carrier or receiver. The "gender count" shall be the number of successive downs made involving only a single gender.
  3. If the gender count is 2, i.e. if the offensive team has not played both genders during the first two downs, the referee shall announce a "gender play" and the gender affected, and the offensive team must play that gender in one or more of the following ways:
    1. As quarterback; passes the ball to a receiver beyond the line of scrimmage.
    2. As ball carrier; carries the ball across the line of scrimmage.
    3. As receiver; receives or is intended to receive a pass from beyond the line of scrimmage.
     If no females are present, teams will play down and have 3 downs to gain a first down.   

 Punting:

  1. The offensive team may punt on the fourth down.  A punt is considered moving the opposition team to their own 5.

Turnovers and Stoppage of Play:

  1. Possession will change from one team to the other when:
    1. A team scores. Play will start again at the 5 yard line.
    2. Four downs are counted without obtaining a first down. Play will start at the previous line of scrimmage.
    3. A forward pass is intercepted, play stops.  Interceptions can not be returned.  The intercepting team will start their offense at the spot of the Interception.
  2. Play will stop when:
    1. One of the ball carrier's flags is removed by an opposing player or falls off.
    2. Receiver catches the ball while not having all flags attached.
    3. The ball carrier leaves the field of play.
    4. A team scores a touchdown or extra point.
    5. The ball touches the ground because of a fumble or incomplete pass.
    6. The ball carrier is considered down by the officiating crew.
    7. A defensive player intercepts an extra point pass attempt.
    8. A referee inadvertently blows his whistle.

Penalties:

  1. All penalties may be declined by the opposing team should the penalty be to their detriment.
  2. All penalties will be imposed at the line of scrimmage or spot of the foul. Should the full imposition of the penalty carry the line into an end zone, the ball will be spotted at the one-yard line.
  3. The following shall incur a ten-yard penalty:
    1. Any player:
      1. Running into an opponent, including using a “stiff-arm.”, without having made a reasonable effort to avoid contact.
      2. Reckless play. Players must make every effort to avoid contact.
      3. Blocking. Players may not use their hands, elbows, or any other part of their body to block opponents.
      4. Stripping the ball from the ball carrier.
      5. Intentionally removing an opponent's flag who has not yet taken possession of the ball (enacted spotted at location of catch, and an automatic first down).
      6. Intentional foul.
      7. Unsportsmanlike conduct.
    2. Defense:
      1. Holding. Defenders may not touch the receiver prior to catching the ball.
      2. Face guarding. Players may not use their hands to block the sight of the receiver.
      3. Pass interference. Given that no player shall be obligated to give up a position once gained, a defender shall not deliberately obstruct an intended receiver from obtaining a position to catch the ball.
    3. Offense:
      1. Offensive pass interference. No player shall obstruct another player from obtaining a position from which to go to and catch the ball, given that neither shall any player be obligated to give up such a position once gained.
  4. The following shall incur a five-yard penalty:
    1. Defense:
      1. Offsides. A defensive player is off sides when any part of his body crosses the line of scrimmage before the five-second count is called.
      2. Encroachment. A defensive player may not enter the neutral zone prior to the snap.
    2. Offense:
      1. Delay of game. The offensive team has 25 seconds from the referee's whistle to snap the ball.
      2. Illegal participation. Teams may not have more than 6 players on the field, including at least 2 of each gender, or in accordance to the on-field rules per the "Team" section of these rules.
      3. Illegal cadence. The player calling the cadence must receive the snap.
      4. False start. At least 4 players must be set at the line of scrimmage for a minimum of one full second prior to the snap.  Play is blown dead when False Start occurs.
      5. Illegal motion. No player is permitted to move forward toward the line of scrimmage at the snap.
      6. Illegal forward pass. The ball may be passed forward only once and only from behind the line of scrimmage. A forward pass must cross the line of scrimmage. Lateral passes are permitted at any time.
      7. Flag guarding. Players may not intentionally block access to any flag, including those worn by teammates.
      8. Intentional grounding. A passer may not throw the ball without a realistic chance of completion, with the exception that a passer may ground the ball to stop the clock with less than two minutes to play in the game. Also penalized a a loss of down.
      9. Diving. Diving is not permitted unless attempting to catch a pass. Intentional Diving as a ball carrier will result in a 5 yard penalty.

Scoring:

  1. A player shall score when the ball has clearly crossed the plain of the goal line.  When in doubt, the ball will be spotted short of the goal line by the referee. 
  2. If a female scores a touchdown either by running it in or throws a legal forward pass and a touchdown is scored by any member of the team on that down, the point value is 9.  
  3. All other touchdowns shall count for 6 points. (Exception: If a male throws a pass to another male, who then pitches the ball back legally to a female, the touchdown shall still count for 9 points.
  4. A 5-yard conversion shall count for 1 point.
  5. A 10-yard conversion shall count for 2 points.
  6. A "safety" counts for 2 points.
  7. Each game won shall count as 2 points in the League standings. A tie shall count as 1 point. Losses and forfeits shall count as 0 points.

Mercy Rule

  1. A game shall be immediately called whenever a team achieves a 50-point or more advantage at with 10 minutes or less to play in the 2nd half.

Forfeits:

  1. Teams must be ready to play and meet game start requirements at the posted game time. Any team not ready to play at this time, after a 5 minute grace period, shall forfeit and the opposing team shall take a default win, 50-0.
  2. If neither team is ready to play, both teams shall forfeit.
  3. Teams that forfeit (3) times during one season will be removed from the league schedule and forfeited out of the league.

Playoff Tie Breaker:

  1. Ties are not permitted in playoff games. If a regulation game ends in a tie, it shall be broken using the following method: The winner of a coin flip will have the option of starting on offense or defense. The ball will be put into play at the 20-yard line. Each team will have 4 downs to advance the ball past the goal line. If a team does not score by four downs, their total yardage is counted. If a team loses possession of the ball, the opposing team takes over on offense and the ball will be placed again on the 20-yard line; all the opposing team will have to do is advance the ball past the yardage mark where the team who had the ball first ended their possession. If there is an interception that results in a touchdown, that team will win. If the ball is intercepted and not returned for a touchdown, the opposing team will just have to advance the ball past the line of scrimmage from where the ball was thrown from. A team that loses possession does not regain their downs. In the playoff tiebreaker, when a team scores there will not be 1 or 2 point conversions. If both teams score, the team that scored in the fewer amount of plays wins. If both teams scored in the same amount of plays, the tiebreaker will be repeated including a new coin flip.

Cancellation Policy:

  1. Email/Text Alerts is primarily used to inform participants of canceled games due to inclement weather and field conditions.  These cancellation decisions typically don't occur before 3pm the day of the game. Participants should always assume their game is being played as scheduled unless they hear otherwise.
  2. Everplay Sport & Social Club will make all efforts to reschedule up 2 weeks of games per season due to weather related cancellations.  Any cancellations after that, may not be made up due to time and scheduling constraints.
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