Harvest Cup Rules

1. PLAYER ELIGIBILITY & TEAM SIZES

Teams may be formed from public or private schools within the IUSD or TUSD area. Players must attend the school they represent in the current calendar year. Private school students may play only for their private school.

Elementary players must be in grades 2–6; middle school players must be in grades 7–8. Teams are formed from students attending the same school, subject to the homeschool exception below.

Divisions

Elementary girls: grade 2, grades 3–4 combined, or grades 5–6 combined. Elementary boys: separate divisions for grades 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Middle school girls: grades 7–8 combined. Middle school boys: separate grade 7 and grade 8 divisions.

If a school forms both a boys’ and a girls’ team in the same division, boys must play on the boys’ team and girls on the girls’ team. If a school can field only one mixed team in a division, that team may play in the boys’ division regardless of the number of boys or girls. A team combining two grade groups must play in the older grade group.

Homeschool exception

Homeschool players may play for the school within whose IUSD or TUSD boundary they reside, if space is available. They may not displace a student attending that school. For example, if 14 sixth graders from the school register and a homeschool player joins, the team must take all 15 players.

Roster and on-field requirements

Roster limits apply to the registered team. On-field limits apply during a match and include the goalkeeper. These are separate requirements. Any exception to roster sizes requires agreement from the school administration, coach, and OC Youth Sports staff. A roster exception does not change the on-field minimum.

2. GAME FORMAT & PLAYING TIME

Governing rules and heading

Unless modified by these Harvest Cup rules, matches follow the IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27. Harvest Cup modifications control where the rules differ.

Elementary 7v7 and 9v9: Heading is prohibited in practices and games. The offside law is enforced. Middle school 11v11: Heading is allowed and the offside law is enforced.

Match length and timekeeping

All divisions play two 20-minute halves with a five-minute halftime. The clock runs during substitutions, injuries, and other delays. The referee is the sole timekeeper and may adjust the match clock to prevent abuse of this policy.

Minimum playing time in every game

Every rostered player who is present and eligible to play must receive at least one quarter of regulation playing time in every game, including elimination, semifinal, and championship games. In a standard 40-minute match, this means at least 10 minutes. Overtime does not count toward the minimum.

Coaches are responsible for planning substitutions and meeting this requirement. Exceptions are limited to injury or illness, a player arriving late or leaving early, or a disciplinary exclusion under these rules. Coaches must explain and record any exception on the game card; competitive or tactical reasons are not exceptions. If a match is shortened or terminated early, the minimum is one quarter of the regulation time actually played, subject to these same exceptions.

Substitutions and injuries

Either team may substitute at halftime, at the midpoint of each half, or at another stoppage with the referee’s permission. Substitutions take place at the halfway line. An entering player must wait until the exiting player has left the field. Substitution breaks may not exceed one minute; only exiting players leave the field, and these breaks are not for water or coaching.

A player attended to for an injury on the field may be replaced and may return at the next substitution opportunity with the referee’s permission. If the player leaves and is not replaced, the player may return with the referee’s prior permission. A goalkeeper may be substituted with the referee’s permission and may play the entire game in goal.

Minimum players and forfeits

A team must have at least 5 players in grade 2, 7 in grades 3–6, or 9 in grades 7–8 on the field to start or continue. If a team is below its minimum at game time, the referee allows a five-minute grace period. If the minimum is still not met, the game is forfeited. If a team falls below its minimum during play, the match is terminated. The Tournament Director records the resulting forfeit, subject only to the administrative review in Section 6.

3. TIED GAMES & ADVANCEMENT

Tied matches and championship overtime

A match tied after regulation goes directly to a penalty shootout, except for the championship match. Championship matches use up to two nine-minute overtime periods. The first goal scored in either period wins the match by sudden victory. If no goal is scored in the first period, the second is played under the same conditions. If no goal is scored in either period, a penalty shootout decides the match.

Overtime uses the normal division maximum: 7 players for grade 2, 9 for grades 3–6, and 11 for grades 7–8. A team plays one player short for each player sent off during the match. A sent-off player may not return for overtime or the shootout. The division’s on-field minimum still applies.

Penalty shootout

The referee selects the goal and tosses a coin. The winning captain chooses whether the team takes the first or second kick. The referee records each kicker. Teams take up to five kicks each, alternating turns. A shootout ends early if one team cannot catch the other with its remaining kicks.

If the score is tied after five kicks each, teams take one kick each per round until one scores and the other misses. Each round must give both teams a kick before a winner is declared.

Only eligible players on the field at the end of regulation, or at the end of overtime in a championship match, may participate. Each kick must be taken by a different eligible player, including the goalkeeper, until all eligible players on that team have taken a kick. A player may then take a second kick. Sent-off players may not participate.

An eligible participating player may change places with the goalkeeper during the shootout. Apart from the kicker and the two goalkeepers, participating players remain in the center circle. The kicker’s goalkeeper remains on the field outside the penalty area being used and at least 10 yards from the penalty mark. The IFAB Laws apply to the shootout unless these tournament rules provide otherwise.

Pool ranking and tiebreakers

Teams are ranked by points, with the most points first. When teams are tied on points, apply these tiebreakers in order:

1. Head-to-head result, only when the tied teams played each other.

2. Goal differential across all pool games, capped at +3 or −3 per game.

3. Fewest goals allowed across all pool games.

4. Most goals scored across all pool games.

5. Coin flip conducted by SoCal Reds staff.

For a three-way or four-way tie, apply each tiebreaker to all tied teams at the same time. When a tiebreaker separates one or more teams, rank and remove those teams, then restart the sequence at head-to-head for the teams still tied.

4. DISCIPLINE & SPECTATOR CONDUCT

Player cautions and send-offs

The referee applies IFAB caution and send-off procedures, subject to these Harvest Cup modifications. A player receiving a yellow card must sit out for three minutes; an eligible substitute may replace that player. A second caution in the same match results in a red card. A sent-off player may not be replaced, and the team plays short for the rest of the match, including overtime.

The standard penalty for a player or coach sent off is exclusion for the remainder of that match and suspension for the team’s next tournament game. A suspended player may not play; a suspended coach may not coach or direct the team from the sidelines or remotely. There is no automatic ban from coaching the following year.

The Tournament Director may increase a suspension, including exclusion from the remainder of the tournament, for fighting, threats, abusive behavior, or other serious or repeated misconduct. Fighting results in tournament disqualification for the individual involved. Any restriction on future tournament participation requires a separate, reasoned decision by the Tournament Director based on the seriousness and circumstances of the conduct.

A dismissed coach must leave the field area and move beyond hearing distance. A dismissed player must remain safely supervised by a responsible adult in a location directed by tournament staff; a child must not be required to leave the venue alone. A parent’s or spectator’s removal does not automatically exclude their child.

Using a suspended or disqualified player or coach results in forfeiture of that game. Administrative questions about identity, eligibility, or the application of a suspension may be reviewed under Section 6. Referee judgments about misconduct remain final.

Coaches and spectators

Coaches must promote respectful behavior among players, the bench, parents, and spectators, and cooperate with officials and staff in addressing misconduct. Individuals remain responsible for their own behavior. A coach does not automatically receive a yellow or red card solely because a spectator misbehaves.

For ordinary spectator misconduct, the referee or tournament staff will warn the individual and ask the coach to help restore appropriate conduct. If the misconduct continues, the individual may be required to leave the field area. Threats, violence, abusive behavior, or an immediate safety risk may lead to removal without a prior warning. Removed spectators may be barred from the next game or the remainder of the tournament according to the seriousness or repetition of the conduct.

A coach who personally engages in misconduct, refuses to cooperate, or fails to take reasonable steps after being directed to address team-associated misconduct may be warned, cautioned, or dismissed as appropriate. Play may be suspended while staff address a disruption. The referee may terminate a match if safe, orderly play cannot resume.

After reviewing the incident, the Tournament Director may declare a forfeit when team-associated misconduct prevents safe completion of the match. Team disqualification is reserved for serious or repeated misconduct, or persistent refusal to comply with removal or safety directions. A single spectator incident does not automatically disqualify a team, forfeit its remaining games, or erase previously earned points. Any adjustment to prior results or points requires a separate written explanation of the applicable rule and reason.

5. EQUIPMENT & TOURNAMENT ARRANGEMENTS

Ball sizes

Uniforms and player equipment

SoCal Reds will provide game jerseys. Goalkeepers must wear colors distinguishable from other players, the opposing goalkeeper, and the referee. Shin guards are mandatory and must be covered by socks.

Players may not wear watches, jewelry, string bracelets, acrylic nails, headbands, hard casts, barrettes, earrings, or other unsafe items. The referee makes the final decision on whether an item may be worn.

Sidelines and game cards

The schedule identifies the home team as H and the away team as A. The home team chooses its spectator side of the field; the away team sets up on the opposite side. Spectators must remain at least three yards from the touchline and above the 18-yard line. No one may stand behind the goals.

Each team may have two game coaches. Coaches must remain within 10 yards on either side of the midfield line. The home team must collect the referee’s game card and return it to tournament staff immediately after the game.

Scheduling and brackets

This is a weekend tournament with two games guaranteed. Teams play two games on Saturday and are randomly matched. Sunday games may start at any time after 8 a.m. OC Youth Sports staff randomly select the tournament pools and brackets.

Specific game-time requests cannot be accommodated. Elementary championship games have historically been scheduled for 5 p.m. and middle school championship games for 4 p.m., depending on registration. The published schedule controls actual match times.

6. TOURNAMENT ADMINISTRATION & REMINDERS

Final referee decisions

Referee decisions about facts of play and on-field judgments are final. This includes fouls, goals, offside, cautions, send-offs, and timekeeping judgments. Administrative review does not provide a means to challenge those decisions or replay a match because a team disagrees with an official.

Limited administrative review

A head coach or school representative may request review only for a mistaken player or coach identity, eligibility error, score-reporting or standings error, or misapplication of a written Harvest Cup tournament rule. Discretionary referee judgments are outside this process.

Submit the request in writing to tournament staff for the Tournament Director within 30 minutes of the match ending or, for an error discovered later, within 30 minutes of its discovery and before the team’s next match begins. Identify the specific error, the applicable rule, and available supporting information. A request does not automatically delay games or suspend a disciplinary penalty.

The Tournament Director will review the game card and relevant records, consult the referee or staff as needed, and give affected teams a reasonable opportunity to provide information. The Director should resolve the matter before the next affected match whenever practical and provide a brief written decision explaining any correction or sanction. Corrections are limited to the administrative error; field judgments are not reopened.

The same limited process applies to claims that an administrative suspension, forfeit, disqualification, or points adjustment was imposed on the wrong person or team, or contrary to a written tournament rule. The Tournament Director’s decision after administrative review is final; no further tournament appeal is available.

Keep the recreational spirit

Harvest Cup is a fun, recreational school soccer tournament. Highlight school spirit, teamwork, participation, fun, and pizza parties. Professional referees and volunteer coaches help make the event a positive experience for everyone.

Good luck and have fun!