All Waivers Committee decisions may be appealed at no cost to the BAYS Executive Committee. A further appeal of the Executive Committee decision may only be appealed to the BAYS Board of Directors per Match Rule 13 Appeals Policy.

All requests for waivers must be submitted by the Club Registrar or President through the Waiver Application system on the BAYS website.

The following are the current waivers in place for players to play in BAYS at the Grade levels noted in the above BAYS Grade/Age Group Chart.

1. Grade/Age Group Waiver
   
   1. An age exception may be granted under Match Rule 4 paragraph 3 (ADA waivers).
   2. Younger Player Playing with Age Group: Players who are in one higher school grade than their calendar year peers but want to play with them in the BAYS grade group one year below may apply for a discretionary waiver from the Waivers Committee to play on a non-MTOC eligible team in that lower BAYS Grade/Age group.
   3. Older Player Playing with Classmates: Players who are born in the year previous to the grade/age group limit for their current school year classmates may apply for a discretionary waiver from the Waivers Committee to play on a non-MTOC eligible team in that lower BAYS Grade/Age group.
   4. Older Player Playing with Classmates on an MTOC eligible team: Players who are born in the year previous to the grade/age group limit for their current school year classmates may apply for a discretionary waiver from the Waivers Committee to play on an MTOC eligible team in Grades 6 and 8 in the Fall and Spring seasons and MTOC eligible High School teams in the Spring season. Waivers to this requirement for Grade 6 and Grade 8 Division 1 and Division 2 teams should be submitted prior to August 15 before the fall season in question, and for all  Grade 6 and 8 MTOC teams prior to March 1, and Grade 10 MTOC teams prior to April 1 before the spring season. 

Any BAYS approved Older Player MTOC eligible waiver request for an MTOC eligible team must also be submitted to the Mass Youth Soccer Leagues Committee (LC)  by BAYS for their approval to play on an MTOC eligible team. BAYS will manage this added approval process. The player may not play on a MTOC eligible team in the Spring until the LC approval has been received. A team is MTOC ineligible if  a player on the team is not approved by the LC.

2. Residency Waiver

The primary intent of the BAYS league is to provide inter-town competition; the primary requirement for team play at all levels is town residency.

1. For all divisions – There are two types of residency waivers that may be requested: (1) automatic waivers and (2) discretionary waivers.
   1. Automatic Waivers: Waivers that satisfy any of the following guidelines will automatically be granted.
      
      1. A player who lives in town A and attends school in town B may play for either town. Players who live in town A and attend school in town B may continue to play for town B indefinitely, provided that:
         
         1. the player played for town B for at least two of three consecutive soccer years by virtue of attending school in town B; and
         2. the player continues to play for town B. Once the player plays for a town soccer program other than town B, he or she may no longer play for town B under this waiver provision.
      2. A player who moves from town A to town B and has played as a resident for town A for at least two of the previous three soccer years may play for either town. Such previous play need not have been in BAYS. If a player who has moved from town A to town B meets the initial requirements of this waiver provision, he or she may continue to play for town A indefinitely, provided that he or she does not play for any other town soccer program. Once the player plays for a town other than town A, that player may no longer play for town A under this waiver provision.
      3. A player who has parents living in different towns may play for either town.
      4. A player residing in a town but having a mailing address in another town must play for the town of residence while listing the mailing address/town on the roster, unless covered by another rule.
   2. Discretionary Waivers: Residency waivers that satisfy either of the following guidelines will be granted at the discretion of the Waivers Committee.
      
      1. A player who lives in a town that has no team or no opening on a team at the player's grade/age level may play on an appropriate team in an adjacent town, provided that the player has made a timely, good faith effort to try out for such an opening on their own town’s team.
      2. Adjacent towns which have an insufficient number of players to form two full teams at a grade/age level may combine players to form a team, which would be placed in an appropriately competitive division with waivers for the players from the non-sponsoring club.
      3. Residency hardship discretionary waiver. In the event of unusual player hardship to play in the town of residence, the Waivers  Committee may, in its sole discretion with a two-thirds vote in the affirmative, grant a seasonal year waiver that allows a player to play with a team in a BAYS program in order to avoid or diminish that hardship. Any subsequent renewal of the waiver will require a three-quarters vote in the affirmative of the Waivers Committee.

         The waiver application needs to include: 

         1. The nature and extent of the hardship if the player were to be required to play with their town of residence;
         2. The efforts made by the player to avoid or reduce that hardship so the player could play on a team from the town of residence;
         3. How the hardship would be avoided or diminished if the player is allowed to play with a team from the requesting town;
         4. Why this option was chosen and what other options within BAYS were available and not chosen;
         5. Review of the player's recent playing history an assessment of the player's effect on team competitiveness; and
         6. Town of residence response to the waiver request.

2. For division 1: An additional residency waiver consideration: The Waivers Committee may approve residency waivers for the purpose of providing broader access to competition in division one. A request for such a waiver shall include a written justification. The Committee shall review each such submission and inform the organization concerned of the action taken. In acting on such submissions, the Committee shall be guided by the following fundamental principles:

• Division 1, like all BAYS divisions, should be evenly competitive and in the spirit of inter-town competition.
• Players have a right to competition at the highest level their capabilities will allow. A factor in the decision is play in an Open League (non-town based) and considering the Division level of play within these Open Leagues to be comparable or better than a BAYS Division 1 level of competition, this will generally be considered in satisfying this requirement. 
• A player who has access to division 1 play in their town of residency should not be considered for such play in another town (except as already provided in Section A of this Match Rule 4.

3. Requests for all residency waivers must be submitted by a club official in accordance with instructions posted each season on the BAYS website. Players for whom a residency waiver is requested may not be rostered nor play until the club receives notification of the waiver approval. The approved waiver number must be included on the player’s row on the roster submission.
4. Organizations that represent two adjacent towns associated in a regional school district shall be considered as town organizations for purposes of these Match Rules and shall have the same rights as organizations representing a single town.
5. Any waiver granted for the Fall season shall also be valid for the next Spring season provided that the conditions justifying the waiver have not changed. All waivers expire at the end of each spring season.
6. Deleted
7. Additional requirements may apply to players who live outside of the BAYS geographic area, who live outside of Massachusetts, or who were born in a foreign country. These requirements are established by the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association and the United States Youth Soccer Association. Clubs should consult the information posted on the BAYS website or contact the BAYS Registrar for assistance before rostering any players in these categories.  ALL Mass resident  players who reside outside of towns that have a BAYS club, must complete an Inter-League waiver process.  This includes all age groups and divisions.

3. Americans with Disabilities Act Waiver

This establishes a procedure for considering requests from persons with disabilities recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)::

1. Any request for accommodation under the ADA must first be presented to the individual’s member club soccer organization for action. The club organization must act on the matter within 30 days; if the club decides to request an ADA waiver from BAYS, the appropriate club official should submit the request through the Waiver Application system with all required documentation provided as directed. If the club fails to act within 30 days, then the individual may proceed directly to contact BAYS at [email protected]. Required documentation for any ADA waiver shall include:

1. A statement of the nature of the disability, certified by a physician.

2. A statement of the accommodation requested by the soccer player.

3. A summary of the actions taken by the club soccer organization to accommodate the player, along with an explanation of why those attempts have been deemed unsatisfactory by the club or the player, or why the attempted accommodation requires BAYS action.

4. A recommendation from the club as to the specific action requested by BAYS. This requirement shall not apply where the club has failed to act.

Upon receipt of a request for a waiver of BAYS rules or other accommodation, the Waiver Director shall review it for completeness and, if it is complete, shall forward the request to the BAYS Waivers Committee, which shall evaluate the request and respond through a waiver director via the waiver application system" to the club, or where there has been an appeal from an individual that was rejected by his hometown club, the Waiver Chair will respond to the individual with a copy to the home club subject to the following conditions:

1. The Committee shall have the authority to seek further information from the player's family, the club, and competent experts to help evaluate the request. The Committee shall consider whether it seems more likely than not that the request bears a logical relationship to the disability, that it does not fundamentally alter the nature of the program being offered by BAYS, and that it does not present any undue risk of harm to any participant.  Any approved ADA waiver request involving an MTOC eligible team in the Spring season must also be submitted to the Mass Youth Soccer Leagues Committee to be MTOC eligible.

2. If the Waiver Director determines that a request is incomplete, it shall be returned to the appropriate club official or in case of an appeal from an individual where the club has rejected his request to be amended or revised as necessary for resubmission.

3. Waivers granted under this procedure shall be publicized under normal BAYS procedures.

4. Roster Size Waiver

Both non-MTOC and MTOC teams may have an oversized roster through a waiver system where the increased number of players on a roster is allowed under the following conditions. These conditions may also determine the team’s status for MTOC eligibility.

1. 11 v 11 MTOC eligible teams are limited to 22 players. Waivers to this requirement for Grade 8 should be submitted prior to March 1 and waivers for High School grade teams should be submitted prior to April 1 before the spring season in question or August 15 for all before the fall season in question. If a waiver is granted in the spring season, the team will be ineligible for MTOC play, but must still meet all other registration requirements for MTOC teams. The Waivers Committee may at their discretion consider a request submitted after the deadline. If the club does have other teams in non-MTOC eligible divisions of the same grade/age group where players could be accommodated, the waiver request must state why the oversize roster is a preferred option. Granting a waiver for the fall season does not imply the waiver will continue to the spring season. It must be applied for each season desired.
2. 11 v 11 Non-MTOC eligible teams are limited to 22 players. Waiver applications to permit rostering more than 22 players should be submitted to the Waivers Committee for determination.
3. 9v9 MTOC eligible teams are limited to 18 players. Waivers to this requirement for Grade 6 teams should be submitted prior to March 1 before the spring season in question or August 15 before the fall season in question. If a waiver is granted in the spring season, the team will be ineligible for MTOC play, but must still meet all other registration requirements for MTOC teams. The Waivers Committee may at their discretion consider a request submitted after the deadline. If the club does have other teams in non-MTOC eligible divisions of the same grade/age group where players could be accommodated, the waiver request must state why the oversize roster is a preferred option. Granting a waiver for the fall season does not imply the waiver will continue to the spring season. It must be applied for each season desired.