Game Days & Times

The BAYS Board of Directors may seasonally alter the playing times for each grade/age group, and the Scheduler will provide this information in the registration materials for the upcoming season.

If BAYS announces time extensions for rescheduling games, which frequently happens for wet Spring seasons, such extensions shall supersede the Rescheduling Game Chart timeframes.

Saturday matches for girls shall kick off between 8:30 AM and 1:00 PM while matches for boys shall kick off between 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Sunday matches for girls and boys shall kick off between 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM.   (See Game Reschedules #4 below)

Section Administration and Oversight

Each season, the BAYS President will appoint Grade Directors for all grade groups. The Grade Director shall oversee and assist the Division Directors in the management of their playing divisions.   The Grade Director is responsible for approving or rejecting any team swaps proposed within their grade group. 

The Grade Director has access to the scoring pad and the rosters of their Grade group in order to oversee and assist the Division Director, as needed, in addressing their responsibilities, including the final disposition of games. 

If needed, the Grade Director may seek input from members of the BAYS Executive Committee prior to making decisions, but the decision of a BAYS Grade Director is final. 

Playing the Schedule 

All teams must play each game as scheduled or properly rescheduled. The team(s) responsible for the match not being played within the stated time frame may be assessed a forfeit by the Division Director.
See Match Rule (MR) 16.

Starting the Game

BAYS provides a 15-minute window for an official game to start, if the following are met:

• The assigned referee arrives, or after the 15 minutes are up, the coaches may appoint an acting referee per LAW 5
• Each team needs at a minimum, an adult wearing their credential to oversee the respective team (Match Rule 1).   
• Both teams provide an official hard copy roster to the referee (Match Rule 1) . A friendly can be played if the two rosters are not provided.
• The minimum number of players for each team are present  (LAW 3).

If the official game starts late due to one of the above or weather, the Center Referee shall adjust the game time to two equal halves, so that the game ends prior to the start of the next scheduled game on the assigned field.

Calculation of Standings

The standings of teams in each section will be determined on points awarded as follows:

BAYS would like to see goal differentials of no more than +5. Placement is an inexact science, and some teams are misplaced. If you find yourself opposing one of these teams then you should show sportsmanship and keep the score to a goal differential of 5. BAYS starts to deduct points from a win when the goal differential is 8.  The standing of teams in each section will be determined on points awarded as follows:

Points are given only for those games played that count in the standings. A game with a No Game status does not affect the point total. For example, there are games in a double 5 schedule as well as some other schedules that do not count in the standings. These non-counting games are not included in the point total.

Adjustments Due to Swaps and Schedule

Adjustments may be made in the Spring season to try and balance the competition between teams, when it is noted that teams were misplaced during Placement. In the Spring MTOC sections this may affect the outcome of the final standings,

Some circumstances occur during the spring season that may result in changes in how standings and playoff eligibility are determined for MTOC eligible teams. For example: a section swap that happens on any week other than Week 6, a team dropping out, or the need during placement to use a non-equal section configuration.

If an adjustment to an MTOC section’s standings calculation is needed to determine BAYS Playoff seeding, the BAYS First Vice President shall decide which games in the section should be deemed non-counting games. All non-counting games should still be played. If an MTOC-eligible team forfeits a non-counting game, although the loss resulting from the forfeit does not count in standings, the -1 standing point resulting from the forfeit still applies.

All references to season week numbers refer to the 10-week BAYS schedule–even for grades above Grade 8, which play a different schedule.

RESCHEDULING GAMES CHART**

Rescheduling Games Process:

Division Director Notification Requirements:

Coaches must notify their assigned Division Director in writing prior to game day with the rationale for why a game cannot be played as scheduled. Written notification may be made by email or by text. Division Director’s contact information can be found by clicking on a team’s assigned Section to link to the Section Information page.

A section captain has no authority to approve any change in the schedule of games.

Opponent/Club Notification Requirements: See below.

Game Reschedule Types:

It is the policy of BAYS that teams should make every effort to play games on or before the scheduled date. Agreements between coaches to postpone a game are strongly discouraged. 

Forfeits and fines may apply to unplayed games. See MR 16.

Allowable Reschedule Reasons: See Notification Requirements below for all situations.

1. Mutually Agreed Upon Preponement: Any game can be pre-played prior to the original scheduled date if both coaches agree. 

2. Unilateral Reschedules: Only games for the listed reasons can be unilaterally rescheduled. 

All unilaterally rescheduled games must still be played within the Rescheduling Games Chart timeframes.

1. Religious Holidays: From time to time, the BAYS spring or fall game schedule conflicts with the observance of a religious holiday. Longstanding BAYS policy is to allow any coach or member organization the option of unilaterally deciding to reschedule the game when such a religious conflict exists. All BAYS coaches and BAYS member town clubs are expected to cooperate in assuring that players and their families are able to choose freely and without pressure between religious holidays and participating in BAYS activities. It is expected that a player who chooses to observe a religious holiday in lieu of playing soccer will not jeopardize their playing time or position on the team in future games as a result of such a choice. See Notification Requirements below.

2. Three-Day Holiday Weekends: A team may elect to unilaterally reschedule its regularly scheduled game for these listed weekends: 

   1. Columbus Day Weekend: Notification required by September 15 - See Notification Requirements below.

   2. Memorial Day Weekend: Notification required by May 1 - See Notification Requirements below.

3. Field scheduling conflict: If it is known in advance that a game cannot be played as originally scheduled because of a valid field scheduling conflict, special requirements are in place.

   1. The visiting team must be offered a chance to host the game at its own field on the scheduled date, at a different time if needed. It is expected that if such a site location swap occurs, and if the two teams play another game that season, they will try to play the second game at the field of the team that did not play at home in the first game. In other words, each team should play one game at home and one away. The home Referee Assignor should be contacted to process the Location Swap.

   2. If the away team cannot host the game, teams must work together to reschedule the game within the allowable time frame. See Rescheduling Games Chart above.

4. Scheduled School: Towns may have to adjust their scheduled mandatory school days due to inclement weather (snow days), teacher strikes, or other unforeseen reasons. When this leads to a conflict with BAYS regularly scheduled season games, the affected club/teams are allowed to elect to reschedule those games unilaterally.

5. City of Boston Tournament Conflict: A team from a BAYS soccer organization based in the City of Boston may elect to unilaterally reschedule its regularly scheduled BAYS game on either day of the Boston Mayor’s Cup tournament. This is to allow Boston teams to participate fully in the Boston Mayor’s Cup without having to choose between those games and BAYS games. 

   1. Notification required by October 15 - See Notification Requirements below.

3. Unplayable Field: The determination that a field is unplayable is not the decision of the home team coach. A designated official of the home team’s sponsoring organization must make the decision. Referees or coaches cannot declare a field playable that an organization has declared unplayable.

   1. If a field is declared unplayable before or on the day of the game, the home team coach shall notify the away team by 7:00 am on the day of the game (for morning games), or by 10:00 am (for afternoon games).

   2. In situations where field conditions deteriorate before or during a game, the referee has final authority to declare a field unplayable at any point. The referee is required to file a game report detailing the circumstances and the Division Director will follow the Guidelines for Terminated and Abandoned Matches to determine the game outcome and next steps.

4. Game Scheduled Outside of BAYS Game Schedule Windows: For Saturday game times, matches for girls shall kick off between 8:30 AM and 1:00 PM while matches for boys shall kick off between 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM. For Sunday game times, matches for girls and boys shall kick off between 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM. If a scheduled game falls outside of these parameters and is not acceptable to the opponent, the Division Director should be consulted as early as possible and is responsible for resolving the dispute.

   1. The visiting team must be offered a chance to host the game at its own field on the scheduled date, at a time within the standard game window. It is expected that if such a site location swap occurs, and if the two teams play another game that season, they will try to play the second game at the field of the team that did not play at home in the first game. In other words, each team should play one game at home and one away. The home Referee Assignor should be contacted to process the Location Swap.

   2. If the away team cannot host the game, teams must work together to reschedule the game within the allowable time frame. See Rescheduling Games Chart above.

5. Games Not Played For Other Reasons: Agreements by coaches to postpone a game are strongly discouraged. Missing some players is not a reason to cancel. If enough players remain to field a team, play the game as scheduled. See Law 3.

   1. If a game is not played on its scheduled date for a reason not cited above including a field conflict, an unplayable field, or a holiday, it must be rescheduled within the timeframes listed in the Rescheduling Games Chart. 

Rescheduled Games Process

Both team coaches must provide at least three possible dates/times to their opponents. If a mutually agreed upon date/time within the specified timeframe cannot be determined, the Division Director will make a determination on the reschedule game date from the feasible dates/times provided or assign forfeits as needed.

If the rescheduled game does not get played within the allowed time frame, the Division Director shall assess a double forfeit at the end of that time. If the Division Director determines that one of the teams was ready to play on the originally scheduled date, the Division Director has the discretion to assess a single forfeit instead of a double forfeit.

Once rescheduled with the notification/agreement of the Division Director, a makeup game becomes a scheduled game and must be played as rescheduled.

• A rescheduled game may be further rescheduled if, on the originally rescheduled date, there is a field scheduling conflict or unplayable field.

• If a rescheduled game is not played as rescheduled and a dispute arises as to which team is responsible for the games not being played then, the Division Director may award either a single or double forfeit, depending on the facts available to the Division Director, or declare a No Game.

Opponent/Club Notification Requirements:

Before Day of Game:

Coaches must proactively confirm with each other upcoming game dates/times/fields by no later than Wednesday prior to a weekend game day. If the game is on a weekday, notification must be at least by noon the day before the game. 

Home coaches have the additional responsibility of notifying their Referee Assignor and/or Field Scheduler, whenever a match will not be played as scheduled. Matches in the process of being rescheduled should be listed on the schedule as Unscheduled by the club.

Opponent’s and club officials’ direct contact information is available on the BAYS site after logging in and clicking on the Team Name to see the Team Information.

• There is a Late Cancel Fine in effect for failure to cancel/notify within a specified timeframe. See MR16 and Late Cancel Fine Policy

• Unilateral rescheduling of religious holiday conflicts 

• Unilateral rescheduling of holiday weekend games have longer notification requirements:

  • September 15 for Columbus Day weekend games

  • May 1 for Memorial Day Weekend games

• Unilateral rescheduling for the City of Boston Mayor’s Cup Tournament also has a longer notification requirement:

  • October 15 for the City of Boston Mayor’s Cup Tournament

Day of Game:

If a field is declared by a Club Official as unplayable or there is an unexpected day-of field scheduling conflict, the home team coach shall notify the away team by 7:00 am on the day of the game for morning games, by 10:00 am for afternoon games, and by 3:00pm for weekday evening games. Opponent’s direct contact information is available on the BAYS site after logging in and clicking through to see the Team Information.

• If neither team shows up at the field for a scheduled game, there is a Teams No Show Fine in effect for failure to notify the home Referee Assignor that a game will not be played as scheduled. See MR16.