Club Registrars or Club Presidents must apply for a player-specific waiver if a player on one of their organization's teams needs a waiver because of one of the situaitons listed below.
BEFORE submitting your team rosters, Clubs should search/filter their registration database for players who need Grade/Age, Residency, or Roster Size waivers.
- Does not reside, have a parent/guardian reside, or go to or has gone to school in the submitting town
- Additional waiver requirements exist for non-BAYS league towns
- Requests to play on a Division 1 team also have separate waiver requirements
- Is older than the stated grade-specific age range
- Is in a higher grade than the BAYS playing grade group requested (eligible for non-MTOC* teams only)
- Plays on a team that exceeds the stated grade-specific roster size limits
- Qualifies for an Americans with Disabilities Act accommodation
*The Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC) is a season-ending tournament sponsored by Mass Youth Soccer that brings together age/gender group champions from participating travel leagues. Teams eligible for Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC) are listed below. All other grade group teams are Non-MTOC eligible.
- Grade 6 (Div 1 and 2)
- Grade 8 (Div 1 and 2)
- Grade 10 (Div 1 and 2)
- Grade 12 (Div 1 only)
Please see the qualifications for the specific waiver types within the online system at Waivers->Waiver Application and also refer to BAYS Rulebook and specifically Match Rule 4 and Match Rule 3.
Approved BAYS Grade and Age Groupings for the current soccer year can be found here: https://www.bays.org/content/grade-age-groupings-current-soccer-year
The player’s approved waiver number, which is assigned by BAYS and provided to the Club Registrar in their Waivers—>Club Waiver List, must be listed on the official team roster, which then has to be submitted and approved by the appropriate Division Director through the Roster Management system, BEFORE the player can play.
Submission Deadlines
Towns are strongly urged to apply for waivers as soon as they are aware that the need exists. In order to ensure that all waiver requests are processed in time for players to be eligible for the first game of the season, see the submission due dates below:
|
Waiver Type |
Submission Due Dates |
|
|
Fall |
Spring |
|
|
August 15 |
March 15 |
|
August 15 |
March 1 |
|
N/A | April 1 |
|
Submission due before the start of the first game. |
|
NOTE: Late submissions will be considered but may not be processed with enough time for the player to play in the first game of the season. Some waivers, especially those relating to MTOC-eligible teams, require additional consideration that may increase the time needed for the approval process.
Waiver Application Process
Club Registrars and Club Presidents are the only individuals able to submit a waiver application at their Waivers—>Waiver Application online menu after logging into the BAYS website. All required information, depending on the waiver type, must be included.
A list of existing waivers carried over from the Fall and still valid for the next Spring season can be found at Waivers—>Club Waiver List. If you want to see a complete list of waivers for any prior season, just change the season at the top left of this page.
Waiver Decision Process
The waiver decision process is a multistep process:
- Registrar/Club Presidents determines the need for a player waiver and submits a waiver application online. Waiver submission is confirmed with a green banner on the top of the screen.
- The waiver application is electronically routed to the BAYS Waiver Directors
- A BAYS Waiver Director evaluates each waiver application:
- If needed, the Waiver Director will contact the submitter to clarify incomplete information.
- Depending on the type, some waivers are automatically approved if the submitted information meets the waiver criteria, while others are discretionary and require review and consideration by the BAYS Waivers Committee per the BAYS Match Rules.
- Waivers remain Pending until a Waiver Director updates the waiver status to one of the following:
- Approved
- Denied
- Incomplete Information
- Duplicate
- Inactive
A status change will generate a BAYS Waiver Status Change notification email to the submitter. The submitter can view the current waiver status, by logging into BAYS.org and using the Waivers->Club Waiver Management menu functionality.
If a waiver has been approved, you will be able to see the assigned waiver number to list on the team roster. If denied, the waiver decision is appealable to the BAYS Board of Directors and then to Mass Youth Soccer.
Effective Time Period
Waivers may be granted for a single season, either fall “F" or spring "S", or be granted for an entire soccer year "A". In the spring season, waivers with the “A” status granted in the prior fall season will display, since they remain active for the entire soccer year. All waivers expire at the end of the soccer year (spring season) and MUST be reapplied for in the next soccer year (fall season), even if the conditions underlying the waiver request have not changed.
Decoding a Waiver Number
The first character is always “W” which indicates that the number is for a waiver.
The second character indicates the effective time period/seasons that the waiver applies to: “A” for ALL (both Fall and the next Spring), “F” for Fall only, and “S” for Spring only.
The third character indicates the last digit of the calendar year in which the waiver expires. Spring only or All waivers will display a higher digit there than Fall only waivers.
The fourth character indicates the subtype of the waiver listed below in basic order of frequency:
- Under BAYS Player Waiver Eligibility: Match Rule 4
- “R” is for Residency-based waivers including Interleague
- “G” for higher Grade waivers (correct birth year but higher grade)
- “A” for over-Age based waivers (correct grade but up to one year older than age limit)
- “S” for roster Size waivers
- “O” for Other waivers
The final three numbers ### in the waiver code are a unique computer assigned number (meaning there will only be one waiver with the suffix 123 for each season).
Boston Resident Playing for a City of Boston Organization
Boston residents residing in ANY neighborhood/town/village considered part of the City of Boston may play with ANY of the BAYS-affiliated, Boston-based soccer organizations listed below WITHOUT any additional residency waivers:
- Dorchester
- Hill House
- Jamaica Plain
- South End
- West Roxbury/Parkway
Boston Resident Playing for a BAYS Soccer Organization for a Town Outside the City of Boston
Clubs outside of the City of Boston need to apply for residency waivers to include a player who resides in the City of Boston.
The waiver types listed below do NOT require any additional information beyond what is required in the waiver application.
- 2A Residency
- 1.a.i - Attends School in Your Town
- 1.a.ii - Attended School in Your Town Previously (Extended School Waiver)
- 1.b - Moved Out of Town
- 1.c - Parents in Two Towns
- 1.d - Post office and Street Address Mismatch
The waiver types listed below require an additional step that must also be completed along with the waiver application.
The waiver types listed below require the requesting club to obtain the “release” of the player from the affiliated Boston-based BAYS soccer organization.
Use this City of Boston Waiver Responsibility Zip Code Look Up function to find out which Boston-based club is affiliated with your player’s address. The email confirmation from the President of the Boston-based club should be sent to [email protected] to complete the waiver application.
- 2A Residency
- 2.a - No Room in Town of Residence Program
- 2.c - Hardship Waiver
- 2B Access to Division 1
Chestnut Hill
Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood that has parts in Newton, Brookline, and Boston. When Registrars list a player's town of residence, they must include what part of Chestnut Hill the player lives in.
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Use the waiver column on the roster to specify that the player lives in the part of Chestnut Hill that is included in your town. If a different part, a residency waiver is needed.
- Chestnut Hill - Boston
- Chestnut Hill - Brookline
- Chestnut Hill - Newton
Hanscom Air Force Base (HAFB) Residents
Players in Grades 3-8 residing on HAFB may register with any of the clubs listed below that have property included in HAFB. This is even though HAFB schools are overseen by Lincoln’s school superintendent.
All Grade 3-8 players with a HAFB address need a 2A.2.a Residency Waiver to play in BAYS and may play for any of these four towns:
- Bedford Youth Soccer
- Concord-Carlisle Youth Soccer
- Lexington United Soccer Club
- Lincoln Youth Soccer
Players in Grades 9-12 residing on HAFB who attend high school in Bedford should be registered with Bedford Youth Soccer. These players do NOT need a waiver to play for Bedford.
ADA Waivers
Towns must submit a statement certified by a healthcare professional of the nature of the disability; a statement of the accommodation requested; a summary of the actions taken by the town to accommodate the player and why those actions have not been deemed satisfactory or why action by BAYS is required; and a recommendation by the town as to the specific action that should be taken. ADA waivers require a Waivers Committee vote. If a player will play on an MTOC-eligible team in the Spring, a vote by the Mass Youth Soccer Leagues Committee will be necessary for the player to play at MTOC.
MA Interleague Waivers (Massachusetts Residents Only)
Interleague waivers are REQUIRED for ALL PLAYERS who live in a non-BAYS town and extra steps are necessary. See the online Waiver Application for detailed instructions. Please review the instructions carefully. BAYS Interleague waivers START with the submission of an online BAYS Waiver Application.
Some useful contact information for non-BAYS towns/leagues can be found at the MYSA website: www.mayouthsoccer.org click on the "About/Affiliated Leagues" and select the League of interest. Each league page has links to the towns that it serves.
Interleague player transfers onto MTOC-eligible rosters are not permitted (are “frozen”) after April 30 of the seasonal soccer year.
Interleague Waivers (Non-Massachusetts Residents)
Residents of CT, NH, ME, RI, VT, NJ, and Eastern NY: The player is treated as if they were a resident of a BAYS town, and the town should complete a 2A. Residency Waiver application. The player is then affiliated with Mass Youth Soccer along with all the players.
Residents outside of New England without a reciprocal relationship: The player first needs to register with the state of residence by filling out their state’s transfer form and submitting it to Mass Youth Soccer. Once the interstate transfer is complete, please complete a 2A. Residency Waiver application and affiliate the player with Mass Youth Soccer.
Players not permanently residing in the United States: (foreign exchange, AFS, or the like): File a 2A. Residency Waiver application (usually citing the player goes to school in your community waiver provision) and list the player's hometown as the residence on the roster.
In the case of students living at a boarding school in your community, they may claim residence based on living at the school, and no waiver is required. For teams that are MTOC eligible, we ask you send a note with the circumstances (hometown and which school the player boards at) to the Waivers Committee ([email protected]), Registrar ([email protected]), and President ([email protected]) so we can be prepared if any questions arise at MTOC.