Waiver Process Overview For Registrars and Club Presidents

Club Registrars or Presidents must apply for waivers for players in their Club that meet one of the descriptions listed in the table below. BEFORE submitting your team rosters, Clubs should search/filter their registration database for players who need Age, Residency, or Roster Size waivers. 

Please see the specific qualifications for the different waiver types within the online system by clicking the “New Waiver Application” button on the Waivers—>Club Waiver Management dashboard. For additional guidance on waivers, please see Match Rule 4 and Match Rule 3.  Approved BAYS Grade and Age Groupings for the current soccer year are listed here: Current Grade/Age Groupings

To submit a waiver application, log into the BAYS website and navigate to the Waivers—>Club Waiver Management dashboard. The Club Waiver Management dashboard lists your Club’s Active and Expired waivers (last four seasons). 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.

The player’s approved waiver number, which is assigned by BAYS and provided to the Club Registrar in their Waivers—>Club Waiver Management dashboard, must be listed on the official team roster, which then must be submitted and approved by the appropriate Division Director through the Roster Management system, BEFORE the player can play.

Waiver Type

Subtype

Name

Description

Submission Due Date

Grades 3 - 8

High School

Age

1C

Older Player Playing with Classmates (non-MTOC)

Use for players who are born in the year previous to the grade/age group limit for the current school year who are playing on a non-MTOC team.

Fall: Aug 15

Spring: Mar 15

Fall: Sept 15

Spring: Apr 15

Age

1D

Older Player playing with Classmates (MTOC)

Use for players who are born in the year before the grade/age group limit for the current school year who are playing on a MTOC-eligible team*.

Fall: Aug 15

Spring Mar 1

Fall: N/A

Spring: Apr 1

Residency

2A1.ai

Attends School in your Town

Use for a player who resides in a BAYS town and attends school in your town.

Fall: Aug 15

Spring: Mar 15

Fall: Sept 15

Spring: Apr 15

Residency

2A1.aii

Attended School in your Town (Extended School Waiver)

Use for a player who resides in a BAYS town and has played for your town with a school waiver for at least two years of the prior three-year period.

Residency

2A1.b

Moved out of town

Use for a player who resides in a BAYS town and has played for your town for at least two years of the prior three-year period. Previous play need not have been in BAYS (i.e. your town's intramural program).

Residency

2A1.c

Parents in two towns

Use for a player who has parents living in different BAYS towns. The player may play for either town. NOTE: This waiver is NOT needed if your town is listed on the roster.

Residency

2A1.d

Post office and Street Address mismatch

Use for a player residing in a town and having a mailing address in another town. The player must play for the town of residence while listing the mailing address (town) on the roster.

Residency

2A2.a

No Room in Town of Residence Program

Use for a player to play with an adjacent town program when they are "shut out" of their BAYS program of residence. If the player lives in a MA town outside of BAYS, use the 2G Waiver.

Residency

2A2.b

Combined Team

Use for players when two adjacent BAYS towns combine players to form a team when insufficient numbers prevent either town from placing its own team. 

Residency

2A2.c

Hardship Waiver

Use for players who choose a different playing town when there is a situation that makes playing in the town of residence difficult.

Residency

2B

Access to Division 1

Use for a player who lives in a BAYS town that does not offer Division 1 to play on a Division 1 team in your club.

Residency

2G

MA Interleague Waiver

Use for players who live in a non-BAYS Massachusetts town who want to play in BAYS. If the player lives in another state, use a 2A Waiver.

ADA

3A

Americans with Disability Act (ADA) Waiver

Use this waiver to seek modifications to playing rules, equipment, uniform, or age requirements consistent with a disability. 

Roster Size

4A

MTOC 11v11 roster greater than 22 players

Use for a MTOC-eligible team that has more than 22 players. The use of this waiver will make the team ineligible for MTOC.

Fall: Aug 15

Spring: Mar 1

Fall: N/A

Spring: Apr 1

Roster Size

4B

Non-MTOC 11v11 roster greater than 22 players

Use for a non-MTOC team with more than 22 players.

Fall: Aug 15

Spring: Mar 15

Fall: Sept 15

Spring: Apr 15

Roster Size

4C

MTOC 9v9 roster greater than 18 players

Use for a MTOC-eligible team that has more than 18 players. The use of this waiver will make the team ineligible for MTOC.

Fall: Aug 15

Spring: Mar 1

Fall: N/A

Spring: Apr 1

 

*The Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC) is a season-end tournament sponsored by Mass Youth Soccer that brings together grade/gender group champions from participating travel leagues. 

The MTOC-eligible Grade Group Brackets are:

  • Grade 6 Div 1 
  • Grade 6 Div 2 
  • Grade 8 Div 1
  • Grade 8 Div 2
  • Grade 10 Div 1
  • Grade 10 Div 2
  • Grade 12(includes PG) Div 1

Waiver Decision Process

The waiver decision process is a multistep process:

  1. 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.
  2. The waiver application is electronically routed to the BAYS Waiver Directors
  3. A BAYS Waiver Director evaluates each waiver application:
    1. If needed, the Waiver Director will contact the submitter to clarify incomplete information.
    2. 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.
  4. 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 navigating to the Waivers—>Club Waiver Management dashboard.

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 the entire soccer year “A” or for one season: Fall “F” or Spring “S”. All waivers expire at the end of the soccer year (spring season) and MUST be renewed for the next soccer year, 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 denotes the season or seasons the waiver is active: “A” for ALL (both Fall and the next Spring), “F” for Fall only, and “S” for Spring only.

The third character denotes the last digit of the calendar year in which the waiver expires. Spring only or All waivers will display a higher digit than Fall only waivers.

The fourth character denotes the subtype of the waiver listed below in order of frequency:

  • Under BAYS Player Waiver Eligibility: Match Rule 4
    • “R” is for Residency-based waivers including Interleague
    • “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 
  • East Boston
  • Hill House 
  • Jamaica Plain
  • South Boston
  • 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.

  • 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.