League Rules and Policies
USFFA rulebook and VFFA amendments with the following clarifications/differences:

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE PROHIBITED AT FAIRFAX COUNTY PARKS AND ATHLETIC FIELDS



NO FOUL LANGUAGE AT THE FIELDS
(from April 2009) I got this from the County today:

"I received a barrage of email from parents and the lacrosse commissioner about the F-bombs and other foul language being constantly used within earshot of kids at the park. Some parents are very irate about the behavior of the men"


Our (IFFL) comments:

Preserving our field space is more important to us as a league than any one player (or players) self-control. We`re going to instruct officials to assess a 15 yard unsportmanlike penalty for any profanity that they hear, and a game ejection + additional game suspension for a second occurance from the same player.

I can`t stress how important this issue is to us. I know its hard to keep some things in check in the heat of the moment, so every coach and player should make it a point to remind all teammates of this policy early and often.



League Policy/Rules variations, as voted in at the coaches meeting July 2008:

1) games extended to 70 minutes, which is a 28 minute running clock for each half (clock starts at kickoff and runs continually for 28 minutes to the 2 minute warning), followed by the final 2 minutes of each half where the clock stops for incomplete passes, out of bounds, etc..

2) Teams receiving a kick who are behind in the score can elect to forego the kickoff and start immediately at their own 20 yard line. teams must be trailing in the game to have this option.

3) Forfeits and players: If you do not have at least 8 players at the field at the scheduled game time, you kick on both kickoffs. If you do not have at least 6, game clock starts and game begins once you have 6. If you do not have 6 by halftime game is a forfeit.



More Clarification on Rules

PLAYING ON MULTIPLE TEAMS-
players can play on only ONE team in the league, regardless of level/division. A player MAY play on one team in this league and another team in another league - but NOT on two teams in the same league.

KICKOFF-
On a 100yd field receiving and kicking teams line up on the 40`s
On an 80 yard field, kicking team lines up at the 20, receiving team at the 40.

Hard Billed Caps-
Cannot be worn, even facing backwards. Caps with no hard bill are permitted.

TIMEOUTS-
Due to time constraints with the field space each team will be alloted 2 time outs per half.

OVERTIME-
Due to time constraints on field space, during the regular season there will be NO OVERTIME played. Overtime will only be applied during post season. If at the end of regulation time each team is tied then the end result is a tie.
  • No skip rule. Play is dead if a snapped ball hits the ground.
  • Safety infractions are now 15 yard personal foul penalties:
  • wearing any jewelry except wedding bands
  • metal cleats
  • wearing shorts or pants with POCKETS
  • wearing hard bill caps (even facing backward is a no-go)
  • Forfeits: If you do not have 6 players at the field at the scheduled game time, its a forfeit loss. If you have 6 but less than 8 you lose both kickoffs.
  • Mercy Rule: new mercy rule is that if there is a 25 or more point difference in the score at the 2 min warning of the second half - game is called.
  • Roster: roster max is 22 players, and players rostered do NOT have to play in the regular season to be eligible for post-season play.
    Team ranking and tie break procedure:

    Teams are ranked first by winning percentage, then head to head to break ties. The standings on this site auto-update when scores are entered based on percentage and then point differential. The auto-standings DO NOT take head to head into consideration when ranking, so the rankings you see are not necessarily the official rankings.

    After teams are ranked by percentage there may be teams with identical percentages. To rank those tied teams in the correct order, tie break procedure is used:


    Two teams are tied for a position
  • Head to head is the first determiner. The team who won the head to head match-up is ranked ahead of the team that lost.
  • If the tied teams did not play, or the teams tied their game, overall point differential for the season is used to rank those teams.


    Three teams are tied for a position
    scenario#1: three teams are tied for a position (there are no other teams with the same percentage), each tied team has played at least one other team they are tied with: teams are then ranked according head to head record against the field of tied teams, then (if any teams are still tied) according to point differential in the games played against the tied teams.
  • Example: teams A, B, C are tied in percentage, have all played each other, and . C beat A and B, B beat A but lost to C, C lost to A and B. Teams would be ranked in this order: C (2-0 vs teams tied with), B (1-1 vs teams tied with), A (0-2 vs teams tied with). In this case, the head to head records clearly rank the teams 1-3 and point differential does not come into play.
  • Example: teams A, B, C are tied in percentage, have all played each other. C beat A 10-7 and lost to B 13-3, B lost to A 20-0. All 3 teams are (1-1) in head to head play (still tied) so point differential IN THOSE GAMES ONLY is now applied. C won by 3 and lost by 10, so C is a (-7) net pt diff. B won by 10 and lost by 20 so B is a (-10) net pt diff. A lost by 3 and won by 20 so A is a (+17) net pt diff. The teams would be ranked in this order: A (+17), C (-7), B (-10).
  • Example: teams A, B, C are tied in percentage, team A has played both B and C. B has not played C.
    *If A won both those games, A (2-0) is first, and then the ranking of B (0-1) and C (0-1) is based on overall point differential for the season.
    *If A lost both those games, A (0-2) is third, and then the ranking of B (1-0) and C (1-0) is based on overall point differential for the season.
    *If A split those games, A (1-1) is second, the team they beat (0-1) is third, the team who beat them (1-0) is first.
    *A tie in any game played between the teams applies the same head to head then pt diff formula above.

    scenario#2: three teams are tied for a position (there are no other teams with the same percentage) and none of the tied teams has played at least one other team they are tied with: teams are ranked according to overall point differential for the season.

    scenario#3 (Here`s where we have most of the confusion): three teams are tied for a position, there are no other teams with the same percentage, only 2 of the teams have played each other. In this specific sceanrio, head to head is not used as the first tie breaker, because one teams has no head to head record. Teams are ranked first by over point differential. If two teams who have played each other get ranked in succession, THEN the head to head result could flip the positioning of those 2 teams.
  • Example: teams A, B, C are tied in percentage, team A beat B. C has not played A or B. By overall point differential for the season, then teams are ranked in this order: C, B, A. Because A beat B head to head, and is ranked directly behind B, A and B would switch positions.
  • Example: teams A, B, C are tied in percentage, team A beat B. C has not played A or B. By overall point differential for the season, then teams are ranked in this order: B, C, A. Even though A beat B head to head, they cannot leap frog C to then move ahead of B because C has a better overall point differential for the season than A.



    Four or more teams tied - use the same procedure/formulas as in three teams tied.