January 14, 2004

Joint Competition Committee Releases Proposals for Review
Meeting Set for January 16, 2004 to Weigh Final Adoption of Proposals

On Friday, January 9, 2004, a special joint meeting of the Boys and Girls Competition Committees was held to discuss and formulate proposals to improve the State Competition League. The joint Competition Committee considered suggestions regarding the number of games per season and the number of teams per division. Also considered were recommendations to rename the divisions and to adopt criteria for the alignment process.

A second joint meeting of the Competition Committees has been scheduled for Friday, January 16th beginning at 7:30. The purpose of this meeting is to further discuss and, if appropriate, ratify the recommendations listed below. The meeting will be open to coaches and interested members of the Association. Time will be allotted for public comment before the Joint Competition Committee discusses the merits of the proposals. Members of the Association are also invited and encouraged to share their views on these proposals with the representatives of the State Competition Boards. A list of the voting members of these committees, complete with e-mail addresses, is available by clicking [here].

Below are the recommendations scheduled for consideration at the meeting.

Division Size

Eight teams per division as a general guideline.

Number of Games

Not more than 14 games per season for any age or division.
Goal of 12 or fewer games for the top two divisions from U15 through U19.
Goal of 14 or fewer games for all other age groups and divisions.

Composition of Schedule

For eight team divisions playing a 14 game schedule, teams would play a home-and-away schedule.

For eight team divisions playing a 12 game schedule, teams would play each opponent once, with five remaining games randomly selected.

Name of Divisions

The top division for each age group will be designated as the "Premier Division."
Successive divisions would be the first, second, third, and fourth divisions.

Criteria for Alignment Placement

The following factors, in order of weight, will then be considered during the alignment process.

1. Standings from the State Competition League

2. State Cup results

3. Results from UYSA or USYS-sanctioned tournaments with no guest players on the tournament roster

4. Results from district or intra-districts leagues

Finally, it is expected that the Committee will discuss a new proposal that would require teams, in order to maintain status based on results from the previous season, to submit verification showing that at least 11 of its players were rostered either on the team during the last season or on another team registered by the same member organization (league or club).