A) SCHEDULE OF GAMES

The schedule of games for Independence Cup 2011 will be posted on the Tournament Homepage, accessible from http://www.socceragency.net/maps/2011/1107_independence/homepage.htm

We are using www.GotSoccer.com for posting schedules, and results will be relayed to GotSoccer.com immediately upon the conclusion of the event. The schedules will be presented in a printable form for each bracket of competition as soon as the schedule is completed.

Please check and confirm the dates, times and fields of your games as soon as they are posted. After Monday June 27 teams will be notified by direct email if they are involved in a material change. Team Contacts (as provided on your application) are responsible for checking their emails on a regular basis, especially the last week before the event, to ensure that no last minute communications are ignored.

B) LODGING

If you require lodging, contact Titan Lodging Travel Coordinator Alan at alan@titanlodging.com. Teams staying overnight while participating are required to book lodging through Titan Lodging.

Titan has reserved rooms with various convenient hotels at attractive rates throughout the year, to ensure that there is adequate lodging for all MAPS & MSSL events. If we fail to utilize these rooms, they will be released and unavailable to teams at other events, including many during periods of the year when accommodations can be scarce. Hence, we appreciate your cooperation with this policy.

C) REGISTRATION

We will have Registration at the fields at the Headquarters pavilion or tent. A team representative must arrive to register an hour before your first game.

All teams must have:

A photocopy of the stamped, official Team Roster they can leave with Registration officials. Pencil in any Guest players being used.

Player Passes for all participating players, rostered and guest.

Authorizations for Medical Treatment, more commonly referred to as Medical Releases, for all participating players. The ones executed when the player was first registered with the team for the season are usually adequate. Remember, these documents are critical to ensure that a player can be admitted to an ambulance, clinic or hospital for treatment, especially in the absence of a parent or legal guardian in attendance. These documents have to show original signatures, and be signed within the last twelve months. (And preferably be notarized, as we have heard of clinics that questioned how they could confirm that the signature actually was that of a parent or legal guardian.)

Permissions To Travel for those out-of-state teams (non-Pennsylvania) using USYS passes from state associations that require a Permission To Travel.

Remember: All players on your team must have player passes from the SAME governing body, whether USYS or US Club or AYSO, etc.

D) RULES OF PLAY & REGULATIONS

Rules of Play can be accessed from the Tournament Homepage or directly at:

http://www.socceragency.net/maps/INFO_tournament_rules.pdf

All team coaches, managers, players and supporters are required to abide by these Rules & Regulations, covering both competition and conduct on premises. Coaches and Managers are responsible for distributing this information to their teams.

In particular, note the summary page at the end that covers procedures on scoring, playoffs, tiebreakers, foul weather, etc.

E) AWARDS

Awards for both First Place (Champions) and Second Place (Finalists) at the Independence Cup in all age groups from U9 through U19.

Please make sure to stop by the Headquarters pavilion to receive your awards.

F) TRAVEL DIRECTIONS

Travel directions to the fields can be accessed from the Tournament Homepage. There should also be a field layout map posted for each venue. Make sure you note the venue at which each of your games is located.

G) WEATHER-RELATED ALERTS
We avoid cancelling games due to adverse weather if at all possible, and choose venues that have a high resistance to adverse conditions. So do not assume games are being cancelled without firm confirmation. Also, do NOT assume that the weather conditions outside your window are the same at the gamesite fields; experience has shown that weather patterns in our area can be highly localized.

In the event of lightning, we will cease play immediately. We may also suspend play in the event of a substantial downpour. Games in the second half will likely be declared as completed. Please have your team get to shelter, and have a system for contacting each team member. Twenty minutes after a stoppage, send ONE team representative to HQ, where we will inform all affected teams of the current status of play, and when we expect to resume.

The first place for off-site information is the Tournament Schedule Homepage, where weather updates will appear as warranted. This is the GotSoccer page you are directed to when you click on the SCHEDULES BY AGE BRACKETS button on the Showcase Homepage. (This is the fastest webpage for us to update quickly.)

When circumstances warrant, we will also leave updates on a Weather Hotline at 732-432-7200. Please do not try to leave messages on this number, it will not be monitored during the weekend.

In the event of precipitation or wet fields, there will be NO WARM-UPS within the four corners of the field, including Keeper warm-ups. The fields will be used strictly for game play.

Finally, if games are halted for lightning activity, then so are warm-ups on the field. Some past teams have exhibited a bizarre notion that lightning can strike during a game, but won't hit teams merely warming up on the same field before the "all clear" signal is given.

H) REFRESH YOUR WEB BROWSER / CONTACT MOBILE PHONE# / MESSAGING

Please check your team account on www.GotSport.com and make sure there is a valid mobile phone number listed for the TEAM CONTACT PERSON INFORMATION. This will be the first number called if there is a scheduling or weather problem at the fields.

Also, make sure you avoided using corporate or government email addresses for your team contacts entered in www.GotSport.com. These networked computer systems tend to have strong firewalls and spam filters that invariably prevent group messaging functions such as we rely upon from operating. Please provide at least some email addresses from residential accounts (AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, Comcast, Verizon, Optonline, Gmail, etc.)

Note that the online registration form has space for at least three individuals (manager, coach, contact) who can receive team email notifications. Please DO NOT list the same person for all positions. If we are unable to get through to this one individual, it leaves us no alternatives to pursue.

I) ON-SITE CONCERNS

Some simple rules for each facility we use:

· Park only in designated spots. Do not park on the grass unless so instructed. Police do patrol and ticket.

· No pets, on a leash or otherwise, anywhere in the field area.

· No smoking anywhere near the showcase.

· No alcohol on the site of the competition.

· Cooperate with tournament officials and field marshals. Anyone caught abusing the above items will be evicted from the premises, and it may lead to early termination of an offending team’s participation.

Looking forward to a great soccer festival,

Independence Cup Tournament Committee