Draft Rules

1. No player participating in the division being drafted will be present at the draft.
2. One coach, assistant coach or proxy per team will be allowed to participate in the draft. If the coach or assistant coach or proxy is unable to be present, a Board member will select the team by choosing the next highest available player in alphabetical order, only deviating from this in order to draft a coach or assistant's child. A proxy could be another trusted coach, friend or Board Member.
3. The draft order will be decided when everyone arrives by the Draft Master and will be final.
4. Head coaches will have their own children protected for purposes of the draft. If they do not have a child, they can protect another player with the player's parent permission.
5. Coaches must select their protected player in the round where they would naturally be selected. The Draft Master will make them aware of when they have to select them.
6. The draft will proceed from the first coach to the last, then go from last back to first in what is referred to as “the snake”. Older player group is drafted first. Younger player group is drafted second. The direction of the draft will be reversed for the younger group.
7. When two or more siblings are eligible for the same division, they must be drafted onto the same team, unless the guardians have requested otherwise. The draft list will identify these players. After the first sibling is drafted, the second sibling shall be treated as a protected player and must be taken in the natural draft order. The Draft Master will make coaches aware of when they have to select siblings.
8. Coaches may drop down a whole lower number to select a player. Selecting a 7.0 player when 8.5 players are being drafted is allowed. Selecting a 6.5 player when 8.0 players are being drafted is not allowed. The .5s are thrown out of the draft only for this purpose. (This rule will not be enforced for U14)
9. Drafting rounds will continue until all players on the draft list have been selected. If at the end of the older group there aren’t enough players to complete another round, those players will be merged with the “younger” players and will be selected at the end of the draft.
10. There will be a 30 second maximum time limit imposed for each selection if the draft begins to slow down. The Draft Master will warn coaches after 20 seconds have elapsed, and if a selection is not made at the 30-second mark, the Draft Master will select the next highest available player in alphabetical order.
11. If at the end of the draft coaches do not have a full team, the balance of their team will come from the waitlist. Players from that list will be assigned to teams as soon after the draft as possible. Their assignment to the team is mandatory.
12. Coaches may select only one certified “Assistant Coach”, if not enough assistant coaches are available. However, they can select multiple “Possible ACs” (these are folks who have not agreed to assist, but have some certifications and could be talked into assisting).
13. Once all eligible players have been placed with a team, coaches will have the opportunity to trade any players. However, the overarching priority is that teams be balanced, and a trade will be disallowed if the Draft Master determines that it would result in an unbalanced team(s). No trades may be made after the draft is concluded.
14. The Draft Master shall resolve all disputes that may arise at the draft. Their ruling shall be final for all purposes during the draft itself.
15. There may be hardship cases. If so, they should be presented to the Draft Master before the draft. It shall be the responsibility of the Draft Master to make a determination of whether or not this is a true hardship case. The decision is not subject to appeal. There may be some requests for reasons of carpooling, best friends, schoolmates, neighbors, etc. These are NOT considered hardship cases. However, if coaches don’t know the players involved and it makes no difference to them, they may consider honoring the request, but are not obligated to do so.
16. If there is a player you want because of carpool / family friend / etc. you can state your case to the group and ask for the coaches to pass on them. It can work out if there are many kids at the same rating - but difficult if you are asking coaches to pass on a 7.0 when there are only 5.0's left.
17. In the scenario where one coach gets too large an advantage by the placement of their protected player or players, the Draft Manager can ask that in a following round the point difference is offset.