League Rules

Equipment

1. Molded cleats or tennis shoes are the only allowable footwear. NO METAL CLEATS ARE ALLOWED. Shoes must be worn at all times.

Shirts must be worn with tails tucked inside pants or short with flag belts over the shirt.

2. No denim or khaki pants/shorts are allowed.  Sport clothes must be worn.

3. Flags must be evenly distributed, one on each side and one on the back.

4. All team captains must check rosters prior to play to ensure accuracy and waiver completion by all participants

5. Jersey color assignments in the event of a “same color” conflict, home team will wear a “dark” color and the visitors will wear a “light color." Teams should bring two jerseys to each game to avoid a conflict.

First Downs

1. A team shall have four downs to complete the task of first down or score.

2. Play will start from the seven pace line at the start of the game and after each score. 

3. There are no kick-offs.

Timing

1. A game shall consist of two 25-minute halves with a continuous running clock.

2. Stop timing will be used during the last 2 minutes of the second half if the score is within 16 points or less. At that time the clock will stop on all incomplete passes, out-of-bounds, change of possession, penalties, injuries if necessary, extra point attempts, and time outs. Teams shall be notified and the clock shall stop at the beginning of the 2-minute period.

3. The clock will run during all Extra Point attempts (except in the final 2 minutes of the second half).

4. Two 1-minute timeouts are allowed per game. (Timeouts may not be carried over to overtime).

5. After a stopped clock, time will begin at the snap of the ball.

6. There will be a 30 second play clock.  You will have 30 seconds from the time the play ends until the time the ball must be snapped.  You are in charge of retrieving the marker and placing it. 

7. Half time shall be 1-5 minutes in duration.

Players

1. Teams will field 8 players (5 male, 3 female) at a time. There must be a minimum of 6 players (at least 4 men and 2 women) to start the game. There cannot be more than 5 men, or less than 2 women, on the field.  

2. All plays must originate with a snap from center. The ball must be snapped to the quarterback from the ground.  The player who calls “hike” must be the player who receives the snap. If the center picks up the ball and replaces it on the ground without snapping, this will be considered a false start penalty.

3. Players may line up in any formation as long as they are behind the line of scrimmage.  Motion from the players prior to the snap is allowed as long as no one advances towards the line of scrimmage.

4. Defensive players may not break the neutral zone until the ball is snapped.

5. Offensive players are responsible for retrieving the ball after a down has ended.

Girl Plays

1. One out of every three plays must involve a girl AS AN OPERATIVE PLAYER.  The play, incomplete or complete, must have been initiated by a girl or been obviously intended for a girl.  Failure to involve a girl will be loss of a down and a female must now be the operative player on the next play.  If a girl is quarterback, she must throw the ball over the line of scrimmage without intentional grounding.  See below for examples:

• When a female calls for the snap and is sacked, this counts as a female play.

• When a female calls for the snap and pitches the ball backwards to a male, he must throw to a female across the line of scrimmage to count as a female play.

• When a female calls for the snap and throws the ball, the ball must cross the line of scrimmage prior to the catch to count as a female play.

• When a male calls for the snap, the ball must be thrown to a female across the line of scrimmage to count as a female play

• When a male calls for the snap and pitches the ball backwards to a girl, she must either run for the positive yards or throw a completion across the line of scrimmage to count as a female play.

• RULE CLARIFICATION: If a ball is thrown and a female tips it and a male from her team catches the pass this is deemed NOT to be a girl play since she was not the OPERATIVE PLAYER. However, if the male does not catch the tipped pass, it is considered to be an incomplete pass to a female.
• RULE CLARIFICATION: If a ball is thrown and a male tips it and a female from his team catches the pass this is deemed to be a girl play since she was the OPERATIVE PLAYER. However, if the girl does not catch the tipped pass, it is considered to be an incomplete pass to a male.

2. Calls made by an official on the fact of whether or not a play was a “girl play” in some cases are judgmental and not to be argued over once the call has been made.

Carrying the Ball

1. During the game, the ball will be spotted at the location of the ball when a player is considered down.

2. A ball carrier may not deliberately guard their flags. "Spinning" to avoid being de-flagged is legal. Actions such as slapping with the hand or stiff-arming are examples of flag guarding. Hand or arms down the side of the body while spinning are considered guarding.

3. If a player inadvertently loses their flags or a flag is pulled by the opposition before gaining possession of the ball, the play will continue and the player must be downed by a one-hand touch.

4. A player will be ruled "down" when any part of the body other than the hand or foot touches the ground.

5. A fumbled or muffed ball is dead when it strikes the ground.

6. There is a “No Run Zone” within 2 yards of the end zone. When the spot of the ball is within this “No Run Zone” the ball must be passed across the line of scrimmage. If a player attempts a running play within his zone, a penalty of 5 yards and loss of down will occur and the play will be restricted to non-running plays until either a turnover or touchdown occurs

7. It is illegal to attempt to steal a ball in player possession. The object of the game is to de-flag a ball carrier, not steal the ball.

8. In pulling a flag or making a play on a ball, a player's feet MAY leave the ground. Diving is legal by defensive or offensive players, however; the diving player is still responsible for any contact which they initiate. A defender cannot dive directly TOWARD an offensive player. It must be solely be an attempt to pull a flag and NOT to hinder the player's progress. An offensive player must make an effort to avoid contact if a defensive player has obtained "the spot" first and vice-versa.

Blocking & Rushing

1. No blocking, tackling, or unnecessary roughness.  This includes defensive players avoiding contact with the quarterbacks arm

2. The quarterback may run at any time after the snap.

3. The defense is allowed two blitzes per half.  At that time, only one person per play may blitz, but additional players can cross the line of scrimmage after the 5-second rush count. 

4. During all plays, players will not be allowed to cross the line of scrimmage until the rush count (5 count from the referee) is completed. A player may blitz on the snap.

5. Diving and Jumping are allowed unless the player initiates contact, dives directly toward another player or attempts to hinder progress. Any contact from a dive or jump will result in a penalty. This rule change has been placed in effect to not penalize a player for making an extra effort for yardage in a safe manner. A dive for a first down should not be a punishable offense if no contact is made with another player. Players will still be held responsible for any contact a dive or jump may cause, as the primary concern is safety. A defender cannot dive directly TOWARD an offensive player. It must be solely be an attempt to pull a flag and NOT to hinder the player's progress. An offensive player must make an effort to avoid contact if a defensive player has obtained "the spot" first and vice-versa.

Passing

1. A forward pass may be thrown from any point behind the line of scrimmage.

2. All incomplete backward passes shall be marked down at the point of ground contact.

3. Only one forward pass may be attempted from behind the line of scrimmage on a given play.

4. A forward pass is illegal if:

        A. It is thrown from beyond the line of scrimmage. The quarterback's entire body AND ball must cross the line of scrimmage for it to be an Illegal Forward Pass.

        B. It is intentional grounding.

        C. It is the second forward pass during a play.

        D. It is thrown to his/herself.

        E. It is thrown forward after a change of possession.

5. A player must have complete possession of the ball and land with at least one foot or knee inbounds, to be a legal reception.

6. If an offensive player goes out-of-bounds on his or her own accord and returns inbounds, it is an illegal participation foul if they catch the first pass. Such player cannot be the intended primary receiver and can only catch a tipped ball by a teammate.

Kicking

1. There will be no kickoffs. Possessions beginning a new half will begin on the 7-yard line.

2. Following any touchdown, the ball shall be placed on the 7-yard line, possession being given to the opponent of the scoring team.

3. Following a safety, the ball shall be punted from the 7-yard line with possession belonging to the team who just scored the safety.

4. If a kick is to be made, the kick must be made immediately upon receiving the snap. The ball shall be spotted at the place where it hit the ground.

5. Once a team captain declares to punt, he/she may change the decision only through the use of a charged time-out.

6. On 4^th downs, the offensive team does have the option to punt the football.  The offensive team must declare if they intend to punt or go for the first down.  If they declare they are punting, the offensive team must allow the defensive team time to set up for the punt return. Snap is required; the football must be kicked immediately.  If the ball is kicked out of bounds, it will be spotted where it left the field. (This rule is in effect to enhance real game play. This will alleviate any issues in regard to play clock and delay of game penalties. Players will still wait until the ball is kicked to cross the line of scrimmage.)

Scoring

1. Point values will be as follows:

A. Touchdown: 6 points

B. Safety: 2 points, and will receive a punt from the offensive team.

C. PAT from 3-yard line: 1 point. Defensive player returning an intercepted pass on this attempt: 1 point.

D. PAT from 7-yard line: 2 points. Defensive player returning an intercepted pass on this attempt: 2 points.

2. Once a team captain declares the his/her choice of going for a 1or 2 point conversion after scoring a touchdown, he/she may change the decision only if a charged time out is granted to either team.

3. If a ball is intercepted on a 1 point or 2 point conversion and the now-defensive team commits a penalty, the intercepting team will automatically be awarded the 1 or 2 points.

Tie Breaker

Regular season games will not have any overtime games.  A tie at the end of regulation games will stand.  Playoff games that end in a tie will be decided in the same format as the NCAA.  Each team will get four downs starting at the second first down marker to attempt to score.

Penalties

Offensive Penalties:

• Offsides - 5 paces, replay the down
• Picking - 5 paces, replay the down
• Illegal Snap - 5 paces, replay the down
• False Start - 5 paces, reply the down
• Illegal Motion - 5 paces, replay the down
• Delay of Game - 5 paces, replay the down
• Fielding Too Many Players - 5 paces, replay the down
• Blocking - 5 paces from spot of foul, loss of down
• Flag Guarding - 5 paces from spot of foul, loss of down
• Diving & Jumping with contact - 5 paces from spot of foul, loss of down
• Illegal Forward Pass - (QB's entire body and the ball must cross the LOS) - 5 paces from spot of foul, loss of down
• Pass Interference – 10 paces from original spot, loss of down
• Unsportsmanlike Conduct - 10 paces from the line of scrimmage, loss of down
• Intentional Grounding - 10 paces from line of scrimmage, loss of down. If foul occurs outside 10 paces from line of scrimmage, ball is down at the spot of the foul & loss of down or a safety if occurs in his/her own end zone.
• Girl Play Foul - no positive yardage awarded/negative yardage enforced, loss of down, still “Girl” play

Defensive Penalties:

• Offsides - 5 paces, replay the down
• Early Rush - 5 paces, replay the down
• Holding - 5 paces from spot of foul, and replay the down
• Fielding Too Many Players - 5 paces, replay the down

• Illegal Contact - (includes unnecessary roughness) - 10 paces, replay the down
• Diving with contact - Spot of the foul, automatic first down
• Pass Interference - Spot of the foul, automatic first down
• Unsportsmanlike Conduct - 10 paces from the line of scrimmage, automatic 1st down

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Coordinators & Referees may issue warnings to players for team and personal unsportsmanlike conduct or safety concerns. Staff may also ask players to leave the game for a specified amount of time if they feel it is for the betterment of the team and/or game. If a player fails to respect a staff member's decisions or heed their warnings, they may be ejected from the game, season or an indefinite amount of time.

Judgment calls made by the referee shall NOT be contested. A formal protest can be made at any time by letting the referee/umpire and the league coordinator aware of the situation.  After the protest is filed, the game will continue as scheduled.  If the protest is not filed until the conclusion of the game, the final score of that game will be official and will not change.  The Sports Connection will review the protest and make a ruling before the next week’s game.

Any individual who by his/her misconduct (profanity, gestures, physical or verbal abuse toward officials, players, etc.) causes himself/herself to be removed from a contest is automatically ineligible to participate for the remainder of that contest and any other games that day. That person may also be disqualified for future contests.

Indoor Modifications

1. All boards and netting will be considered out of bounds.

2. A pass that makes contact with the boards and/or netting will be considered an incomplete pass and dead ball.

3. Any contact with the walls or netting by a runner possessing the ball will be treated as stepping out-of-bounds.

4. There will be no punts or kickoffs.

5. There will be one first down marker at midfield.
6. Coed setup requires 4 guys and 2 girls on the field. Teams can start with 1 girl, but can not play with more than 4 guys on the field.
7. Men's rules will be standard SC rules, without coed modifications.
8. Games will be two 20-minute halves with a 5-minute halftime.

The Sports Connection coordinator and referee have the right to spot check rosters at any time. 
Players must have a valid Sports Connection Player's Card and a signed waiver before stepping on the field of play.

Additional rules and policies may be added or amended by Sports Connection before or during the season.