Rules

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TOURNAMENT RULES
Official FIL rules are applied with several exceptions described below.
Team representatives (two of each team) will be invited to the welcome meeting on Tuesday April 23, 19.00 where all rules can be explained and clarified and final rosters submitted.

Team rosters
Final official team rosters shall be submitted to the organizers by Tuesday April 23, 21.00 CET (printed in person or via e-mail). No additions to the roster shall be accepted after this time. Any appearance of a player who is not listed on the official roster in a game will lead to forfeiture of the game in favour of the non-offending team.
● Number of players for each game: 23 including goalies, number of players in team for the tournament is not limited. A player can play only for one team in the tournament.

Course of the game
● Playing time: 2 x 15 mins, semi-finals 3 x 12 mins running time. During the last 2 minutes of every match the time is stopped with the whistle. The breaks between periods are 2 mins. Final game – 3 x 12 mins stopped time, the breaks between periods are 5 mins.
● In the event of a tie score at the end of the game each team is awarded 3 penalty shots. If the game is still tied, there shall be 1 penalty shot for each team until the game is resolved. In case of a tie score at the end of the final game the 5 min. sudden-death overtime periods follow until the game is resolved.
● Shot clock limit is 30 seconds, time to advance the ball across the centre line is 10 seconds.
● Time-outs: each team shall be allowed a maximum of one 30 sec. time-out per game.

Game protocol
● The arena is available for warm up immediately after the conclusion of the previous game.
● Home team bench is the left one and visiting team is the right one (as seen from the arena).
● Teams are expected to be ready for the game at the scheduled time. As the programme is tight no waiting time will be provided and the game will be forfeited if a team is not prepared to begin. Forfeit result is 8:0 in favour of the non-offending team.
● Team representatives are asked to confirm uniform numbers on game roster before each game.
● There is no line-up prior to the games except the 3rd place game and the final game. Players are introduced individually before the final game and invited to enter the arena for line-up and national anthems of participating teams (if applicable).
● Teams shake hands after each game.
● Team captains sign the record to confirm its correctness.

Penalties
● Penalties: A minor penalty 1 min. for personal fouls (cross-checking, tripping, slashing, holding etc.), a major penalty 3 mins for dangerous fouls (charging into the boards, butt-ending attempt etc.).
● Coincidental minor/major penalties: when coincidental minor penalties or coincidental major penalties of equal duration are imposed against players of both teams, the penalized players shall all take their places in the penalty box and teams shall play 5 on 5. Such penalized players should not leave the penalty box until the first non technical stoppage of play (time out, penalty, goal, end of period) following the expiry of their respective penalties.
● Goalies do not have to serve their own major penalties.
● A match penalty involves the suspension of the player for the balance of the game and the offended shall be ordered to the dressing room immediately. The “in home” player is to replace the penalized player in the penalty bench for the full three minutes of playing time regardless of the number of goals scored. A player incurring a Match Penalty shall automatically receive a game suspension. An appeal of the decision can be submitted via RIC the AHM Disciplinary Committee consisting of the RIC and two representatives of the tournament organizer. AHM Disciplinary Committee decision will be final. The AHM Disciplinary Committee also reserves the right to add additional game suspensions or expel a player from the tournament in case of a serious reckless and endangering foul and/or unsportsmanlike behaviour which is not in in accordance with the rules and spirit of the tournament.
As the tournament is also a promotion of the game of lacrosse to public and media we ask all players to play fair and within the rules and spirit of sportsmanship. Fights are not acceptable.

Team and player equipment
● Teams are obliged to have proper and unified jerseys including shorts. Two sets of uniforms are welcome. In case that opponents have similar uniform colors, the referee of the game can decide that the host team has to wear set of neutral uniforms provided by the organizer in order to distinguish teams clearly.
● Players should wear the same uniform number within the course of whole tournament. Any changes must be reported to the record-keepers immediately.
● In accordance with the FIL rules traditional wooden sticks and large goalie sticks (Wall) are not allowed, nor are wooden shafts.
● Goalie measurements will be required before any team’s first game – referees will carry these out at the referee room. Random measurements before or during any game are possible at any time and teams must comply. Remeasure for playoff teams above 7th place games will be held before the game.

Playing system
Twenty-four participating teams are drawn to four upper round-robin groups (Gold A–D) and four lower round-robin groups (Silver A–D). Teams are divided into six pools for the draw. Last year's final ranking is the only criteria for Gold 1–3 pools, while the tournament board's estimation of any newcomers' level is taken into consideration for the Silver 1–3 pools groupings.
In round-robin group games the winning team gets 3 points, each team gets one point if the score is tied, and the team winning the penalty shots receives the additional point. The following criteria decide the team order in round-robin groups:
1. number of points;
2. head-to-head match;
3. scored/received goals difference;
4. higher number of scored goals;
5. lower number of penalty minutes;
6. toss.

The winners of Gold A–D groups qualify directly to the quarter-finals. The second teams from Gold A–D groups will match winners of Silver A–D groups in Play-in games 1–4. The winners of these games qualify to quarter-finals, the losers continue to 9th–16th place play-offs (Blue).
The third teams from Gold A–D groups will match the second teams from Silver A–D groups in Play-in games 5–8. The winners of these games qualify to 9th–16th place play-offs (Blue), the losers continue to the 17th–24th place play-offs (Green).
The third teams from Silver A–D groups continue directly to the 17th–24th place play-offs (Green).

Teams finishing 1st to 20th are guaranteed to receive an invitation for the next tournament annual.