Tournament Format & Rules

GAME FORMAT

Two 18-minute halves; 2 minute half-time; teams change field direction for the 2nd half (NOTE CHANGE)
Running time
Officials start and end the game on their own clock
Time serving penalties; penalty time kept by officials on the field
ONE TIMEOUT PER TEAM PER HALF - 60 second timeout (clock stops) (NOTE CHANGE)
U11/U13 - NO HORNS, but substitutions on sidelines are permitted for U11 and U13 brackets; they will be facilitated by officials if requested promptly
U15/U17 - NO HORNS, all substitutions are on the fly for U15 and U17 brackets
US Lacrosse Rules will be in effect for U11 and U13 brackets
National Federation High School Rules will be in effect:
- COUNTS/ADVANCEMENT - U15/U17 ONLY - There will be a 20 second count to clear the midline and 10 second counts 1) to advance the ball into your offensive box after crossing the midline and 2) to advance the ball into your offensive box after leaving the box
- ALL BRACKETS - winning team must keep ball in box last two minutes of play
OVERTIME: 3 v 3 sudden-victory brave heart (plus goalie) for max 2 minutes to determine the winner, if neither team scores, game ends in tie. In playoff rounds only, there will be two 5-minute sudden-victory overtime periods, followed by above 3v3 brave heart format until winner is decided.
Tie Break Procedure for playoff seeding: 1) head to head; 2) goals against average; 3) coin-flip

UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS - Excessive force, overly physical play and take-out hits constitute unnecessary roughness and will, minimally, result in a 1 minute penalty.
- The Patriot Games directors expect tournament officials to “err” on the side of safety. All coaches involved with teams in the tournament are expected to understand and support our philosophy with regard to officiating and the promotion of player safety.
MERCY RULE in effect during pool play but not during playoffs (applies when there is a 4 goal differential). Teams down by 4 goals or more will be awarded the ball at midfield after each goal. The second half starts with a face-off regardless of goal differential.
BALLS - All teams are responsible for balls on their offensive end-line (it is anticipated that field fences will stop many, but not all, of the shots). Each team will be provided with six (6) balls at the beginning of the tournament at check-in. Teams are responsible for those balls and for making sure there are an adequate number of balls on their offensive end-line during games.

Officials are responsible to keep score on each field and to report scores following the games
Following each game, coaches from both teams are asked to help facilitate the reporting of scores to the site headquarters. Unreported scores will be treated as a tie for both teams. Should there be a discrepancy between the official's score and the coach's score, the official's score will prevail.

CODE OF CONDUCT APPLIES TO ALL PARTICIPANTS, COACHES, PARENTS AND SPECTATORS
All persons involved with the Patriot Games visiting the Facility are expected to “Honor the Game”.
Only head coaches are permitted to address the officials; coaches are expected to do so in a courteous manner. Please treat the officials, opponents, spectators and tournament staff with the same respect you would like to be shown.
The Patriot Games directors expect the officials, coaches, players and fans to comport themselves in accordance with the rules.