Koala Football

Rules of Play

Most Important Rule: Have fun! Since we do need some sort of structure, though, here are our rules:

1. Roster Size & Registration
   1. Each team is required to have a minimum of 1 girl and 6 guys per team. Roster size can reach up to a maximum of 12 players. The remaining players act as subs for either defense or offense and must check in with a referee before entering the game.
   2. Teams have the option of signing up altogether through the Team Captain or signing up individually. Full team registration is $950 (for 7 player roster) plus $20 per added on player. Individual signee price will be $120 regardless if you are registering as a sub under a full 7-man roster.
   3. After the registration deadline, if there are enough free agents to fill a team, then we shall do so and email those players the list of who is on their team. If there are not that many free agents towards the deadline, teams will have the option to pick up free agents depending on the order in which they were able to sign up a full 7 player roster.
   4. Teams that sign up 7 players before Shirt deadline will have the opportunity to reserve colors/ customizations for team shirts which will include shirts for subs (must be registered by shirt deadline). Teams will be given a “Waiver number” depending on the order that the full 7-man roster is completely registered and will give early registered teams the advantage of picking high during “Free Agency”. Teams will have the option to pass up their pick during Free Agency, however, if players are still left over in FA list then those players will be randomly assigned to any teams that do not have the max of 12 players.
2. Game Rules
   1. Choosing possession
      1. Starting possession for every regular season game will be determined by an intense game of… ROCK PAPER SCISSORS! Winner will get to elect whether they would like to start off on offense or defense as well as which side of the field they would like to start at.
      2. Field positions will switch at the next half and the team that started on defense first will start on offense in the second half of the game as well.
   2. Game Clock
      1. Teams will play two 20 minute halves with a 2 minute break (halftime) in between.
      2. Each team will be given one 1 minute timeout each half which will stop the game clock until. Game clock will resume once the ball snapper is set and the referee is in position to resume play.
      3. In the last 2 minutes of the second half referees will begin to use a 7 second count after ball is placed by referee which indicates when the offense will have to snap the ball and begin their play. This will be set in place to speed up gameplay during the final possessions and ensure offense isn’t running off all available time left in the game.
      4. If the 7 second count runs out and the referee whistles the play dead before ball is snapped, the result will be a loss of down and game clock stoppage.
         Game clocks will also stop for incomplete passes or if player with possession of the ball runs out of bounds before flag is pulled during these last 2 minutes of the game.
      5. Game will end at the end of the final 20 minutes of the game or when a team reach 35 points.
         In the case that the offensive team snaps the ball before the last second has run off in either halves, the play will be allowed to continue until the pass is either complete/ incomplete or players flag is pulled.
   3. Game Play Rules
      1. One girl must be on the field at all times with the rest of the players consisting of either all men or any additional women.
      2. At the start of every possession, the ball will be placed “5 yards” from the offensive team’s endzone.
      3. All players on the field on offense or defense must have their team shirts on as to not confuse the referees. If not enough players come with the right color shirt before it is time to start the game, the team will be forced to forfeit their game that week.
      4. Flag guarding is not allowed and will result in play being whistled dead by referee at the spot of the foul.
      5. Teams are allowed to send one person to rush Quarterback from 7 steps from where ball is placed. 7 steps will be determined by a referee. If the player rushing the Quarterback rushes in front of the spot that was decided by the referee the play will count as an off sides penalty and the offense has the chance to complete a play. If play does not result in any positive yardage for the offense, the offense will be awarded 5 yards and a replay of the same down.
      6. One foot must touch inbound before any body part touches out of bounds for a play to result in a completed pass. If both feet touch the ground but one foot is inbounds and the other foot is out of bounds the play will result as an incomplete pass.
      7. If a receiver steps out of bounds they cannot be the first player to touch the ball/ receive a pass. This should be acknowledged by the line referee and play will result as a penalty and loss of down.
      8. If the Quarterback steps passed the line of scrimmage, then they are no longer allowed to pass the ball and will instead become a runner. If the ball is passed forward prior to passing the line of scrimmage, then the play will be whistled dead and result in a forward lateral penalty and loss of down.
      9. Ball will be placed where flag of ball handler is pulled. The defender who pulls the flag of the ball handler should drop the flag once it has been pulled to help referees determine where the ball should be placed. Sometimes this may not be completely accurate and referee has final say on where the ball is placed based on their own judgment.
      10. The Quarterback has a five second play clock to get rid of the ball before the play is whistled dead resulting in loss of down.
      11. Direct handoffs are permitted but laterals/ pitches beyond the line of scrimmage are not permitted.
      12. Backwards passes/ laterals are permitted behind the line of scrimmage. The players who receive these passes are allowed to make forward passes. Once forward pass is made, laterals are not permitted.
      13. Any defensive player lined up seven yards from the line of scrimmage are available to rush. Defenders who are lined up within the 7 yards cannot rush at any time.
      14. Interceptions are returnable, however if the flag is pulled before player returns the ball to their end zone or they step out of bounds the ball will be placed “5 yards” from the intercepting team’s endzone.
      15. The ball is dead when a pass hits the ground, a player with possession of the ball steps out of bounds, the offensive player’s flag is pulled or the ball carrier’s body (hands and feet excluded) touch the ground.
      16. Holding/ interference of a receiver from a defensive player will result in an automatic first down at the spot of the foul.
      17. Disrespect towards game officials will not be allowed. Warnings will be applied to players or game ejections depending on severity of offense/ repeated disrespect towards game officials.
      18. 3 warnings throughout season will result in a one game suspension. Repeated offenses can lead to multiple game suspensions/ suspended for remaining of the season.
      19. Fighting among players will not be tolerated and will result in removal from play area as well as multiple game suspensions/ season suspension (Commissioners have final decision).
   4. Touchdowns
      1. Every touchdown scored by any player will be worth 6 points. However, during the extra point conversion, if one of the women on a team catches a pass and scores during this phase the team will be awarded 2 points. 1 point will be rewarded for men if they catch a pass in the endzone during the extra point attempt.
      2. One foot must touch inbound in the end zone before any other body part touches out of bounds for a pass to result in a touchdown.
      3. The flags around the ball handlers’ waist must break the plane (Cross the touchdown line) in order for a touchdown to be awarded.  The same applies for crossing the first down marker.
   5. Overtime
      1. In the event of a tie at the end of regulation time (Regular season), starting possession during will be determined again through Rock Paper Scissors. Winner will again elect whether they want to start on offense or defense and which end zone they would like to make their attempt at.
      2. Due to time during regular season, each team will get ONLY one play to score during over time. If both teams are successful during their one attempt the game will end as a tie. The same applies if both teams are unsuccessful during their attempts. If Team A is successful in their attempt, Team B will have a chance to tie the game with their own attempt. If Team A is unsuccessful during their attempt, Team B will only need to score to win the game (Team A would not get another chance to try and tie). An overtime score will count as 1 point to help with point leaderboard.
      3. During overtime in Playoffs, however, possession/ field direction will be determined by Team Standings. Each team will start at the first down marker and will get one set of 3 downs to score a touchdown.
      4. OT Situation ex
         1. During the first attempts if Team A successfully scores and team B does not, then Team A wins.
         2. During first attempts if Team A is unsuccessful in their attempt but Team B is successful, then Team B wins.
         3. If both teams are successful, we will enter into another overtime round and teams will start possession in the same order going in the same directions that were elected at the start of the overtime phase. (Previous situations apply)
         4. An interception returned for a touchdown will result in a point and end the game automatically in both the regular season/ playoffs. The team that threw the interception will not get another opportunity to redeem themselves.