RULE NO. 3: Team Composition & Substitutions

Section I – Leadership & Team Staff

Section II – Rosters & Players

Section III – Substitutions

Section IV – Substitution Area & the Team Bench

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Section I – Leadership & Team Staff

Team Staff
1. Tournament directors may limit the number of team staffers allowed in the player area, however, this number may not be less than three
2. The names of team staffers must be communicated to the tournament director prior to the event if they are not on the roster as a coach.
3. Team staffers are not eligible to enter play.
4. If a team staffer engages in any action that would result in a penalty for a substitute, the team staffer shall receive the same penalty.

Section II – Rosters & Players

Rosters
1. Each team is made up of between seven and twenty-one players.
  1. A team must have seven eligible players to begin or continue a game.
    1. If a team is reduced to having fewer than seven eligible players at any time during a game, that team must forfeit the game.
2. Team rosters must abide by all MLQ regulations regarding rosters.
Positions
1. A team shall have one keeper in play.
  1. Keepers must wear a green headband on their forehead.
  2. Keepers may use the quadball in any legal manner.
2. A team shall have three chasers in play.
  1. Chasers must wear a white headband on their forehead.
  2. Chasers may use the quadball in any legal manner.
3. A team shall have two beaters in play.
  1. Beaters must wear a black headband on their forehead.
  2. Beaters may use the dodgeballs in any legal manner.
4. During the seeker floor, a team must not have a seeker in play. Otherwise, a team must have one seeker in play.
  1. Seekers must wear a yellow headband on their forehead.
5. Any players not in play are substitutes.
6. Players in the penalty box are considered in play and count toward the position requirements for their teams.
7. No penalty shall be given if teams are lacking a full complement of players either due to an active substitution or if a seeker accidentally neglects to enter the field at the end of the seeker floor.
8. If a team cannot field a full set of players because doing so would cause that team to exceed the gender maximum, the team may continue to play with fewer than the required number of players on the field (See. 3.II.3 Gender maximum rule.)
  1. A team may not start a game if they cannot field a full legal set of players.
  2. One keeper, one beater, and one chaser are compulsory in play, even when there are fewer than seven players in play.
    1. This includes players in the penalty box.
    2. After conclusion of the seeker floor in any period, a seeker is also compulsory.
  3. If the team regains the ability to legally field a full team, the team must do so.
    1. In this instance, the player enters from the bench.
Gender Maximum Rule
1. During a seeker floor, a team may not have more than three players who identify as the same gender in play.
  1. A player serving penalty time is considered in play.
2. While the Flag Runner is on pitch, teams may not have more than four players who identify as the same gender in play.
3. The gender that a player identifies as is considered to be that player’s gender.
Correcting illegal sets of players

Section III –Substitutions

Substitution Procedure
1. The player substituting out is not knocked out.
2. The player substituting out exits the pitch within the team’s substitution area and then promptly dismounts.
  1. The player must not dismount before crossing out of the pitch.
  2. The player substituting out is no longer eligible to be knocked out once they have dismounted.
3. If any other equipment must be traded (including headbands) it must be traded while off the pitch.
4. The substitute entering play must mount the broom in the substitution area and step onto the pitch before interacting with play.
  1. The substitute enters the pitch along the boundary of the team’s substitution area.
  2. A substitution is complete when the substitute crosses the boundary of the team’s substitution area into the pitch and is only touching the ground inside the pitch.
    1. The substitute is then immediately eligible to engage in gameplay and is eligible to be knocked out.
5. The entering player receives any penalty card for violations of this procedure.
6. If a player enters play through a substitution that violates this procedure, but has not yet interacted with play, the official shall call a substitution violation instead of an illegal substitution.
  1. If the entering player interacts with play before the call, or before correcting the substitution violation, they must be penalized for an illegal substitution.
  2. A player who repeatedly commits substitution violations must be penalized for an illegal substitution.
Substitution Guidelines
1. Players may only change positions by substituting, changing headbands, and re-entering the game.
2. Substitutions may be made at any time.
Substitutions Due to Injury
1. The head referee may, at their discretion, require that a player leave the player area to receive medical attention.
2. If a player is injured and play is not stopped, any substitution must follow all of the substitution procedure as outlined in 3.III.3 Substitution Procedure.
3. Play must be stopped for an injury when a player in play is openly bleeding or is down and too injured to continue to play or substitute while play continues.
  1. Play should be stopped immediately if the injured player is obstructing gameplay or has a serious injury, including any non-superficial head injury.
  2. If the injury is not serious and the player is not obstructing active gameplay, the head referee should allow play to continue until stopping play would not significantly advantage either team or play moves into the area of the injured player.
4. If a player is injured and play is stopped:
  1. The injured player may leave the pitch to be replaced by a substitute.
    1. If play is stopped for a player’s injury, that player must leave the pitch.
    2. A bleeding player may not re-enter play until the bleeding has stopped. If an injury is severe, the head referee may require the player be checked out by a medical professional before allowing them to return to play.
    3. The bleeding player is ineligible to return to play until receiving permission from an official, who must be satisfied that the bleeding has stopped.
5. Any injured player who leaves the pitch must be replaced by an eligible substitute.
  1. While play is stopped, the substitute replaces the player at the same point. The substitute re- tains possession of any ball held by the injured player. If the injured player was knocked out, the substitute is off broom when play is restarted.
  2. If there is no eligible substitute that conforms to the gender maximum rule, a team may play a player down instead of substituting.
    1. If this would leave a position without at least one player, another player in play must change to the position and location of the injured player.
  3. If a player is forced, by rule, to leave the pitch for a non-severe injury and there is no eligible substitute, that player may take their broom and resume play at the boundary of their substitution area.
6. A player may not feign an injury for any reason.
Substitutions Between Periods
1. Any player serving time in the penalty box may not be substituted out between periods.
2. If a player receives a penalty card for a foul occurring after the head referee signaled the end of the period, it shall be treated as a penalty against a substitute, and the coach may choose the position at which the penalty shall be served.
Coach Yellow Card - Illegal substitution between periods

Section IV – Substitution Area & the Team Bench

Team Bench and Substitution Area Restrictions
1. All substitutions must occur in the substitution area and not in the team bench.
2. Substitutes and team staff must remain in the team bench or substitution area whenever play is not stopped and must not crowd the pitch boundary line unless about to substitute into the game.
  1. If a team is repeatedly illegally crowding the pitch boundary line, the officials may require all substitutes on that team to remain in the team bench unless about to substitute into the game.
3. Any extra equipment or property not necessary for play that is brought into the player area by a team must be kept securely stored in the team’s bench.
  1. Any extra balls kept in the bench must be stored in a bag or other storage container.
Leaving the Substitution Area, Bench, or Player Area
1. One substitute or team staffer at a time may leave the substitution area or team bench to check information with the scorekeeper or timekeeper but must neither interfere with the scorekeeper or timekeeper’s duties, nor enter the pitch.
2. The team’s coach may leave the player area in order to communicate with tournament staff.
3. Any person in need of medical attention may leave the player area to receive it.
  1. All players who leave the player area in this way may return to the game if they are medically cleared.
  2. If necessary, anyone designated by the team’s coach may leave the player area to attend to an injured teammate.
Sideline Interference
1. It is sideline interference if a substitute directly affects play when either of the following are true:
  1. The substitute is intentionally and illegally outside of both the substitution area and team bench.
  2. The substitute failed to make every reasonable effort to avoid the play.

RULE NO. 3: Team Composition & Substitutions

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