It is a preference that all teams contain players that are registered to their club. Closer to the tournament, we may request an entry list of players for each team along with their date of birth. You will also be required to indicate if your team does contain any players that are not registered to your club, purely for our information only. Teams and their players must only play for their grade that they have been registered to play for in this year’s junior football season (or eligible to play for in the case of those unregistered players).
TOURNAMENT DATE
Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September, 2024
HOW TO REGISTER
Entries CLOSED
ENTRY FEE: $60 per team
Once you have registered your team and the entry fee has been paid, you will then receive a confirmation of your booking via e-mail.
In the event the festival is cancelled the entry fee will be refunded.
TOURNAMENT ITINERARY
When: Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September, 2024
Saturday 14th September: 8th, 10th, 12th, 15th/16th
Sunday 15th September: 9th, 11th, 13th, 14th, Girls Only Grade
Where: Turnbull Thomson Park – both ILT Football Turf and its surrounding grounds (grass fields).
Saturday & Sunday: Group games may start at 9am on both Saturday and Sunday. The first kickoff time of the day will be determined by the number of entries across each grade. The start time of the first game will be no earlier than 9am, but maybe 9:30am. Group games will be played in the morning. All teams qualify for playoff and place-decider games, that will be played in the afternoon. We are optimistic that we can guarantee all teams at least 4, but hopefully 5 games over the day.
TOURNAMENT RULES, FIXTURES & FINAL BRIEFING
A full final briefing email will be sent to the Managers of all participating teams 7-10 days before the tournament takes place. The final briefing will include fixtures, schedules and the festival rules, which have been sanctioned by Southland Football.
MAXIMUM SQUAD SIZES
All games are 7-a-side (including a goalkeeper). Please note that games are only 8-minute halves. There will be no rule implemented for a maximum squad size. But, in the interest of players getting more playing time, to feel included, to have fun, and to maximise their experience of the tournament, it would be highly recommended that each team has a maximum of 10 players in their squad.
ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Teams and Players must not play in a lower grade than in which they are registered with Football South for their regular Saturday junior competition.
It is expected that no player shall be registered with any other grade or club, other than the one in which they are registered to play for in their regular Saturday competition.
It is expected that players may only play in one team during the tournament.
However, the tournament aims to be an inclusive Festival where as many players as possible get the opportunity to participate. So, players that are not previously registered with that club maybe brought into a team if the player’s normal club team are not themselves entering the Festival, or this player is required for a team to have sufficient playing numbers to be able to compete. In the occurrence of injury causing a team to have less than 7 fit players able to play, then it may also be possible to bring in a player to that team that was not originally registered to play in the tournament. In this event, this must be brought to the attention of and approved by the Old Boys’ Junior Football Festival committee prior to the game(s) commencing.
TROPHIES & AWARDS
The Champion team of each grade will receive a trophy medals as a memento of the Old Boys’ Junior 7-a-side Football Festival.
A Fair Play Award may also be presented in each grade – details of how this will be decided and the prize for this will be updated soon.
REFEREES
Independent referees will be appointed for all matches. These will mainly be experienced senior players. Please be mindful that all referees will be volunteers and that all games in the tournament must be played in an enjoyable and respectful manner.
FIELDS
Field numbers will be clearly marked and will also be identifiable by each field’s sponsors flags/banners.
INFORMATION ON THE DAY
• Members of the organising committee for the Football Festival will be located at the Southland Football lounge, and will be available to address any queries or concerns.
• All results will be collated at the Southland Football lounge.
• A noticeboard by the Southland Football clubrooms will show results, final group placings, and the amended draw for the afternoon playoff games.
FIRST AID
Please report to the organising committee at the Southland Football lounge for any First Aid requirements.
LOST PROPERTY
Please hand in any found property or claim any lost property from the organising committee at the Southland Football lounge.
FOOD
The following food vendors will be on-site for the duration of the tournament:
• Kava Food
• More to be confirmed soon
CANCELLATIONS
We do not have any planned back-up cancellations dates. So, the event will only be cancelled in the event of extreme weather or if the condition of the grounds create an unsafe field of play. If there is extreme weather forecast, we will endeavour to notify all teams of any cancellations on the day prior to the event (Friday 13th September). Once the event has started, we will hope to complete all games. However, the safety of the players will be paramount.
ACCOMMODATION
For any teams travelling from out of town and if you would like some advice on possible accommodation options, email:
juniors@oldboysafc.co.nz
