7000-307 Provincial Games: Team Eligibility for Participation in Provincial Games

Review Date: February 2021                          

Effective Date: February 2021

Basketball, Bocce, Curling, Softball, Soccer and Floor Hockey Teams must meet all eligibility requirements outlined in the policy detailed below to be eligible to participate in a Provincial Games.  In addition to meeting these team requirements each athlete on that team must also adhere to the ‘Athlete Eligibility’ requirements as per Policy 7000-305.

Provincial Games Eligibility Requirements:

Athlete Registration

Each athlete must submit a completed Special Olympics Ontario athlete registration form.

Age

All athletes must be 10 years of age or older as of the first day of Provincial Games.

Sports Club Registration

Each athlete on the team must be registered with the Sports Specific Club/Team which they are competing with by the Provincial Games Eligibility Deadline which is January 1st for winter sports, by February 1st for spring sports and July 1st for summer sports in year 1 of the 2 year eligibility cycle.   


Each team must be registered within a sport club with Special Olympics Ontario by the Provincial Games Eligibility Deadline which is January 1st for winter sports, by February 1st for spring sports and July 1st for summer sports in year 1 of the 2 year eligibility cycle.

Provincial Qualifier

Each team must participate in a Provincial Qualifier.  The athletes appearing on a Team Roster must have participated on the same team at the Provincial Qualifier (exception, please see Two Player Pickup on page 2).

Athletes can only be registered and play on one team roster within the provincial qualifier.  Teams that use players who have played on another team within the provincial qualifier will be considered ineligible to advance to provincial games.

Training Time

To be eligible for Provincial Qualifiers and Provincial Games, all teams must have trained within their sport for a minimum of 30 hours and three (3) months during each of the two seasons during the two year eligibility cycle.

For more information on the two year eligibility cycle please refer to Policy 7000-212.

Coach Certifications

Teams whose coaches do not meet the minimum coach certifications for Provincial Games may be ineligible to advance to Provincial Games as outlined in Provincial Games Coach Selection Criteria Policy 7000-308.

Coach : Athlete Ratios

All teams must meet the minimum Coach:Athlete Ratio to attend the Provincial Qualifier.

Coach Assignment on Team Rosters at Provincial Qualifiers

Each coach may only be assigned to one team within the Provincial Qualifier.  The team roster must clearly indicate the coaches assigned to that team. See Provincial Games Coach Selection Policy 7000-308.

Eligibility Lists

Immediately following the Athlete Registration Deadline a print out identifying all athletes registered in that sport within each District will be distributed to the District Developer. Athletes’ names must appear on this list in order to be eligible to advance and participate in the Provincial Games.

Athletes not registered by the deadline and whose names do not appear on the eligibility list are prohibited from participating in Provincial Games. Community Council representatives and club coaches are directed to consult the Athlete Eligibility lists during the Athlete Endorsement Process to confirm that athletes are eligible prior to informing athletes that they will be attending the Provincial Games.

To assist club coaches in ensuring that all team members are eligible to participate in Provincial Games, it is suggested that coaches register all potential athletes in their program (club) by the Provincial Games Eligibility Deadline, regardless of ability level, as no maximum number applies to initial team registration.  The purpose of registering the club is to identify potential participants for inclusion in a Provincial Games.

A coach or administrative volunteer who informs an athlete that he/she will be attending a Provincial Games prior to consulting the Athlete Eligibility list will assume responsibility for that action.

Exemption Process

Communities may apply for an exemption in cases where their sanctioned Provincial Qualifying competitions are cancelled, in whole or in part, for reasons beyond anyone’s control (i.e. inclement weather, transportation issues, epidemics and acts of God). In these cases, Communities must apply, in writing to the Competition Developer no later than seven days following the cancellation of the qualifying competition event in question. The exemption request should describe the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of the qualifying competition.

The Program Services Team will review the exemption request and render a decision.

If the exemption is granted, athletes will be eligible to compete in all events they were registered to compete in at the cancelled Provincial qualifying competition.

Athletes with Down Syndrome

Athletes who have Down Syndrome and have not had an x ray or neurological examination for Atlanto axial instability are ineligible from participating in the sports/events of: butterfly stroke and diving starts in swimming, pentathlon, high jump, powerlifting, basketball, soccer, and alpine skiing. Those athletes who have tested positive in the above examinations are also ineligible in the preceding sports/events, unless the examining physician has notified the athlete’s parents or guardians of the nature and extent of the individual’s condition and, such athlete shall be allowed to participate in the activities listed only if the athlete submits written certification from two physicians combined with an acknowledgement of risks and signed by the adult athlete or his/her parent or guardian if the athlete is a minor.

Team Roster

The team roster must adhere to the minimum and maximum number of players allowed by each sport.

Sport

Min Roster

Max Roster

Basketball

8

10

Curling

4

5

Floor Hockey

11

16

Soccer

9

12

Softball

12

15

No additional players shall be permitted to the Team Roster, with the exception of a two
player pick up policy (see criteria below).

Teams, who arrive at a Provincial Games with either:

  1. less than minimum number of players
  2. arrive with the minimum number of players yet drop below the minimum number of players for the duration of the tournament due to behavioural issues

would not qualify for awards or placement points so therefore are ineligible to advance to a higher level of competition. All matches played against or scheduled against this team shall be considered void and will result in no point acquisition for any team.  Exhibition games may be set up for the team at the discretion of the organizing committee.

Two Player Pick-up

(Basketball, Bocce, Curling, Soccer, Softball, Floor Hockey)

If a team roster falls below the maximum number, due to illness, injury or extenuating circumstances, after the final team roster has been submitted, teams will be permitted to pick up a maximum of two (2)
additional players who were registered with that club and participated in the Provincial qualifier by the Provincial Games Eligibility Deadline, to meet the maximum player roster.

If a team competes at the Provincial Qualifiers with less than the maximum roster of allowable number of players, that Team is permitted to pick-up up
to a maximum of two (2) additional players who were registered with that club and participated in the Provincial Qualifier from another team that participated in the same Provincial Qualifier by the Provincial Games Eligibility Deadline, to meet the maximum player roster.

Team rosters falling below the minimum roster size, may pickup a maximum of 2 players.  If the roster size after the 2-player pickup remains below the minimum roster size for that sport, the team will be deemed no longer eligible for participation.

Case Examples:

  1. Soccer Team presents with 9 players (meets the minimum roster size), may pick-up 2  players to end up with less than the maximum roster size (11 players)
  1. Soccer Team Presents with 11 players (meets the minimum roster size), may pick-up 1 player to the maximum roster size (12 players)
  1. Soccer Team Presents with 8 players (does not meet the minimum roster size of 9), may pick-up 2 players to create a roster of 10 players (under the maximum roster size of 12).
  1. Soccer Team presents with 6 players (does not meet the minimum roster size of 9), if the team picks up 2 players the new roster size is 8 (which does not meet the minimum roster size of 9). The team is therefore ineligible for competition.

In the spirit of fair play and to ensure a positive Games experience for all team members, all players (including pick up players) must receive equitable playing time.

Order of rules for Player Pickup:

  1. If a team has no other eligible players available that attended the Provincial Qualifier, that team can pick-up a maximum of two players from another team within the community and those players must have participated in the Provincial Qualifier in that sport.

If Option 1 is not available, please proceed to #2

(An eligible player may include an athlete that attended the full Provincial Qualifier, but did not participate due to medical reasons- a medical note MUST have been provided prior to the Provincial Qualifier or medical personnel at the Provincial Qualifier deemed the athlete unfit to participate. If necessary medical clearance could be requested to ensure the athlete is able to compete at the Provincial Games.)

  1. If the community has no other eligible players available, that team can pick-up a maximum of two players from another team within their conference and those players must have participated in a Provincial Qualifier in that sport.

These additional `pick up’ team members must also meet the Athlete Eligibility criteria outlined in Policy 7000-305.

Athletes identified for pick up by a team must be of equal ability to the team and must reside within a close proximity to the team.

Final Approval of Pick Up Players

Special Olympics Ontario reserves the right to approve the athletes identified for pick up by a team.

Coaches must submit the list of identified players for pick up to SOO before proceeding with the endorsement process.

If a team requires more than two (2) additional players to meet the minimum player number, the team will be ineligible to participate in the Provincial Games.

If a team falls below the minimum roster size, after using the two (2) player pick up, due to illness, injury or extenuating circumstances, the team will be ineligible to participate in the Provincial Games.

Games Registration Fees for Pick Up Players

The team/community requiring the pick up of the players will be responsible for all games registration fees and uniform costs for the pick up players. These players should be considered the same as any other member of the team/community.