2023 7on7 "Battle of the Best" (NIT) Qualifier (Waller, TX)
Football (7v7) Tournament - February 4, 2023
[Event is Over]
Field Dimensions:
Field Length will be 50 yards. 40-yard playing field with a 10-yard end zone.
Starting Each Game:
1. A coin toss will determine which team gets the ball first. That team will begin possession of the ball on the 40-yard line with their choice of hash.
2. A whistle will begin each game.
3. Each game last 25 minutes with running clock.
4. Official will declare when the clock is under 2 minutes.
5. The clock never stops, with the exception of an injury or referee timeout.
6. A whistle will end each game.
7. The field manager will keep the official score and the refs will keep the official time on the field for each game.
8. Soft Helmets are not mandatory but are highly suggested. Safety of the players should be each teams #1 priority.
Moving the Ball:
1. Offense starts on 40-yard line on a normal possession. Offense will start on the 30 yard line after an interception.
2. All snaps at the 40-yard line must be off the QB-TEE (No Shotgun). Upon gaining a yard or more,
QB may take a shotgun off QB-TEE.
3. Offense has three (3) downs to gain a first down. First down markers will be at the 25, and 10-
Yard lines.
4. Once inside the 10-yard line, the offense has 3 downs to score a touchdown.
5. The first person to control the football off the QB-Tee is the QB. The QB is never eligible to run.
6. The offense may not run the football. This tournament is passing only. All passes must be forward passes. Passes may be behind the line of scrimmage as long as they are forward passes.
7. Quarterback can NEVER run the ball. The quarterback MUST release the ball from behind the
QB-tee! If his foot passes the back of the tee, it will be called an illegal forward pass.
Coaching your Team:
1. There will be one offensive coach allowed on the field at any time and TWO (2) active athletes behind him only. The athletes that are “active” but not involved in the play must be down on a knee to show they are not involved. (One warning then delay of game penalty)
2. After the huddle, the coach must back up away from the play.
3. Coaches are not allowed to challenge any official ruling.
4. Remaining team coaches can work from the sidelines.
5. NO defensive coaches allowed on the field. All defensive coaches must coach from the sideline.
6. Coaches will be given 1 sideline warning during play. Second warning will result in a 10-yard penalty or half the distance to the goal. Third warning will result in coach’s ejection.
7. Any form of cheating qualifies for automatic team disqualification at the tournament!
8. All teams must have matching uniforms. Players may not play on different teams but may play in multiple age brackets if their teams has multiple teams in different age brackets and the players age fits the age bracket rules of each team.
Miscellaneous Rules:
1. NO BLITZING ALLOWED in the ENTIRE game (INCLUDING overtime). If a team blitz’s, they will be penalized 15 yards, un-sportsman.
2. NO blocking.
3. Face guarding is allowed.
4. Blocking will result in a loss of down, return to previous spot.
5. Ball carrier is legally down when touched below the neck with one hand or the ball carrier’s
elbow/knee or the football touches the ground. A defender CAN leave his feet to make a tag.
The offensive player can leave his feet also.
6. Fumbles (Including snap) are dead balls at the spot with the last team in control retaining possession at the spot.
7. Offensive team will have 25 seconds to put the ball into play. Delay of game is a loss of down.
8. The offensive team is responsible for retrieving and returning the ball to the official or to the QBtee. The clock does not stop, and any delay of the offense in retrieving and returning the ball to the official will result in delay of game.
9. Defensive pass interference will result in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down.
Defensive holding will result in a 10-yard penalty and repeat the down.
10. Offensive pass interference will result in a return to the previous spot plus a loss of down.
11. QB is allowed 4.0 seconds to throw the ball. If a QBtee is unavailable referees will stop play when 4.0 seconds is surpassed.
12. An interception will result in an immediate stoppage of play and a change of possession with the interception team gaining possession at the 30-yard line. If a un-sportsman penalty is given to the interception team, they will be penalized 10 yards and will start from the 40-yard line.
13. Excessive celebration is not allowed and will not be tolerated. At the discretion of the referee, if a team is penalized for excessively celebrating or clearing of the sideline, the result is a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and a loss of down. The players on the field may celebrate but players cannot come from the sideline to celebrate with players on the field.
14. A game cannot end on a defensive penalty. If this occurs, the offense will have an untimed down if time has expired.
15. The offense (wide receivers) has to line up outside the tackle box (4 yards from either side of the football) and one receiver has to be on the line on each side.
16. Fighting will not be tolerated. If a player throws a punch, he is ejected immediately and can
NOT return to the game. If players are involved in pushing or shoving, they may be ejected immediately from the game at the referees’ discretion. If a second incident occurs with the same player(s), they will be ejected from the tournament in its entirety. If a team’s bench clears, resulting in a fight, both of the teams are ejected, resulting in a forfeit. The referee has the right to throw out any player, players, or team out of the game. The 7v7 Elite Showcase staff has the right in extreme cases to eject players, coaches, teams, and by-standers of any tournament and they will have to leave the facility immediately. A referee can also give a 15-yard un-sportsman penalty.
17. Each team has a maximum of 24 players. Players will not be accepted into the event as individuals. All players must be a part of a team.
18. If a QBtee is not available, a player will need to be the “center”. This player is not an eligible receiver but may retrieve the football for the offense and return it to the line of scrimmage. The “center” does not have to snap the ball as a traditional center but may hold the ball or toss the ball to the QB upon his cadence.
Overtime/Tie Breaker:
1. Games in BRACKET PLAY (SINGLE-ELIMINATION) that end in a tie will go to a tiebreaker. There will be a coin toss at the beginning of the tiebreaker with the home team calling the toss. The winner will choose to be on either offense or defense.
2. Each team will have 3 plays from the QB-tee from the 10 yard line, choice of hash. If you score you receive the standard 6 points.
3. If the offense scores, then they MUST chose to go for 1 point from the 5-yard line, or 2 points from the 10-yard line.
4. The opposing team gets the same opportunity to win.
5. If neither team scores or it ends as a tie, we will flip the coin again then back to the standard longest passing yard from the 40-yard line. Remember, all passes must be forward passes even if thrown to a player in the backfield.
6. The team with the most yards will be declared the winner of the tiebreaker and will add 1 point to the final score.
7. If there is no completion, or the deepest completion is equal, the tiebreaker will be repeated with the team that lost the initial coin toss making the choice to either take offense or defense.
8. This format will be repeated until there is a clear winner is declared.
9. This tiebreaker format will be used in SINGLE-ELIMINATION GAMES ONLY. Games may end in a tie in the round robin games.
10. 1 timeout per team (30 sec) – During tournament bracket play only.
BRACKET FORMAT:
1. All teams will be seeded in the bracket based on Day 1 win/loss and day 1 schedule
2. All teams will play minimum of 4 games during event
BRACKET WILL BE DETERMINED BY:
1. Record
2. Total points scored
3. Point differential total points scored minus total points given up
POINT VALUES:
1. Offensive touchdown = 6 points. After the touchdown, the team MUST elect to go for 1 point from the 5-yard line or 2 points from the 10-yard line.
2. Defensive points – 2 points for a defensive stop and 3 points for an interception. (no runbacks or “pick 6” for safety reasons)
AGE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Each team in the age bracket of 18U and under must present birth certificate for each player. A player may not play in the tournament without it.
2. Each player must be their bracket age date of tournament. For example, each player in the 12U bracket must be 12 or under the date of the tournament.
3. Any player is allowed to play in the 18+ bracket. No birth certificate needed.
Field Length will be 50 yards. 40-yard playing field with a 10-yard end zone.
Starting Each Game:
1. A coin toss will determine which team gets the ball first. That team will begin possession of the ball on the 40-yard line with their choice of hash.
2. A whistle will begin each game.
3. Each game last 25 minutes with running clock.
4. Official will declare when the clock is under 2 minutes.
5. The clock never stops, with the exception of an injury or referee timeout.
6. A whistle will end each game.
7. The field manager will keep the official score and the refs will keep the official time on the field for each game.
8. Soft Helmets are not mandatory but are highly suggested. Safety of the players should be each teams #1 priority.
Moving the Ball:
1. Offense starts on 40-yard line on a normal possession. Offense will start on the 30 yard line after an interception.
2. All snaps at the 40-yard line must be off the QB-TEE (No Shotgun). Upon gaining a yard or more,
QB may take a shotgun off QB-TEE.
3. Offense has three (3) downs to gain a first down. First down markers will be at the 25, and 10-
Yard lines.
4. Once inside the 10-yard line, the offense has 3 downs to score a touchdown.
5. The first person to control the football off the QB-Tee is the QB. The QB is never eligible to run.
6. The offense may not run the football. This tournament is passing only. All passes must be forward passes. Passes may be behind the line of scrimmage as long as they are forward passes.
7. Quarterback can NEVER run the ball. The quarterback MUST release the ball from behind the
QB-tee! If his foot passes the back of the tee, it will be called an illegal forward pass.
Coaching your Team:
1. There will be one offensive coach allowed on the field at any time and TWO (2) active athletes behind him only. The athletes that are “active” but not involved in the play must be down on a knee to show they are not involved. (One warning then delay of game penalty)
2. After the huddle, the coach must back up away from the play.
3. Coaches are not allowed to challenge any official ruling.
4. Remaining team coaches can work from the sidelines.
5. NO defensive coaches allowed on the field. All defensive coaches must coach from the sideline.
6. Coaches will be given 1 sideline warning during play. Second warning will result in a 10-yard penalty or half the distance to the goal. Third warning will result in coach’s ejection.
7. Any form of cheating qualifies for automatic team disqualification at the tournament!
8. All teams must have matching uniforms. Players may not play on different teams but may play in multiple age brackets if their teams has multiple teams in different age brackets and the players age fits the age bracket rules of each team.
Miscellaneous Rules:
1. NO BLITZING ALLOWED in the ENTIRE game (INCLUDING overtime). If a team blitz’s, they will be penalized 15 yards, un-sportsman.
2. NO blocking.
3. Face guarding is allowed.
4. Blocking will result in a loss of down, return to previous spot.
5. Ball carrier is legally down when touched below the neck with one hand or the ball carrier’s
elbow/knee or the football touches the ground. A defender CAN leave his feet to make a tag.
The offensive player can leave his feet also.
6. Fumbles (Including snap) are dead balls at the spot with the last team in control retaining possession at the spot.
7. Offensive team will have 25 seconds to put the ball into play. Delay of game is a loss of down.
8. The offensive team is responsible for retrieving and returning the ball to the official or to the QBtee. The clock does not stop, and any delay of the offense in retrieving and returning the ball to the official will result in delay of game.
9. Defensive pass interference will result in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down.
Defensive holding will result in a 10-yard penalty and repeat the down.
10. Offensive pass interference will result in a return to the previous spot plus a loss of down.
11. QB is allowed 4.0 seconds to throw the ball. If a QBtee is unavailable referees will stop play when 4.0 seconds is surpassed.
12. An interception will result in an immediate stoppage of play and a change of possession with the interception team gaining possession at the 30-yard line. If a un-sportsman penalty is given to the interception team, they will be penalized 10 yards and will start from the 40-yard line.
13. Excessive celebration is not allowed and will not be tolerated. At the discretion of the referee, if a team is penalized for excessively celebrating or clearing of the sideline, the result is a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and a loss of down. The players on the field may celebrate but players cannot come from the sideline to celebrate with players on the field.
14. A game cannot end on a defensive penalty. If this occurs, the offense will have an untimed down if time has expired.
15. The offense (wide receivers) has to line up outside the tackle box (4 yards from either side of the football) and one receiver has to be on the line on each side.
16. Fighting will not be tolerated. If a player throws a punch, he is ejected immediately and can
NOT return to the game. If players are involved in pushing or shoving, they may be ejected immediately from the game at the referees’ discretion. If a second incident occurs with the same player(s), they will be ejected from the tournament in its entirety. If a team’s bench clears, resulting in a fight, both of the teams are ejected, resulting in a forfeit. The referee has the right to throw out any player, players, or team out of the game. The 7v7 Elite Showcase staff has the right in extreme cases to eject players, coaches, teams, and by-standers of any tournament and they will have to leave the facility immediately. A referee can also give a 15-yard un-sportsman penalty.
17. Each team has a maximum of 24 players. Players will not be accepted into the event as individuals. All players must be a part of a team.
18. If a QBtee is not available, a player will need to be the “center”. This player is not an eligible receiver but may retrieve the football for the offense and return it to the line of scrimmage. The “center” does not have to snap the ball as a traditional center but may hold the ball or toss the ball to the QB upon his cadence.
Overtime/Tie Breaker:
1. Games in BRACKET PLAY (SINGLE-ELIMINATION) that end in a tie will go to a tiebreaker. There will be a coin toss at the beginning of the tiebreaker with the home team calling the toss. The winner will choose to be on either offense or defense.
2. Each team will have 3 plays from the QB-tee from the 10 yard line, choice of hash. If you score you receive the standard 6 points.
3. If the offense scores, then they MUST chose to go for 1 point from the 5-yard line, or 2 points from the 10-yard line.
4. The opposing team gets the same opportunity to win.
5. If neither team scores or it ends as a tie, we will flip the coin again then back to the standard longest passing yard from the 40-yard line. Remember, all passes must be forward passes even if thrown to a player in the backfield.
6. The team with the most yards will be declared the winner of the tiebreaker and will add 1 point to the final score.
7. If there is no completion, or the deepest completion is equal, the tiebreaker will be repeated with the team that lost the initial coin toss making the choice to either take offense or defense.
8. This format will be repeated until there is a clear winner is declared.
9. This tiebreaker format will be used in SINGLE-ELIMINATION GAMES ONLY. Games may end in a tie in the round robin games.
10. 1 timeout per team (30 sec) – During tournament bracket play only.
BRACKET FORMAT:
1. All teams will be seeded in the bracket based on Day 1 win/loss and day 1 schedule
2. All teams will play minimum of 4 games during event
BRACKET WILL BE DETERMINED BY:
1. Record
2. Total points scored
3. Point differential total points scored minus total points given up
POINT VALUES:
1. Offensive touchdown = 6 points. After the touchdown, the team MUST elect to go for 1 point from the 5-yard line or 2 points from the 10-yard line.
2. Defensive points – 2 points for a defensive stop and 3 points for an interception. (no runbacks or “pick 6” for safety reasons)
AGE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Each team in the age bracket of 18U and under must present birth certificate for each player. A player may not play in the tournament without it.
2. Each player must be their bracket age date of tournament. For example, each player in the 12U bracket must be 12 or under the date of the tournament.
3. Any player is allowed to play in the 18+ bracket. No birth certificate needed.
