Section 6: Penalty Format
PENALTY PROCEDURE
§6.1 – Severity of Infraction & Escalation
§6.1.1 – It is the responsibility of the Referee to issue any infraction listed in §7 – §10 and assess the severity of the penalty so that the competitive disadvantage is rectified. To determine the appropriate level of penalty, the Referee will use the following parameters:
§6.1.1.1 – The area of the court in which the infraction occurred. The nearer an offensive player is to their opponents net, or a defensive player is to their own net.
§6.1.1.2 – Whether an offensive player is fouled while they have earned an open net breakaway or one-on-one situation with the defensive player in the crease.
§6.1.1.3 – The degree to which the player is fouled based on speed and force, and the danger it created for players.
§6.1.1.4 – The relevance of the infraction in the course of fair play or the impact of the infraction on the outcome of the game. The greater affect the infraction had on the developing play increases the severity of the assessed penalty.
§6.1.2 – Escalation
6.1.2.1 - A player who commits any infraction from §7, §8, §9 and §10 that does not cause a player to crash or prevent a scoring opportunity will be given a maximum of 2 ball turnovers. Every infraction thereafter is to be assessed a Minor or Major penalty.
6.1.2.2 - A player who commits any infraction from §7, §8, §9 and §10 that does cause a player to crash or prevents a scoring opportunity will be given a maximum of 1 ball turnover, but may be immediately assessed a Minor or Major. All subsequent infractions are assessed a Minor or Major penalty.
6.1.2.3 - Any infraction that cannot be clearly assessed to an individual - such as a Substitution penalty - will not be added to an individual players accumulated infraction total and is exempt from automatic penalty escalation.
§6.2 - Foul Accumulation
§6.2.1 - Individual Accumulation
§6.2.1.1 – A player who has been assessed 2 Ball Turnovers will automatically be assessed a Minor penalty for all subsequent infractions.
§6.2.1.2 – A player who has been assessed 1 Minor penalty and 0 Ball Turnovers may be assessed a Ball Turnover for subsequent infractions described in 6.1.2.1 or a Minor/Major for infractions described in 6.1.2.2.
§6.2.1.3 – A player who has already been assessed 2 Minor Penalties will automatically be assessed a Major Penalty for subsequent infractions.
§6.2.1.4 – Fouling Out
§6.2.1.4.1 – A player who has been assessed 1 Major Penalty is automatically assessed a Personal Misconduct in addition to their 2nd Major Penalty, has fouled out, and is removed from the game for a duration to be determined by the Referee per §6.7.2.1.
§6.2.1.4.2 – A player who has been assessed 2 Major Penalties is automatically be assessed a Personal Misconduct in addition to their 3rd Major Penalty and is not allowed to return to the game.
§6.2.2 - Tournament Accumulation
§6.2.2.1 – Game Ban
§6.2.2.1.1 – A player who has “Fouled Out” will not be allowed to play in the next game their team is scheduled to play.
§6.2.2.2 – If multiple players are due to serve a game ban, a team is guaranteed a minimum of 3 players eligible in each game or a maximum of 2 players ineligible in each game, if their roster has 4 or more players.
§6.2.2.2.1 – The order in which game bans are served will be determined by the order in which the penalties were assessed in the prior game.
§6.2.2.2.2 – A squad team with only 3 eligible players on their roster is required to play with 2 players until all game bans have been served.
§6.2.2.2.3 – For example, if a team has 5 players and 3 of them foul out in one game: 2 of those players are ineligible the next game and the 3rd player is eligible for the next game but ineligible for the following game.
§6.2.2.3 - Records and Appeals
§6.2.2.3.1 – Individual penalty records will be kept by tournament organizers and teams will be informed prior to games by the referee if their penalties are to be escalated.
§6.2.2.3.2 – A team can appeal to the tournament organizer if they believe the total was recorded incorrectly. The organizers will confer with the Referee, and inform the team of their final penalty total.
§6.2.2.3.3 – A team cannot appeal to the tournament organizer if they believe a Referee assessed an infraction incorrectly.
§6.3 – Delayed penalties
§6.3.1 – All penalties listed in §7 – §10 are required to be signaled by the Referee according to the following delayed penalty procedure:
§6.3.2 – If the team in possession of the ball commits an infraction of the rules, the Referee immediately signals the stoppage of play by blowing their whistle and assesses the penalty.
§6.3.3 – If the team who is not in possession of the ball commits an infraction of the rules, the Referee delays the assessment of the penalty until any stoppage in play occurs.
§6.3.3.1 – Any of the following criteria results in a stoppage of play:
Possession of the ball is gained per §5.1 by any player from the team that committed the penalty.
The ball naturally goes out of play by entering areas deemed "out-of-bounds".
The team with possession is fouled in their opponents half of the court and carries the ball back into their defensive half of the court and behind their Goal Line.
The team with possession is initially fouled in their defensive half of the court and carries the ball into the offensive half and back into their defensive half and behind their Goal Line.
§6.2.3.2 – No point is awarded to the team to be penalized during a delayed penalty, excluding an own–goal, by the team in possession of the ball during the delayed penalty.
§6.3.4 – The Referee signals the delayed penalty according to §1.1.9.4.
§6.3.4.1 – If the team to be penalized subsequently fouls the opponent while on the delayed penalty but the non–penalized team maintains possession, the delayed penalty continues and the penalty severity increases in magnitude by one degree from Ball Turnover to Minor, or Minor to Major, but not exceeding a Major penalty.
§6.3.4.1.1 – Only one Minor or Major penalty is assessed for multiple infractions on one team and is served by the player who committed the more egregious offense as determined by the Referee. This player serves the penalty per §§6.5-6.6 when play restarts per §4.1. A Game Misconduct can be assessed separately in addition to a Minor or a Major and play can restart according to §4.1 with a 3 vs 1 player advantage.
§6.3.4.2 – If the team with advantage subsequently fouls the opponent during the delayed penalty, the play is stopped by the Referee and the game restarts according to the procedure outlined in §6.3.
§6.3.5 – If the team with advantage scores a goal on the team who committed the original penalty, a ball turnover is not given. Minor, Major and Misconduct penalties are assessed after the team with advantage scores a goal, with the penalized player serving the penalty per §§6.5-6.6 when play restarts per §4.1.
§6.4 – Coincidental penalties
§6.4.1 – Coincidental penalties are simultaneous penalties assessed to a member of each team.
§6.4.2 – Coincidental penalties assessed as a Ball Turnover result in an immediate stoppage in play and play restarts per §4.1. Coincidental penalties that would be assessed as a Minor, Major or Game Misconduct results in a 2–on–2 situation for the duration of the penalty assessed.
§6.4.2.1 – On–court play remains 2–on–2 for the duration of the Coincidental penalties, regardless of points scored during this situation.
§6.5 – Player Advantage
§6.5.1 – If the Referee assesses a Minor, Major or Personal Misconduct penalty, the offending player is removed from the court for the duration of the penalty and their team may only continue play with 2 players. This is referred to as a "Player Advantage". The offending player may only re-enter play when the Referee or Official indicates they may re-enter by counting down from 5 seconds to 0 and extending an arm towards the door where the player re-enters play.
§6.5.1.1 – When a player re-enters play, they are not required to 'tap in' and is considered an active player from the moment they cross the threshold of the court.
§6.5.1.2 – All game stoppages stop the timer of the Player Advantage, even if the game clock does not stop per §4.
§6.5.1.3 – If the penalized team is assessed an additional penalty during a Player Advantage, the duration of the Player Advantage is extended 30 or 90 seconds based on the severity of the most recent penalty.
§6.5.1.3.1 – The player who committed the more severe penalty remains off the court for the duration of the Player Advantage, at the discretion of the Referee.
§6.5.1.3.2 – In Squad format the penalized team may change the 2 active on-court players as usual per §4.9, unless a player has been assessed a Personal Misconduct penalty.
TYPES OF PENALTIES
§6.6 – Ball Turnover Penalty
§6.6.1 – A Ball Turnover penalty is issued when a foul has been committed but no clear scoring potential or opportunity has been taken away due to the infraction occurring in neutral positioning.
§6.6.2 – Possession is granted to the fouled team and the game restarts according to §4.2.3.
§6.7 – Minor Penalty
§6.7.1 – An infraction that prevents a clear scoring-opportunity or significant advantage from the fouled team, or any other specific actions specified in §6 – §10, results in a 30–second Player Advantage penalty.
§6.7.2 – The penalty is signaled according to §1.1.9.3. Possession goes to the fouled team and the game restarts according to §4.2.3 with the following exception:
§6.7.2.1 – The player who commits the infraction is removed from the court to serve the 30–second Player Advantage per §6.5.
§6.7.2.2 – The Player Advantage expires if the non-offending team scores a goal. Play restarts according to §4.2.3 and each team may have 3 active players on the court.
§6.8 – Major Penalty
§6.8.1 – An infraction listed in §7 – §10 that the Referee deems to be excessively dangerous or reckless in nature, or if a player was already assessed a Minor penalty for a similar infraction, results in a 90-second Player Advantage penalty.
§6.8.2 – The penalty is signaled according to §1.1.9.3. Possession is granted to the fouled team and play restarts according to §4.2.3 with the following modifications:
§6.8.2.1 – The player who committed the infraction is removed from the court for a 90-second Player Advantage per §6.5.
§6.8.2.2 – If either team scores a goal, the penalty does not expire. Play restarts according to §4.2.3 and the penalized team may have only 2 active players on the court.
§6.9 – Personal Misconduct
§6.9.1 – Physical aggression or verbal abuse as defined in §7.2, or "Fouling Out" as defined in §6.2.1.4, are assessed an a Personal Misconduct penalty by the Referee.
§6.9.2 – If necessary, the Referee may immediately stop game play to end an altercation. The penalty is assessed per §1.1.9.3. Possession goes to the fouled team and the game restarts according to §4.2.3 with the following modifications:
§6.9.2.1 – The offending player is removed from the court for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or the remainder of the game - at the discretion of the Referee.
§6.9.2.2 – On the first offense, their team continues play with 2 players on the court for 30 seconds – the duration of a Minor penalty – before a third player can enter play. On subsequent offenses, the offending player's team continues play with 2 players on the court for 2 minutes – the duration of a Major penalty – before a third player can enter play.
§6.9.3 – Prior offenses and the impact of the infraction on the course of play will determine the severity of the penalty for both the player and their team, per §6.1 Escalation.
§6.9.3.1 – If a team receives multiple severe Personal Misconduct penalties in one game, the Referee stops the game immediately and the penalized team forfeits the game. The offending team is subject to tournament ejection based on review by the tournament organizers and head Referee. The final scoreline is determined by the head Referee.
§6.10 – Awarded Score
§6.10.1 – An infraction that affects a player in possession of the ball who is approaching an open and undefended goal must result in a penalty being signaled by the Referee per §1.1.9.3 and a point being awarded to the team who was prevented that clear scoring opportunity.
§6.10.1.1 – If the penalty committed on the player in possession warrants a Ball Turnover or Minor penalty, it is not assessed and the offending team restarts play with possession per §4.2 as if a normal goal was scored.
§6.10.1.2 – If the penalty committed on the player in possession of the ball warrants a Major or Personal Misconduct, the offending team does not lose possession and restarts play per §4.2, however the player who committed the infraction begins serving the duration of Player Advantage when play restarts.