Heloise wrote:

Some tournaments manage to check rosters at least before a final. At the risk of semi-outing myself, our team played in a final this weekend where parents of the other team freely admitted during the first half of the game that they were cheating their roster (and how they were doing it). When it was brought to the attention of the field marshall at halftime, he literally shrugged and walked away.

Field Marshal: The most senior military rank in the land forces, above that of general

also

Field Marshal: Stressed-out parent shanghai'd into earning SYC some cash over a holiday weekend by herding a bunch of adolescents onto a field to kick a ball while being screamed at by their parents

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Arch wrote:We were surprised when at the first game there was no check-in of the players by the referees -- it did seem like you could field anyone as long as they wore the right shirt. Then, during matches, a tournament official sometimes would come ask parents to help confirm which players were there or not etc.

I am sure it's not easy running a tournament and getting enough volunteers. Maybe there was a check-in process for teams but coaches/teams didn't get the message and/or chose to ignore it. Who knows. But to any teams, coaches, families purposely trying to cheat that is indeed shameful.

We don’t do check-ins at tournaments. The managers “check in” for the tournament, and field staff keep rosters on hand in case someone raises a question.

We also check equipment on the fly, looking for shin guards and jewelry.

I think it’s just a function of fields being booked solid. No time.

Some tournaments manage to check rosters at least before a final. At the risk of semi-outing myself, our team played in a final this weekend where parents of the other team freely admitted during the first half of the game that they were cheating their roster (and how they were doing it). When it was brought to the attention of the field marshall at halftime, he literally shrugged and walked away.

Heloise wrote:We saw a lot of shenanigans at Virginian this year - kids playing without shin guards or cleats, kids playing without proper jerseys (e.g., no number), a team with two kids playing with the same number, questionable rosters (e.g., dressed 18 for one game and 18 for a different game, but had more than 4 players in the later game who didn’t play in the earlier game). I don’t remember this tournament being so poorly run in the past - was this just a fluke year?

It isn't surprising these things go on at a tournament. The more "serious" the tournament (e.g. ECNL playoffs, Jeff Cup), the better run it will be. But honestly, how does this affect your team's experience? They show up and play a soccer game against whoever is on the field. Unless you are at the high end $$$ of the events it's always a crapshoot. Having been to dozens of tournaments over the years I've learned it's best to sit back and enjoy the experience and time spent with our kids and not worry about if the other teams are playing fair or things are disorganized. Some of the best memories in hindsight were the sh*tshow tournaments, bad weather, bad fields, bad hotels.

We were surprised when at the first game there was no check-in of the players by the referees -- it did seem like you could field anyone as long as they wore the right shirt. Then, during matches, a tournament official sometimes would come ask parents to help confirm which players were there or not etc.

I am sure it's not easy running a tournament and getting enough volunteers. Maybe there was a check-in process for teams but coaches/teams didn't get the message and/or chose to ignore it. Who knows. But to any teams, coaches, families purposely trying to cheat that is indeed shameful.

mdsoccerdad wrote:

Heloise wrote:We saw a lot of shenanigans at Virginian this year - kids playing without shin guards or cleats, kids playing without proper jerseys (e.g., no number), a team with two kids playing with the same number, questionable rosters (e.g., dressed 18 for one game and 18 for a different game, but had more than 4 players in the later game who didn’t play in the earlier game). I don’t remember this tournament being so poorly run in the past - was this just a fluke year?

lol. none of this things above are a huge deal. guest player with same number? the calamity!

and each game can have different rosters. what do you think happens with the teams that have 20/22/24 players? you have to play the same 18 every game? is that in the rules for this tourney?

and is wearing cleats a requirement? lol

If you have a max roster of 22 and dress 18 for each game, you can have no more than four players dress for game 2 who did not dress for game 1. If there are more than four new players for game 2, then somewhere in there are ineligible players.

Heloise wrote:We saw a lot of shenanigans at Virginian this year - kids playing without shin guards or cleats, kids playing without proper jerseys (e.g., no number), a team with two kids playing with the same number, questionable rosters (e.g., dressed 18 for one game and 18 for a different game, but had more than 4 players in the later game who didn’t play in the earlier game). I don’t remember this tournament being so poorly run in the past - was this just a fluke year?

lol. none of this things above are a huge deal. guest player with same number? the calamity!

and each game can have different rosters. what do you think happens with the teams that have 20/22/24 players? you have to play the same 18 every game? is that in the rules for this tourney?

and is wearing cleats a requirement? lol

We saw a lot of shenanigans at Virginian this year - kids playing without shin guards or cleats, kids playing without proper jerseys (e.g., no number), a team with two kids playing with the same number, questionable rosters (e.g., dressed 18 for one game and 18 for a different game, but had more than 4 players in the later game who didn’t play in the earlier game). I don’t remember this tournament being so poorly run in the past - was this just a fluke year?

TAFC's U14 boys were disqualified from the Virginian this morning after they'd advanced to semis. Anyone know what was up with that? I heard they were caught cheating, bringing in multiple older kids to play in the tournament. Why would anyone even bother cheating in a third division match?