Bowen Island Football Club is a non-profit, volunteer-based soccer club formed in 2007.  All BIFC Board Members, Coaches, Managers and Staff agree to promote BIFC Values and sign the Code of Conduct as their commitment to you.

BIFC WILL STRIVE TO PROMOTE

• A life-long love for the game
• Positive attitudes, constructive and reflective of good sportsmanship on and off the field
• A safe playing environment
• Development of all players to their maximum potential by providing positive opportunities for all participants
• Gender-equal opportunities to participate
• Respect for fellow players, teams, game officials and for the laws of the game

CODE OF CONDUCT

RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE PLAYER:

• Arrive at games and practices on time with all of the appropriate gear
• Perform up to your potential – be ready to try your best
• Listen to the coach and try to learn new skills. Practices go most smoothly when everyone respects the coach and the other team members.
• Maintain a positive and polite attitude towards your teammates, your coach, the opposing teams and the referee.

PARENT CONDUCT

• Model good sportsmanship and a safe playing environment: show respect for all players, coaches, game officials and the laws of the game.
• Let the coach do the coaching. No sideline coaching please.
• Be encouraging and enthusiastic towards all players and acknowledge the good plays of ALL players, on both teams.
• Come out to games and practices:  the coaches and players love the extra encouragement and support.
• Be willing to work with the coach if there are discipline problems on the team.
• Discuss any difficulties with the manager or coach.
• Encourage your children to practice and play at home and school.

Any parent or player who uses abusive, aggressive or intimidating language towards another player, BIFC Coach, BIFC Manager, BIFC Board Member, Referee or game spectator, will be asked to leave the field. Should this occur a second time, the Club reserves the right to ban the parent or player from attending games and/or from further involvement with the Club.  The Club reserves the right to cancel a family’s registration if a parent violates the Code of Conduct.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE PARENT:

REGISTRATION

• Please register your child before the deadline and ensure all information is correct.
• Make certain payment has been made or a subsidy form has been filled out and returned to BIFC.

VOLUNTEERING

• Help out by volunteering to coach, manage equipment, clean up fields, join the Board, find more volunteers or other fun tasks.
• Help the coach; they are volunteering their time.  Without enough help, the kids don’t play. Set up, take down, field-lining, putting goals out, picking up balls - it all helps.
• Help the manager with handing out equipment, car-pooling and arranging snacks (they are volunteering as well)
• League teams require parents to help set-up and take down benches and tents and roll nets to their age-appropriate field locations so coaches can warm up players and prepare them for their match. At the end of the game coaches need help to return them to locked location on turf field fence

COMMUNICATION

• Check TeamSnap or e-mail and reply to requests from your coach or manager. This saves your volunteer Coaches and Managers a lot of time.
• Parents are responsible to get their children to games or practices on time as specified by the coach; if a child cannot attend a game or practice, you need to inform the coach ahead of time.
• Be on time to pick up your child following games and practices.
• Inform the coach if your child is to get a ride home with someone else or to walk home.
• Inform the coach of any medical conditions that they should be aware of.

UNIFORM & EQUIPMENT

• Ensure the player arrives at practices and games and is ready to go on time and with appropriate gear.
• For League Play, U9 and older, you must provide soccer cleats, shin guards and a club-issued uniform (at cost). Players keep the entire uniform.
• Full kit (uniform) must be worn for games. Socks are to be worn over shin guards;
• Proper footwear must be worn. Cleats for games and for practice;
• No jewelry;
• In cold weather dress your child in layers so it is easy to take clothes on or off;
• If a child must wear leggings in cold weather, please choose appropriate material; baggy pants and jeans do not allow the children to run freely and get heavy with rain. Cotton hoodies and sweats also get very heavy with rain;
• Drinking water should be brought to all games and practice. Put a name on the bottle;
• Games are on rain or shine, except in the event of field closures and teams will be notified accordingly.

RULES & PROBLEM SOLVING

BIFC plays by international FIFA rules with the following exceptions:

• Unlimited substitutions are allowed.
• Duration of the game, size of ball and size of the field are varied to accommodate the age of the players.
• There is no offside for the U6, U8, U9, U10 and U11 teams.

Who is eligible to play?

• Only registered players (who are fully paid for) are placed on teams.
• Only registered players may play in scheduled games or practices.
• It is the responsibility of the coaches/managers to ensure that their players are properly registered (the players on their official team list are the ones that are eligible to play and practice.
• Unregistered players and anyone serving a suspension may not play.

DISCIPLINE

• The Club will invoke a one-card system in regards to players who are not acting appropriately or are showing disrespect to either their coaches/managers or teammates. A player will be issued a yellow card as a caution for bad behavior and warned that if it continues he/she will be asked to sit out the rest of training. If the player persists in this regard they will be forced to sit out the remainder of the training session and/or game

PROBLEM SOLVING PROCEDURE

• Please keep in mind that this is a volunteer organization and everyone is working toward a positive soccer experience for all players and members. The Club recommends that you take the following steps to resolve any conflict or difficult issue that may occur during the soccer season. Please act maturely and respectfully, and try to see both sides.
• Try to address the issue at the team level with the coaches and manager. Failing a resolution…
• Contact a Director of the Club by sending an e-mail to your team manager who will forward it on to the appropriate Director. That Board Member will review the issue and the previous attempts to resolve it, and will then provide advice on how to proceed. The Board Member may recommend a resolution or intervene, as appropriate.
• Having followed this procedure without satisfaction, you may ask the BIFC Board to address your concerns at its next scheduled meeting by providing a letter that outlines your concerns and the steps taken toward finding a resolution to the problem. They will advise you of their final decision.

Guidelines for coaches and managers when assigning byes for individual players

BIFC youth league strives to maintain fairness and inclusiveness to all of it’s players. Our goal is to foster a lifelong love of the game. At times, we have teams with larger rosters. Too many subs can be difficult for coaches to manage, and in the past coaches have given individual players bye’s (a day off) to ensure their players get equal playing time. This makes it easier for the coach to coach. During our winter months, too many subs can result in children getting cold. Fewer subs, means more playing time which means warmer children!

In order to ensure this is done in a fair and consistent manner, BIFC has set out the following guidelines:

• Managers/coaches will enter each player into a standard rotation when the league game schedule comes out at the beginning of every season (fall/winter/spring).  The manager will enter the subs into the individual game on Teamsnap. This gives plenty of notice to parents to manage their weekends.
• If coaches and managers have children on the team, their children will be included in the same standard rotation as with all other players. This is to promote inclusiveness and fairness amongst our league teams. Same applies to standout players. They will not be given additional game time. If a coach/manager requires their child’s scheduled bye be for a home game, this is acceptable.
• Individual byes will not be determined based on practice attendance.
• If a player cannot make a specific game, but they are available for their scheduled bye, the parents can organize the swap with another player. It is the parent’s responsibility to do so and they must inform the manager immediately.

Ultimately, it is the coach’s decision as to how many subs they would like at each game. Some prefer fewer players and some prefer the entire team on the sidelines. BIFC recommends the following options, but again this is the coach’s discretion:

7 v 7

• A maximum of 4 subs (11 players) is sufficient. This gives leeway in case one player doesn’t attend at the last minute or if there are injuries during a game.

8 v 8

• A maximum of 4 subs (12 players) is sufficient. This gives leeway in case one player doesn’t attend at the last minute or if there are injuries during a game.

Questions?  Please contact us: info@bowenfc.com