Rules & FAQs
Rules and Code of Conduct for the CYFFA
Ages to play, as of June 1st of the current Season Year
Ages 5 through 7 = Scrim
Ages 8 through 9 = Bantam
Ages 10 through 11 = Junior
Ages 12 through 13 = Senior
Ages 12 through 13 = All Girls Middle School
Football Sizes
Scrims: Peewee size
Bantams: Peewee size
Juniors: Junior size
Seniors: Youth size
Middle School Girls: Junior size
Mandatory Equipment (provided by Player)
Moulded Cleats (no spikes or screw-ons; same as Soccer), soft knee pads and two (2) mouth pieces.
Receiver gloves are not allowed.
Season
We are a Fall season only league. We do NOT offer our league in any other seasons of the year, sorry.
Geographical Area
We have no boundary on where players must live to participate in the CYFFA. We have had players as far away as Oxnard and the West Valley participate. If you can make it to Thousand Oaks for practices and on Saturdays to play games, you are welcome to join the CYFFA.
Fields
All games are played on Saturday and are held at Redwood Middle School in Thousand Oaks, 233 West Gainsborough Road, Thousand Oaks. (Map to Redwood Middle School). We have four fields, one dedicated for each division. The Scrim field is top field by the Redwood multi-purpose room. The Bantam field is near the street on the far east of the main fields. The Senior field will be near the CYFFA admin tent and the Junnior field will be the field closet to the main parking lot. Home teams for each game will be the team on the street side of the field and the visitor will be on the school side.
Based on our permit with CVUSD, NO alcohol, Tobacco, Drones or Dogs are allowed on the fields.
Games
The schedule, once published in early September, will have the specific dates/times. You must wait until the Schedule is published to know what time your child will play on a given Saturday. Games will be played every Saturday from early September through mid-November. The dates will vary each year this way we don’t have to change each season.
If it rains on a Saturday when games are scheduled, the League will evaluate if it is safe to play and whether the fields will be open for playing. If rain causes the fields to be closed, the Board will decide and post the alternative schedule for making up the lost day. It is typical that the season will be extended if this occurs. If you wake up on a Saturday and it is wet, call the CRPD, call the CYFFA hot line and check the web for information. The CYFFA does not play on days that it is raining due to safety factors based on the nature of Flag Football. (we know you want to play in the mud but your Mom will kill us and Moms rule!)
Parent Game Day Participation
Home teams that start with the first game of the day for all other divisions, MUST setup the fields. At least two parent volunteers from each team should show up approx 45 minutes before the start of the game to help setup the fields. Carts that contain all the equipment can be gotten from the sheds. Setup includes painting the lines, setting out yard markers/goal markers and making sure the chains/down marker is on the field.
Home teams that have the last game are responsible for cleaning up the fields which means packing the yard markers/chains, etc into the cart and taking it back to the sheds. The MOST IMPORTANT thing of every Saturday is to clean up the trash! We have a very good relationship with Redwood Middle school and we want to maintain that reputation. Please make sure ALL trash is picked up and put into a trash bag at the end of each game day.
Parents are responsible to participate on the Chain Gang. Three (3) Parents from each team must work the chains and down marker for half the game. It does not matter which side the chains start. At the half, the Chain Gang will take the chains and down marker across the field to the other team. The other team will be responsible for the chains/down marker for the second half.
Equipment, Uniforms and Pictures
Players are responsible for wearing a mouth piece, knee pads and rubber molded cleats. All players will get a Jersey and Shorts with their price of sign-ups. All players MUST wear the issued Jersey and Shorts with no modifications. These Uniforms will be given out to each player a week or two before the first game.
Do not alter equipment or uniforms. These items will be inspected before games and any team or player that has altered their equipment or uniform will not be allowed to play and could cause their team to forfeit the game. If you have any issues with equipment or the uniform, contact a Board member immediately. Clarification: Coaches can add the player names to the Jersey, this is the one acceptable and expected alteration to an issued Jersey. Ripping off Jersey sleeves, or cropping the stomach part of a Jersey is NOT acceptable. Wearing shorts other than the issued shorts in NOT acceptable. Shorts are standard white for easy identification of the flags. Taping Flags or clipping the belts so they are harder to pull, is NOT acceptable. These are just examples. Refs will inspect thoroughly before each game and Coaches will be warned and required to fix any problems found. The Board has seen every trick in the book - get Board approval before you attempt any changes, even if you think they are insignificant.
The League provides every player a soft GameBreaker helmet. These helmets are expensive, so please treat them as such. In the event a player returns a damaged helmet or does not return a helmet, the parents of the player are responsible for the cost to replace the helmet. All coaches are encouraged to note the number of the helmet assigned to each player, so they can know who is responsible for a lost or damaged helmet, if not the coach is responsible to cover the cost.
The league covers the cost for the basic photo package for every player, however there is opportunity for families to purchase additional picture packages if they like.
Refunds
Refund Policy: Refunds will be given in accordance with the following schedule: Prior to player draft: 100% refund. After player draft prior to August 31st: 50% refund, (minus any credit card processing fees and the cost of non-returned equipment). After August 31st: 0% refund. All refunds are subject to board approval.
Please keep in mind, the CYFFA is not a business, it is run by volunteers. Refunds must be approved by specific people on the board so processing of refunds may not be immediate. Please allow the Board a 30 day minimum to get your check back to you. Please be patient.
Practices
Practice may begin late August, generally the week before CVUSD schools start; however, practice schedule and location is up to the Coach. Coaches may be able to practice every weekday for the first two weeks, but after that, practices are limited to 2 nights a week. Those nights and times are at the discretion of the Coach. Talk to your child's Coach about practices. You should be contacted by your child's Coach after the Draft and before practice begins. DO NOT contact the Board prior to the first date of practice availability about your child's Coach or practices - wait until your Coach contacts you.
Scores
As CYFFA is a recreation league that focuses more on the players learning and having fun, we DO NOT publish weekly scores of games. We have seen that publishing the scores puts too much emphasis on winning and losing and that is not what the CYFFA is about.
Draft
Each Coach of a Team in a Division will meet on Draft Day to pick their team. Draft times will be set by Division; i.e. Scrim teams will all be drafted at one time, Bantam will be drafted at a different time but all at once, Juniors/Seniors the same. Each Coach draws a paper with a number that determines their order to pick a player. Team 1 picks a player, then Team 2, etc until the last Team, then the order reverses so that the last Team picks the next player in the next round and so on until all players are assigned to a Team. Coaches children are slotted prior to the Draft by the Board and as an example, if a Coaches child is slotted as a number 2 draft pick, when that Coaches turn comes to pick their second round pick, their child is automatically chosen for them. Also, all teams will be limited to a maximum of two protected players; the head coaches child and the assistant coaches child. If the team does not have an assistant coach, the league will honor only one reciprocal car pool request for the coaches child. This rule is in place to avoid stacking of teams. This method of drafting is designed to create fair and balanced teams. Any Coaches child that does not participate in Player Evaluations earlier in the Season is automatically slotted as a first round pick. Team names are the same as the NFL Team names and are chosen by the Coaches at the Draft. The order of which a Coach can choose a name is determined by their seniority with the League.
Player Evaluations (Skills Player Combine)
Player Evaluations or Skills Combine consists of: Timed Sprint, Shuttle Run, Broad Jump, Catching and Throwing distance. It takes between 30 minutes to an hour to complete all 6 stations. Please plan your time accordingly. The measure of these skills is to give the Coaches the ability to rank each child. There is no pass or fail in these tests and these do not determine the players position on a team. These tests are solely designed to rank players for the Draft. ALL PLAYERS, especially veterans, MUST come to an Evaluation. If you do not come to a Player Evaluation, you will be randomly placed on a team at the end of the Draft and a Coach CANNOT ask for a player that has not participated in the evaluations.
Photos
There are times when we may post photos of our players, coaches and other administrators or bystanders on the CYFFA website and/or promotional materials. At no time shall we ever post a child's name with his or her photo. To opt out and choose not to authorize a photo of your child on the CYFFA website, email the board at [email protected].