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NEW LHGCL PLAYING FORMAT
As of Fall 2000/Spring 2001:
| The Lake Highlands Girls Classic League is
very proud of its national reputation of being the most competitive and
successful all-girls soccer league in the country. Nationwide, girls
soccer has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years. Programs
in other parts of the country are improving every year. If we intend to
stay on top of competitive soccer, we must change with the times and do
everything we can as a league to give our teams the best competition
possible to keep them at the top of their game. The Lake Highlands
Girls Classic League exists for one reason: To give the most competitive
female players and teams the most competitive environment possible to
help develop strong players and strong teams. We believe that
competition breeds excellence, and it is our job to provide excellent
competition.
The following league restructuring is the result of many hours of
discussion with coaches, league administrators, club administrators,
etc., and involved several meetings by the LHGCL Executive Board to
discuss the pros and cons of different playing formats. As a result of
these discussions and meetings, and keeping our stated purpose in mind,
we have re-formatted the league to enhance the competition.
Implementation of the new format is two-tiered. Several of our age
groups will change this coming fall(1998), and the remainder will change
the following fall (1999).
Good Luck to Everyone!
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GENERAL GUIDELINES
In the Division I U14 and older
age divisions, teams will be scheduled more games in the fall
than in the spring. Because of this uneven year-long playing format, the
fall season will end in the middle of a round of games, to be resumed in
the spring. Since no definitive standings will be possible at the end of
the fall season, there will be no mid-year challenges between Division I
and Division II in these age groups. Mid-year challenges will be
held between approved outside leagues and Division II in all age
divisions.
For consistency in Division I and
Division II in the U13+ age divisions, standings will be kept for the
entire year. All byes will be determined by year-long standings (Grand
Champion points for Division I; Division II Champion points for Division
II). Outside teams that successfully challenge into Division II for the
spring will begin with 0 Division II points. Trophies will not be
awarded after the fall season in the U13+ age divisions in Division I or
Division II. Grand Champion trophies (and Division I Runner-Up trophies)
will be awarded for 1st and 2nd place in Division I after the spring
season. Division II Champion (and Division II Runner-Up) trophies will
be awarded after the spring season.
The N+1 Rule still applies for
all bye teams. If this rule eliminates a bye team, the
empty spot will be filled through a challenge tournament and/or
challenge games. No team finishing lower than 2nd place in Division II
will earn an automatic bye back into the league. Exact details will be
decided on a case-by-case basis. |
Number of teams in each age group
for
Fall 2000/Spring 2001:
| AGE GROUP |
DIVISION I |
DIVISION II |
| U11 |
10 |
10 |
| U12 |
10 |
10 |
| U13 |
8 |
6 |
| U14 |
8 |
6 |
| U15 |
6 |
8 |
| U16 |
6 |
8 |
|
U17
|
6
|
6
|
| U19 |
6 |
6 |
FALL 1999
All byes for the Fall 1999 soccer year and beyond will be determined
under the new playing format as detailed below.
Number of teams in each age group
for Fall 1999:
| AGE GROUP |
DIVISION I |
DIVISION II |
| U11 |
10 |
10 |
| U12 |
10 |
10 |
| U13 |
8 |
6 |
| U14 |
8 |
6 |
| U15 |
6 |
8 |
| U16 |
6 |
8 |
| U17/19 |
10 |
6 |
Number of teams in each age group
for Fall 1998/Spring 1999:
| AGE GROUP |
DIVISION I |
DIVISION II |
| U11 |
10 |
10 |
| U12 |
10 |
10 |
| U13 |
10 |
6 |
| U14 |
8 |
6 |
| U15 |
8 |
6 |
| U16 |
6 |
8 |
| U17/19 |
10 |
6 |
|
Under 11 |
Under 12
|
Under 13 |
Under 14
Under 15 |
Under 16 |
|Under 17|Under 19|
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UNDER 11
The top 20 U11 teams will be identified
through play in the qualifying tournament. After the qualifying
tournament, the teams will be ranked (1 through 20) according to their
performance in the qualifying tournament.
For U11 Fall Season Only:
All the odd numbered teams in the ranking will play in the Blue Division
(10 teams);
All the even numbered teams in the ranking will play in the Red Division
(10 teams).
Each team in each division will play the other teams in their division
once (9 games/team).
The top 2 teams in each division will
receive trophies after the fall season.
MID-YEAR CHALLENGES: The bottom
team from each division can be challenged by the top teams from approved
outside leagues. (Challenge games will be played as we do now.)
For U11 Spring Season Only:
After the Fall Season, the top 5 finishing teams from the Blue Division
and the top 5 finishing teams from the Red Division will be qualified
for Division I in the spring; the remaining 5 teams from each division
will be placed into DivisionII in the spring. The teams will play the
other teams in their division once (9 games/team).
The top 2 teams in each division will
receive trophies after the spring season based only on spring season
points. Byes will be granted based on spring season points (no
"Grand Champion").
MOVING INTO U12 (This format
begins summer of 1999):
All Division I teams, plus the 2 best
Division II teams get a bye back into the League. (All teams must comply
with N+1 to retain their bye.)
The 8 top finishing U11 Division I teams
from the previous spring season will have earned a bye into U12 Division
I without participation in the qualifying tournament.
Challenge games during the qualifying
tournament in the summer between the bottom 2 Division I teams and the
top 2 Division II teams (based on spring standings only) will determine
division placement for these teams for the fall. The winners of the
challenge games will be qualified for Division I for the next fall; the
losers of the challenge games will be qualified for DivisionII for the
next fall.
The qualifying tournament will identify
the remaining 8 teams to play in U12 Division II in the fall.
|
|
Under 11 |
Under 12
|
Under 13 |
Under 14
|
|
Under 15 | Under 16 | |Under 17|Under
19|
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UNDER 12
DIVISION I = 10 TEAMS (9 games/team/season - 2 seasons/year)
DIVISION II = 10 TEAMS (9 games/team/season - 2 seasons/year)
U12 will play two separate seasons each year. Each team will play 9
games per season.
Season trophies will be given to the top 2 teams in each division after
each season. Byes will be determined by Grand Champion points (total
points earned throughout the entire year). A Grand Champion will be
named, but no "Grand Champion" trophy will be given.
Mid-year challenge games will not be played between Division I
and Division II. Mid-year challenges will be played after the fall
season between the bottom two Division II teams and outside leagues.
MOVING INTO U13 All Division I teams, plus the 2 highest
finishing Division II teams get a bye back into the League. (All teams
must comply with N+1 to retain their bye.)
The 6 top finishing U12 Division I teams from the previous soccer year
will have earned a bye into U13 Division I without participation in the
qualifying tournament. Byes will be based on year-long standings (Fall
points + Spring points).
A challenge tournament to be played during the qualifying tournament in
the summer between the bottom 4 Division I teams and the top 2 Division
II teams (based on Grand Champion standings) will determine division
placement for these teams. The 2 best teams out of the challenge
tournament will be qualified for Division I for the next fall; the
remainder of the challenge tournament teams will be qualified for
Division II for the next fall.
The qualifying tournament will identify the remaining 2 teams to play in
U13 Division II in the fall. |
|
Under 11 |
Under 12
|
Under 13 |
Under 14
|
|
Under 15 | Under 16 | |Under 17|Under
19|
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UNDER 13
FALL 1998/SPRING 1999 YEAR ONLY:
DIVISION I = 10 TEAMS (9 games/season)
DIVISION II = 6 TEAMS (10 games/season)
FOR 1998-1999 YEAR ONLY: There will be no changes this year
(1998-99) for Under 13 play (Div I = 10 teams; Div II = 6 teams). There
will be challenges between Div I and Div II for this year only
(1998-1999). Trophies will be handed out after each season for this year
only (1998-1999).
BEGINNING FALL 1999
DIVISION I = 8 TEAMS (21 games/year)
DIVISION II = 6 TEAMS (20 games/year)
The playing format will be the same as U14 explained below.
MOVING INTO U14 (Summer of 1999):
All Division I teams, plus the 2 best Division II teams get a bye back
into the League. (All teams must comply with N+1 to retain their bye.)
Byes will be based on year-long standings (Fall points + Spring points).
The 6 top finishing U13 Division I teams from the previous soccer
year will have earned a bye into U14 Division I without participating in
the qualifying tournament.
A separate challenge tournament (played at the same time as the
qualifying tournament in the summer) will be played between the
remaining Division I teams and the top 2 Division II teams to determine
division placement for these teams in the fall.
The qualifying tournament will identify the remaining teams to play
in U14 Division II the next fall. |
|
Under 11 |
Under 12
|
Under 13 |
Under 14
|
|
Under 15 | Under 16 | |Under 17|Under
19|
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UNDER 14
DIVISION I = 8 Teams (21 games/team/year)
DIVISION II = 6 Teams (20 games/team/year)
Division I teams will play each of the other teams in their division
three times over the course of the year (21 games/year). We will
schedule each team 11 games in the fall; 10 games in the spring. Grand
Champion trophies and Runner-Up trophies will be awarded after the
spring season. No trophies will be awarded after the fall season.
Because of the uneven year-long playing format, no mid-year challenges
will be held between Division I and Division II.
Division II teams will play each of the other teams in their division
twice each season (10 games/season). No trophies will be given after the
fall season. Standings will be kept for the entire year.
Mid-year challenge games will be played after the fall season
between the bottom two Division II teams and outside leagues, as we do
now.
MOVING INTO U15 (This format begins next summer - 1999):
All Division I teams, plus the 2 best Division II teams get a bye back
into the League. (All teams must comply with N+1 to retain their bye.)
Byes will be based on year-long standings (Fall points + Spring points).
The 4 top finishing U14 Division I teams from the previous soccer year
will have earned a bye into U15 Division I without participating in the
qualifying tournament.
A separate challenge tournament format (played at the same time as the
qualifying tournament in the summer) between the bottom 4 Division I
teams and the top 2 Division II teams (based on Grand Champion
standings) will determine division placement for these teams. The 2 best
teams out of the challenge tournament will be qualified for Division I
for the next fall; the remainder of the challenge tournament teams will
be qualified for Division II for the next fall.
The qualifying tournament will identify the remaining 4 teams to play in
U15 Division II in the fall. |
|
Under 11 |
Under 12
|
Under 13 |
Under 14
|
|
Under 15 | Under 16 | |Under 17|Under
19|
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|
UNDER 15
BEGINNING FALL 1999
DIVISION I = 6 TEAMS (16 games/year)
DIVISION II = 8 TEAMS (21 games/year)
May 2001 - NOTE: By popular demand by
coaches and players, beginning Spring 2002, we will play fewer games in
the U15/U16 Division I to better allow for high school, state cup,
and many other conflicts that occur for the older players in the spring
season.
DIVISION I:
The 6 Division I teams will play each of the other U15-I teams 2 times
over the course of the year, plus one cross-over game with each of the
U16-I teams, giving each team 16 league games for the year. We will
schedule more games for each team in the fall and fewer games in the
spring (to allow for high school play, State Cup, Spring Break, and all
the other myriad of conflicts that come about in the spring season.)
Grand Champion trophies and Runner-Up trophies will be awarded after the
spring season. No trophies will be awarded after the fall season.
Because of the uneven year-long playing format, no mid-year challenges
will be held between Division I and Division II. Byes will be based on
year-long standings (Fall points + Spring points).
DIVISION II:
Division II = 8 Teams. The 8 Division II teams
will play each other 3 times over the course of the soccer year.
Each team will play each other twice in
the fall (14 games) and once in the spring (7
games) (to allow for high school play, State Cup, Spring Break, and all
the other myriad of conflicts that come about in the spring season). Standings will be kept
for the entire soccer year. Division II Champion and Runner-Up trophies
will be awarded to the top two teams in Division II based on year-long
standings after the spring season. The bottom 2 teams in Division II are
subject to being challenged by the top teams from approved outside
leagues for their spot in Division II for the spring season.
MOVING INTO U16 (Summer of 1999):
All Division I teams, plus the 2 best Division II teams get a bye back
into the League. (All teams must comply with N+1 to retain their bye.)
Byes will be based on year-long standings (Fall points + Spring
points).The 4 top finishing U15 Division I teams will have earned a bye
into U16 Division I without participating in the qualifying tournament.
A separate challenge tournament (played at the same time as the
qualifying tournament in the summer) between the remaining Division I
teams and the top 2 Division II teams will determine division placement
for these teams in the next fall.
The qualifying tournament will identify the remaining teams to play in
U16 Division II in the fall. |
|
Under 11 |
Under 12
|
Under 13 |
Under 14
|
|
Under 15 | Under 16 | |Under 17|Under
19|
Back to Top of Page
|
UNDER 16
DIVISION I = 6 Teams (16 games/team/year)
DIVISION II = 8 Teams (21 games/team/year)
May 2001 - NOTE: By popular demand by
coaches and players, beginning Spring 2002, we will play fewer games in
the U15/U16 Division I to better allow for high school, state cup,
and many other conflicts that occur for the older players in the spring
season.
DIVISION I:
The 6 Division I teams will play each of the other U16-I teams 2 times
over the course of the year, plus one cross-over game with each of the
U15-I teams, giving each team 16 league games for the year. We will
schedule more games for each team in the fall and fewer games in the
spring (to allow for high school play, State Cup, Spring Break, and all
the other myriad of conflicts that come about in the spring season.)
Grand Champion trophies and Runner-Up trophies will be awarded after the
spring season. No trophies will be awarded after the fall season.
Because of the uneven year-long playing format, no mid-year challenges
will be held between Division I and Division II. Byes will be based on
year-long standings (Fall points + Spring points).
DIVISION II:
Division II = 8 Teams. The 8 Division II teams
will play each other 3 times over the course of the soccer year.
Each team will play each other twice in
the fall (14 games) and once in the spring (7
games) (to allow for high school play, State Cup, Spring Break, and all
the other myriad of conflicts that come about in the spring season). Standings will be kept
for the entire soccer year. Division II Champion and Runner-Up trophies
will be awarded to the top two teams in Division II based on year-long
standings after the spring season. The bottom 2 teams in Division II are
subject to being challenged by the top teams from approved outside
leagues for their spot in Division II for the spring season.
MOVING INTO U17:
A maximum of the 4 top finishing U16 Division I teams from the previous
year and a maximum of 4 of the returning U17 teams will have earned a
bye into U17 Division I. (All teams must comply with N+1 to retain their
bye.) The exact number of teams to earn a bye into U17 for the following
fall season will be determined by the LHGCL Executive Board at the end
of each spring season. The remaining Division I teams and the 6 teams
for Division II will be determined in the qualifying tournament.
Byes will be based on year-long standings
(Fall points + Spring points). |
|
Under 11 |
Under 12
|
Under 13 |
Under 14
|
|
Under 15 | Under 16 |
Under 17|
Under 19|
Back to Top of Page
|
UNDER 17 (BEGINNING FALL 2000)
DIVISION I = 6 Teams (16 games/team/year)
DIVISION II = 6 Teams (15 games/team/year)
May 2001 - NOTE: By popular demand by
coaches and players, beginning Spring 2002, we will play fewer games in
the U17/U19 age divisions to better allow for high school, state
cup, and many other conflicts that occur for the older players in the
spring season.
U17 Division I teams will play each other once in the fall,
plus 6 crossover games with U19 Division I teams (11 games), and will
play each of the other U19 Division I teams once in the spring (5
games), thus giving each U17 Division I team 16 games over the year.
There will be no midyear challenges into U17 Division I.
U17 Division II teams will play each other twice in the fall
(10 games) and once in the spring (5 games) for a total of 15 games over
the year. Grand Champion points will be used to determine the top
two teams that will be allowed to challenge into U19 Division I at the
time of the qualifying tournament.
MOVING INTO U19:
A maximum of the 4 top finishing U17 Division I teams from the previous
year will have earned a bye into U19 Division I. (All teams must comply
with the N+1 rule to retain their bye) The exact number of U17 teams to
earn a bye into U19 Division I for the following Fall season may be
reduced to allow for any returning U19 Division I team(s) that retain
their N+1 status. If that unlikely situation occurs, the LHGCL Executive
Board will make a decision concerning the number of bye teams coming out
of U17 into Division I U19 prior to June 1. A separate challenge
tournament (played at the same time as the qualifying tournament in the
summer) between the remaining Division I teams and the top 2 Division II
teams will determine division placement for these teams in the next
fall. The qualifying tournament will identify the remaining teams to
play in U19 Division II in the fall. Byes
will be based on year-long standings (Fall points + Spring points).
|
|
Under 11 |
Under 12
|
Under 13 |
Under 14
|
|
Under 15 | Under 16 |
Under 17|
Under 19|
Back to Top of Page
|
UNDER 19 (BEGINNING FALL 2000)
DIVISION I = 6 Teams (16 games/team/year)
DIVISION II = 6 Teams (15 games/team/year)
U19 Division I teams will play each other once in the fall,
plus 6 crossover games with U17 Division I teams (11 games), and will
play each of the other U19 Division I teams once in the spring (5
games), thus giving each U19 Division I team 16 games over the year.
There will be no midyear challenges into U19 Division I.
U19 Division II teams will play each other twice in the fall
(10 games) and once in the spring (5 games) for a total of 15 games over
the year. There will be no midyear challenge into U19 Division II.
BYES INTO THE NEXT YEAR (this format will begin in the 1998
Qualifying Tournament): A maximum of 4 teams from the U17 Division and a
maximum of 4 U19 teams that are returning the next year will be
identified to receive a bye into U19 Division I for the following soccer
year. (All teams must comply with N+1 to retain their bye.) The
remaining teams for Division I and the 6 Division II teams will be
identified through the qualifying tournament in August. Byes will be
based on year-long standings (Fall points + Spring points). |
|
Under 11 |
Under 12
|
Under 13 |
Under 14
|
|
Under 15 | Under 16 |
Under 17|
Under 19|
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