Ridgefield High School

Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Player/Coach
Disqualification/Ejection Regulation and Interpretations
For Principals, Athletic Directors, coaches, Players
Adopted: April 17, 1995 - Revised: July, 2006

CIAC REGULATION DISQUALIFICATION / EJECTION RULE
The CIAC establishes guidelines and tone for acceptable and appropriate behavior at all CIAC contests. Given this charge, it is CIAC’s responsibility to be pro active and responsive to the growing issues of sportsmanship and violence in sports. A strong consistent statement reflecting zero tolerance for violence in sports must become standard operating procedure for all schools. (This is to be considered a minimum standard.) The following policies for disqualification shall apply in all sports:

1. Any student athlete who physically assaults an official, coach, opposing player or spectator will be immediately dismissed from the team for the remainder of the season.
   
   
2. When an athlete or coach is ejected from a contest for unsportsmanlike behavior or fighting, including taunting, the athlete or coach is ineligible to participate in the next contest at the same level of play (even if the next contest does not occur until league or CIAC tournament play or next year). If one or more different level contests are scheduled prior to the next contest at the same level of play, the athlete or coach shall be ineligible to participate in he next (but no more than one) contest at all other levels of play.
   
   
3. Upon the second disqualification, if that violation is for initiating a fight or retaliating in a fight (as determined by the game official), that student athlete will be dismissed from the team for the remainder of the season. (Otherwise #2 remains applicable.)
   
   
4. A school’s first incidence of non-compliance will result in forfeiture and a $250 fine; a school’s second incidence of noncompliance will prohibit the school from entry in the next CIAC tournament for that sport, or from the remainder of the current tournament if the disqualification occurs during a CIAC tournament or during the last regular season contest / day of competition.
   
   
5. Any CIAC team that accumulates five (5) or more disqualifications for flagrant misconduct, unsportsmanlike conduct, including taunting, retaliating in a fight, or physically assaulting an official, coach, opposing player or spectator during the course of one season will be barred from CIAC post-season competition. The number of disqualifications must be completed on all tournament forms. Disqualification from the team under #1 constitutes one disqualification in team totals.
   
   
6. Disqualifications from the last contest of one season carry over to the next season in that sport for undergraduates and coaches, or the next season of participation in any sport for seniors.
   
   
7. If the playing rules for a sport specify an additional penalty, the additional penalty will apply. The CIAC disqualification rule applies to all disqualifications with the exception of reaching the limit of personal fouls in basketball and lacrosse; reaching the limit of technical violations in wrestling; or being disqualified by the rules in ice hockey and lacrosse, which does not require a next game disqualification. Any misconduct or disqualification of a coach will count towards the team’s total number of disqualifications.
   
   
8. Each game official will notify the Assigner for that game who will notify the CIAC office (203) 250-1111 immediately following the game of all disqualifications. It will also be the responsibility of the Assigner for that game to notify the athletic director of the offending school the morning of the next school day. The Athletic Director or Principal of the school having the disqualified player or coach must notify their next opponent.

Definition of ASSAULT
An assault is defined as a violent attack which attempts to injure one physically. In the judgment of the game official it is more serious than a fight (usually towards another person and requires immediate removal of the athlete for the remainder of the year.

Definition of TAUNTING
Taunting includes, but is not limited to any actions or comments by coaches or players which are intended to bait, anger, embarrass, ridicule or demean other players, coaches, or game officials. Included in this is conduct that berates, needles, intimidates or threatens based on gender, ethnic origin or background and conduct that attacks religious beliefs, size, economic status, speech, family, special needs, or personal matters. Examples of taunting that would lead to ejection include, but are not limited to, physical and verbal intimidation outside the spirit of the game (“trash talk”), reference to sexual orientation, “in-the- face confrontation” by one player to another, standing over, straddling a tackled or fallen player, etc.

PENALTY
In all sports, game officials are to consider taunting a flagrant, unsportsmanlike foul that disqualifies the offending bench personnel or athlete from that contest / day of competition and the player or coach from the following contest / day of competition, i.e. the CIAC player/coach ejection rule will be invoked. A warning may be given, but is not required before ejection.

In Soccer, an accumulation of two yellow cards in one game against the coaching personnel or team bench will constitute a red card against the head coach and will restrict that coach from coaching his/her team in any contest until withheld from the next contest at that level of play.

In Football, any head coach whose team beats an opponent by more than 50 points will be disqualified from coaching in the next contest at the same level of play. All conditions under the CIAC Disqualification/Ejection Rule will apply.

The CIAC Disqualification/Ejection Rule is in effect for all contests including league playoffs that engage officials who have been assigned by Board Commissioners from CIAC registered officials organizations, or directly by the school or by the CIAC. There is NO appeal procedure that a school may use relative to disqualifications. Disqualification is a judgment call by an official and as such is not appealable. Once the game official(s) leaves the site the game official(s) is in charge and may take any action deemed to be appropriate, even to the extent of reversing an earlier decision to eject a player or coach. Both schools (coaches on site) must be made fully aware of all final decisions on game disqualifications.

APPEALS
The CIAC will not honor appeals of a coach or player disqualification made by game officials. Those decisions are considered judgment calls made by a game official and will not be reviewed.

The CIAC will honor appeals of coach disqualifications only (not player disqualifications) when the nature of the disqualification under the CIAC Disqualification/Ejection Rule applies to circumstances other than game official judgments. For example, the ejection of a head coach for winning a football contest by more than 50 points when the circumstances warrant an exception.

Appeals will be heard by a committee consisting of the following: CIAC chairperson, CIAC committee chairperson of the sports committee involved, and the CIAC Executive Director or his/her designee. Appeals will be honored when received in the CIAC office within 48 hours of the conclusion of the contest.