Post-season tournaments

• Panther Shootout: This is the tournament we host, held the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. Participating teams must pay the tournament fee.
• League Playoffs: The U10–14 winners and runners up may be invited to play in the Area League Playoffs, which take place in December. There is no cost.
• All-Star Tournament: All-Star teams are created for U10–14 divisions. The tournament takes place in January. There is no cost.

Regional tournaments

Often, All-Star teams will play in tournaments hosted by other AYSO regions in Southern California or elsewhere. A full tournament listing can be found at the AYSO National web site. Participating teams are responsible for all tournament costs.

It is also possible to participate in tournaments organized for club teams, but those are done on a case-by-case basis. Approval from the Regional Commissioner (RC) is required.

Tournament logistics

Almost all AYSO tournaments operate in a similar manner, although the details will vary. Teams are placed into pools and will play a set number of games against the other teams in the same pool. The top team(s) in each pool will then advance to playoff or championship rounds. Thus, your entry fee guarantees you a certain number of games. Some tournaments only accept All-Star teams, while others may allow Extra or even United teams. It is also not unheard of for Core (regular season) teams to participate as well. Some tournaments try to balance the pools so that all the pool play games are competitive, while others will mix higher- and lower-level teams to ensure that the playoff rounds are competitive (similar to FIFA World Cup or UEFA Champions League).

Most, but not all, tournaments will require each team to supply referees. They do this by requiring a "referee deposit", which means you pay the deposit amount and if your referees complete all their assignments, you get that money back. Partial refunds may also be given in case you can only find one or two people, or if someone becomes unavailable at the last minute. Most tournaments that require referees will also ask that you bring at least one referee who is certified to be a center ref for your team's age division. Sometimes you get lucky and the tournament has such a large number of referees that your team's refs don't get any assignments, in which case you still get your referee deposit refunded.

In case tournament games must be cancelled due to bad weather or other circumstances beyond the organizers' control and cannot be rescheduled, you will get a full or partial refund of the tournament fee/referee deposit based on the number of games that were played.

Payment details

AYSO tournament fees must be paid by a check issued by the Region. No personal checks will be accepted. To get the Region check issued, you will need to pay that amount to the Region first, accompanied with a check request form. Only one check per team, please. Payment does NOT have to be done by the coach, so you may delegate that task to a team manager, for example. We strongly suggest the person handling the payments keep detailed records about who has paid what amount and by what method. Nothing engenders bad feelings more quickly than getting the money wrong.

Tournament application instructions

Plan ahead! Although most tournaments have an application deadline of one month before the tournament starts, many of the popular ones will fill up long before then. For example, in Ventura County, Region 68 Camarillo's Strawberry Cup is usually full about two months before the tournament start date.  You'll want to turn in your paperwork to the tournament treasurer a minimum of 7 to 10 days before you plan to mail it to the tournament organizers.

Items you will need

For the treasurer (missing items will cause delays):

1. Check request form
2. Tournament information sheet and completed application form (download from tournament web site)
3. One single check for the total amount (application fee + referee deposit if applicable) payable to AYSO Region 42

For the regional referee administrator (RRA):

• Referee nomination form (download from tournament web site; not all tournaments require this). It is preferred that this is done in electronic format. If the tournament does not provide you that option, scan and email the completed form instead.

For the registrar:

• Roster of players, listed in jersey number order and including coaches (use this form). This does NOT have to be final. All tournaments will accept roster changes up to a few days before the tournament starts (deadline depends on the tournament). That being the case, it's perfectly fine to include your All-Star tournament roster as part of the application and then wait until you have your final roster for this step.

Process

The process to issue the checks and obtain all signatures takes a minimum of two days and as long as ten days. Paperwork dropped off over weekends can typically be processed the fastest. Paperwork dropped Tuesday or midweek will take the longest. Emergency situations can be accommodated, but not if that becomes the norm. A spreadsheet is used to track all the activity for each coach and is used to monitor referee refunds. It helps to know tournament dates and costs to track that accurately.

Please take advantage of the fact that because the Regional Commissioner will be the second signature on your check, you can put all documents requiring the Commissioner’s signature in the package with your check request. One stop gets everything except the referee forms signed. Instructions for dropping off and picking up the check request package are on the check request form.

Once you have all your paperwork ready (check issued by the Region, application form and roster both signed by the RC, and referee form signed by the RRA), you are ready to mail it to the tournament organizers. If you have any special circumstances, please let them know, and they will likely make arrangements for you. For example, if you don't have enough referees yet, they may allow you to send that form in later so that your team can at least get a spot, and you can continue to look for refs later.

Finding referees

Ideally, one or more your team members' parents or siblings will be a certified referee with Regional badge or higher. Regardless, if you are in need of refs, please see the Tournament Referee List of people who have indicated that they are willing officiate in post-season tournaments. You can e-mail any or all of the referees on the list, asking them if they are available to represent your team. Please specify the name and dates of the tournament when you e-mail them. You can contact the referee administrator, for more information.

Notes

For referee refunds, if you place the correct address on the form (as noted in the instructions) the money will get to the PO Box quickly and a check refunding your referee fees will get issued timely. If a referee refund is expected, it takes 4–5 weeks for the refund check to be received and then a check issued back to you.

The regional check will be issued based on the assumption that your check will clear the bank. This courtesy will continue until a check is returned from the bank unpaid. After that, clearance of your checks will have to be verified before any new tournament checks are issued. This may jeopardize your timely submission of tournament applications. Reimbursement to the region for the $25 insufficient funds charge will also be necessary before any new applications are processed.