The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association will be offering an under 12 8 vs. 8 (small sided) in addition to the u12 11 vs. 11 (full sided) Open State Cup Competition for both boys and girls teams in the spring of 2008. The winner of the State Cup competition shall represent ENYYSA at the Region 1 Championships in Portland, ME. Leagues and Teams must follow the Region1 U12 Small Sided Competition Rules as outlined below.

U12 Small Sided Competition Rules
Region I has introduced the U12 Small Side Competition at the Regional level to support the development of the small sided game. The Region I U12 Small Sided Competition is defined as an 8-v-8 competition. The U12 Small Sided competition is a separate competition from the U12 Full sided competition just as the U13 Competition is a separate competition from the U14 competition. Thus the competition rules that prohibit a player from playing in two competitions apply here also. The U12 Small Sided Competition will be conducted under the existing Region I National Championship rules with the following amplifications:
1. U12 Small Sided Region I competition is played with seven (7) field players and a goalkeeper for each team. It is strongly recommended that all U12 Small Side competitions by played on a field that has the field dimension recommend by US Youth Soccer. This field is 75 ± 5 yards in length and 50 ± 5 yards wide. See the US Youth Soccer website for a complete definition. [http://usyouthsoccer.org/doc_lib/US Youth Soccer Official Under 12 Playing Recommendations.pdf]
2. All U12 Small Sided teams should play in a small sided league competition in a State Association approved league. State Associations that enter a state champion into the Regional Small sided competition are encouraged to assure that these small sided leagues are developed. A qualifying league must consist of a minimum of four teams and each team must play each of three opponents a minimum of one time.
3. There must be a U12 Small Sided state level competition to determine the State Association U12 Small Sided champion and entry into the Region U12 Small Sided Competition.
4. A U12 team is either U12 Small Sided team and will compete in the U12 Small Sided state cup and Region I competition or the team is a U12 Full Sided team and will compete in the U12 Full Sided state cup and Region I competition. However, a team cannot play in both the U12 Small Sided and U12 Full Sided competitions.
5. A player can play either in U12 Small Sided state cup competition or U12 Full Sided state cup competition but cannot play in both state cup competitions.
6. A U12 Small Sided team may have a maximum of 14 players on its roster at any one time and is subject to the five (5) player previously rostered player rule (transfer rule).
7. Each U12 Small Sided team must demonstrate continuity of rosters between the league and cup by maintaining a minimum of 7 players common to the rosters of both competitions.