by David Falk

WENATCHEE, WA— In the geographic center of our state the heart of the Evergreen Premier League (EPLWA) began beating stronger as club owners and operators met at the Coast Hotel in Wenatchee on January 10-11 to agree on the details of how the league would look and be run. The meeting room was on the top floor, overlooking the Columbia River and the entire Wenatchee Valley, which was dressed in sunshine for the occasion.

EPLWA President Peter Ostrovsky led the gathering. Former Washington Youth Referee Assignor Roberto Alvarez gave a presentation on how he will work with match officials and the league to provide the best-possible refereeing. Washington State Adult Soccer Association President Tim Busch added his experience and expertise to questions of league operations, and was voted in as Vice President of Competition. EPLWA Administrator Robin Gordon fielded questions about player registration and also began the process of helping clubs build the 2014 season schedule by collecting open and blocked out dates.

Attendees were greeted with sturdy drinking glasses featuring the EPLWA logo. Stickers were up for grabs on the tables. See more photos at EPLWA.com.

The Evergreen Premier League will have a few important official announcements coming out of the meetings. Watch for them in the coming weeks. Below are a few ‘bullet points’ from the talks.

The league will use a traditional table to decide the champion in 2014. After 14 matches, the club with the most points wins. Tradition FIFA points=3 for a win, 1 for a tie.

Tiebreakers: The Competition Committee discussed using head-to-head scores and goal differentials.

One more match: The Competition Committee discussed having an All Star team of league players challenge the league champion in a celebration match the week after the season ends, at the home of the champion.

All EPLWA clubs will wear a league logo patch on the right sleeve of their shirts in 2014.

The Competition Committee discussed teams travel by playing ‘double-header’ weekends (more than one match on a trip). Clubs can also choose to take separate trips, though this year’s calendar has fewer weekends to fit matches into.

Kickoff is planned for the first weekend in May, but because of the shorter number of weekends, it is possible that the season could start the last week in April.

Roster rules were discussed at length. Details will eventually be posted on http://www.EPLWA.com. There are no age restrictions of any kind.

The Competition Committee discussed allowing a total of five player substitutions over two halves, with an unlimited (up to 11) subs available for use at halftime.

Cards: The Competition Committee decided that players must sit out a match after accumulating three (3) yellow cards anytime over the course of the season.

There will be an appeal process for clubs in who wish to protest a match.

The league will start a compensation fund for referees who travel long distances for matches.

Clubs will exchange rosters and uniform color combinations in a timely fashion the week of matches.



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