US Youth Soccer clarifies age group shifts for upcoming competitions
FRISCO, Texas (Via US Youth Soccer) — US Youth Soccer is clarifying the necessary age group adjustments brought upon its competitive programs by the U.S. Soccer birth-year registration mandate and how the change affects competitions in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasonal years.
With US Youth Soccer competitive programs (US Youth Soccer National Championships Series, US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup, US Youth Soccer National League, US Youth Soccer Regional Leagues, US Youth Soccer ODP) adopting the birth-year registration change for the 2016-17 season, there is a necessary shift in age group ranges for several club competitions.
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Below is an explanation of the age group adjustments for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasonal years for three of the competitions.
US Youth Soccer National Championship Series
The US Youth Soccer National Championships will continue to feature teams in the 13U through 19/20U age groups. US Youth Soccer Regional Championships and US Youth Soccer State Cups will also continue with those age groups, with potential additional age groups available in certain regions and states.
The 19/20U age group features players born on Aug. 1, 1997 or later.
With the adjustments made to the National League in 2016-17 (see section below), the 2017 National Championships will feature only the four Regional Champions in each of the 13U and 14U gender age groups. Meanwhile, in the 15U-19/20U gender age groups, the four National League qualifiers will join the four Regional Championship representatives to complete the field of eight teams. That adjustment means that the 19/20U Boys James P. McGuire Cup competition will feature eight teams rather than the traditional four.
When the National League shifts back to 14U-18U age groups in the 2017-18 season, the National Championships will revert back to having four teams (Regional Champions) in the 13U and 19U gender age groups, while the 14U-18U gender age groups will each feature eight teams (Regional Champions and National League qualifiers).
US Youth Soccer National League
The US Youth Soccer National League is fielding teams in the 15U through 19/20U age groups in 2016-17, which is a change from the league’s previous age group range (14U-18U). The shift was made to accommodate qualifying teams from the 2015-16 season and because the 14U age group in 2016-17 consists of teams that competed in the 12U age group in 2015-16, where no consistent qualifying parameters exist.
The 19/20U age group features players born on Aug. 1, 1997 or later.
In the 2017-18 season, the National League will shift back to its traditional 14U-18U age group range, as teams qualify based on their performance in 13U-17U age groups in 2016-17. The 14U age group will be able to qualify teams based on their performance as 13U sides in their respective Regional Leagues in 2016-17.
US Youth Soccer Regional Leagues are also implementing birth year registration for the 2016-17 season, with age groups available in each varying from league to league.
US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup
For the 2016-17 seasonal year, the oldest age group in the US Youth Soccer National and Regionals Presidents Cup events will be 17/18U, with competition also featuring the 13U through 16U age groups. Eligible players in the 17/18U age group must be born on or after Aug. 1, 1999. This one-year change is in place to allow players to participate in their final year of Presidents Cup eligibility that they would have otherwise missed due to the implementation of birth year registration.
In the 2017-18 seasonal year, the National and Regional Presidents Cup events will continue to include 13U through 17U teams, with the oldest age group (17U) reverting back to a normal birth-year registration range (Jan. 1, 2001 to Dec. 31, 2001).
