Middle School Coed Spring League

DiscNW Middle School Playoffs Policy

DiscNW adopted a new middle school playoffs policy in 2010 in order to A) provide teams with earlier advance notice of game times and locations, B) simplify seeding, and C) address growing field space concerns.

Playoffs Format

The top 8 teams from each division (as determined by the seeding criteria) advance to the playoffs

If there are fewer than 8 teams in the division, the top 4 teams will advance to the playoffs.

If there are fewer than 4 teams in a division, the League Coordinators will develop a custom post season format.

Additional Playoff Eligibility Rules

All teams must abide by all league rules during the season, and failure to do so may result in that team’s exclusion from the playoffs.

In order to be eligible for post-season play, a team must report all of its game scores and Spirit scores promptly. Scores for the final week of regular season play must be reported no later than 11:59pm on the following Sunday.

Seeding Criteria

The first seeding criterion will be divisional record, based on winning percentage.

If it is a two-way tie, the following criteria will be considered in the order listed:

  1. Head to head in league play.
  2. Season Spirit of the Game average.
  3. Divisional goal differential.
  4. Pull a name out of a hat.

If it is tie between three (or more) teams, the following criteria will be considered in the order listed:

  1. Record against teams involved in tie in league play.
  2. Goal differential in games played against tied teams in league play.
  3. Season Spirit of the Game average.
  4. Overall divisional goal differential.
  5. Pull name(s) out of a hat.

Playoffs Division Rules

Teams will not be moved into a higher or lower division for the playoffs.

Teams who were granted exceptions to the league Division Rules will not be eligible for the playoffs.  However, they will receive at least one consolation game – more if field space allows.

Declining a Playoffs Bid

If a team declines its bid to the playoffs, the 9th place team (based on above seeding criteria) will be admitted, and the playoff bracket seeds will be adjusted. For example, in an 8-team bracket, if the 7th place team drops, the original 8th place team will get the 7th seed for the playoffs, and the 9th place team will take the 8th seed for the playoffs.