Valley HEAT League Team Movement Policy: U18, U16, and U14 Age Divisions
This policy outlines the promotion and relegation rules for the age divisions (U18, U16, 14 and U12) following each tournament weekend to ensure competitive balance across the league.
Standard Movement Rules
Movement is determined by the total number of teams within a specific color division (bracket):
- 16-Team Bracket
- The top 4 teams will be promoted to the next highest bracket.
- The bottom 4 teams will be relegated to the next lowest bracket.
- Bracket with 12 or Fewer Teams
- The top 3 teams will be promoted to the next highest bracket.
- The bottom 3 teams will be relegated to the next lowest bracket.
Bracket Movement Boundaries
- Top Bracket Exceptions
- Teams finishing at the top of the highest color bracket (e.g., Gold) cannot move up.
- Only the designated number of bottom teams will move down.
- Bottom Bracket Exceptions
- Teams finishing at the bottom of the lowest color bracket cannot move down.
- Only the designated number of top teams will move up.
Inter-Bracket Interaction Exception
When a 16-team bracket and a 12-team (or fewer) bracket interact during the promotion and relegation process, the following rules apply to maintain league balance:
- Moving from a 12-team bracket up into a 16-team bracket:
- 3 teams will move up from the smaller bracket.
- The 16-team bracket will drop 3 teams to the bracket below it.
- Moving from a 16-team bracket down into a 12-team bracket:
- Movement is limited to 3 teams to accommodate the smaller bracket size of the destination bracket.
Age Division Special Case
- In age divisions where there is only one colored bracket, the standard promotion and relegation rules do not apply.
