Credit: Jessica Jiamin Lang

The MLQ Gameplay Department has been working hard to prepare for the upcoming MLQ Championship in League City, Texas. In preparation for the event and with the safety of our athletes in mind, we have decided to open three additional rosters spots per team dedicated solely to injury reserve. As described in the rule below, each team will submit a 21-player active roster. In the event a player is deemed unable to continue by a medical professional, the head coach will have the ability to rotate an injury reserve onto the active roster in place of the injured party.

MLQ Championships Roster Limitations

1. Team rosters at the MLQ Championship are limited to no more than 21 active players at all times.
2. Teams may elect to bring up to 3 additional, non-rostered players to serve as injury reserves.
   1. Injury reserves may not enter the player area at any time during a game unless they have been promoted to the playing roster.
      1. If the injury reserve is a official head or assistant coach of the team, they may enter the player area for their responsibilities in that position.
   2. Teams are responsible for the behavior of injury reserves and any infraction of the rules or policies at the event by a reserve will result in the same penalty as with any other member of the team’s traveling party, including violations during games resulting in on–field penalties.
3. Injury reserves may be added to the teams playing roster if and only if the following conditions are met:
   1. A player on the team’s original 21–player roster is injured and a doctor or EMT informs the player and the head coach* of the team that the player is unable to continue to play in the championship due to the injury.
   2. The doctor or EMT signs the MLQ Injury Reserve Approval Form informing the team that the player must be removed from play.
      1. If the doctor or EMT clears the injured player to return to play, the team may not replace the player with an injury reserve.
      2. Once the doctor or EMT has made the decision regarding the player’s injury only the doctor or EMT may reevaluate the decision at a later point.
4. Once an injured player has been replaced by an injury reserve:
   1. The original injured player may not enter the player area for any game for the duration of the championship, except for an official head or assistant coach who may return to the player area but only to conduct duties related to the head and assistant coach positions, but remains subject to all rules and regulations regarding rostered players.
   2. Any player who has been removed from the roster may not be added back to the roster at any time during the tournament.
   3. The replacement player must remain on the roster for the duration of the tournament (unless they are also injured and a doctor or EMT signs a form informing the team that the player must be removed from play and can be replaced by another injury reserve).

PENALTY:

1. A forfeiture of all remaining games of the tournament as of the time of the violation will result if a team manipulates the status of the roster in any way, including but not limited to:
   1. Playing a non-rostered individual or injury reserve without officially replacing a rostered player due to a recommendation from a doctor or EMT.
   2. Playing an originally rostered player who has been deemed unable to continue play and replaced by an injury reserve.
   3. Having a player feign injury in order to be replaced on the roster.
2. This penalty will be enacted upon discovery of the violation for the game in which the violation occurred and all games to follow, even if the violation is not discovered until after the fact, including if the violation is discovered upon video review of the games or after the conclusion of the tournament.

* If the head coach is not available the assistant coach may fill this role. If the head coach and assistant coach are both unavailable then the manager may fill this role.