Registration, Groups, and Waitlist Details

Registration is first come first served. If you pay by check you will not be added to the league until we receive your check; this applies to waitlist priority and the ability to join groups, as well as actually being assigned to a team.

You sign up once for every division that you want to play, but the registration system remembers most of your information, so signing up for each division is pretty fast. If the limit on any night is reached, subsequent registrants will automatically be placed on the waitlist, without notification (we will probably email you at some point to let you know, and hopefully in the future this will be automated). From the waitlist you can ask for a refund at any time. Otherwise you'll get added when a space opens up, and we'll email you to let you know you're in. You can also check the webpage to see your status and position on the waitlist. If you sign up for the league late, or get in off the waitlist late, part of your registration fee will be refunded so that you only pay for the games you play. (But if you miss games once we tell you you're on a team, you don't get refunded.) You can't join groups if you're on the waitlist or signing up late. If the league is full and you are interested in playing, please sign up anyways because we can often increase field space if needed. It also helps us gauge demand. If we cannot find you a place, you will get a full refund.

Groups

You sign up alone, but then once you're in you can join with up to 3 others to form groups of 4 maximum. You can join groups at the List of Players page once you're signed up. There is no longer a need to sign up all at once together, and you can change your groups as often as you like until the group change deadline.

Details About Playing On Any Night

As with all Ultimate games, the emphasis in this league will be on high spirit, great exercise and fun for both newcomers and experienced players. Play hard, but play nice. And remember, violence, be it physical or verbal, is never acceptable, and will get you suspended, so keep your head about you.

• Bring light/dark shirts to delineate teams, and water, and cleats.
• Do not damage the fields. If we do, we will be fined heavily and not allowed to play again. If you're causing more than the normal wear and tear because the fields are wet, you have to stop. With regards to litter, leave the fields in better condition than you found them. Report serious damage. The better care we take of the fields, the more we'll get to use them.
• Rules for games: Play by the 11th edition rules with the three modifications below. For the full rules, see http://www.upa.org/ ultimate/rules/rules.html. Competitive night (summer only) plays without these modifications.
  1. No turnover on dropped pull. Instead, defense gets to set up, like after a time out
  2. No Kick Blocks within 5 feet of thrower
  3. Zone is not allowed during first 3 games (this is also not applicable during Winter League)
• Games are played to 15, with a half-time at 8. Play 7 on each side or whatever makes sense based on attendance. Better to get started on time with 5s than wait half an hour for 7s. Win by 2, hard cap at 17. Captains can modify this as necessary as it gets dark- don't play in the dark, it's too dangerous.  Winter League games are played to time due to field rental reasons.
• Baggage groups (typically of up to size 4, but can vary by league) are intended to encourage recruitment of new players. League directors reserve the right to adjust these groups for competitiveness or spirit reasons to improve the league; we will contact you to discuss this if it affects your baggage group.
• Gender Matching- the typical rule is that the offense sets how many women are on the field for that point, and the defense matches. This does not, however, require women to play the entire game if one team has fewer than the other, or give women 100% game time while the men only get 50%. Captains should discuss and find a balance that makes all the players happy. If there is a large imbalance of women, or players in general, often the best solution is for one team to sub someone over to the other for the game (perhaps switching at half). Do what makes the game fun, and fair. Note that matchups on the line should be based on skill, speed, and height; you don't have to match versus gender. The point is to have balanced teams.
• A team should not pick up players unless it has two subs or less (captains should consult with their teams if short on players--some teams may want to play savage or with few subs, especially during Winter Leagues).  All pickups must be approved by the opposing captain(s), and special consideration should be made throughout the entire game to keep the teams balanced so that pickups do not become huge game-changers.  A non-league member must sign a waiver form provided by the team captain in order to play as a pickup.
• REVISED WINTER LEAGUE PICKUP POLICY No pickups are allowed from outside the league; due to the high price, league players want as much game time as possible. If teams are short, we'll sub between teams, between time slots or combine games. Please don't invite friends from outside the league to play.
• Visible lightning means no games can be played, period. Everyone should return to their cars immediately, and wait the lightning out. Games can not resume until 15 minutes AFTER the last lightning sighting. In Michigan, the weather changes quickly, so come out even if the weather looks bad earlier in the day, and to wait as a storm passes- often the best games are played 20 minutes after a storm clears.
• After the games do a cheer for the other team, even on competitive night. This can be a quick "Great game!" it can be a song with modified lyrics, it can be a haiku, an interpretive dance, or a massive game of rock paper scissors. I've seen all of these done quite well. Show good spirit, this is ultimate.
• There is no alcohol allowed on or near the fields.

Most of all, have fun! Any questions, comments, or concerns can be directed to your captains, or to the organizers by emailing registration@a2ultimate.org.

Notes about Captaining

Captains are highly appreciated, and play for a discount. Just put a 10 (or a 7-9 typically) in the "How Much I'd Like to Be a Captain." box. As we form teams we'll choose captains based on experience, team balance, etc. If you're chosen, you'll have to come to the captains meeting, send emails to your teams to get them psyched about the games, and do the usual captain job of helping new players and keeping the spirit on your team high.  You don't have to be the best player on the team, but you do have to have spirit and energy! Captains make this league work, so if you've been playing for a few seasons, think about joining the ranks of the captains. :-)

Captain Compensation:

Upon fulfilling their duties, at season's end Spring, Summer and Fall League captains receive their choice of a registration refund for that season, five league discs, or a captain jersey.

Late Fall and Winter captains receive their choice of a $25 discount for their registration, five league discs or a captain jersey.

The 2012 Winter League captain's meeting will be at Dave Morris' house on Thursday, January 5th at 7 pm, with the player/team review meeting beginning immediately afterwards.