As we get ready to launch Indoor Fall League we are taking a page out of the books of other Ultimate / sports leagues from across the country and implementing team registration for this league. This means one person (Captain) will sign up your team and pay the entire registration fee ($800/team). That Captain will then have to invite their teammates to sign up to fill out the roster.
We know this is going to be a change, but moving forward it is MZU’s goal to have 2 leagues each season…. One hat league, and one team-based league – ensuring an opportunity to play year-round regardless of the format you prefer.
So how will this work?
Step 1 – Captains Only Sign Up (18 spots)
On September 19th at NOON, we will open registration for Captains to claim one of the 18 team spots available in the league by registering and paying a $100 deposit on the $800 fee. If you are not a captain, no need to sign up now!
Once the 18 team spots are claimed and deposit paid for ($100 per team) the league is full and any additional Captains wanted to sign up a team will be added to the wait list. No pay = no spot.
If the 18 team spots aren’t claimed by Oct. 1st at NOON we will form hat teams and allow individual/small groups to sign up.
Step 2 – Captains Invite Teammates
From Sept 19th to Sept 26th at NOON, Captains who claimed one of the 18 spots will invite the members of their team to sign up through Zuluru (we’ll show you how). Once a team has 10 players (minimum 4 of each gender) signed up AND the remaining team fee is paid ($800 total fee – $100 deposit = $700), they have secured their spot in the league. But remember, your team can have more than 10 players. All payment must be made via the Captain.
If by Sept. 26th at NOON, a Captain does not have the minimum number of players and/or is UNPAID, they forfeit their team spot (and the spots of the players on the team) to the next Captain on the wait list.
MZU has made a Google Doc where interested players or small groups who aren’t part of a team can connect with Captains looking to round out their team: VIEW THE GOOGLE DOC HERE.
Basic League Details:
- Team Composition: 10 player minimum, with a min composition of 4 of either gender.
- Field Composition: 5 on 5 speed point, with a male to female ratio of 3:2 or 2:3, other team not required to match.
- Fields: Techniplex
- Format: 18 teams in the Zuluru College Ranking System
- Team Building/Registration: Team Registration (see above)
- When: Monday nights from 8-11pm (Game 1: 8:00pm / Game 2: 9:00pm / Game 3: 10:00pm)
- Duration: 11 weeks – Oct. 6th – Dec 15th – 8 week regular season/3 week playoffs
- Playoff: Top 8, Second 8, and Bottom 2. Top 8 plays one elimination bracket, so does the second group of 8 . Bottom 2 play each other first week. Second week there will be a combination to ensure fun/comp games.)
- Jerseys: NOT included in registration
- Cost: Total cost is $800/team regardless of how many players. Once captains have registered and paid the $100 deposit, MZU will invoice them the remaining $700. (not including UNL fees – players will pay separately if they are new).
UNL September 1st Membership (mandatory) – Paid with Fall League (5 Month): $20. Fees are calculated using April 1st to March 31st as the base program year. Learn more.
FAQ:
Why this system?
Simply put, last year didn’t work and this is a very common system across not only other sports leagues in the city – but in many Ultimate leagues across the country. Plus, we have heard year-after-year, survey-after-survey, that people wanted this. Now, with Zuluru’s capabilities to make this happen, coupled with the trouble we had last year for this league, we felt we should try it out!
Wait, so what happened last year with registration?
Last year, we opened the registration and it filled up quick. Really really quick. So quick that it a) blew our minds and b) made team-building next to impossible. How?
Basically, the league has a capacity of 180 players, or 18 teams of 10. This usually works easy-peasy and we can fill out the league between full teams of 10 who signed up together, small groups and solos/pairs and it all fits together like a nice puzzle. Not last year. We were too popular. We had tons of teams wanting to play who just couldn’t get all their teammates signed up in time – we had 21 groups of 7 or more sign up. Get what I’m saying – we just couldn’t build teams without splitting up groups. Teams didn’t get why we just couldn’t add players to their teams. People asked for refunds. People didn’t get to play with who they wanted to. The spirit of the Build it Yourself League was broken – we needed to find a way to allow people to sign up as a team.
TLDR: More than 18 groups/teams registered, but didn’t get all 10 of their players signed up in time. Team-building = impossible without breaking ‘teams’ up.
Oh, now I remember!
It was the worst. Not fun as a Board, not fun for players.
So, I’m just a regular player with a team to play with, what do I do?
Sit back, and relax. Well, not really – make sure your Captain secures your team spot. Once they’ve secured your team’s spot, they’ll send a Zuluru invite for you to register. Once you’ve done that, you’re good (just make sure you do it by the deadline above!)
So as a regular player I will not be paying MZU a registration fee directly?
Nope. Your Captain will pay your team’s fee, and you’ll have to reimburse them. MZU is NOT responsible for collecting fees from players or sorting out any disagreements. Seriously. We’re an adult league, we expect you to be able to figure that out.
Why didn’t you just get more field time?
We tried. A lot. Our League Committee has basically been calling the Techniplex every month to get more time – the only option was 11pm – and we hear enough complaints about the 10pm slot as is.
So if I’m solo, I can’t play in this league?
Not at all, If you have a decent sized group and think you can recruit enough players before the deadlines, get someone to step us as Captain and register (see question below). And if you’re solo, we have a Google Docs sheet to connect you with teams looking to round out their rosters. Plus, if we don’t get enough Captains, we’ll fill out the league with Hat Teams.
Sign up sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1onxb1QILxyRMWr3sCJdRWZQpvGxLABY-2eQejDvK2Qo/edit#gid=0
What about if I have a group of 6 or 7, but not a full team?
If you really want to play, get someone to sign up as a Captain and pay the fee and then recruit players (through pals, FB or the sheet above) to round out your numbers before the deadline – we don’t think you’ll have any trouble. MZU is not responsible for helping you collect money/fees off your teammates.
Doesn’t this give preference to players with a full team?
Yes. But that’s why we run 2 leagues each season (one hat, one team-based), to try and give people a little bit of everything. Some people don’t have a set team to play with and love the variety of hat leagues, others don’t like hat leagues and only want to play with their pals/teammates. This makes everyone happy (RIGHT? RIGHT? You’re all happy?). Also, this isn’t some new-fangled MZU invention – it’s a common system that happens in leagues across the country.
I want to have 20 people on my team, can I?
Yes. Your team fee does not change.
I didn’t play in Summer League, do I need to pay UNL fee?
Yes, we will invoice new players separately.
Phew! You deserve some ice cream.
Thank you. I do.
