Winter League Rules and Format

How long is the Game?

Played to 17. You may cap the game before yours at the hour when yours is to start. Meaning, if it's 12 noon and the 10am game is still going on then you can tell the captains to cap the game when they finish the current point. The capped score is the leading score plus 1 point!! Please do this because the person responsible for the key to the gate cannot leave until everyone has left after the 2pm game.

Shirts

See your captain if you have not picked up your shirt yet!

Cones

Winners of the 2pm game pick up the cones and put them on the picnic table under the shelter (where the bathrooms are).

Reporting Scores

Winning teams should report game scores. Either post a game summary on the website (saying as little as the score of the game, if you wish), send an e-mail to the Webguru link at the TFDA website, send the WL Director an e-mail, or send the Captain's Coordinator an e-mail. Anyone on the team may do this.

Zone Defense

Not allowed in the 1st week of WL. It can be used anytime (without prior warning) in games from then on.

Brick

Standard recent brick rule, 20 yards/play it where it lands (as club teams play with).

Timeouts

1 per half. Let's avoid time caps.

Late Starts/Assessments

At 10:30 or 30 minutes after the recognized end of the previous game. If the other team isn't ready to put a team on the line, they can be assessed 1 point per 5 minutes. They can play with less than 7, but no more than 5 men at a time. Let me say this: if you have a noon game and the team you're about to play has less than 7 players when the 10am game ends, make SURE that the other captain knows the 30 minute ticker has begun. Try to not let there be any confusion on this. I'm sure there will be, but we'll try to work it out when it happens.

Women

Ideally, 2 women play at a time. Neither team will be required to match up to more than 2 women at a time. If a team only has 2 women, they should not be urged to play savage...but if they want to, so be it. The key here is that the captains have to work it out. There is no blanket statement or rule that will cover what can pop up on Saturdays, so the captains have to work it out. They need to be nice to the women players first, then to each other. If only 1 woman is available for both teams on a given point, both teams may play 6 men/1 women. If neither team has an available woman player for a given point, then 7 men can play at a time. Here some example of acceptable conditions the opposing team's captain can impose upon you if your team is short on women (assuming the other team has 2 women players on the line for each point):
  1. Play with 5 men and whatever women you have (no pickups).
  2. Allow you 6 men and 1 woman.
  3. Offense dictates.
  4. Pick up as many women players as he/she says is acceptable, and may decline your selection at any point during the game.
  5. Pick up women players, but always play one less woman than your opponent.
  6. If a woman needs a sub, and there is no one to replace her, you may play with a 6/1 ratio if the other captain agrees. Otherwise, you may not have more than 5 men on the field in a given point.
Having too few women necessitates that she/they will play a lot...maybe more than they'd like. You are only allowed to use your timeouts to give breaks...use them wisely and be conscious of how they're doing. As their captain, you absolutely need to communicate with your women to make sure they're not dying out there, almost to the point of bugging them. Make sure they know that you care whether they're being overworked. Even if they are yet wanted to stay, they'll appreciate the fact that you are recognizing the loyalty to the team. DO NOT assume they're ok, because they may not say anything then, but there's a chance they will be turned off to ultimate because of it and will never come out to play again. Do not risk this.

Picking up players

Picking up players and having guest players is allowed, but must be agreed to by the other team's captain. The opposing team's captain has a few choices when presented with this, and has the absolute right to change his/her mind at any point in the game.
  1. Not allow the other team to pick up a player.
  2. Pick up a player for his or her team to balance the other team's pickup.
  3. Allow the pickup until a predetermined number of players arrive.
  4. Allow the pickup until a certain point total or threshold is reached.
In any case, the pickup should NEVER take desired playing time away from team members. It should be made perfectly clear to the guest player that they are a guest and should not interfere with any team member getting as much PT as they want.

What other rules?

Winter League will follow the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) 10th edition rules. A copy can be found at http://www.upa.org/ultimate/rules/10thfinal.html

If you have any other questions email

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