UCF INTRAMURAL SPORTS
TEAM CAPTAIN'S GUIDE
Updated: July 1st, 2008

 

Dear UCF Student,

Welcome to UCF Intramural Sports! As a team captain, you have made a great choice to get involved in one of our events offered throughout the school year. We hope that your experience as a captain is beneficial to you and your teammates and that you will use this captain’s guide as a resource to ensure the maximum UCF experience.

So go ahead and become familiar with the contents in this guide, and remember to “take some time every day to play.”

Gary Cahen

Gary Cahen
Assistant Director, Intramural Sports

This book has been revised as of Fall 2008 and the guidelines contained herein
 will remain in effect until a subsequent edition of the Captain’s Guide is published
for distribution. The version of the Captain's Guide listed online should be considered the most
 current version of Intramural Policies and Procedures and any addendum will be listed as shaded below.


ASSUMPTION OF RISK, LIABILITY, AND HOLD HARMLESS STATEMENT

ATTENTION CAPTAINS
You are required to share the following information with each
member of your roster


The University of Central Florida does not provide accident insurance coverage for injuries received by Intramural participants. Each participant should make sure that he/she has coverage either through family policies or the student insurance plan.

By registering a team, team captains assume the responsibility of making their teammates aware of the various risks of participating in this activity. Captains must share this statement with their teammates prior to their participation. Captains that do not agree to this responsibility will not be entered into intramural leagues.
Participation in sporting and athletic activities involves certain inherent risks. This includes, without limitation, the significant risk of serious personal injury or death and the significant risk of personal property damage or destruction

Participants assume all risks and consequences associated with or arising in connection with such participation. Participants agree to indemnify and hold harmless the State of Florida, the Board of Trustees of UCF, and the University of Central Florida (UCF), and their employees and students, and all organizations involved in the coordination, hosting, staffing and contribution of equipment and supplies, and their agents, servants and employees from and against any and all claims, damages, actions, liability and expenses in connection with loss of life, personal injury and/or damage to property arising out of my participation in the above-referenced activity.


PURPOSE OF THE CAPTAINS GUIDE
 

 

This handbook is designed to serve as an informative and procedural reference for persons involved or interested in the organization of an intramural sports team. The Intramural Sports program urges you to become familiar with the information contained in this handbook and to consult it when the need arises.


INTRAMURAL SPORTS

Intramural Sports offers all Activity and Service Fee paying UCF Students (and UCF Faculty and Staff who purchase Recreation and Wellness Center Memberships) the opportunity to participate in a variety of team, dual, and individual sports. Participating is a great chance to get involved. Several divisions of play are offered for most activities to accommodate various skill levels for both recreational and competitive participation.

 

CAPTAIN’S RESPONSIBILITIES

A captain is the individual who organizes an intramural team and registers it to be placed in a league.
A captain is responsible for:

§         Attending the mandatory captain’s meeting for that sport and communicating all information to teammates.

§         Making sure their team knows its scheduled game time and day, and arrives at the proper time.

§         Checking the eligibility of each of their teammates prior  to allowing them to participate on their team

§         Making sure each of its teams players participate on only one team during the season, and if a player wants to change teams, making sure it is done within the rules.

§         Paying the $30 forfeit fine if their team forfeits a game.

§         Ensuring their team or anyone affiliated with the team has appropriate conduct at all times.       

§         Making teammates aware that UCF does not provide accident insurance for injuries that occur during Intramural Sports activities.

 

HOW TO ENTER A TEAM

 

STEP ONE: Log onto the Recreation and Wellness Center website, find the Intramural Sports link, and click on the “PLAY” button. Listed will be the sports and events where registration is currently open. Click the event that you desire to register for.

www.rec.ucf.edu

STEP TWO: Carefully enter all of the required information including Team Name, Captain’s Name, Phone Number, Address, e-mail, and Date of Birth.

STEP THREE: After the captain’s information is registered, the full name and birth dates of each member of the team roster must be entered. The minimum number of players needed for a sport is required to register a team.

STEP FOUR: For all team league sports, select a preferred day of play on your entry form.

STEP FIVE: Once the captain has entered all information and agreed to hold harmless statement, hit “Submit” to send entry to Intramural Sports.

STEP SIX: After submitting the entry, you will get a confirmation screen. Please print this out as a reminder of the captain’s meeting.

STEP SEVEN: For all team league sports, the team captain must attend the captains meeting for that sport to confirm their team’s entry into the league. Teams will choose which day they will play on based on the order that they signed up prior to the deadline.

NOTE: Due to the popularity of some leagues, it may be necessary to form a waiting list. Signing up prior to the deadline does not guarantee inclusion into a league if a league has been capped due to facility constraints. Captains that do not attend the meeting will have their team placed on the waiting list.

FREE AGENTS



Individuals who are not able to form an entire team for a sport may join a team through free agency. There are two ways that an individual can utilize through free agency.

Prior to the sign-up deadline to each sport, individuals can sign up on the
online Free Agent List at the Intramural Sports website. The online Free Agent List allows one to advertise their skills to prospective teams who may be looking for additional players. Once a free agent is contacted by a team and agrees to join it, they must be added to the team roster by the team captain.

Individuals who are not added to a team may attend a Free Agent meeting that occurs prior to the registration deadline. Free Agent meeting dates are announced on the Intramural Website prior to each sport. Captains of teams that need additional players are encouraged to attend Free Agent meetings to recruit players.

 

AWARDS



Intramural Champion T-Shirts are awarded to the winner of all intramural sports tournaments. Photos of each championship team are also located on the Intramural Website and the RWC Wall of Fame. 

 

FORFEITS AND DEFAULTS


1. A team will forfeit a contest when:

A.      A team does not have 3 players signed in by scheduled game time.

B.       It does not have the minimum required number of players to play within 10 minutes of the scheduled starting time (see chart), or if a team falls below the minimum at any point thereafter due to ejection.

Sport

Min.

Baseball / Softball

8

Co-Rec Flag Football

6

7 on 7 Football / Soccer

5

Basketball / Floor Hockey / Dodgeball / Coed Soccer / 6 on 6 Volleyball

4

4 on 4 Flag Football / 4 on 4 Volleyball

3

All other sports require a full lineup.

C.       It leaves the playing area before the contest is completed.

D.      It uses an ineligible player.

E.        Any of its substitutes or spectators enters the playing area and get involved in a fight. Involvement shall be defined as unsportsmanlike interaction with a player of the opposing team or with an official.

F.       Team Conduct is inappropriate and the Intramural Supervisor ends the game.       

IM HINT: Tell teammates to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to game time to help avoid a forfeit. Seek out the supervisors to make sure you are at the correct location

2.    A team may default a contest by giving written notification to Intramural Sports before 5:00 PM, the previous business day before the game is scheduled to be played (Games played Sat-Mon must be defaulted by Friday at 5:00 PM). The team captain or assistant captain may make this request. Default forms may be downloaded from the Intramural Website or picked up at the Recreation and Wellness Center administration office. Teams may only default one game per season. Tournament games may not be defaulted.            

FORFEIT FINE

An Intramural Sports Forfeit Fine is assessed to all teams that forfeit games. These fines are designed to stabilize Intramural Leagues and reduce the number of forfeits by requiring a financial commitment from each team and providing incentive for them to show up and play. Any captain that assumes the responsibility of signing up for a team sport agrees that if that team forfeits during the season as described in this guide, the captain will be charged the $30 forfeit fine, and failure to pay this fine at the conclusion of the season will cause a hold to be placed on the captain's Recreation and Wellness Center account, restricting access to all RWC Facilities and Programs. A team may continue to play the remainder of it's scheduled regular season games after it's first forfeit, however if a team forfeits a second time it will be removed from the league and tournament.

 

ALL UNIVERSITY TOURNAMENTS


For most team sports in which there is league competition, Intramural Sports will conduct an All-University Tournament at the end of league play. These tournaments, open to teams that participated in the regular season, will determine the All-University Champions and T-Shirt winners in each level.

All teams who complete the regular season without a forfeit are automatically scheduled into the tournament.* Teams that forfeit one time during the regular season and pay the forfeit fine by 7 days prior to the end of the regular season will be entered into the tournament.  Teams that forfeit after the payment deadline have until noon the following day to pay the fine to be reinstated into the tournament.

 

TOURNAMENT WITHDRAWAL


Due to the number of teams in each tournament, it will be necessary for Intramural Sports to schedule the teams to play on different days and different time slots than which they played their regular season games. Teams wishing to withdraw from the tournament or change leagues must do so by each league’s specified deadline to avoid the forfeit fine.

If captains are aware of potential conflicts for team members that participate in more than one simultaneous tournament, they are responsible for bringing schedule conflicts to the attention of Intramural Sports well in advance. If alternate arrangements cannot be made, teams are responsible for having enough players available for both games.

*
Intramural Sports reserves the right, due to facility or time constraints, to use alternate methods of including teams into the All-University tournament.

 

ELIGIBILITY RULES

 

1.        The Intramural Sports Program is open to all currently enrolled UCF students who have paid the Activity and Service fee. Students must be enrolled at the time of participation. Members of varsity, sport club, or professional teams are not eligible to participate in their sport or related intramural sport

Note: During the Summer Semester, students that were enrolled in the preceding semester and will continue enrollment in the succeeding fall semester may purchase an RWC Student Summer Membership in order to participate in Intramural Sports if they are not currently enrolled during the summer.

2.        The Intramural Sports Program is also open to UCF Faculty and Staff (USPS/A&P) who purchase a membership to the Recreation and Wellness Center.

3.        A varsity or professional team member is defined as anyone participating in one or more scheduled intercollegiate or professional contests or participating in one or more regular season practices after the first scheduled contest of the school year. The player’s ineligibility for that Intramural sport shall be in effect until August 1st.

4.        A sport club team member is defined as anyone participating in one or more scheduled intercollegiate contests during the current school year. Sport clubs are defined as registered organizations through the Office of Student Involvement that participate in intercollegiate competitions and are members of the Sports Club Council. The player’s ineligibility for that Intramural sport shall be in effect until August 1st.

5.        All participants must present a valid UCF student ID before every intramural game. Faculty and Staff Members must produce a UCF ID and valid RWC membership card. There are NO exceptions to the ID policy.

All questions of eligibility should be referred to the Assistant Director of Intramural Sports. Decisions relating to eligibility are at the discretion of the Assistant Director

6.        Any player participating in any intramural contest must be listed on the official team roster, with PID, prior to participation. Players may be added to the regular season roster during registration, by informing the intramural supervisor to add the player’s name and PID on the game score sheet, or by visiting the graduate assistant at the intramural office.

7.        Eligible players may be added to a roster at any time, before the completion of the final regularly scheduled game of the season. Players appearing on the original roster at the time of registration, that do not participate in a regular season game, must be added to the team’s tournament roster prior to the final regular season contest to be eligible to participate in the tournament.

8.        Any player participating under an assumed name or identification shall be barred from intramural participation indefinitely and the team he/she is playing for shall forfeit the game. The individual must seek reinstatement to participate. The individual will also be referred to the Office of Student Conduct for further disciplinary action, as deemed appropriate.

9.     A player may play for only one team during a season in any given sport. The only exception is that a player may change teams by meeting ALL of the following criteria:

A.      The captains of both teams involved fill out a team change form 

B.      Player goes to a team in another division or one lower in the standings of the same division.

C.           Change is made before half the season is complete for either team (Prior to game three in a 5 or 6 week season) and without any forfeits charged to either team.

D.          The Graduate Assistant or Assistant Director approves changes.

In a case where a player’s name is on more than one roster, that player is considered part of the team on which he/she first participates.

10.   A player removed from any intramural contest by any Intramural Staff member, for any reason, is suspended indefinitely from all intramural sports and must personally seek reinstatement from the Assistant Director (See Sportsmanship and Conduct).

          Each participant is responsible for the verification of his/her own eligibility. Team captains are responsible for checking the eligibility of their own players and should refer questionable cases to the Assistant Director.

 

ALCOHOL, DRUGS, AND TOBACCO


Alcoholic beverages, drugs, and tobacco are prohibited on or near the playing fields and courts during intramural activities. Officials, players, or spectators who show evidence of current or previous alcoholic consumption or drug use will be required to leave the playing area and are subject to ejection. Any teams, including identified spectators, having alcoholic beverages at an intramural game site are subject to being charged with a forfeit, and referred to the Office of Student Conduct. Additionally, the Artificial Turf fields at RWC Park have further restrictions on certain products that are prohibited on the playing surface. Please refer to RWC Park Policies for a list of prohibited items.

 

FOOTWEAR , PETS, AND JEWELRY


Shoes with metal cleats are not allowed in any intramural sports. In addition, participants will not be permitted to participate without shoes in any sport where there is contact or player interaction between opponents on the field or court with the exception of sand volleyball.

Additionally, pets are not allowed within the confines of the Intramural playing fields. Jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces, piercings, and other items deemed potentially harmful by Intramural Supervisors are not permitted during any sport.

 

CANCELLED GAMES & RESCHEDULING


The Intramural Sports program will not reschedule games cancelled due to inclement weather, loss of facilities, or special circumstances.  If both teams want to reschedule a game, they must coordinate with the Graduate Assistant to select a new playing date during regularly scheduled league times, if available.

The Intramural Hotline is available for teams to check the status of each day’s games. Call 407-823-0999 for daily updates on the status of whether games will be played. If there is bad weather, and the recorded message states that games are still on, please assume that they are and show up for your game. In the event that scheduled games resume at a later time after weather delays end, or a portion of the evening's games have been cancelled with games resuming at a designated time announced on the hotline , it is the responsibility of the team to return promptly to the playing area in a reasonable time to allow games to remain on schedule. The amount of time given is at the discretion of the intramural supervisor.

The Recreation and Wellness Center utilizes the Thorguard lightning warning system. When one horn is sounded, located at both the RWC and RWC Park, all participants must clear the premises immediately and seek lightning-safe shelter. No Intramural Sports activities will resume until “all-clear” status has been signified, with three shorter audible horn blasts.

RWC HOTLINE ---- 407-823-0999 ----

 

PLAYING RULES


The rules in all sports are based on national association rules with modifications, when appropriate, to make the activity safe and enjoyable for the players while attempting to maintain the identity of the game. The rules of each sport will be discussed at the captain’s meeting for that sport and are also available for download on the Intramural Website.

PROTESTS

The purpose of the Intramural Sports program is to promote sports participation and enjoyment by all students of the University. The byproducts of this participation including high-level competition, league standings, and T-shirts, are considered secondary aspects of the program.

Therefore, Intramural Sports will NOT recognize any protest based on the decision of an official or an Intramural Supervisor. All matters of dispute must be settled at the time of the incident in question, and the decision of the Intramural Supervisor is FINAL.

It is the responsibility of the team captain to insure that matters of dispute are properly brought to the Intramural Supervisor's attention before the game continues so that a proper ruling is made. Any protest concerning the use of an ineligible player must by reported to the Intramural Supervisor, Graduate Assistant, or Assistant Director as soon as the infraction is discovered and will be ruled on according to the established procedures.

 

SPORTSMANSHIP AND CONDUCT


The team captain is the sole spokesman for his/her team in conferring with the officials and must assume the responsibility for the conduct of his/her players and spectators. Intramural Sports expects a high level of sportsmanship from its participants and verbal or physical abuse of its student employees will not be tolerated.

Intramural Officials and Supervisors have the authority to remove from a game, without warning, any player who is playing in a dangerous manner, displaying unsportsmanlike conduct, or shows evidence of drug or alcohol use. When a player has been ejected from a game, he/she must leave the area immediately. Players removed from a game by an official or supervisor are suspended indefinitely for ALL Intramural Sports and must personally seek reinstatement from the Assistant Director by filling out the online reinstatement request form at the Intramural Website.

When deemed appropriate or when injury or property damage results from the misconduct, the matter will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct for possible disciplinary action.

EJECTION CATEGORY

MINIMUM SUSPENSION
 (First Offense)

MINIMUM SUSPENSION
(Second Offense)

1. Unsportsmanlike Conduct / ID

1 week and 1 game

3 weeks and 3 games

2. Unsportsmanlike Contact (Contact with opponent or threatening an official)

2 weeks and 2 games

6 weeks and 6 games

3. Fighting (Active involvement with opponent or contact with an official**)

3 weeks and 3 games

Semester


**In April 2004 the Florida House and Senate approved a bill which protects sports officials by increasing aggravated assault and battery punishments to the felony level. This legislation protects officials before, during, and after a game.

 

·         These are minimum suspensions, and may be extended at the discretion of the Assistant Director.

·         Any player ejected from a game is ineligible for the all university tournament for that sport. If there is a second incident of player ejection by the same team in a season, the team is ineligible for the All-University Tournament. Tournament games will be forfeited if a team’s second ejection occurs during it.

·         Participants may be placed on Recreation and Wellness Center hold at the discretion of the Assistant Director, and suspensions may also include the loss of access to RWC Facilities and Programs.

·          All suspensions are indefinite in length and apply to all intramural sports activities until the player seeks, and is granted, reinstatement from the Assistant Director. An appointment must be made to seek reinstatement.

·         The number of weeks and games applies to all intramural activities and is counted when intramural team sports leagues are played and the individual is on a team roster. Additionally, the suspension does not begin until the meeting date.

·         Participants are subject to ejection from intramural events from the time they arrive at the game site to the time they leave. Participants may be additionally sanctioned for any harassment of staff or other participants that takes place off RWC premises if reported by staff members, including electronic forms of harrassment.

IM HINT: To avoid escalating a fight, players in the game should restrain their own teammates. Do not grab opponents to attempt to break up a fight