Creation and Division of Teams

Registration

Registrations will not carry over from season to season. If you want to play in the upcoming season you still have to register during the specified registration period (even if you are currently rostered). Registration links will be sent via email, posted here on the website, and will likely be posted on the Rink Rats Instagram. To ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to play each year, registrations for available spots will be first come first serve.

Season to Season

Teams will completely reset and reconfigure at the beginning of each calendar year, players will have the option to continue with their team through the year, and then teams will reconfigure again the following year so that players get the chance to meet and play with new people and develop new team dynamics. As well as to ensure that overpowered teams do not remain so from year to year. One of the Rink Rats' values is "Community" and by mixing up the teams each year we allow players to develop new friendships and strengthen our community. Finally, the yearly shake up gives everyone an equal opportunity to sign up so that people don't get stuck in an endless wait list holding pattern.

Dividing of Teams

Teams are going to be capped at 15 rostered players and one rostered goalie per team. Teams will be built prior to the first season of each calendar year through a "draft" conducted on, or shortly after, the season payment due date, after the final fees have been collected. The draft will consist of team captains picking players in snake draft style beginning with goalies and proceeding through player skills levels to ensure even skill distribution. Captains will discuss player skill levels prior to beginning the draft, using the self-identified skill levels and previous seasons' player stats, to ensure players are listed appropriately. No rostered players will be added for the season after the draft is complete as the jersey order will be submitted within the following days. For subsequent seasons within the calendar year, teams will be allowed to keep their players and bring on new players to fill any gaps from players choosing not to continue.

Team Captains

During season sign-ups, for the first season of the calendar year, I will be asking for volunteers for team captains. Captains will be assigned on a first come first serve basis. Captains need to be a skill level of D or higher and need to be available to participate in the draft. In addition to the draft, captains will be responsible for the following items: To set up their team's bench app, to coordinate subs and goalie coverage (from players/goalies who have joined the Rink Rats only), to either handle the team pucks and whiteboards themselves or ensure someone on the team is responsible for them, to ensure goals and assists for their players are accurate following each game, to tend to their team's locker room (ensure it gets unlocked, is empty and clean following each game, and is locked back up at the end), to handle and launder the sub jerseys each week, and to communicate if there are any issues that need to be addressed. Sub jerseys are to be collected after each game played, are not to be loaned out for extended periods of time, and are to all be turned in at the end of the season. If a captain allows a sub jersey to go missing, they will be responsible for the replacement cost at the end of the season. Beginning with the Spring 2026 Season, if there is a vacancy or a no-show for either the score keeper or the ref, the captains of the teams playing will be required to step in to those roles. As such, captains will be required to attend the ref clinic and review the instructional scorekeeping video. Additional duties may be added.

Goalies

Goalies will be assigned to teams on a first come first serve basis (e.g. if we have 10 teams and 12 goalies sign up for a season, the first 10 goalies to have signed up will be available to pick from during the draft). Once a goalie has been assigned to a team, they are assigned to that team for the duration of the season. All goalie substitutes will be added to a Google Sheet accessible to the team captains and it will be up to the team captains to coordinate substitutes.

Friend Requests

Following the difficulty of balancing teams while honoring many large friend pairing requests for Summer 2025, we have moved forward to only allow for a single (1) pairing request per player. This will still allow spouses, siblings, etc. to play together. The caveat to this being that during sign ups, both players must request the pairing. If both parties do not request it, or if three people try to do a three-way request, etc. the request will simply be ignored.

Substitutes

We allow players to join a substitute list rather than signing up for the full season. This will allow players who may not be able to make the majority of the games to still get a game here and there without having to pay the fee. Substitute sign ups will come out separately from the player sign ups before the season starts. Substitutes will not pay a fee, but are not guaranteed ice time and are not eligible for a jersey. A few extra jerseys will be purchased in each team color for subs to use, but they will be returned to the team captain after each game. All substitutes will be added to a Google Sheet accessible to the team captains and it will be up to the team captains to utilize substitutes if they so choose but only if the team has fewer than the 15 players on the bench. Only substitutes that have signed up for the sub list will be allowed to sub for the Rink Rats, captains will not be reaching out to individuals who have not signed up with the Rink Rats for sub opportunities.

Jerseys

Every team will be assigned a color and every player on that team will have one jersey in that color so that there will not be a need to determine whether to wear dark or light. We are not doing reversibles. Jerseys will be customized with player names and numbers. Jersey designs will be changed up at the beginning of each calendar year but will remain consistent through each of the seasons of the year requiring only one jersey purchase per player per calendar year. We allow players to choose what “name” goes on the back of their jersey, however, we will not allow for anything obscene or offensive. If a player clearly selects something that can be considered obscene or offensive, their jersey will automatically revert to their last name. If there is a question as to the meaning of a selection, I will reach out to the player first. During sign ups, players will also provide three different number choices for their jersey and once teams have been built, jersey numbers will be assigned to players on their teams with captains getting their first preference and then players getting their numbers in order of when they registered. If a player's first choice is already taken I will move to their second, then third, and if all 3 have been taken I will reach out to those individuals after the rest of the teams numbers have been assigned. The request for three different number options is to make a burdensome process significantly easier and if an individual does not follow the direction to select three distinctly different number options, they will be assigned a number at random regardless of number availability.