“A season, start to finish”
The crew's league is amateur in the plainest sense: free to enter, refereed by volunteers and decided on Thursday nights.
Fair matches, friendly rivals
The league is the crew's amateur competition, and we mean the word seriously. Nobody is paid to play and nobody pays to enter. The only rewards are matters of honour: a nickname on the board in the club room, a season title for the winning squad, and the right to choose the game for the next community night.
Each season brings together eight to twelve squads. Fixtures are played online on Thursday nights, and the finals are shown on a big screen in the club room whenever a first Saturday falls at the right time. Squads that cannot make a fixture say so early and the match is moved, not forfeited.
Our league referee, Luke Davidson, writes the rule sheet for every season and decides disputes, usually within a day. His decisions are posted with a short reason, which means the rules grow a little clearer each time.
Squad names are chosen by the squads themselves, and the only restriction is that they must be something you would be happy to hear read aloud before a final. Past names include Late Shift, Flood Plain and a squad that has called itself The Extension Leads since the very first meetup.
From sign-up to the last whistle
Sign up
At the start of a season, members tell a moderator they want a place by using the form on the membership page or posting in the sign-up channel. Entry costs nothing, and nobody is refused a place because of a poor result before.
The squad draw
Captains are chosen first, then squads are drawn in the open on a voice call so that everyone hears the result at once. We mix experienced players with newcomers and keep friends together only when they ask.
Fixtures
Heather Mason publishes the list of Thursday fixtures for the whole season on the first night. A squad may swap a fixture by agreement with the other captain, provided the referee is told by Tuesday.
Refereeing
Luke watches matches in spectator mode, settles disputes and keeps the rule sheet. Decisions go in the results channel with a short reason, so the next squad can learn from them.
Finals
The top four squads play semi-finals and a final over the last fortnight, with commentary from volunteers. Finals are shared on the crew's live stream and shown on the big screen in the club room.
What the winners get
Honour, and nothing else. The winning squad's nicknames go on the club-room board, the squad holds the season title until the next final, and the captain picks the game for the following community night.