1.  Why do you require full payment of BALANCES before the first game?
Full payment of a team fee shows commitment to playing the full season and helps decrease the chance of having to re-do a schedule for a team dropping due to lack of players, inability to pay the fee, etc.

2.  I have a COMPLAINT about my game. What do I do?
We value your feedback and concerns. If you have a complaint about your experience with us, whether it be a referee, rule, opponent, etc., please email us at Office@SportsConnectionNC.com. We'll research the situation and respond to you.

3.  Why do you require a DEPOSIT before being scheduled the first game? 
Paying a deposit is confirmation the registration is legitimate & helps decrease the chances of a team not-showing the first week.

4.  When do you merge DIVISIONS and why?
If there are less than 5 teams in a division, we will often merge the division with another...PROVIDED THAT each team plays the same amount of cross-division games. In the event a team has more cross-division games, the additional game(s) may not count toward standings & playoff seedings. (If a B team played an A team more times than the other teams in the division for example). We avoid these situations as best as possible.

We weigh the difference between some teams who would rather play the same level of competition multiple times, and others who would rather play different competition of varying level. Realizing that merging divisions can result in blow-outs, we do all we can to avoid doing so.

5.  Why is your FORFEIT penalty so strict?
No one likes forfeits. When a team shows up for a game, they want an opponent. We hope by incorporating strict forfeit policies that it will minimize the chance a team forfeits when they're short a player, when the weather is iffy, they don't like the gametime that week, etc. Hopefully teams will make that extra effort to show up knowing a forfeit affects them this season AND next.

6.  What is the purpose of GUEST PASSES?
Staying consistent with our "we-hate-forfeits" policy, we want teams to be able to grab friends and co-workers to field a team when they're in need of players. Oftentimes, those people may not have a Player's Card if they don't play with us regularly. This way, your team has 5 passes to use each season to add a player when needed.

Guest Passes are just that though...they are for GUESTS. They are NOT for the player who has been playing and whose Player Card has expired. Guest Passes are for players without a current Player's Card, who are playing with that team for a specific game. In keeping consistent with our policy of maintaining fair divisions, Guest Players are not added to a permanent roster, not allowed during playoffs and ejection of a Guest Player will result in a forfeit.

7.  I don't have a team, but I want to play as an INDIVIDUAL. What do I do?
INDIVIDUAL Registrations will be grouped together and placed on a House Team or on an existing Team that needs additional players. After you submit your application, you will be contacted via email to confirm we have received your registration.  If we are able to form a House Team, or place you on an existing Team, you will receive an email or phone call with instructions to log into our secure, online  system to process your Payment.  A valid Player's Card is required for all players.  Generally, a group of House Team players will stay together and form their own Team the following season.

8.  Why is your PICK-UP PLAYER policy the way it is?
Similar to our Guest Player policy, we attempt to maintain accurate divisions after schedules are created. Competition is skewed when teams attempt to pick-up players from other teams, when those players are often high-quality players. Many times, if those players were on the roster prior to the game, that team may be placed in a higher division. In addition, they can only be on one team per division. However, if the opposing team ok's the pick-up player to avoid a forfeit, improve competition, or for whatever the reason...the game is legitimate. Pick-up players are never added to a roster though and not allowed during playoffs.

9.  Why do I need to have a PICTURE on file for playoffs?
We want your picture on file for playoffs to verify you are indeed the person playing under your name. We don't want teams trying to bring in a "ringer" or additional player under someone else's name for playoffs. That is why we need your picture on file and will refer to it. If you don't have a picture on file, you'll have to bring a photo ID or proof of identification.

10.  Why do only 50% of teams advance to PLAYOFFS?
For a number of reasons. First, we want the regular season to mean something...which also discourages forfeits, improves competition and increases everyone's enjoyment. Second, we want quality playoff games, not blow-outs and forfeits. Third, few sports organizations in the country take everyone to playoffs. Fourth, we want to get in at least 5 seasons/year. With increased operating costs, being able to operate at least 5 seasons/year allows us to grow and continue business without passing down much of the costs to you, the player.

11.  How do I REGISTER a team?
 

There Are 3 Ways To Register For A League
Click On The League You Are Interested In. Then "Click To Register".  Then Fill Out Information To REGISTER.  We Will Contact You Within 24 Hours To PAY Online or By Phone.	Log Into Our System and REGISTER and PAY Online.  Click Here To Access MySAM	Visit One Of Our North Or South Locations, Or Call 704-583-1444 To REGISTER And PAY In Person.

12.  Why can't you honor all my team's REQUESTS?
If your team requested all early games...and another team in your division requested all late games...we are obviously not able to honor each team's request fully. We do our best to honor all requests, but our general rule is that we can honor 5 (of 7) games. We don't allow requests for playoff games, as one request for one team may be a disadvantage to another. Moving around quarter and semi-finals also affect the games and times following them also.

We can only honor CAPTAIN'S requests for his/her team. Multiple players, playing on multiple teams, makes it near impossible to work around individual player's requests. All requests should be emailed to Office@SportsConnectionNC.com and must be on file by the league deadline. When we do a schedule, we analyze it to ensure a fair balance of times, etc. to all teams.

13.  Why do you have a cap on ROSTERS and cut-off for eligibility?
Staying with our goal of maintaining proper divisions, we want teams to set their roster and not stack it with players. If a roster gets too big...a team could assemble different groups of players and be an "A" or "B" team. Additionally, we don't want teams to show up with "ringers" for playoffs or sandbag in divisions. For those reasons, we have a 15-person cap to rosters, which are frozen Week 4, for which players have to have played a game and been added to a roster. If a team adds players that change their divisional status, after a schedule has been posted, we may deny the additions or re-do schedules and move the team.

14.  Why do you do the 1st week of SCHEDULES, then full season schedule? When do you do these schedules, including playoffs?
We do just the first week schedule initially for a number of reasons. One reason is to evaluate teams and make sure they are in the right division before doing a full-season schedule. The second reason is to make sure teams are committed to the league before we include them in a full schedule. Thirdly, we want to allow that extra week for any teams that missed the deadline for whom we may allow to join late.

We'll email the entire league when any schedule is posted, which is normally within 48 hours after the deadline, first week's games or last week's games. We post playoff brackets both in MySam and on our website, so teams can see who/when they play if they advance, as MySam only allows scheduling one game. Make sure to check the playoff brackets on our website!

15.  When does the next SEASON start?
You can find season deadlines and start dates both on our website by clicking on the desired sport at our "Leagues & Sports" page HERE, or you can also find these dates listed on MySam when you register.

16.  How long is a SEASON?
Seasons are 7 games, with the top 50% of teams in a division (up to 6) advancing to a single-elimination tournament. Often, teams will have one "bye" (off) week during the regular season. If you have a "bye" week, you will not see a game scheduled that week. Sometimes, it may be the first week of the season.

Playoffs begin the very next week after the regular season ends. We'll do a schedule the day after the regular season ends and email the league when it's posted.

17.  What does WINNER OF PREVIOUS mean?
Winner of Previous means your team is playing the winner of a previous Quarter-Final or Semi-Final game. We post playoff brackets both in MySam and on our website, so teams can see who/when they play if they advance. We only know the pairings for the first game and can thus only schedule the first game in MySam, so make sure to check the playoff brackets on our website to see when you play again if you win!

18.  I registered my team, but now I need to WITHDRAW. What's the policy?
If your team withdraws after the 1st week schedule has been posted, you will forfeit the $100 deposit. This is because we've spent considerable time doing the schedule and in many cases, have turned away other teams for capacity or deadline. If your team withdraws after playing a game, you will forfeit the $100 deposit AND pay the pro-rated amount per game that you were scheduled for up until your withdrawal. In all cases, any refund amount will be issued as a company credit to the captain.
 

         Thank You For Your Support And For Choosing Sports Connection!