Campus Recreation > Intramural Sports > Captain's Guide

Intramural Captains Guide

I. Assumption of Risk

Participation in intramural activities is strictly voluntary. There are risks inherent to participation in sports and recreation. The University does not assume responsibility for personal injuries or loss of property. Injuries and their resulting costs are the responsibility of the participant. Campus Recreation strongly advises participants to take advantage of a University-sponsored insurance plan or a private insurance policy.

Health insurance coverage is required for all University students and all intramural participants. Enrollment in the University without insurance may result in an individual’s removal from the University.

II. General Eligibility

It would not be possible for Campus Recreation to check on the eligibility of all participants. Each individual is responsible for the verification of her/his eligibility. Team captains must also accept the responsibility for the eligibility status of any participant representing their respective teams. Questions regarding participant eligibility should be brought to the attention of senior Campus Recreation staff.

All undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in the University of Massachusetts Amherst and UMass Amherst faculty/staff are eligible to participate in intramural activities sponsored by Campus Recreation, except as provided by special eligibility rules.

Graduate students, continuing education students, and faculty/staff must pay a $20 entry fee to participate in an intramural activity. There is also the option to pay a recreation membership fee each semester to participate in intramural activities and use recreation facilities.

Students on academic probation are permitted to compete in intramural activities. Only probationary cases which the Dean of Students office feels are of a nature that warrant non-participation will be ineligible.

A. Recreation Fees
Graduate students, continuing education students, faculty and staff have two options to be able to participate in intramural sports:

A recreation membership can be purchased at the Recreation Center each semester and used to participate in intramural activities and use recreation facilities.
An individual can pay an intramural entry fee of $20 per sport/per team to participate in intramural activities without access to recreation facilities.

Proof of a recreation membership or payment of the entry fee must be shown to Campus Recreation staff before an individual participates in an intramural activity.

B. Player Restrictions

Sport Club Athletes
A sport club is any Registered Student Organization recognized by the Student Government Association, including (but not limited to) the 12 Campus Recreation sport clubs.

Sport club athletes are welcome to participate in intramural activities with the following stipulations:

A current player who is listed on a sport club membership roster and practices or competes with the team may not compete in an intramural activity that is related to his/her club sport.
A former club member who is not listed on the membership roster and is not practicing or competing with the sport club is eligible to participate in any intramural activity. An intramural team is limited to one former club player in their sport or related sport.

Varsity Athletes
Varsity athletes are welcome to participate in intramural activities with the following stipulations:

A current varsity athlete may not compete in an intramural activity in his/her varsity sport or related sport. This includes redshirt athletes and redshirt freshmen, but does not include non-qualifiers that are not practicing, competing or traveling with the team..
A former varsity athlete, including any redshirt, must sit out for two years from the end of his/her intercollegiate participation before participating in an intramural activity in his/her varsity sport or related activity.
An intramural team is limited to one former varsity player in his/her varsity sport or related activity.

Professional and Olympic Athletes
An individual who has competed in a sport on a professional and/or Olympic level is not eligible to participate in intramural activities in his/her professional and/or Olympic sport or related sports.

An individual who has competed in a sport on a professional and/or Olympic level is eligible to participate in intramural activities not related to his/her professional and/or Olympic sport.

C. Ineligible Players

Any player not listed on the official team roster online at imeagues.com and/or on the scoresheet at the time of the contest.
Any player on the official team roster with incomplete information including full name, student number, class year, fees paid.
Any player without his/her valid UCard for an intramural activity/contest.
Any player who plays for more than one team in a specific league (men’s, women’s, co-Rec) per sport shall be ineligible to participate in that sport for the remainder of the semester. If deception is involved, that player will lose eligiblity in all intramural activities for a semester or duration of time deemed appropriate by Campus Recreation Staff.
Any player not currently enrolled as a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Any player not currently employed as faculty or staff at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Any player who violates the eligibility rules related to sport club athletes, varsity athletes and/or professional/Olympic athletes.
Any player subject to sanctions or suspensions from Campus Recreation.

Any team using an ineligible player shall cause the game or games in which that player participated to be counted as a loss, and the team will receive no higher than a 2 for sportsmanship for each game. Further sanctions and/or penalties may apply.

III. Intramural Structure

The major divisions of competition are men’s and women’s and co-recreation.

Only men shall participate in men’s activities and only women in women’s activities.
Men and women participate together in co-recreational activities.
Graduate students and faculty/staff are permitted to play on undergraduate teams in the undergraduate or the graduate-faculty-staff division. When competing in the undergraduate division, graduate-faculty-staff must adhere to eligibility rules established for undergraduate competition.

Participants may play for only one team in either the men’s or women’s divisions and only one team in the co-recreational division in any intramural activity.

Once a player has competed for a team in a game, he/she may not transfer to another team in that sport season. Special consideration may be given to individuals on teams dropped from competition. These individuals may be permitted to transfer to another team if approved by senior Campus Recreation staff.

A. League Sports
Major team sports are organized into divisions within each league by time and skill level. Playoff criteria may vary per sport and league. Playoff criteria will be reviewed in each sport’s captains video as well as listed on the sport activiity's page on imleagues.com.

B. Tournament Sports
Schedule formats and playoff criteria may not be finalized until after the registration period

C. Seeding
In certain activities, teams may select their preferred level of play:

Top Gun – the most competitive level of play; highly skilled, experienced teams should select this level of play.
Just Fun – more recreational, less competitive; teams with novice players are strongly encouraged to select this level of play.

For most sports, playoffs will consist of a tournament combining both levels of play into one bracket.

IV. Team Entry

A. IMLeagues.com
Entry forms and rosters will be completed and submitted online at imleagues.com.

All intramural participants will need to create an account on imleagues.com. Imleagues offers a live support button in the top right corner of all pages. Please use this button if you encounter any difficulties.

To create an imleagues account:

Go to www.imleagues.com/schools/umass/registration (a link is provided on the intramural website www.umass.edu/campusrec/intramurals) and click Create Account.
Enter your information. Click Submit.
You must use your school email address.
@student.umass.edu or @dept.umass.edu
You will be sent a confirmation email. Click the link in the email to login and activate your account.
You should be automatically joined to your school. If not, you can search schools by clicking the “Schools” link.

Once captains know when their team can play, find the activity, day and time:

See the individual sport pages on www.imleagues.com/umass for more information about a particular activity.
Log in to your imleagues.com account.
Click Create/Join Team at the top right of your user homepage or click on the “UMass Amherst” link.
Invite the mandatory minimum number of players to join your team
Watch the Captains Video and take the online quiz through IMLeagues
Register your team on the registration day for that activity.
- All activity registrations will be open for one day only.
- All registrations will be first-come, first-served.
If the activity is a league sport, choose the division in which you wish to play (Men’s 1 TG - Mondays @ 6, Men’s 2 JF - Mondays @ 6, Women’s 1 - Mondays @ 7, etc).

You must have the minimum number of players on your roster and have completed and passed the online captains quiz to choose a spot. After registration day, waitlist teams that have acquired the minimum and passed the quiz will be able to select from remain spots.

B. Creating a Team

Captains can invite members to their team by clicking the “Invite Members” link on the team page. Any invited members must accept the invitation to be joined to your team.

If they’ve already registered on imleagues, search for their name and invite them.
If they haven’t yet registered on imleagues, scroll down to the “Invite by Email Address” box and input their email address.

C. Joining a Team

Use the Create/Join Team button at top right of every page.
Accept a request from the captain to join his/her team.
Find the team and captain's name on the division/league page and request to join.
Go to the captain’s "Player Card" page; view his/her team and request to join.

D. Free Agents

You can list yourself as a free agent in as many divisions within a league as you’d like. You will be visible to all members of the site and can request to join teams. Or, you can post information about yourself so teams can request to add you to their team.

E. Waitlisted Teams
Teams that register after the registration date, or after an intramural activity is full, will be added to a waitlist for that activity. Waitlisted teams will be added to the regular schedule as other teams drop out or are removed due to missed mandatory meetings and/or forfeits.

Captains of waitlisted teams should attend all mandatory meetings.

V. Team Management

A. Captains/Players Meetings
For all intramural sports, each team must be have completed sport’s mandatory captains online video and pass the quiz. Some activities will require a mandatory playoff meeting. A team member may attend in the place of a team captain, but it is important that a representative from each team is at the meeting to receive pertinent information about the sport rules, format, playoffs, etc. Any team not represented at the playoff captains meeting will not be eligible for the playoffs.

B. Captain's Responsibilities

The Campus Recreation staff works closely with team captains to promote a successful intramural program. It is not feasible or practical to meet with the thousands of players participating in intramural sports; that is why the role of team captain is pivotal to our success. We strongly recommend designating two individuals to serve as co-captains.
A successful captain's duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Pre-Season

Registering accurate & complete team information by the due date using imleagues.com
Providing contact information (phone number, UMass email address)
Ensuring the team is represented at any mandatory meetings.
Reading, understanding, and adhering to intramural policies and procedures, including the Intramural Captain's Guide and specific sport rules and sharing this information with teammates.
Directing teammates to the Campus Recreation website for sport specific rules and other critical information.
Distributing the league schedule.

League Games/Playoffs

Modeling exemplary sportsmanship and civility and promoting sportsmanship and civility among teammates, opponents and intramural staff.
Representing or designating a representative for pre-game meetings, scoresheet sign-up, game issues, postponements and protests.
Ensuring only eligible players participate and making every effort to prevent forfeits.
Monitoring game status on the Campus Recreation website during inclement weather. Retrieving new game information for rescheduled games and informing teammates.

C. Sport Rules
Intramural rules are adopted from a national governing body, such as Amateur Softball Association (ASA), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Federation of High School (NFHS), and the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA). Campus Recreation staff have also developed rules to enhance the overall experience and the safety of the participants.

All intramural participants agree to abide by all rules and regulations. Campus Recreation reserves the right to institute any rule changes and/or modifications. Rules for individual intramural sports are available on the Campus Recreation website.

VI. Game Management

A. Sport Supervisors and Officials
With the exception of two, full-time professional staff members, intramural supervisors and officials are University of Massachusetts Amherst students. Intramural supervisors and officials are on site to assist participants with questions, supervise games and the conduct of players and spectators, and oversee a safe and enjoyable atmosphere.

Sport Supervisors have full responsibility for the administration of all games/contests, including pre-game and post-game, and matters not specifically covered in the Intramural Captain's Guide or sport rules. Any questions about policies, procedures and game administration should be brought to the sport supervisors.

Intramural Officials have full responsibility for the enforcement of the rules specific to each game/contest, including pre-game and post-game, and matters not specifically covered in the sport rules.

B. UCard Requirement (No UCard=No Play)
Each intramural participant must present his/her UMass UCard before each and every intramural activity. Participants will not be permitted to play without their UCard. The UCard must be as originally issued with photograph, name and student number.

No other form of ID will be accepted. UCard replacement can be done at the UCard office in Whitmore (Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:00pm). Exchanging your old UCard for a new UCard will cost $10; replacing a UCard will cost $25.

C. Athletic Attire
Intramural rules relative to athletic attire are adopted from a national governing body, such as the ASA, NCAA, NFHS and NIRSA. Campus Recreation staff shall not permit any player to wear any item that is deemed unsafe or dangerous to participants. Proper athletic attire must be worn at all times during all intramural activities. Proper attire pertains to all articles of clothing, including upper and lower body clothing and footwear. Participants must wear athletic footwear (no bare feet) at all times during competition. Prohibited footwear includes metal cleats, boots, sandals/flip-flops, or any form of open-toed shoes.

Due to health concerns regarding the use of shared equipment, and in an attempt to minimize certain risks, intramural sports has adopted a t- shirt/jersey policy for intramural activities:

Matching color team shirts are required in all variations of basketball, field hockey, flag football, soccer & ultimate frisbee. Soccer requires each goalie to have a different color shirt from his/her teammates and opponents. One or two-digit numbers are required in basketball and must be at least 3" in height. The use of digits between 0-5 is preferred. Numbers cannot be taped to the back of the shirt, as these tend to fall off.

Teams will have the opportunity to choose a jersey color when registering their team. White, gray and other colors that could be perceived as white or gray will not be permitted. The team is required to have all players wear the same shade of color to every game. All teams will also be required to bring an alternate white jersey to each game. Prior to game time the intramural officials, in conjunction with the intramural sport supervisors, will determine if a conflict exists regarding jersey colors. The team in violation of the policy will be asked to wear their alternate white jerseys. In the event they do not have an alternate white jersey, that team will forfeit. If two teams have the same jersey color, a coin flip will determine which team wears the alternate white jersey. If neither team has alternate white jerseys, thus causing a game to not be played, both teams will forfeit the game.

Intramural sports recognizes there are cases in which t-shirt colors will not match exactly. We strive to ensure that participants are able to play while maintaining the integrity of the game. The intramural sport supervisor has the discretion to allow a participant to play when the t-shirt shade does not exactly match his/her teammates. For example, if Team A is wearing black shirts and Team B is wearing orange shirts, the intramural sport supervisor may allow a player from Team B to wear a shirt that is red, so long as both the officials and supervisor feels there will be no confusion among staff or participants. As another example, if Team B had orange jerseys and Team C had red, the supervisor would not allow a Team B player to wear a red shirt as this would cause confusion. This does mean that a team could potentially be able to use a shirt one week but not the next. Teams will be reminded that they must always bring their alternate jersey to ensure their ability to play.

Jewelry
Jewelry may not be worn by any individual participating in any intramural activity. This includes earrings, necklaces, piercings, watches, bracelets, hair barrettes, and any other forms of jewelry.

Medical alert bracelets and necklaces are permitted, but must be taped to the body.

A meeting must be scheduled and approval must be obtained from the Associate and/or Assistant Director of Intramurals and Sport Clubs prior to the date of the scheduled contest for the use of any attire or equipment that falls under the above restrictions.

D. Equipment
Intramural rules regarding equipment are adopted from a national governing body, such as the ASA, NCAA, NFHS and NIRSA. Campus Recreation reserves the right to put into immediate effect any rules or regulations to protect the health and safety of participants involved in intramural activities.

Campus Recreation will supply standard equipment for intramural activities with the exception of personal items (softball gloves, hockey sticks, etc.). Equipment is provided by the game officials for the conduct of the game. Participants should bring their own equipment for warm-up activities.

Campus Recreation staff, including officials and supervisors, will not permit any player to use equipment that is deemed unsafe or dangerous to participants.

E. Sportsmanship

Through organized and competitive intramural sports, Campus Recreation seeks to provide a positive and enjoyable atmosphere for all participants, including spectators and fans. To encourage a positive and enjoyable atmosphere the Sportsmanship Rating System is in effect for all intramural activities.

Every team and team captain is responsible for the conduct of its players and spectators. Any conduct judged by an intramural supervisor, official or professional staff member to be detrimental to the participants, program, or any particular intramural activity may result removal from a contest and/or further disciplinary action by Campus Recreation.

Spectators and fans are welcomed and encouraged at intramurals activities. Team captains are responsible for the behavior of their spectators. Captains and/or teams will be held accountable for any inappropriate behavior by the fans. Fans are expected to show good sportsmanship, follow the policies and procedures in this guide and do their part to create a positive enjoyable atmosphere.

Trash Disposal
To maintain a safe playing environment, glass containers are not permitted on the intramural fields/courts. Properly dispose of or haul out any trash.

Cheating/Dishonesty
Any individual who is determined to have cheated may be disqualified from intramural activities for the remainder of his/her University career or any part thereof. If the team he/she represents is aware of the cheating, that team may be barred from intramural participation for the remainder of the year or any part thereof.
Examples of cheating include, but are not limited to:

Participating under an assumed name
Participating while using a false ID
Playing on more than one team as per intramural eligibility rules
Withholding information about being a varsity athlete, professional athlete, Olympic athlete, or sport club athlete
Misrepresenting a score or roster/entry information
Playing after being suspended from competition

Any individual(s) that exhibits unnacceptable behavior that includes language that is vulgar, threatening, harrassing, intimidating and/or baiting and taunting may be ejected from the contest. Any individual(s) that, through flagrant misconduct, threatens or endangers the safety of other players, spectators, officials or staff will be ejected from the contest. Ejections can happen before, during, or after a contest.

Ejections/Sanctions

If any individual is ejected or the Campus Recreation Staff deems it necessary based on observation or reports of the game, he/she will be barred from further participation until the individual(s) meet with Campus Recreation Staff. The team the individual particpates on will remain inelgible until such a meeting takes place or the individual is removed from the team. If the player is removed from the team, the individual will remain inelgible for all activities pending a meeting with Campus Recreation Staff and any subsequent sanctions.

Sanctions will be decided by the Associate and Assistant Directors of Intramurals and Sport Clubs, and may include suspension from intramural participation. Sanctions may also include the individual(s) team, and/or an appointment with the Department of Judicial Affairs.

Sportsmanship Rating System

The Sportsmanship Rating System is in effect for all intramural activities. A numeric Sportsmanship rating will be determined at the conclusion of each contest. The rating is final. In addition to qualifying playoff criteria, each team must maintain a 2.75 or better average Sportsmanship rating during league play to participate in the playoffs. During playoff tournaments, each team must be rated 2 or above to continue in the playoffs. Each team will receive a numeric Sportsmanship rating based on the following criteria:

4 Exceptional Conduct & Sportsmanship
Players cooperate fully with the officials, opponents & Campus Recreation staff. The captain calmly converses and interacts with officials about rules interpretations and officials game decisions. The captain(s) or game captain(s) has/have made a concerted effort to mitigate any concerns prior to escalation and deals effectively with his/her teammates/spectators.

3 Good Conduct & Sportsmanship
Team members mildly complain and/or question some decisions made by officials and/or show very minor dissent, but overall display good & appropriate conduct and respond to officials requests and/or warnings. The captain(s) or game captain(s) has/have made an effort to mitigate any concerns prior to escalation and deal effectively with his/her teammates/spectators.

2 Minimum Conduct & Sportsmanship
Team members show verbal dissent toward officials and/or opponents from the field/court and/or sidelines. Isolated use of unacceptable language, taunts and/or baiting. The captain(s) or game captain(s) make little effort to mitigate the inappropriate behavior of his/her teammates/spectators but is in control of him/herself. Officials are required to verbally warn players and players display little or no change in behavior. Depending on the sport and game circumstances, a yellow card, technical foul or unsportsmanlike penalty is issued. A team that receives two yellow cards or two unsporting technical fouls will receive no higher than a two (2) rating.

1 Below Minimum Conduct & Sportsmanship
Team members comment and/or complain to officials and/or opponents from the field/court and/or sidelines throughout the game. Repeated use of unacceptable language, taunts and/or baiting. The team captain(s) or game captain(s) exhibit inappropriate behavior and make no effort to mitigate the inappropriate behavior of his/her teammates/spectators. Depending on the sport and game circumstances, this will result in an ejected or disqualified player for unsporting conduct, flagrant foul or red card and teams will receive no higher than a one (1) rating.

0 Unacceptable Conduct & Sportsmanship
Team is completely uncooperative. The team captain(s) or game captain(s) and teammates/spectators exhibit sustained inappropriate behavior. Continuous use of unacceptable language, taunts and/or baiting. Any team causing a game to be forfeited or stopped early due to unsporting conduct will receive a zero (0) rating. A team receiving more than one red card in a game will receive a zero (0) rating. A team with more than one player with an ejection will receive a zero (0) rating.

F. Protests

Only protests based on the misapplication of the rules and/or player eligibility will be considered. The accuracy of an official’s judgment call will not be considered for protest. All protests should be made verbally prior to the start of the game or at the time of the incident. Any protest made after the completion of the game will not be considered.

Misapplication of rules – protests involving the misapplication of a rule must be verbally communicated to a game official at the time of the incident. The word "protest" must be stated by the team captain to a game official. No protest can be made on a previous play once play has resumed. Once a protest has been verbally communicated to a game official, play will be stopped and every attempt will be made to rule on the protest immediately by the game officials and supervisors on site. Once a ruling has been made, play will resume.
Player eligibility – protests involving alleged eligibility violations should be made prior to the start of play. If the game is in progress at the time of the alleged violation, the team captain must verbally communicate the protest with a game official. The word “protest” must be stated by the team captain to a game official. Once a protest has been verbally communicated to a game official, play will be stopped and every attempt will be made to rule on the protest immediately by the game officials and supervisors on site. Once a ruling has been made, play will resume.

Protest Appeals
Protests ruled on by game officials and on-site supervisors may be appealed in writing by the team captain following the conclusion of the activity. Appeals must be submitted to the Associate and/or Assistant Director of Intramurals and Sport Clubs.

A Protest/Appeal Form must be completed by the team captain and handed in to the Campus Recreation office by 12:00pm the day following the activity. If a written appeal is upheld, the game will be played from the point at which the improper decision was made, or in its entirety, to correct the error. In some cases, Campus Recreation and both team captains may agree to a non-playing solution. If a protest is denied, the game stands.

Due to severe time constraints, written appeals regarding playoff games must be submitted to the Campus Recreation office immediately after the conclusion of an activity.

G. Schedule Changes

For schedule changes due to circumstances such as inclement weather, University closings or unforeseen circumstances, the team captain(s) is/are responsible for obtaining reschedule information from the Campus Recreation office or imleagues.com.

H. Postponements
Due to a number of factors, postponements will be granted only under special circumstances.

Postponements should be initiated as early as possible by captains. No activity will be postponed unless a Postponement Request Form has been completed and signed by both team captains and approved by the Associate and/or Assistant Director of Intramurals and Sport Clubs at least by 5:00pm the day prior to the originally scheduled contest. If the game is scheduled on the weekend or on Monday, the postponement form must be completed by 5:00pm on the Friday prior to the scheduled contest. The captains must appear together at the Campus Recreation office. The re-scheduling of any game must be agreed upon by both team captains in consultation with the Associate and/or Assistant Director of Intramurals and Sport Clubs.

I. Forfeits
Teams are granted a five-minute grace period from the actual scheduled game time. Any team that fails to check in and be ready to play by the conclusion of the five-minute grace period will be charged with a forfeit. Similarly, a forfeit will result when a team fails to have the minimum number of players to begin or continue a game. Refer to the specific sport rules for the minimum number of players required.

A $20 forfeit fee will be required after one forfeit to regain playoff eligibility. All forfeits will be recorded as a loss. In the event of a double forfeit, both teams will receive a loss. A team that forfeits twice in a season will not be permitted to pay a forfeit fee. In this circumstance, the team will not be eligible for the playoffs and may be dropped from the schedule.

VII. Tobacco, Alcohol and Illegal Substances

Excerpted from University's Code of Student Conduct:

Alcoholic Beverage Container Regulations

Kegs and other large volume containers are not permitted in areas under University jurisdiction except at duly authorized/licensed events and must comply with local town regulations where applicable.

Open containers are not permitted in public spaces on campus except at duly authorized/licensed events.

Safe disposal of any beverage container is required in all areas under University jurisdiction.

Regulations Pertaining to Outdoor Events

Possession, sale or use of alcoholic beverages at outdoor events in areas under the jurisdiction of the University is prohibited.

To maintain a safe and healthy environment for everyone, smoking and other tobacco products, alcoholic beverages and illegal substances are strictly prohibited in/at all recreation facilities. Individuals, teams and spectators who arrive intoxicated, suspected of consumption or possessing alcohol or other illegal substances will not be permitted to play, will be asked to leave the playing area and may face further disciplinary actions.