Knowing the key dates for registration and deadlines for completing captains requirements is the number one priority of a team captain. You will want to get started on the important tasks of being an IM team captain well in advance to ensure that your team is registered properly for our leagues. Getting a late start may get your team left out of the action. Key dates include:

• Team registration period including the exact day and time that online registration begins.
• Deadline to notify the IM office if your team is no longer able to play in order to avoid a fine.
• Season start date and possible play dates.

Registration dates and season start dates are all listed on the Sports Planner, available online and in print from the Intramural Sports Office at the Main Campus Fields, 1001 St Augustine Street. All dates and times are typically set up to 3 months prior to the start of the season.

Ready to Register Now? See our Team Registration page & IMLeagues Help Desk for assistance.

As a team captain, you’ll obviously need a team of players to join you for competition. Current FSU students and full-time faculty & staff are eligible to play in our leagues. Non-students and part-time staff are not. There are special restrictions on varsity athletes, sport club members, and other special participant groups. Specific eligibility details are available online in the Seven Principles of Intramural Sports.

Regardless of who is on your team, you will not need to have that information when you register your team. Team members are added to your team’s official roster when they check-in at the game site for the game. No preregistration of team members is required. But, it’s good to have an idea of who will be on your team because once you reach a certain point in the team registration process, it costs money to cancel a registration. That cancellation fine is the responsibility of the team captain.

Intramural Sports recommends that teams have not just the minimum number of players needed to field a team, but a few subs. You never know when a teammate will be unable to make a game. It’s easier to fill that spot if you have already other players ready. For 7-on-7 flag football, 10 to 12 is a healthy number. Rosters are unlimited in size, so you can have as many as you want. But, once a player signs in for your team, they cannot switch to another team during that sport’s season.

As you recruit team members, you’ll want to start narrowing down what competitive level best fits your team’s overall skill level. And, of course, what league you want to play in. Men’s, women’s, and co-rec options are available to all IM participants. Our fraternity and sorority leagues are restricted to organizations properly registered through the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Depending on the sport and league (men’s, women’s, or co-rec), FSU Intramural Sports offers multiple skill level-based divisions for play. At the top for our most talented teams is our Competitive division. At the lower end is our Recreational Division for those more interested in just having some fun. Depending on the sport and number of teams, divisions may be split in half for the playoffs to create fair and balanced brackets.

Before the registration period begins, you’ll want to know when your team members would like to play. The more flexible your team can be, the more easily you’ll be able to register your team. We offer an assortment of leagues and divisions on each of our playing nights, Sundays through Thursdays for most sports. And, you’ll have some choice of playing time as well, typically between 6:30 pm and 10:30 pm each night.

A breakdown of each night’s planned schedule that includes when each division will play each night is posted approximately a week before the registration period begins. You’ll see that in our schedules section. Check there to see what your options are and talk it over with your team members.

You will select your league, division, and playing day and time right when you register. But, know that space is limited. We can only play so many games at one time. And, the prime days and times fill up extremely quickly. That’s why knowing exactly when registration begins is so important. We will fill our popular days and times within the first hour of online registration!

So that’s the majority of the preplanning that’s needed. Now, as team captain, you’ll want to register your team during the designated online registration period. Again, you can see those specific registration dates on our Sports Planner. Men’s and women’s registration typically begins at 12 Noon. Co-rec team registration starts at 12:30 pm. Online via our web site. You can register from any computer, tablet, or phone.

In order to register, you will need the following information:

• Your league and division preferences
• Your playing day and time preferences
• A team name (be creative, but keep it clean)
• Team captain’s phone number and email address

Honestly, it cannot be stressed enough, the best playing days and times will be gone within the first few hours of team registration. So, be online and ready to register when the registration period begins. Space tends to be available after the initial rush, but the selection is not good.

The system is fairly easy to use. But, be sure you get a confirmation at the end of your registration. That indicates that you did indeed get a spot. If you get a spot in a league with a designated day and time, you can rest assured that we will have a place for you to play in our league.

If all the spaces are full in your desired league and divisions, you may register on our waiting list. You will not know if your team is in the league until the captains meeting. Learn more about the wait list process with our separate Wait List FAQ.

In any case, make sure you log on and get registered before moving forward with the final steps to complete and confirm your team’s registration.

Once you have registered online, your team is set to play for the upcoming season. The vast majority of our IM sports are FREE to play. But, when you fail to show up for a scheduled game or match (including the playoffs) or decide after 5:00 pm on the final day of the registration period to drop out of our league, there is a fine that is assessed to the team captain.

Intramural Sports coordinates managing and scheduling over 200 teams in some of our sports. Cancellations and no-shows have a negative impact on our leagues and other participating teams. You never want to show up for a game and not have anyone to play. The cancellation and forfeit fines serve as an additional deterrent to teams deciding not to play. Good captains have plenty of spare players, so make sure you’ve recruited enough so that you don’t go into panic mode when a teammate cannot make a game at the last minute.

Fines are $30 to drop out of a league after the registration period ends or when your team simply does not show up for a game without properly notifying the Intramural Sports Office. Read more about our cancellation and forfeit fines online. But know that as long as your team shows up for all of its scheduled games, your IM experience will always be free of fines!

As with any game or sport, knowing the rules is important. So, take some time to read over the sport’s rules (we even have summary pages with rule highlights for most sports). If you’re a first time captain, you might want to browse the Seven Principles of Intramural Sports which contains the fine print to IM Sports participation.

Remind your team members of equipment and uniform requirements (proper shorts for flag football, for example). You may want to coordinate shirt colors. Explain special IM playing rules for the sport. Remind them to bring their FSUCard to check-in and to arrive early to the game site to complete the check-in process.

And, don’t forget to mention our sportsmanship requirements to your teammates. Good sportsmanship is our number one priority and a required sportsmanship score is required to advance to the playoffs. You would hate to have one teammate cost your team a chance to continue playing our league.

Regular season schedules are posted approximately 48 hours after the registration period ends. They are available online in the schedules section of our web site. Intramural Sports does not notify teams regarding their playing schedules. It is your responsibility to check it online.

Be sure to inform your teammates of the schedule. Most our sports follow a consistent pattern of scheduling with games on the same day and at the same time each week. But some sports have game times that change every week. Check online and inform your teammates so they don’t miss a game!

As a team captain, you’ll want to make sure that you yourself are ready to check-in at the game site and are properly equipped for the game.

During the final week of the regular season, Intramural Sports will host an online playoff draw to set the playoff brackets and schedule. Online playoff draw sessions occur in the fall for both flag football and volleyball and in the spring for soccer, basketball, and softball. The Intramural Sports staff will schedule the playoffs automatically for other sports based on division and regular season playing days.

Information on the day and time of the online playoff draw session is posted with regular season schedules (you will see it as a note on the schedule). Typically, we also post reminders at the game site.

By participating in the 15-minute online playoff draw session for your team’s division (again another person can participate and represent the team), you will be able to select where in the bracket your team would like to play. All games are prescheduled, so you are basically deciding when is best for your team to play. Teams that do not have a representative in attendance are still scheduled, but are filled into the remaining openings at random. Therefore, participating in the meeting best ensures that your team will be able to play at preferred times.

All teams regardless of record advance to the postseason, as long as the team has the required sportsmanship average. So, be sure to check online during the final week of the regular season to learn when your team will play in the postseason. Once again, those playoff schedules are available online in our schedules section.

Intramural Sports utilizes the team captain as the official representative for any administrative matters. If we have a game time change, a sportsmanship issue, or a player issue related to your team, we contact the team captain who then has the responsibility of informing their teammates or making a decision on behalf of the team.

As you can see, the team captain’s job is really in managing the team’s participation in our league. A few steps take more time and effort than others, but all are relatively simple to complete. Communication with your teammates is key to making sure everyone is at the game site and ready to play when scheduled.

If you’re confused or have any questions, please visit our Contact Us to drop us an email.