Houston Sports & Social Club General Rules
 

WAIVERS:

In order to participate in the league, each player must sign the team waiver. Players must agree to the waiver electronically when they register, however waivers can be downloaded by clicking here and turned into a Houston Sports & Social Club staff member if necessary. Captains are responsible to ensure all players that play on their team are registered to play and have signed the waiver prior to the first day of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver before participating.
 

PLAYER RESTRICTIONS:

1. - All Houston Sports & Social Club participants must be at least 21 years old before the season starts.
2. - All players must be registered with Houston Sports & Social Club and must sign the Houston Sports & Social Club waiver prior to play commencing.
3. - Houston Sports & Social Club staff members will have the right to request ID from any player. If Division A and Division B leagues are offered for any sport, any player or team in the Division B league who is determined to be at a significantly higher level of play may be switched to the Division A league or will not be allowed to participate that season and will have their league fee credited towards a future season. If more than one player fits in the category, an entire team may be moved to Division A.
4. - Players can only be listed on 1 roster for any division. Any player that breaks this rule will result in both of their teams to forfeit games played on that day. Players are allowed to play for different teams on different nights.
    

ROSTER:

Team Captains have up until the 3rd week of the season to make any adjustments to the roster. After the 3rd week of the season, rosters are fixed and cannot be adjusted. To make sure team captains have their rosters filled out online our HoustonSSC representative can preform a roster check in PLAYOFFS Only to make sure all players are listed on the roster. 

SUBSTITUTION:

Substitutes are allowed during regular season games if needed in order to meet the minimum number of players required for an official game. Each substitute must sign a liability waivers to be eligible to play. See below for minimum number of players required by sport:

Sand Volleyball (4 on 4) - 2 players (at least 1 female)
Sand Volleyball (6 on 6) - 4 players (at least 2 females)
Cornhole - 1 player
Dodgeball - 6 players (at least 1 female)
Football - 6 players (at least 2 females)
Outdoor Soccer - 5 players (at least 2 females)
Indoor Soccer - 3 players
Kickball - 8 players (at least 2 females)
Softball - 8 players (at least 2 females)
Bowling - 2 players (at least 1 female)

During Playoffs, only a captains can request a roster check before the game starts. If a captain requests a roster check, their team will have their own roster checked first, followed by the team they requested it for. All players are required to show a valid I.D. during a roster check.

SPORTSMANSHIP:

Houston Sports & Social Club expects all participants to play with the highest level of sportsmanship and abide by the player code of conduct. Rude or demeaning behavior to umpires, the opposing team, and/or your own team members will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Unsportsmanlike behavior may result in that player being ejected from the game. An ejection may result in further suspension from participation in current and/or future Houston Sports & Social Club sports. An ejected player is required to leave the premises immediately. Refusal to leave the premises may result in a team forfeit and/or suspension.
 

Any disputes or complaints regarding the umpire’s handling of a game or ejection can be addressed with the league after the day of play in which the incident took place. On the day of the incident, the umpire’s decision will be considered final and disputes will not be addressed by the league.
 

INCLUSIVENESS:

Houston Sports and Social Club is proud to stand united within the community for respect, inclusion, and equality! We are a welcoming organization that is dedicated to providing a safe and fun environment for all persons regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or disabilities. We have a zero tolerance policy for bigotry and racism. Please see our sportsmanship policy for more details.

Even though some of our leagues have gender rules for game-play, we are LGBTQIA+ friendly (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and other sexualities and gender identities/expressions). We encourage you to register to play as the gender you identify. If you do not identify with a gender, please default to what is on your driver’s license. We expect all players to be respectful and honor the spirit of this policy. We also pride ourselves on having a welcoming and diverse staff member at each field that you may speak to on site for all our leagues.     

If you should have any questions, concerns, or special requests, please email info@HoustonSSC.com in advance of the league start. You may also address any concerns at the captains’ meeting prior to the start of the game.  

SHIRTS:

League shirts are not required in order to play in our leagues. It is OPTIONAL if a team decides to order team shirts. We recommend that teams coordinate and bring an extra shirt in a different color to games in case the opposing team has the same shirt color. Names, numbers, cut-off sleeves, corporate logos, etc, are permitted, as long as they do not obstruct any logos originally printed on the shirts.

FORFEITS:
All forfeits must be submitted by email to info@houstonssc.com to be official. Forfeiting teams must notify us by 2 pm on the day of their game for weekday leagues and 10 am on the day of their game for weekend leagues to avoid a forfeit fine. This will allow us enough time to notify the opposing team.

If a team does not have the minimum number of players by the end of grace period, a forfeit fine may be assessed and given to the opposing team in the form of league credit.

If a team believes they qualify for a forfeit fine, the team must submit a request via (Forfeit Google Form Link) within 7 days of the forfeited game - houstonssc.com/forfeit.

A $50 forfeit fine will be assessed for single header leagues and a $25 forfeit fine will be assessed to doubleheader leagues once the forfeit is confirmed.If a team forfeits without communicating (no show, no call or e-mail) more than two consecutive weeks, the team is subject to removal from the league.

If the team has enough players (varies by sport), an officiated exhibition game will be played and a forfeit fine is not applicable.

INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY:

In the event of inclement weather, Houston Sports & Social Club will make every reasonable attempt to make-up all scheduled games. In the event of multiple cancellations, Houston Sports & Social Club reserves the right to shorten the regular season and/or the play-off schedule (and the number of teams that make the play-offs) if inclement weather dictates such action. If necessary, make-up games may be scheduled on days other than the regularly scheduled days of the league, or at a different field. Neither refunds nor pro-rated refunds will be given if the season is shortened due to inclement weather or by actions taken by Houston Parks and Recreation. Houston Sports & Social Club will address every situation uniquely and will always keep the best interest of our players in mind.
 

DIVISION PREFERENCE:

If Division A and Division B leagues are offered for a sport, the league has the right to move any team up or down at any time.