About the 2024 League

• The TCUL Summer Competitive Mixed League is geared towards experienced players who are looking for an organized, strategic, up-tempo competitive league. The goal is to have fun, but also to strive for high level performance on the field, all while playing organized ultimate in a team setting. This league lets you join as an individual, rather than a whole team. Teams are assigned via draft where players are ranked by skill and selected by captains. Rankings provided by the players during registration are used to balance the teams (the TCUL Board may override player provided rankings if they appear to not reflect reality). The league is mixed, with a standard 4:3 man-matching:woman-matching format. Provided both teams have 5 of each gender match available at a game, captains can agree to a gen-zone where the team that is in that end-zone may dictate the gender majority for the point.
• The league will take place on Thursday evenings from May 30th to August 22nd (excluding July 4).
• The league will take place at the National Sports Center in Blaine, except for the ~3 weeks they have blacked out, where we will be at alternative fields, in Maple Grove (see location information here). 
• Teams will be made up of 8-9 man-matching players and 6-7 woman-matching players.
• Players should bring light/dark jerseys to games. Teams may also agree upon a team color to use for games (please still also bring an alternate color to games).
• Players can purchase an optional reversible light/dark jersey. 
• Registration for the league is $70.
  • $5 of every registration goes directly to Minnesota Ultimate to help support the growth of youth ultimate programs.
• Please read and familiarize yourself with TCUL's general rules.
• Please consider following us on Facebook for up to date changes and weather alerts, along with using the SportsEngine app for team/league communications.

REGISTRATION

Registration for this league (and the coed lottery that governs which male-matching registrants make it into league) will take place from April 2 - 30 (please note, your lottery odds do not change based on the day you complete your registration, thus signing up on the 2nd has equal odds to signing up on the 30th).  Visit our registrations page to access the sign-up link. The signup period is for EVERYONE (man-matching or woman-matching) that wishes to participate in summer league. Detailed information on the lottery can be found here.   

Ranking System

Players should assign themselves a skill ranking from 1 (low) to 6 (high) in each of the following areas during registration. Remember, these are ranks relative to your teammates and competitors.

• Athleticism: Speed, quickness, endurance and jumping ability all combine to form your Athleticism rank.
• Throws: How accurate are your throws, and to a lesser extent, their distance and variety of releases.
• Field Skills: How well do you understand game strategy, offense and defense, and transition between the two.

Fields

All games will be at the National Sports Center in Blaine, except for the ~3 weeks they have blacked out, where we will be at alternative fields, usually in Maple Grove (see location information here). 

Even though these are adult leagues, NO ALCOHOL is allowed on the fields. This means no alcoholic beverages whatsoever at games or any after game activities at the fields. If we lose our fields, the league is over.

GAMES

Games start at 6:45 pm (or 6:30 pm for August games). 

Games' point target: 15 points, win by 2.

Hard point cap: 17 points. First team to 17 wins regardless of the spread.

Hard time cap: 105 minutes.

Halftime target: 8 points.

Halftime: 5 minutes.

Halftime cap at 50 minutes.

The halftime cap occurs once a predetermined time of play has elapsed (50 minutes). At the halftime cap, play continues until the current scoring attempt is completed. If, after the current scoring attempt is completed, the halftime target has not yet been reached by one team, one is added to the higher score and the resulting number is the new halftime target. Halftime occurs once the new halftime target is reached by either team.

Once the hard time cap is reached, finish the scoring attempt in progress. (If a point has just been scored, the next scoring attempt has begun.) The team with a greater score wins. If the score is tied, play one final point (overtime/universe) to determine a winner.

Two timeouts per half, no floaters.

In the event of extreme weather, captains may agree to additional timeouts to relieve personnel. Ex: if the heat index is over 95 F, teams can agree to timeouts at 25 and 75 minutes as hydration breaks. Or: An air quality index of 150 or above may result in captains agreeing to timeouts at 25 and 75 minutes as albuterol breaks etc.

Rules

2024 leagues will play under the 2024-2025 USAU Rules. You can view them here. 

There are a few exceptions we would like to highlight:

• Due to the short fields at Blaine, brick is 15 yards
• Players will be able to call equipment timeouts

Players

In co-ed leagues, each team must have 3 man-matching and 3 woman-matching players on the field at all times. If both teams have at least two subs for each gender-match, games can be played 4WMP/3MMP (the team on one established endzone, the "genzone", gets to choose whether 3 or 4 woman-matching players will be on the line for the pull) if both captains agree to this strategy before the start of the game, or else the standard 4MMP/3WMP ratio will be used.

Walk-on players (such as visitors or friends) are allowed, with the following limitations:

• Walk on players must sign a waiver before playing (which is done by creating a TCUL account online).
• Whenever possible, you must let your team and the opposing team's captain(s) know 24-hrs in advance of the event and you must get the approval of the TCUL Summer League Coordinators.
• A walk on player must be a reasonably fair "1 for 1" replacement for a missing player on the roster. We work hard to balance team strength, and walk-ons should preserve that balance, not disrupt it.
• Walk-on players are only allowed in order to bring a team to a maximum of 6 man-matching and 6 woman-matching players. If the team already has 6+ MMP or 6+ WMP present on game-day, then walk-on players are not allowed.

Please remember that registered players have paid for the opportunity to play and walk-on players should be used only as a last resort. 

Player Safety

A reminder to all TCUL players regarding player safety. Dangerous play of any type is not tolerated by TCUL and is covered in the Code of Conduct. Please be familiar with this and the sanctioning process. USAU defines dangerous play as: "Actions demonstrating reckless disregard for the safety of or posing a significant risk of injury to fellow players, or other dangerously aggressive behavior are considered “dangerous play” and are treated as a foul. The proper call in such circumstances is “dangerous play” and play stops. This rule is not superseded by any other rule."

First Aid

A first aid kit is provided for each team. Your team’s captain should bring it to every game or leave with a designated member of the team if the captain cannot attend a given week’s game.

Rain, Lightning, and Other InclEment Weather

In case of inclement weather, a decision will be made by 5:00 pm about whether or not to cancel the games. If severe weather is imminent, games will be canceled and an announcement placed on the TCUL website, on the TCUL Facebook page, and on the TCUL Twitter feed. Games may also be canceled at game time or during the game if there is lightning anywhere in the area. If your game is canceled, please do not play.