Frequently Asked Questions
- League Information
- What leagues exist in Halifax?
- When does registration open for the league?
- Do I need to have a team to register?
- How do I register a team and how big should it be?
- How do players register?
- How do players pay their fees?
- Is there an open or a women's league?
- What is the league format?
- What are Womens, Mixed/Coed, Juniors, Masters, and Open divisions?
- HURL Information
What leagues exist in Halifax?
We host four leagues. The largest is the summer league that spans from June to August and is played on grass fields throughout Halifax (predominantly on the Commons and at the pit). The fall league spans mid-September to mid-November and beings playing on the Commons but quickly moves to the Halifax All-weather Fields in Clayton Park. The winter league spans from early December to March and is played in doors at the Stadacona, Dockyard and/or Sexton gyms. The spring league is a relatively new edition and it runs from early April to the end of May.
When does registration open for the league?
League registration usually happens in the month prior to the league
starting.
Summer league registration usually opens in early May with the first
games in early June. Exact dates depend on the field schedule for
that year and when the city opens the grass fields for league play.
Returning teams will be given an opportunity to register first and all
remaining spots will be opened to new teams on a first to pay, first
serve basis.
All of the registration details including league format, dates, costs,
minimum team requirements, etc. will be sent to the HURL membership
mailing list, the general mailing list and posted to the hurl website
at least a week before registration opens.
Fall league registration opens in late August to early September, and winter
league registration opens near or just before mid-November. Spring league
registration will usually open in early to mid-March.
For the latest news, and to keep yourself up to date, visit the hurl webpage
often or subscribe to the HURL RSS feed at http://www.halifaxultimate.ca/rss/news.xml.
Do I need to have a team to register?
In the past, HURL has accepted individual play registration for all leagues. League organizers have done their best to place everyone on teams or create new teams from the lists for individual players. However, as leagues fill with more and more full teams it is becoming harder and harder to do this. If you are an individual looking for a team, try posting to the HURL Forums, emailing info@halifaxultimate.ca or otherwise contacting captains if you want help finding a team. HURL also has a few different draft leagues (all individual registration) during some seasons depending on available field space.
How do I register a team and how big should it be?
All co-ed leagues play with a 4 men / 3 women ratio on the field. A
comfortable size for a team has two lines of players (14) with about
8 men and 6 women. If your team is just starting out and is getting
into shape, you may want to have a few more players to account for people
who may drop out part way through the season or who may be away on vacation
through part of the summer. Team sizes of 16 to 20 are common in the
league.
If you are forming a team of new players,
we highly recommend that you find an experienced player or
two to be on the team or to come to a few games or practices
who can help your team learn skills and rules. You can contact the league
convenor for help in finding such an experienced player.
Once league registration opens, the team captain registers the team by
e-mailing the league convenor. The convenor will then supply the
captain with a numeric team code and a team password. All players on
the team should register for the league and supply the team code, which
will put them on the team's roster. The team password should be kept
by the team captain to get to the captain's pages where they can see
the contact information for their team players and the contact
information for the other team captains in the league, and can submit
scores for games.
How do players register?
HURL has an online registration system. Once registration opens, you need
to complete the online form. If you belong to one or more team, be sure
to have the team's code to register for the team. When you register, your
information is stored in the HURL database; if you register in later leagues,
you can call up this information to shorten the registration process and
to help reduce duplication in the HURL database (which is always appreciated).
Once you have registered, you can change your registration by returning
to the registration page.
After you register, a summary of your registration along with the fees
due for the league will be displayed in the web browser.
Players under the age of 18 are required to submit a waiver signed by
their parent or guardian to play in the league.
How do players pay their fees?
Players have two options to pay their fees. They can either mail a cheque made out
to the Halifax Ultimate Recreational League Society or can pay online with a credit card.
For convenience and ease, we recommend you pay your fees online through our Secure Socket Layer (SSL).
For online player fee payments visit the
online player payments page.
Cheques must be made payable to Halifax Ultimate Recreational League Society and sent to:
HURL
PO Box 36077
RPO Spring Garden Road
Halifax, NS
B3J 3S9
Is there an open or a women's league?
HURL has kept with mixed leagues in the past (spring, summer, fall, and winter).
The fall of 2005 saw a trial run of an open league and a women's league on
one night. We have attempted an open and women's division in the fall in the past
with some success. Fall is where you will likely see an open or women's league attempted.
Open and women's league enthusiasts are encouraged to contact the organizers
for the open and women's league teams (Red Circus
and Salty), who usually have practices throughout the year.
What is the league format?
Exact league formats and costs will change from year to year but in the past HURL has typically had the following summer league options with 4:3 gender ratios (4 men to 3 women on a line).
- Tuesday: Competitive Mixed
- Thursday: Recreational Mixed
- Sunday: Recreational Mixed
The league conveners do their best to tier each of the rec level leagues so that teams play most of their games against other teams of a similar skill level. We typically receive enough field space for 16-22 teams in each Rec leagues and 6-10 teams in the Competitive league. Most of the leagues fill quickly. To improve your chances of getting a team in, have your team players and registration fees ready for before registration opens.
What are Womens, Mixed/Coed, Juniors, Masters and Open divisions?
There are five popular divisions for Ultimate in
the UPA (Ultimate Players Association) and CUPA (Canadian Ultimate Players Association).
They are commonly referred to as Womens, Mixed/Coed, Juniors, Masters, and Open.
Mixed, sometimes also referred to as Coed, consists of a ratio of 4 men and 3 women players
on each team on the field at one time. Mixed is the most common division in Ultimate.
Open is sometimes called Mens (or sometimes replaced with Mens, but there are
technically no gender or ages rules in open. Anyone can play open
with the intent that teams can take the "best players" period.
Juniors is mixed (usually) format for players under 19 for the year
they are playing. Masters is open league for players 33 or older (age
increasing by 1 year per year until it's 35) and Women's is for women only aged
19 and above the year they are playing.
What and when is the HURL AGM?
HURL is registered as a society in Nova Scotia. Under its by-laws, it
is required to hold an annual general meeting (AGM). The general meeting
is open to all HURL members, and all HURL members are encouraged to attend.
Directors are elected on an annual basis at the AGM and the priorities for
HURL for the upcoming year are presented and discussed as well.
The AGM is generally held in early to mid July.
Are there pick-up games in Halifax?
Field space in the city of Halifax is at a premium, so the
city doesn't usually rent out field space for pick-up games. The fields that
HURL is able to get throughout the week are consumed by the summer league.
Consequently, there are no official pick-up games organized by HURL.
Some of the touring teams have open practices that players can attend.
Keep an eye on the HURL mailing list and the HURL webpage
for updates on when those practices will be held.
We remind you that grabbing random fields for a pick-up game that haven't
been booked through the HRM can result in HURL being penalized or losing
access to fields over the summer.
How do I register for HURL e-mail lists?
There are three HURL related mailing lists: the general HURL mailing list, HURLher mailing list and the HURLmasters mailing list. Instructions on how to subscribe to each of the mailing lists, rules for using them and the intent of each mailing list are posted on the HURL contact page.
