HOW TO JOIN A LEAGUE & WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
HELLO!
It’s lovely to see that you are thinking of playing netball with us! Read on to know how it all works and what to expect when you register!
All of our leagues have teams who have signed up in different ways, from groups of friends who sign up together, whole teams of ladies and work colleagues, but the majority players sign up as individuals! What makes our leagues so great is that everybody has joined for the same reasons: fun, fitness & friendships!
Our mission is to provide safe and inclusive spaces for women to enjoy playing netball, regardless of age, ability or experience.
HOW DO I JOIN A TEAM?
Don’t worry about ‘teams’ yet, unless you’re joining as a team of people!
Our dedicated league administrators will either wait until there’s enough registrations and build a brand new team including you, or will immediately slot you into an existing team that has a space available!
If you are interested in playing, all you need to do is register for your chosen league using the search bar, and we will be in touch!
What happens each week?
You and your team will play 1x match each week.
You will see that the leagues will be described as “between 7-9pm” or “between 6:30pm-9:30pm” etc. Matches are played every 40 minutes, so you will play your game at either the start time listed above, or any 40 minutes after that, and so on.
You will receive all your team’s match times for the whole season when you are assigned a team, so you will have plenty of time to plan ahead.
HOW TO JOIN.
It’s super easy to join one of our leagues!
If you are joining with a friend, you can accompany your registration with an email to info@play-netball.co.uk requesting that you and your friend would like to be placed into the same team.
When the league administrators have placed you into a team, you will be sent an email to confirm your place.
When you sign up, we do not ask for any payment details. We are only asking you to give us your contact details so we can let you know when there’s a space in a team for you, or when a team has been created that you can enter.
Don’t be alarmed if you don’t hear from us straight away, sometimes it takes a week or two to get enough players to form a team, and sometimes we have so many players wanting to join a league that it can take while to go through all the registrations!
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
We do not ask for payment details when you register with us. We will only request payment when you are ready to play your first game.
All teams pay the same cost per game. However, each league will have different season lengths, between (8-14) weeks, due to having varying amounts of teams in that league. So there is no ‘set’ cost per season.
Example: If each game costs £45 per team, and you have a season length of 10 weeks, your team’s season fee will be £45×10 weeks = £450. That fee is then split equally between the number of players in your team.
If there are 8 players in your team, that’ll be £56 each for the 10 week season.
If there are 9 players in your team, that’ll be £50 each for the 10 week season.
YAY! YOU’VE SIGNED UP, WHAT’S NEXT?
When you join one of our leagues, you should expect to receive an automated email confirming that your registration has been received.
Your registration will be placed on a list. The league administrators will then begin to sort players into teams. This could be a brand new team of new players, or an existing team with a space.
Once you’ve been placed in a team, you will receive an email to confirm your place.
When everyone in your team has confirmed, the league admin will create, or add you to, a WhatsApp group for your team. The WhatsApp group is essential for communication between players, this where you can organise your team name, team captain, substitutes, preferred positions, and team bibs!
You will then receive a payment request via the same platform that you registered with us: Magic League. You can split the payment equally between your whole team.
On Magic League, you will be able to view your team’s fixtures for the whole season, including opponent and game-times. You will also be able to view the league table and points system!
BEFORE YOUR FIRST GAME…
Facebook Group
Each of our leagues has a Facebook group! It’s a great tool to keep updated, share photos & for finding subs for when your team might be short by one or two players (and means less forfeits occurring). You’ll be sent the link to your Facebook group in your welcome email.
Payment
Season fees need to be paid upfront before your first match. Your team can easily split the cost of the season between yourselves through our user-friendly online payment system. Play Netball will revise your season statement if you join after the start.
Netball Bibs
All teams are required to supply their own netball bibs for matches – these can easily be bought online! You can chat with the rest of your team on your WhatsApp chat to decide the colour, and organise splitting the payment between you all.
Health & Safety
We follow England Netball rules when it comes to jewellery. No jewellery is allowed except a plain wedding band/medical bracelet but must be taped. All other jewellery including fitness trackers and ear piercings must be removed before you take the court. Nails must be short and smooth. Wear appropriate footwear & comfortable clothing.
Communication
It is important you communicate as a team. Play Netball will make a WhatsApp group for you when your team is created. You can use it discus weekly availability and position preferences, as well as chat with your team! You also need to choose a team name!
Team Captain
Each team requires a team captain to be selected before the first game. This role won’t take up any more of your time, you’d just be our point of contact for the team. Team captains will have to let Play Netball know of any forfeits, player requests, or issues your team is experiencing within the league.
Meet & Greet
If you’re joining one of our brand new leagues then we run a ‘meet & greet’ the week before the league officially starts. This gives teams the opportunity to formally introduce themselves, get a refresh on the rules, speak to the umpires about any concerns you might have, and fit in some game play on court.
Concessions and Forfeits
During your first season you won’t need to worry about forfeit fees. If you need to concede a match due to player availability you will not be charged but you would still need to inform Play Netball before 5pm on the day of your match. Forfeit fees will come into place when you start your second season with Play Netball after you have become adjusted to the league and you’re satisfied with the number of players within your team.
FIND YOUR NEAREST LEAGUE
Links & Contact
You can easily view your league table on Magic League, our user-friendly portal, where you can set your availability, see all of your past and future fixtures and manage your payments. Just go to ‘Login’ at the top of the page and it will take you to your Magic League profile.
To have been placed in a team with Play Netball, you would have already created your Magic League account on our website. If you have trouble logging in, just press ‘forgot password’ and type the email address that you would have used when signing up to Play Netball.
If you need to speak to one of the team, we are open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
- Email: info@playnetball.co.uk
- Phone: 01256 644049
We are active on Social Media, so don’t forget to follow our Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn pages!
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT How Our Leagues Work WHEN YOU START
So how do our leagues work? We’ve listed a rundown of what to expect when playing in our leagues.
- Seasons will run between 8-14 weeks depending on the number of teams in your league. Once a season finishes, the season starts the following week. Your team will automatically be entered into the next season unless you inform us of your team’s departure.
- All our matches are 36 minutes long. Matches are split into 4x9minute quarters, with teams being given a minute break between each quarter.
- Matches will always take place on the same night at the same venue. There may be times where the regular venue is temporarily unavailable and we have to relocate but we will notify all teams in advance.
- You don’t need to provide an umpire or scorer. Unlike competitive netball leagues where it is the teams responsibility to provide an umpire and scorer, Play Netball has you covered.
- All our leagues have a league coordinator who attends matches every week. They are your point of contact on the night, so if any problems occur, please speak to the coordinator as it is their duty to make sure you have a fun night of netball.
- Most of our leagues have multiple divisions so you have the advantage of playing with other teams of similar ability. Our multiple divisions also give teams the opportunity to move up and down each season.
- We understand not everyone can make matches each week, so teams are able to help out other teams when needed. This is to help prevent team forfeits and keep everyone playing as much netball as possible. If your team needs subs one week, just leave a message on your league Facebook group to see who is available to help you out.
- Season fees for our leagues have to be paid upfront and is done via our online payment system. Teams have the option of splitting their season fee amongst each other so payment is not left to one individual.