Dear Captains,
During the past season, we have had a higher number of teams than usual drop out of leagues at the last minute. Whenever a team drops out at the last minute, it has a negative impact on the other teams in the league with forfeits, late schedule changes and disruptions. There are also committed teams who end up missing out on their preferred league because a space has been reserved by a team that doesn't end up taking that space.
In order to make sure that teams are fully committed before reserving a space, we will be increasing the team deposit for all winter indoor teams from $250 to $500. We hope that this measure will help to make sure that spaces in the league go to those who have a strong commitment from their players and keep disruptions to a minimum. The total fee for the leagues has not changed. The increase is only to the percentage of the league fees that have to be paid as a deposit.
We have always given teams the option to register with a deposit rather than making them pay the full balance months in advance to give captains and players some flexibility with their finances when registering for a league. We hope that the higher deposit continues to allow them that flexibility while reducing the potential for disruption to other teams in the league,
Yours,
The Footy Sevens Team