A Letter from the RFC Founders to Our Friends Currently on the Waitlist...
Hello Friends of Redding Football Club,
Thank you for your interest in spending your Monday nights hanging out at the soccer field with us. We feel so honored by you and the fact that you want to be a part of this growing soccer league. It means more to us than you know!
As each season has rolled around over the past two years, we’ve been amazed to see just how many people want to do something fun, active, and community-focused alongside us.
This season, we had more than 200 people express interest in playing this season of RFC with us, which is WILD!!!
However, our primary focus as the leaders of this league is not to grow our group as large as possible, but to make sure we prioritize maintaining intentionality and connection with one another, with our coaches and players, and to protect the established culture of the league and honor the values we’ve created together.
To do this well, we feel that 12 teams is our maximum capacity for this season.
We believe that RFC is beautiful. It is a gift to us and we want to share it with as many individuals as possible, but we also recognize that we have a very real limit in what we can lead well at this time.
RFC is not a full-time job for any of us… we pour into the league because we love it. We love what we’ve created together, we love the game of soccer, and we love the people we’re serving.
With all of that being said, we do feel that what is best for the league at this time, is to have a “player cap” in place of 168 players.
This was not an easy decision to make, as in an ideal world, we would love to be able to have everyone play. However, we don’t want to give you a bad experience… and for us to be able to manage the league well this season, we need to cap the league as we try to create the best experience possible for all involved.
We are actively working on a plan for the Spring season for expanding the league and sharing the joys of playing soccer with even more friends.
About the Waitlist...
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The waitlist was created by our surplus of signups. This year, there were 230+ registrations.
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This is because we invited anyone interested to come on out and join us for Opening Night, so that they could experience RFC firsthand, and find out if they feel it’s a good fit for them or not before committing to an entire season.
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After Opening Night, our coaches work hard throughout the week to assess the skill levels of the entirety of the players within the league, and we work together to create as balanced, fun, and competitive of teams as possible.
Who is placed on a team and who is placed on the waitlist…
Our system is not perfect, but we have worked hard the past few months to create a structure to honor those that want to play soccer with us… and it looks like this…
1. We prioritize placing returning players who signed up before August 31 on teams first. If a returning RFC player signed up before the signup deadline, their spot within the league was reserved. This is important to us and is one way we are able to build deeper relationships with our players.
2. Then, sign-ups who signed up before September 7th will be placed on a team based on a “first-pay, first-placed” order. That means, that the earlier someone signed up and paid, the more likely it is that they were placed on a team. This year, we are able to invite around 60 new players into the league.
3. Attend Opening Night. If a player signed up but did not attend Opening Night (or communicate with us ahead of time), then they are moved to the waitlist.
** A HIGHER SKILL LEVEL DOES NOT DETERMINE OR GUARANTEE ANYONE A SPOT WITHIN THE LEAGUE **
Always, if someone pays a league fee but is not placed on a team, they will absolutely be refunded their league fee in its entirety.
If you believe we made a mistake and that you should not be on the waitlist, please reach out to us, we would love to hear from you!
How to get off the waitlist…
From seasons past, we know that not every person who signs up and is placed on a team is going to decide that RFC is the right for them. For context, last season, roughly 20 spots were given to waitlisted players for a number of reasons.
If you are currently on the waitlist, here is how you could find yourself soon landing a spot on a team…
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If current players do not show to their first game or respond to their coach.
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If a current player quits.
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If a current player is injured within one of the first two games of the season and it is determined they are out for the remainder of the season.
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If a new player ahead of you in the sign-up order fails to show to Opening Night.
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If a current returning player does not pay their league fee by September 23rd.
**September 12th is the payment deadline for new players. Returning players who signed up before August 31st will be extended a grace period until September 23rd to complete their payments. If any current player has not paid their league fee by the end of day on Sep. 23rd, we will then offer their spot to people on the waitlist.**
All teams will be finalized for the remaining 9 games of the season and playoffs by October 1st. Therefore, if you are currently on the waitlist, you will either be texted and placed on a team by October 1st, or you will receive an email from us the following week informing you otherwise and confirming your refund.
In the meantime...
If you are on the waitlist or not, we would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to see you out hanging out at the fields with us. You don't have to be on a team to experience the fun and belonging that abounds within the league. Even if it's just to watch, games are still a blast to attend because there are incredible people that come out every week and make the league what it is.
Thank you again for wanting to play soccer with us. Thank you for your grace, kindness, and understanding as we steward this league as best as we can. It is our joy to serve you and we hope to kick it with you soon!
Sincerely,
The RFC Team