Captains have an important role at PPT, we will support you in that role (far more than similar organisations) but we have the following expectations. Note these also apply to anyone acting in the role of captain, so if you are absent whoever you are delegating the captaincy to should also be familiar with this: Captains are expected to: Minimise fill ins Captains must endeavour to minimise fill ins. They ensure the team has adequate committed players. This involves being pro active and if there aren’t adequate players the captain you should either recruit organically or ask for our assistance in adding players to the team from our single player pool (ideally permanently). Noting any fill ins should be limited to only those players needed to ensure the game goes ahead, asking players from other teams should be a last resort, and needing fill ins should be very infrequent. Our reasons for this approach are explained here. Recruit the right way Captains are responsible for who is on the team list, in order to ensure the health of the our social competition we require captains to ask permission from the committee if: Wish to have more than two representative players on the team. Wish to recruit a player from other teams that normally play that season Wish to recruit a player from SWITCH or the pre season night player pool (who they do not know outside of SWITCH/preseason) Organise a uniform for the team Before week 3 teams must be in uniform. A uniformed in simply similarly coloured tops in any colour except white (as that colour is used by our referees), white and another colour is okay. The tops do not need to be identical but they do need to be similar enough that the referee can tell players are on the same team.The tops must also have a unique number on the back, numbers can be drawn but they must be legible to the referee and permanent (not taped on). Teams not in uniform may be penalised in the form of tries per player not in uniform awarded to the non offending team, or the out of uniform player sent home. At the discretion on referee. It is the captains responsibility to ensure regular players have a uniform by week 3. If the team has players filling in the captain should also supply a uniform for those players. If you need a uniform, you can purchase a set from us at below cost prices (see here), organise your own, or even buy a set of similar tops from the op shop and iron on or draw permanent numbers on the back. Maintain the team list, ensure all team members become PPT members and only eligible players play The captain is responsible for who is on the team, and ensuring that our system reflects this accurately. An explainer of finding the current list can be found here. They will also be responsible for ensuring ever player on that list as become a member of Princes Park Touch Association through our onboarding process (this will be rolled out in the first half of the season). They should also understand Only players listed on the team list, who have played 4 games during the regular season or grading, AND have become PPT members can play finals. All rep players should be noted on the list and teams should have no more than two representative players on the list. Having representative players fill in (for non finals games) is fine but if a player has played more than 3 games they are a regular. Members cannot be listed for two teams on the same night in the same format. Exemptions to the above may be granted on request Coordinate the team and communicate promptly At PPT forfeits do not occur, we have a system to prevent. Team members are expected to keep the captain informed of their availability. If the team numbers are low, captains should never forfeit the game, instead they should contact the committee as early as possible. The committee will then Find additional players (if possible) so that the match can go ahead. This is almost always the case as we have players looking to join. If it is not possible to find additional players (this is very rare) the committee will advise both teams that the game is off. The key is to communicate early and ensure every player who is available is there (even if it’s 1-2). Teams that fail to comply will be removed from competition banned from future PPT events and their captain suspended. As it unfair to other members. Captains should also be proactive in their team management. That means ensuring adequate numbers in the squad to cover unavailability. If captains are unable to recruit through their own channels they should ask the PPT committee as we have people looking to join teams. If you have problems ask for help The committee is here to help you. We can assist with many issues you have including finding extra players and can also grant exemptions to our requirements. But you need to ask. Provide Feedback As a captain your role is not finished at the end of the playing season. We need to know your experience with the season and your plans for the future. This process is compulsory but you’ll be sent a link to do this and it will take 5 minutes or less. Ensure the team is familiar with membership At PPT all regular players are members and it is the captains responsibility to ensure they are aware of that and familiar with the requirements we have for playing members. If the above sounds like a lot, please note we don’t expect perfection but we expect captains to try, communicate, and most importantly to create a culture of membership and communication within their team. We support all our members and captains in particular. We members who’ve captain off and on for more than 20 years and we hope to see you over the next 20 years 😉