Rec League Preseason Setup Checklist
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A printable checklist of every decision, booking and policy an organizer should finish before registration opens and the first game night arrives.

[ ] Write a one page season outline: number of weeks, game nights, start date, playoff dates and the date the season must end.
[ ] Confirm the venue booking in writing for every game night, including the buffer weeks you are holding for makeup games.
[ ] Count real weekly capacity: fields or courts, time slots per field per night, and nights per week, then check it against the games you plan to promise each team.
[ ] Decide the team count range you can accept and the minimum number of teams needed to run the season at all.
[ ] Choose the format (single round robin, double round robin, or pool play with a crossover round) based on your weeks and team count.
[ ] Decide whether to run one open division or split by skill, and write down the criteria you will use to place teams.
[ ] Set the playoff structure: how many teams qualify, the bracket type, and where playoff games fit in the calendar.
[ ] Build the season budget: per game venue and officials cost, fixed costs such as insurance, permits, equipment, awards and software, plus a cushion for surprises.
[ ] Set the registration fee from that budget and decide whether it is charged per team, per player or both.
[ ] Publish the registration deadline, the payment deadline and the refund policy before opening signups.
[ ] Write the rainout and reschedule policy: who makes the call, by what time, how players are told, and where makeup games go.
[ ] Write the forfeit policy: notice required, how a forfeit is scored in the standings, and what happens after repeat forfeits.
[ ] Publish the tiebreaker order for standings (for example head to head, then point differential, then points allowed) before the first game is played.
[ ] Define the score reporting process: which captain reports, the deadline after each game, and how a disputed score gets resolved.
[ ] Choose one official channel for schedule changes and tell every captain that it is the source of truth over any other chat.
[ ] Collect a captain contact sheet with phone, email and a backup contact for every team.
[ ] Confirm roster rules: minimum players to avoid a forfeit, any gender or age requirements, and the roster freeze date.
[ ] Line up officials or umpires for every game night and write down the backup plan if one cancels.
[ ] Check insurance requirements and the waiver each player must sign, and store signed waivers somewhere you can find them midseason.
[ ] Inventory equipment: game balls, scoreboards or flip scores, first aid kit, field markers, and who brings each item every night.
[ ] Draft the full schedule, then review it for balanced byes, fair time slot distribution and no team playing twice in one night.
[ ] Post the schedule, the standings page and every policy in one place players can find without asking you.
[ ] Block a fixed weekly admin hour for scores, standings and messages, and decide what you will hand to captains.
[ ] Put a short postseason review on the calendar to note what broke and what to change next season.