PROVIDING ORGANIZATION & STRUCTURE FOR OUR TEAMS & PARTICIPANTS

FSU Intramural Sports schedules nearly 6,000 total games and matches for over 2,000 teams in its sports every year. We strive to provide the best organization possible for our nearly 11,000 different IM participants annually. In order for participants and teams to assist with keeping our games and matches on schedule each game day and throughout the season, the following guidelines for scheduling, game time, forfeits, and defaults have been developed.

Please learn and adhere to the following guidelines for team schedules, rainouts, reschedules, forfeits, defaults, and official game time & optional grace period.

Schedules
Schedules for most intramural events will be ready approximately 48 hours after the entry period has ended. Changes to this policy will be announced during the entry period. Unexpected delays will be announced at the FSU Campus Recreation web site. Team captains (team sports) and individuals (individual/dual sports) are responsible for acquiring their schedule(s). Regular season and playoff schedules are available online at the FSU Campus Recreation web site. Print copies may be viewed in the Intramural Sports Office. Schedules will NOT be given out over the phone. The Intramural Sports staff is NOT responsible for notifying teams that schedules are ready.

Rainouts
In the event of inclement weather, teams should call the IM RainLine at 850-645-RAIN (850-645-7246) for information regarding the status of their game. Games or matches postponed due to inclement weather during the regular season are generally NOT rescheduled. Playoff games affected by inclement weather will be rescheduled by the Intramural Sports staff as soon as possible. In the event of bad weather during the playoffs, team captains should visit the Intramural Sports web site or contact the Intramural Sports office during the next business day for reschedule information.

Ready to Play and Game Time
A. Ready to Play
A team is considered ready to play when the required minimum number of players for the sport are properly signed-in with IM staff, present at the specific field or court for their scheduled contest, and properly equipped at the designated game time. For individual/dual sports, a participant is considered ready to play when he/she is properly signed-in with IM staff, present at the specific location for his/her scheduled contest, and properly equipped at the designated game time.
B. Game Time
Game time is forfeit time. All teams shall be ready to play at the designated game time.
C. Delayed Start Time
At the discretion of the IM staff, the start time of a game may be delayed when staff has prior knowledge of late arriving players due to other intramural conflicts such as back-to-back games or concurrent participation in other intramural sports and related travel time.
D. Optional Grace Period
At the discretion of the IM staff, based on time and space availability, and with the approval of the opposing team captain, a team may be offered a 10-minute grace period from the original start time to obtain the minimum number of players required to participate or otherwise become ready to play. In such cases, the team that is ready to play retains the option to decline the grace period to take a win by default or forfeit. If the captain of the team that is ready to play decides to wait and play the game, both teams must accept the result of the game. If the team shows up during the additional time period, game time will be reduced by the number of minutes the team was late for the game. For games with timed periods, the length of each period will be reduced equally. If the team is still not ready to participate after the additional time period has expired, the game will be defaulted or forfeited as described in sections II and III. No additional time is permitted.

Forfeits
A. No-Show or Failure to Field Enough Players
If a team or contestant fails to appear at the appointed place and time (or following the optional grace period), the supervisor in charge shall declare the contest forfeited to the team or contestant ready to play. For team sports, having two less than the required number of participants ready to play at the start of a contest is considered a forfeit, unless otherwise stated in the sport's FSU IM rules.
B. Consequences of a Forfeit - Individual / Dual Sports
Any contestant forfeiting because of failure to arrive at a scheduled regular season contest will be dropped from the league play tournament unless he/she notifies the Intramural Sports Office of their intention to continue to participate by 12 Noon of the next business day following the forfeited contest. A contestant which records a forfeit for a playoff contest in a single-elimination tournament will receive a loss for the contest and be eliminated from the tournament. The forfeit fine does not apply to individual / dual sports leagues and tournaments.
C. Consequences of a Regular Season Forfeit - Team Sports
For teams registered in non-fee based sports in which officials are assigned to officiate the contest or in which there are 3 or more people comprising the standard number of players to participate for a team in the sport, the team captain will be assessed a forfeit fine when his/her team forfeits a regular season contest for failure to be ready to play with the required number of players (as outlined in section A). Additionally, any team forfeiting because of failure to arrive at a scheduled regular season contest will be dropped from the league unless they notify the Intramural Sports Office of their intention to continue to participate by 12 Noon of the next business day following the forfeited contest. Any team which forfeits a contest may become ineligible to participate in the playoff tournament.
D. Multiple Regular Season Forfeits
If a team forfeits a second contest during the regular season, the team will be dropped from any further play in that sport. Teams with multiple forfeits will be assessed the forfeit fine only for the first forfeit.
E. Consequences of a Tournament Forfeit - Team Sports
For teams registered in non-fee based sports in which officials are assigned to officiate the contest or in which there are 3 or more people comprising the standard number of players to participate for a team in the sport, the team captain will be assessed a forfeit fine when his/her team forfeits a playoff / tournament contest for failure to be ready to play with the required number of players (as outlined in section A). A team which records a forfeit for a playoff or tournament contest will receive a loss for the contest and be eliminated from the tournament.
F. Ineligible Players & Administrative Forfeits
Any team using an ineligible player (Fair Play, Participating with an Ineligible Player) shall forfeit all games in which the ineligible player had played. Teams that are dropped from a league due to use of ineligible players or other administrative infractions shall not be charged the forfeit fee as long as the number of remaining eligible players is enough to have fielded a team that could have received a default for the contest.
G. Team Forfeit Fine
The forfeit fine applies only to teams registered for non-fee based sports in which officials are assigned to officiate the contest or when 3 or more people comprise the standard number of players to participate for a team. The captain under which the team was originally registered, unless changed through written documentation, will be assessed the fine. For sports with 5 or more players comprising the standard number of players to participate for a team in the sport, the fine is $30. For teams of 4 or less players, the fine is $20. This fine will be assessed to the captain's university account via FSU Student Financial Services approximately 72 hours after the forfeit unless an appeal is filed. The fine is payable through the University Cashier's Office located in 1500 University Center A. Failure to pay the forfeit fine can result in a hold on a student's class registration or reception of a graduate's diploma until properly paid.
H. Forfeit Fine Appeal Process
Intramural Sports recognizes that there are extenuating circumstances which may arise that can cause a team to not have enough players to play a contest. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, accidents, family emergencies, and other unforeseen incidents. Work, class conflicts and tests, and conflicts with other IM contests are not considered extenuating circumstances. The team captain must appeal the forfeit fine by the end of the second business day following the day of the forfeit (i.e. end of Wednesday for Monday forfeits). A written appeal is required and shall be submitted to the Director of Intramural Sports in 1035 Tully Gym or via email from the Intramural Sports web site. Evidence shall be provided at the request of the Director.
I. Players on Teams Winning by Forfeit
If a team wins a game by a forfeit, all names listed and verified as eligible by the Intramural Sports staff will be considered to have played that game.
J. Players on Teams Forfeiting Their Only Game
If a team forfeits its first scheduled contest and subsequently drops out of the league without playing a contest, those players who have signed-in for the forfeiting team will not be considered part of that team and may join another team without penalty.

Defaults
A. Failure to Field Enough Players
At game time or following the optional grace period, one less than the required number of participants to start a contest is considered a default, unless otherwise stated in the sport's FSU IM rules.
B. Attempted Reschedule / Reported Default
When teams are aware that they will be unable to field the required number of players for a game or match, the team should notify the Intramural Sports Office no later than 12 Noon on the day of the contest (12 Noon Friday for Sunday games) to receive a default for the scheduled contest.
C. Consequences of a Regular Season Default
A team which records a default (at the game site or by notifying the IM Office) for a regular season contest receives a loss and no sportsmanship rating for the defaulted contest. The team will be retained in the league without penalty for the remainder of its scheduled games. If the team opts to drop from the league following a default, the team captain shall be assessed a registration cancellation fine. Players who have signed-in for a team that defaults its first regular season game and subsequently drops out of the league without playing a game will not be considered part of that team and may join another team without penalty.
D. Multiple Regular Season Defaults
If a team defaults (game-site or reported) a second game during the regular season, the team will be dropped from any further play in that sport. The team captain shall be assessed a registration cancellation fine.
E. Consequences of a Tournament Default
A team which records a default for a playoff contest in a single-elimination tournament will receive a loss for the contest and be eliminated from the tournament. No forfeit or cancellation fine applies to defaults in tournament play.

Reschedules - Team Sports
I. Restrictions
Teams may reschedule regular season games or matches on a time- and space-available basis by contacting the Intramural Sports Office. Teams must initiate any reschedules by the first Friday following the opening night of regular season games (end of the first week of the regular season), unless a later date is announced. NO reschedules will be permitted following this period.
II. Procedure
To reschedule a regular season game, the team captain initiating the reschedule (captain A) must obtain from the Intramural Sports office a list of possible reschedule days and times and the opposing captain’s (captain B) contact information. Captain A must then arrange a time with captain B to meet in the IM Sports Office and finalize the reschedule plans. Both team captains must agree to a new time and sign the reschedule form. If the two captains can not agree on a new game time, the schedule will revert to how it is written. NOTE: Reschedules are done on a first-come, first-served basis. Just because you have a list of days and times does not insure that those days and times will be available when you return to the IM Sports Office.
III. Playoff Games
Once the playoff brackets have been set, playoff games will NOT be rescheduled unless postponed due to inclement weather or when certain conflicts within Intramural Sports arise (i.e., teams playing in multiple sports tournaments simultaneously, participants playing on 2 teams in the same sport [co-rec and 1 other team]). Teams should alert the Intramural Sports staff when such conflicts may arise. The Intramural Sports staff will initiate reschedules in the event of rain and, when possible, these noted scheduling conflicts.

Reschedules - Individual / Dual Sports
I. Restrictions
Individuals may attempt to reschedule an individual/dual tournament match by contacting the Intramural Sports Office by no later than 12 Noon of the day of the scheduled match for match times after 5:00 pm. Attempts to reschedule matches scheduled before 5:00 pm must be completed 24 hours prior to the scheduled match time. Individual who wish to reschedule an individual/dual tournament match originally scheduled for a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, must contact the Intramural Sports Office by 12 Noon of the previous business day.
II. Procedure
To reschedule a tournament match, the individual initiating the reschedule (player A) must obtain from the Intramural Sports office the opponent's (player B) contact information. Player A must then arrange a time with player B to play the match on their own. The match must be completed prior to the time of the next round's match as indicated on the tournament bracket. If the two players can not agree on a new game time, the schedule will revert to how it is written. Player A may be required to default the match if the new game time cannot be arranged. Players attempting to reschedule matches should contact the facility to ensure its availability during the proposed reschedule time.