Touch Footy Player Etiquette

November 25, 2019 - 4 years ago

Urban Rec’s of difference from almost all other recreational sport providers, is that we care about the experience had by absolutely everyone involved within our leagues, Including our staff.

As with all Urban Rec leagues, we do not tolerate douche bags. We are inclusive, and welcome all levels of ability, and as a consequence, we are pretty tough on any team or player who goes against our culture. 

To make things super clear, we have compiled a list of Urban Rec Touch Footy player etiquette. Keep these points in mind, when playing in any of our competitions. It’s the Urban Rec way… 

DON’T EVER’s –

• Be so competitive that it can be mistaken as aggression or be seen as intimidating. This covers things like intense defensive line speed and crash ball lines in defence (also, crash ball lines don’t work…its touch.)
• Put your shoulder behind a two handed touch – that’s a pre contact game warm up and has no business here. (ridiculous we know but it has happened).
• Mock opposition or your own team! Goes without saying. Don’t be a dick.
• Move your hand away when about to take a touch with an attacking opposition player – this kind of underhand tactic is reserved only for the highest level of hero, we are talking Batman vs Superman type of hero. Get real and take the touch!
• Make calls or question a call from one of our hosts – This creates a shitty atmosphere and ruins our staff members evening.
  • 7 times out of 10 our host has seen the offence and hasn’t called it for a reason.
  • 8 times out of 10 it doesn’t affect the game.
  • 9 times out of 10 you look like an idiot.
  • 10 times out of 10 the world has moved on and upon reflection its not that big of a deal.
• Wait on the try line when you’re about to score a runaway try for one of your female players. I know it is worth double if you do so, but it’s not what the score bonus is in place for. We implemented the 2 points for female trys as an incentive to encourage players to include the female players in the team, not because the ladies are any more or less likely to score.

DO’s –

• Always put the enjoyment and respect of your opponents, ahead of your desire to win. 
• Socialise with other teams, they are not the enemy.
• Be honest – if you’ve been touched in touch and you don’t stop it really does defeat the purpose of touch.
• Support and coach players that seem to be struggling.
• Play to the ability of your opposition, give beginner players and extra second, but compete when you see a player who knows the game/rules well. 
• Win and lose graciously – its fine to be good and its fine to win, but don’t enjoy crushing a team so bad that it spoils their game (points for and against is NEVER used in our standings). Same goes when you are on the losing side, its fine to lose and it really doesn’t matter if you’ve lost so do so with a smile on your face, you can still have a good time surrounded by mates.
• Cheer for the opposition if they pull off something spectacular.
• ALWAYS shake hands post game, including the host!

Do you play in our Touch leagues? Do you think we have missed something? Is there any behaviour or bad etiquette you would like to see abolished? Send us a message. [email protected] or contact your League Manager. 

Playing Sport in Hot Weather

November 21, 2019 - 5 years ago

The mercury is rising. Heat is unlike anything else, it’s hard to predict, can change rapidly and everyone has a different tolerance to heat.

Unlike other weather conditions in hot weather venues will not let us reschedule our bookings so cancellations in hot weather mean we can’t guarantee a rescheduled game. 

Ultimately it is your call in any conditions weather you play or not. 

Our Heat Policy 

Because most of our games are played at night and it usually cools down over the night, we do not make heat calls during the day. Heat calls are made by the teams and the Urban Rec Event Host, at the venue, prior to the game starting. If your team and the Event Host feel it is unsafe to play, games will not be played. In hot conditions where games are played we may change the structure of the game to give you more breaks. 

As a general rule If it is over 40 degrees at the start time we do not play. 

If a game is cancelled due to heat it will be recorded as a draw. We will make every effort to reschedule the game, but it cannot be guaranteed.

Smoke Haze

When there is a smoke haze, we carefully consider if we should cancel games. If you have a medical condition that is affected by smoke we strongly advise you use good judgement and follow your doctor’s advice as to if you should play. 

Advice for playing sport in the heat

• Stay hydrated, drink plenty of water
• Know your fitness level and take plenty of breaks 
• Wear cool loose fitting clothes, avoid dark colours 
• Wear sunscreen and a hat
• If you have a medical condition that may be affected by heat, consult your doctor as to whether you should play

Again stated – Ultimately it is your call in any conditions weather you play or not. 

Christmas Operating Hours 2019

November 12, 2019 - 5 years ago

Jolly Jolly times as we approach the silly season. Here is the scoop on when we are closed this year!

LAST WEEK OF PLAY 2019 – Week beginning 16^th Dec

FIRST WEEK OF PLAY 2020 – Week beginning 6^th Jan

UR HQ OUT OF OFFICE – Sat 21^st Dec through Sun 5^th Jan

Most of our leagues are programmed to finish in December and will start up in the new Summer season in January, so these dates won’t effect you and your team. BUT, If your league is scheduled to finish in the new year and is running over the Christmas break, you will have two week break. 

If your team know you will not be able to make games in the week of Mon 16th Dec or the week of Mon 6th Jan, please let your League Manager know ASAP. 

As always, check your member dashboard for your most up to date schedule!

Any questions, contact [email protected] 

Pri-Rego Prizepack Giveaway Spring 2019

November 7, 2019 - 5 years ago

We work with some amazing brands and this season we are PUMPED to get these brands in your hands to claim some free member perks for you and the team. This Spring season, any team that uses priority registration to register for the Summer season between weeks 7 to 9, will recieve a FREE PRIZEPACK GIVEAWAY. 

Whats included

• Double pass to random selection of Funlab venues, Skyzone, Strike Bowling or Holey Moley Golf
• $100 voucher to Naked Wines
• Batch Brewing Sponsor Prize
• Random selection of Urban Rec Merch!

How do I claim

• In week 7 of your current season, Pri-rego will open and your captain will be sent a secret link to re-register your team for next season (you will be emailed and reminded about this). 
• Using this link and within the pri-ority rego period of weeks 7-9, your captain will need to register for next season
• On week 1 of the new season, your prizepack will be ready to go!

How Urban Rec was founded

October 8, 2019 - 5 years ago

Have you ever wanted to hear about how Urban Rec landed on the shores of Sydney, Canberra and now Newcastle? This podcast interview is with our Aussie founder, Madeleine Wilkie, and tells the story of how we started with a bunch of flyers and a dream. 

Batch Brewing X Urban Rec

September 17, 2019 - 5 years ago

Urban Rec is all about sport, but we are equally invested in what happens after the game. The third half. The part where you and your new mates share a laugh and a cheers over your favourite brew. This spring season, Batch Brewing Co have come on board with us, as our sponsor partners for this season. This can mean only one thing. More deals for Urban Rec members on Batch beers, and more prizes and giveaways for UR Awesome crew, and our members. 

Batch was founded on similar principals to Urban Rec, launched in 2012, same year as us – Batch is North American inspired, but Aussie grown brand. With their roots planted in Sydneys inner west, just like Urban Rec, they have their sights set further and wider. They recently launched a new venue in Petersham, and as the craft beer scene continues to dominate, we could not be more stoked to partner with a company that has consistently stayed relevant in a big beer market. 

Here is a list of new perks available to Urban Rec members

• $10 paddles at any Batch Brewing Co, Brewery in Sydney
  • Batch Brewing Co. at Marrickville –  44 Sydenham Rd, Marrickville NSW 2204
  • Batch Brewing Co. at Petersham  – Out the back of the Public House Petersham
• $18 jugs of Batch Brew Co at any of the participating clubhouses (Check with your League Manager or Event Host to see if this applies to your clubhouse!)
• Fun Point winners this season, win a FREE Batch Brewing Frisbee!
• NEW team tee’s for individual players featuring Batch Brewing Co!

More Social, Less Media

September 2, 2019 - 5 years ago

UR Awesome Members

August 19, 2019 - 5 years ago

Since inception, we’ve been rewarding the best, and most sportsmanlike teams using our fun points rating system. Our Fun Point system rewards you and your team for consistently making your league night enjoyable for opposing teams.  All it takes is that one team to turn a bad day, into a good one.

We believe that behind a fun team is an individual that unconditionally proves to what we stand for. Someone who emobodys the brand, the ethos, somebody who just “gets it”. Those individuals that stand out deserve the recognition for not only making things more enjoyable for their own team, but for all our members and hosts within the league.

So here it is...

U
R
AWESOME!

UR Awesome is a group of hand-picked Urban Rec members who enthusiastically promote the culture and attitude in each league. We want to start rewarding those members, that go above and beyond to make sure you and your team have that amazing night you deserve. Your efforts and personality can do wonders to a league.

How can I be selected as UR Awesome Member? 

• Each week, our Event Hosts are asked to nominate people they see acting, playing, or behaving in the spirit of UR, if those names appear more  than once a season, they are selected. 
• If you are a member that invites tons of your friends to play, you will be invited by our League Managers. (We use the referral info supplied when people to become members.
• If you are supporting us on social media (hello micro-influencers), you could be invited to join too 

What benefits do I get for being an UR Awesome member?

• FREE or crazy discounted individual registrations
• Merchandise
• Free tickets to our social events
• A ton of cool stuff from our sponsor and partner venues.
• UR News (new leagues, new venues, upcoming events) well before even our hosts.

How does it actually work?

• Once you’ve been selected, you will receive an email from an UR AWESOME team. This could also reflect on your login roster. The email will contain the FB Search details to the exclusively private group.
• Get notified when our HQ has free tickets, free rego, or teams that need someone as awesome as you to join

Different styles of Soccer at Urban Rec

April 8, 2019 - 5 years ago

Here at Urban Rec, we have a ton of Soccer on offer, Street, Outdoor, Indoor, Caged, but what do they all mean, how are they different?

Street Soccer – Our Street Soccer leagues are a little more urban, and a little less polished. We play on different style pitches, (usually converted tennis courts). Our venue are conveniently located, but not always premium, and priced appropriately. The rules are different and have adaptations that work to suit the venue and make your game experience is fun and unpredictable. 

Soccer – Our Soccer league venues are state of the art facilities, offered at varying locations across Sydney. The one thing you need to know about Soccer is premium venues are a priority, but the venues call for different styles of the game. 

• Caged Soccer – Played at our partner venue Kikoff, Caged Soccer is exactly what it sounds like – soccer in a cage, no out’s, no offsides, and a whole lot of running. 
• Outdoor Soccer – Played on premium grass or astro-turf pitches, outdoor soccer is simply small sided football. 
• Indoor Soccer – Obviously, played indoors, but still small sided. This is not regulation futsal, this is indoor soccer, 5-aside, premium sports surfaces and a lot of fun. 

One thing that doesn’t change about our leagues is the fun first policy. Some of the venues offer multiple nights a week, or multiple divisions, but if you play in an Urban Rec soccer league, you are not a Ronaldo wannabe, and you are here to have fun. 

How Urban Rec is improving Netball

March 27, 2019 - 5 years ago

Netball is one of Aussies most beloved sports! But as we have grown the sport within our leagues we have come to realise that it’s a complicated beast, and in order to keep our players happy, here are some changes we are making…

Our Event Hosts: As you know we pride ourselves on making sure our Event Hosts are so much more than just umpires. Our staff have personality and coaching style game play. BUT we do recognise that in order to learn, you need someone who knows the rules intimately, so we are committing to hire Event Hosts who have umpire experience  or an intimate understanding of the rules. 

Calling your own contacts, offsides, and stepping: Across all of our leagues, we ask you to be adult enough to make these calls if you knowingly make a mistake. We never want our leagues to be where people come to cheat. BUT if you are a learner or you genuinely did not know you made a mistake, our Event Hosts will be making those calls for you. READ: We get tougher, and you learn when you have stuffed up, and hopefully become better at making that call for yourself next time. 

Wet weather calls: Most of our Netball leagues are outdoors, which is awesome – until it rains. But making calls can be tricky. We would like to make the call a little less subjective. While our rain out policy does not change, if the courts are wet, on most occasions we will cancel the games. Netball is tricky enough on the knees without adding further risk. This does mean you should expect 1-4 rain out’s per season, potentially extending your season to run for 11-14 weeks instead of 10. We never take away games, but you do need to plan a little longer into the season. 

CHOOSING A NETBALL LEAGUE THAT SUITS YOU AND YOUR TEAM:

STREET NETBALL:  This style of Netball is basically the gateway sport for people who are new to the sport, and want to learn more. We take away all the intimidating factors. No bibs, fewer postisions, and in some cases, fewer hoops (wow). The same principals apply, and the basics of netball remain, but this is netball re-imagined, and re-purposed for people that truly want to play a simplistic and non-intimidating version of the game. Expect to see alot more of this style game popping up, and opportunities for you to learn and play this style of Netball. 

FAST5 NETBALL: Our original and best. This is a league suited for players who want to get involved and play Netball, but they  don’t want all the snooty behaviour that can go along with Netball. This league calls for a lot less stoppage in game play, and a few adpatations to make the game a bit more unpredictable and fun.

7’S NETBALL: This is the style of Netball you have come to know and love. It’s proper 7-aside, and a more traditional version of the game. There is a bit more structure, and if you are a Netball purist, you should probably start here. HOWEVER. This is not some horrible and scary comp with faceless umpires, this is still Urban Rec style, meaning you will use fun points, and always play with a fun first attitude. We will continue to offer some more of these leagues across Sydney, but we are concious that there’s plenty of other people doing it, and we don’t want to saturate the market!

These changes we hope, will help elevate your experience and help you to choose the right league that suits you, and also understand that we are listening, and we do want to make changes if you guys are want them. It is, afterall… your sport.