Policies

Team captains may choose to either pay their team’s full enrollment fee or split payment between a set number of individual players during registration.

All individual players must join their team’s roster via LeagueApps - regardless of whether they’re paying their enrollment fee directly to District Soccer or if someone else has covered the full cost of the team. District Soccer reserves the right to enforce a forfeit penalty for teams that do not have the required minimum number of players rostered to meet the requirements of their league format, i.e., 11 players for 11v11, 9 players for 9v9, etc. 

When joining their team's roster, players will be prompted to complete relevant participation waivers, which makes them fully eligible to participate in league play that season. By registering for the teams, players also opt in to receive critical league news and updates via email and/or text message. District Soccer reserves the right to exclude

Payments

By enrolling a team in a District Soccer league, team captains commit to covering the entire team fee through individual player payments or paying the full team fee. Any individual player’s dues not paid by payment deadlines will become the team captain’s responsibility.

Refunds: If a player signs up for a league and ultimately cannot participate due to injury, District Soccer will honor refund requests on a case-by-case basis. Refunds are not guaranteed. 

Should a player receive a refund, the full team fee must still be paid. This fee may be covered by a replacement player or an existing roster member. Team captains will be required to pay any outstanding team balances.

Refunds

Our software provider, LeagueApps, provides players with the opportunity to purchase registration insurance. Powered by Vertical Insure, this is an optional add-on that can be purchased when registering. Registration insurance protects your registration fees should unforeseen circumstances, such as illness or injury, prevent you from finishing a season. This article provides more information on LeagueApps registration insurance.

For players who have not purchased registration insurance, District Soccer will consider refund requests on a case-by-case basis. Please note that league admins may opt to issue credit for future league signups instead of returning payment. 

To request a credit/refund, a written email should be sent to billing@districtsoccer.org with a detailed explanation of the request. After the request has been received, the exact circumstances will be considered with a decision to follow. 

Largely speaking, credits/refunds will only be issued for the following reasons:

• Major Injury
• Moving out of the area

Refunds/credits will NOT be given due to the following:

• Weather cancellations
• Unhappy with the team assignment
• Game experience
• Personal Scheduling Conflicts

Note: Refunds/credits may be prorated based on the number of games that have already been played in the season.  

Players must be at least 18 years of age to participate and are required to sign a participation waiver. 

Rosters may be of whatever size a team prefers, given that team fees are fully covered. When building rosters, teams should keep in mind the minimum number of players needed to field a full team for each match.

District Soccer recommends the following roster size per category:

• 11s outdoor soccer - 18 players
• 9s outdoor soccer - 14 players
• 7s outdoor soccer - 12 players
• 5s soccer - 9 players

Teams may invite substitute, non-rostered players to play in a particular match, given they are registered with another team in the league that particular season. Player(s) added as substitutes must wear either the team’s assigned District Soccer jersey or a shirt in an identical color. Referees may choose to exclude any players who are not compliant from game play. 

When recruiting substitutes, please be considerate of the level of play in your league. Also,  please only recruit as many players as you need to reasonably play the match.

League schedules are created based on field availability, the number of teams in a given league, and the needs of other District Soccer leagues sharing the same game sites.

District Soccer will always aim to reschedule games lost to inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances. 

On rare occasions, there may be cause for shortening seasons. This may be due to persistent inclement weather or changes in field availability. In such cases, District Soccer is under no obligation to offer refunds or credits.

Reschedule Requests: Any requests to change schedules after they have been posted to the league’s website require the consent of all affected teams. 

District Soccer reserves the right to change field locations and game times as needed throughout the season.  We will always try to provide at least 24 hours' notice, though this may not always be possible.

During games, all players should wear official District Soccer jerseys in the exact color listed next to their team’s name on game schedules. Official District Soccer jerseys are defined as jerseys with a District Soccer logo or a custom jersey cleared by the league. All registered league players are expected to obtain a District Soccer jersey or play in an approved custom jersey.

Teams playing in our leagues will be given a FREE set of jerseys once a year (not every season)! Captains will receive a jersey ordering email for their teams before the winter season or before their first season in the leagues. These jerseys are a gift to your team. Their cost is not reflected in the price of registration.

We do NOT distribute sets of jerseys to teams each season - only once per calendar year. If you would like to purchase individual jerseys between calendar years, please go to our Store.

Jerseys are distributed in a standard quantity per league type, unless otherwise requested by team captains upon registration (standard size breakdowns are included in parentheses):

• 11s Leagues – 18 jerseys (4 Small, 7 Medium, 6 Large, 1 X Large)
• 9s Leagues – 14 jerseys (3 Small, 5 Medium, 5 Large, 1 X Large)
• 7s Leagues – 12 jerseys (2 Small, 5 Medium, 4 Large, 1 X Large)
• 5s Leagues – 9 jerseys (2 Small, 4 Medium, 3 Large, 1 X Large)

We strongly recommend that teams keep the jerseys together in a set and avoid distributing them to individuals for personal use.

Custom Jerseys

If your team would like to provide its own jerseys, great! District Soccer requires that the shirts fully match and feature no profane or offensive language or images. A set of custom jerseys can be as simple as plain, colored t-shirts.

To get a set of jerseys cleared with the league, simply email info@districtsoccer.org a picture and list the kits’ color next to your team name

Playing a Team With the Same Color?

In games where teams will be wearing similar or matching colors, it is the responsibility of the team listed second on the schedule to change (the Home team) . The Captain of the team changing colors should notify the referee of the reason they are not wearing their listed color/official District Soccer jerseys.

Players not complying with jersey standards may be excluded from league matches. Referees have the final say in this regard.

Shin guards are mandatory and must be covered entirely by socks.

Soccer turf shoes (recommended), molded cleats (not metal), or athletic sneakers are the only shoes permissible for match play.  Referees’ decisions on footwear suitability are final.

Each team shall be responsible for providing at least one game ball (District Soccer will supply game balls for indoor leagues).

Watches are not permitted during play unless covered by wrist sweatbands or a padded covering.

Referees may also ask players to remove non-essential accessories like eyeglasses or hats. 

District Soccer is not responsible for any items lost or stolen during games or at field sites.

Teams that do not alert District Soccer of a forfeit with adequate notice ahead of their matches will be subject to a $75.00 penalty (assigned directly to the Team Captain). District Soccer will donate all funds collected from late forfeits to one of the league’s charitable partners. Teams failing to pay forfeit penalties will be disqualified from league playoffs (should they qualify) or will be unable to register for a future District Soccer program. For a detailed definition of “Adequate Notice,” see below:

• Teams playing on weeknights must submit notice before 5:00 PM (Eastern).
• Teams playing on weekends must submit notice before 6:00 AM (Eastern) for all games scheduled to start before 1:00 PM (Eastern).
• Teams playing on weekends must submit notice before 10:00 AM (Eastern) for all games starting at 1:00 PM and later (Eastern).

If a team arrives at league fields in good faith, but without a full lineup of players, they will not be penalized.

Game Cancellations: Games played on turf fields will continue even in the event of rain and light snow. League officials may decide to cancel games out of concern for player safety (i.e., severe storms, accumulating snow, freezing rain, extreme temperatures, etc.).  Also, out of concern for player safety, there may be cause to delay games for severe weather.

Cancellation Notifications: District Soccer encourages players to check for updates related to cancellations before heading to the fields for games. We will make every effort to provide as much advance notice as possible. 

Notification will go out via email and text (to those who’ve opted in to SMS communication during registration) and via our software partner LeagueApps Play app, which can be downloaded here (Mac IOS/Android).

Updates are also always available via the District Soccer phone line - 202-656-8892. Select 1 for weather-related matters.

Game statistics (wins, draws, and losses) are posted to the league standings page. Players are encouraged to review the League Standings page(s) periodically. 

• Forfeits are reported as a 3-0 loss
• Games that are canceled (not rescheduled) are reported as a 0-0 draw.
• Tie-breakers for playoffs are auto-calculated and explained on your league’s Standings Page.

Fans and spectators are encouraged to attend District Soccer games. Fans and spectators must follow the rules of host venues, including no pets, no alcohol or drug use, and no bicycles within stadium gates. 

These individuals are required to remain in designated viewing areas such as stadium bleachers during game play.  Only rostered players and approved coaches are allowed in game technical areas (sidelines).

Fan and spectator behavior is ultimately the responsibility of team captains. Improper fan or spectator behavior will be addressed by referees and league leadership.

Pets are not allowed on any DCPS or privately owned field premises; rules at fields controlled by the DC Department of Parks and Recreation vary. District Soccer asks players and affiliated fans to refrain from bringing any animal to games unless they are a trained service animal.

Drugs and alcohol may not be present at any game that District Soccer organizes.

District Soccer considers in-game decisions of referees to be final. While we appreciate and welcome feedback on all elements of our leagues, including referee performance, challenges to calls and non-calls will not be reviewed or overturned by league management, nor will referee decisions be considered justification for a replay. District Soccer will not authorize a replay of any match abandoned due to player behavior.

If a match is abandoned in the first half of a game, the following rules will apply:

• If one team or player is judged by the referees and league managers to be responsible for a match abandonment, District Soccer will record the match as a 3-0 forfeit in favor of the team whose player(s) were not responsible for the match abandonment.
• If both teams or players from both teams are judged by the referees and league managers to be responsible for a match abandonment, it will be recorded as a tie (0-0) regardless of the game’s scoreline when it was abandoned.

If a match is abandoned in the second half of a game, the following rules will apply:

• If one team or player is judged by the referees and league managers to be responsible for a match abandonment (and they are winning at the time of abandonment), the match will be recorded as a tie (0-0), regardless of the scoreline of the game at the time it was abandoned.
• If one team or player is judged by the referees and league managers to be responsible for a match abandonment (and they are tied or losing at the time of abandonment), it will be recorded as a forfeit (3-0) in favor of the team whose player(s) were not responsible for the match needing to be stopped, or the scoreline will stand if the team was not responsible for the match abandonment.
• If both teams or players from both teams are judged by the referees and league managers to be responsible for a match abandonment, the scoreline will be considered final at the time the match is abandoned.

In the event of an abandoned match, District Soccer is not obligated to issue refunds or schedule make-ups.