Captain How To

*Tips & Reminders for captains & players can be found in the announcements on our RollerCon Challenges Forum.

Text “follow RollerCon” to 40404 for SMS deadlines, scores & updates, including notifications when Challenge Submissions open March 1st each year.

Super important links for captains:

PLEASE NOTE: The form typically fills up beyond the number of available challenge spots before 12:05pm Pacific. Please set an alarm; entries completed after 12:05 almost never get scheduled.

How to get your game scheduled; the short version:

  1. Get an idea for a game theme and two teams. Find an opposing captain. Decide on team names, jersey colors, skill level, gender restrictions.
  2. Make a copy of our roster template . Name the document & share it according to the instructions on the top left of the document.
  3. On March 1st at noon Pacific, submit your challenge(s).
  4. RollerCon first validates your entry, then begins scheduling. We skip any entries that aren’t ready to go.
  5. Scheduled challenge captains will receive an email confirmation. Google adjusts the time to your local time. Look in the body of the message for Las Vegas time.
  6. Once scheduled, collect players and finish organizing the game.
  7. See below for more detail.

Detailed Tips & Instructions for Captains

Prepare before March 1st:

Here’s a photo of the submission form with all the questions we will ask you when you submit your challenge or bout. The real submission form (which may have small changes) opens on March 1st; links above.

Notes:

  • You will need TWO captains’ info, including legal and skate names, unique email addresses for each captain and cell numbers.
  • Both captains must have RollerCon passes. They can be volunteers, sponsors, staff, previously deferred or BPT-purchased passes, but they must have already purchased or signed up for them. We verify both captains.
  • Captains may only captain one game. We don’t schedule if either captain has submitted an earlier game.
  • Your teams must be DARK & LIGHT. Please check our uniform rules and scroll down for more info about dark vs light.
  • Captains must list gender restrictions or that the game does not have restrictions. **Please note captains have the option to restrict their challenges by gender or not, but they absolutely may not exclude trans and non-binary people, who are eligible (when they fit the rest of the criteria) to play in restricted games that fit their gender identity. The players determine which gender restrictions fit them, not the captains.
  • You do not need a completed roster to submit a game for scheduling. You DO need a roster document, though, appropriately renamed.
  • If you’re missing any of the above info when you fill out the form (or you try to game the form, for example, by putting in the same person as both captains), we don’t schedule you – we just move on to the next *complete* form entry.
  • Captains may begin collecting players for their game anytime. Many captains wait until after their game is scheduled. Some prefer to start immediately. Captains frequently use our challenges facebook group to find players. We recommend collecting contact info in a google spreadsheet; super users frequently use g-forms to populate their rosters. Check out this facebook tutorial for using g-forms to populate a roster.
    • New in 2024! We embedded a contact form in our template. After you copy and rename your new doc, look for the “Form Responses” tab. The top of that page has super simple instructions for how to share your form and collect player info sooooo easy.
  • Make sure your players know how to get in touch with you. We will not give you or them any contact info, period. Get their contact info and put it somewhere – it doesn’t have to be in the public roster document. But you should definitely have it!
  • We allow large rosters because often skaters don’t show up. You don’t HAVE to play with 20 – you can play with less, if you choose. The officials are the final word about (small) roster size. If they determine that you do not have enough players to start or finish a challenge safely, they will stop (or not start) the game.
  • Read the Challenge page, especially the part about how rabid we are about staying on schedule and how that affects your schedule spot.
  • Make sure you don’t miss deadlines. They’re all on our TIMELINE page. Especially don’t miss the roster finalization date in July!

*Tips & Reminders for captains & players can be found in the announcements on our RollerCon Challenges Forum.

Important tips for Captains AT ROLLERCON

  1. Be on time. Make sure your teams are on time.
  2. Bring your own helmet panties. Yes, we have some but they disappear. It doesn’t matter if they match your shirts. It does matter that the pivot and jammer match colors exactly and that the colors on the panty are contrasting (so that the star and stripe are visible).
  3. You may substitute eligible players or fill no show spots up until the 1 hour mark by updating your roster with the Stats Managers at the C1 Officials table. It’s not recommended, but it is possible to sub players trackside *before badge check*: the captain (not the players) must discuss numbers with the NSO on the track; be sure they know about substitutes playing in someone else’s jersey (in case of injury).
  4. No changes to the roster may occur after badge check. No exceptions.
  5. No players (on the roster or not) may join the game after badge check.
  6. Please make sure you and your players are all familiar with the Player tips.
  7. After the game, please take team photos OFF THE TRACK so that the next teams can play. Tag #rollercon when you post them. Thanks!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I have a different schedule than the one I got? Like if I have a schedule conflict?
A: Your best bet is to work on changing the other half of the conflict – or find a new captain to replace you that doesn’t have a conflict. You can cancel your game, but we do not reschedule by request.

Q: Can I change out captains after the roster was submitted in March?
A: Yes. However, captains can still only captain one game, so make sure of it before you recruit them. Update your roster directly – you do not need to email us.

Q: Can I change our team theme, colors, skill level and/or restrictions after being scheduled?
A: (30 min challenges) We prefer that you don’t because we have to update that in other places! But if you must, the answer is: for challenges, probably yes, as long as the changes still conform to our rules. Please send an email with your challenge name, day, time and track to rollercon@gmail.com.
A:  (full length bouts). Probably not. Those were factors that determined if and when we scheduled you. Please send us an email with your challenge name, day, time and track to rollercon@gmail.com and let’s talk about it.

Q: Can we swap schedules with another game?
A:  [Sighs] Maybe, but please don’t. If you must… [sighs again]. Just know the schedule is huge and complicated and we really, REALLY don’t want to move things once they’re scheduled. If you absolutely have to, we might approve it, but we will really grumble & roll our eyes about it. First, all captains must be on board with the trade. Email rollercon@gmail.com. Your email should include both schedules, all the team names, all the captain contacts, and you should copy all captains on the message. Try to make it so we don’t have to look things up and then we might not be quite as bitchy and peevish about it.  Once it’s approved, notify all the players and update your roster, if necessary.

Q: What if my roster changes after the roster deadline date?
A: It happens and our Stats Crew is usually very cool about it. Stats Crew will not see any changes made after they print them on the deadline listed in our timeline. So it’s up to you to bring the most recent, correct roster to the Stats Desk at C1 Officials Table AT LEAST 1 hour before your challenge (for either track). They love when you hand them a printout, but if you don’t have a printer at RC, you can (legibly) write down changes and bring it them – for example, crossing out player names and writing in new names legibly at the bottom of a list. 

BOUT & CHALLENGE SCHEDULING NOTES

General

  • Everyone asks for Thursday & Friday. Coaches like those days best for classes, and those are also the most popular slots captains request, as well. Its worth noting that if your roster includes lots of coaches, you might want to rethink your request!

Single Period Challenges

  • Challenges are scheduled in the order they were received, taking the captains’ scheduling preferences and matching our attendee demographics as best we can.
  • As we get closer to filling the schedule, we look closer at the themes and teams.
    • Themes that sounds super interesting, or a rivalry that has great visual appeal, or gives under-represented players, traditionally marginalized groups or overworked staffers a chance to play – may be prioritized higher than their first-come, first-served slot, especially likely to move up a few notches over black vs white themes.
    • Teams with multiple entries who have already been scheduled may be prioritized lower to let more teams have a chance to play. The goal is to let as many people have a chance to play as possible.
  • Almost everyone wants Thursday & Friday. Teams that are more flexible in their schedule tend to get the last few spots over teams that have a lot of days marked unavailable.
  • Unpopular spots are the very last to get filled, so teams who refuse those spots get skipped for teams who mark that they’ll play anytime.

Full length Bouts

  • All the prime time full-length bouts are A level, most are AA. Its very rare that we schedule a full length bout that includes <A skill levels.
  • We sometimes pre-schedule a very small number of returning bouts that consistently draw high advanced seating ticket sales (raising lots of money for charity). Example: All Stars by Voting.
  • We look for the very best themes for the rest of the full length bouts. Teams with great visual and conceptual themes and great team vs team oppositions are selected first. We’re looking to book games everyone wants to watch (not just play in), so it is more fun for watchers and so that we can raise as much money as possible for charity. We only raise money for charities we have researched thoroughly.
  • We do not schedule “Team X color vs color” for full length bouts. See above.
  • Please don’t ask anyone at HQ to schedule your bout in advance. That’s not how it works.