Volume 5, Issue 1

Commissioner's Note

Welcome to another season of PVDGFFL football! I hope you're as excited as I am to get back on the fields with our football family. This year, I'm humbled to step into the role of league Commissioner, picking up the torch from my good friend, Duane Gosley. To me, our league has always been about more than football - the people have become family and the experiences have been life changing. I'm committed to preserving the things that make our league great and am excited to find ways to make it even better.

Those who know me, know just how much this league means to me and how seriously I take the responsibility to protect and preserve it. For those who don't know me, I look forward to meeting you and hearing your story. I welcome your feedback and want to hear about your league experiences. Please introduce yourself when you see me at the fields or at our events, and don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions.

We have an incredible Board of volunteers and they've been hard at work, planning out a great year of events. As you'll read below, we have a lot of new and exciting things to share with you. Let's get to it!

Chris Almonte

Mark your calendars, it's time to get ready for our 2023 spring season!

• Feb 8 -- TODAY - New website launch, powered by SportsEngine
• Feb 12 -- Meet & Greet Super Bowl event at The Dark Lady @ 6:00pm (feel free to wear a tournament jersey or PVDGFFL jersey!)
• Feb 13 -- Open Division Registration @ 7:00pm
• Mar 4 -- Travel Team Tryouts
• Mar 25 -- Open Division New Player Orientation
• Mar 26 -- Open Division Meet Your Team Party
• Apr 1 -- Open Division Spring 2023 Season Begins
• Apr 7 -- Women's+ Division Registration @ 7:00pm
• May 6 -- Open Division Playoffs & Rhody Bowl
• May 7 -- Open Division End-of-Season Party

Additional events, including league socials and fundraisers, are being planned... more to come! Our events page is always up-to-date with the latest details.

Presenting the new PVDGFFL website powered by SportsEngine!

Registration and SportsEngine

Registration for our 2023 Open Division Spring Season will open on Monday, February 13th @ 7pm. This year, we'll be using SportsEngine as our new registration platform. We anticipate spots will fill up quickly, so please be sure to review the pre-registration suggestions below to expedite your registration process. Once we reach capacity, the new system will automatically switch all additional registrations to "waitlist" status. Please read the following information carefully to ensure a smooth process on Monday evening. SportsEngine (SE) has created this Getting Started Guide.

League registration requires a SportsEngine account. We STRONGLY recommend you do this prior to registration on Monday.

• Go to https://app.sportngin.com/user/welcome
• If you have an existing account (many people do from tournaments and other leagues), please ensure you can sign in and update your information under Account Settings and under Household > View Profile. Please contact SportsEngine support to fix any issues in advance.
• If you do not have an account, please create one.
• We recommend adding all your information prior to Monday evening in order to speed up the registration process. If you wait until Monday night, it will slow down your registration process and you may be at risk of getting waitlisted.
• Please have a current headshot ready when you register - see SE article for more information.
• Recommendations from some of our partner leagues:
• We recommend that you log into SportsEngine on a separate tab at the time you're registering. 
• We also recommend that you use Google Chrome as your browser on a desktop (not mobile) for the smoothest registration experience.
• Again, when all the spots are filled, the registration form will stop taking payments and the only option available will be Waitlist.

Registration will cost $75 per player. Your registration fee covers field rentals, referees, jerseys, and events.

We continue to offer confidential financial support, including extended payment deadlines or discounted/free registration. We're here to support our LGBTQIA+ football family and never want the cost of registration to be a barrier towards participation. Please contact our Commissioner, Chris Almonte, if you're interested in applying for financial assistance in advance of registration.

Calling Potential Spring Season Captains!

Team Captains and Assistant Captains play a vital role in the success of our league. They are, first and foremost, the biggest contributors to a player’s experience with our league, both on and off the field. They set the tone during our games and help carry our fun and welcoming attitude from the fields into our team and league social events. As such, we set high expectations for those who are selected to lead our teams. When evaluating potential captains and assistant captains, we're primarily looking for those who can lead by example, follow and enforce the league code of conduct, and bring football knowledge and/or football fun to the fields.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated leadership qualities on and off the field.
• Demonstrated understanding of the league rules or a willingness to learn.
• High degree of sportsmanship and in good standing with the league code of conduct.
• Ability to prioritize the league experience of others over their own experience.
• Participation in the captain’s colleges encouraged but not required.
• Ability to navigate difficult conversations and complicated interpersonal interactions.
• Football knowledge (or a commitment to learn via our Captain College) and ability to help facilitate a fun and social dynamic for your team. 

How to Apply:

• Fill out this application through Google Forms
• Applications will be reviewed by the Director of Captains and league officers.
• Captains will be announced a few weeks before the season begins.

If all of this sounds like you, we encourage you to apply to be a captain for our upcoming Spring Season. Application deadline is February 15th. If you have questions, please email Michael Lucerto, Director of Captains.

Attention, Potential Tournament Captains and Players...

If you'd like a more competitive football experience, we encourage you to consider our PVDGFFL Lobster Tournament Teams. All the fun of our regular season, with a higher level of competition, the chance to meet players from around the country, and the opportunity to represent our league on the national level!

Each year, PVDGFFL is proud to send competitive teams to two national tournaments: Pride Bowl (June) and Gay Bowl (October). This year, we'll be sending up to two Open Division teams and two Women's+ teams to each tournament.

One Open Division team and one Women's+ team will be designated as more 'competitive' and may play in a higher/tougher tournament division. Players who wish to be considered for these teams will be asked to commit to both Pride Bowl and Gay Bowl so the team can benefit from continuity and growth from one tournament to the next. Players can still be considered for these teams even if they can't commit to both tournaments, but preference may be given to players who can compete in both.

The second Open Division and Women's+ teams will be for players who don't wish to (or aren't selected to) compete at the higher level, aren't able/willing to commit to both tournaments, or haven't previously competed at a tournament. Tournaments are incredibly fun and all are encouraged to try out, but please note that tournament teams compete at a higher level than our local PVDGFFL seasons. Just like with our regular seasons, we welcome and encourage anyone who would like to attend a tournament as a non-playing supporter.

*All tournament players will be required to attend a minimum number of practices in order to be eligible and may forfeit their roster spot if they fail to meet the minimum threshold.*

Complete Interest Form:

If you're interested in being a captain for one of these teams, please fill out the tournament captain interest form. Tournament captains will be announced in the next few weeks.

If you'd like to compete in Pride Bowl or Gay Bowl, please fill out the tournament player interest form.

Tryouts:

All potential players will be asked to attend a tournament tryout on March 4 from 7-9am at Teamworks (732 Lees River Ave, Somerset, MA 02725). If you cannot attend the tryout, you'll still be eligible for consideration as long as you've submitted a tournament player interest form.

We'll be announcing the Pride Bowl teams, as well as the two competitive Gay Bowl teams, in March. An additional tryout will be held later this spring for the second Open Division and Women's+ Gay Bowl teams.

2023 Board of Directors

We're pleased to introduce you to our 2023 Board of Directors. This group of dedicated volunteer leaders will be working hard to ensure you have a great experience. Get to know us a bit better by checking out our Board Bios. If you have any questions or concerns at any point during the year, any of our Board members would be happy to talk with you.

Chris Almonte — Commissioner

Rolfe Hubley — Assistant Commissioner, Open Division

Red McSwiggan — Assistant Commissioner, Women’s+ Division

Greg Polzer — Treasurer

Josh Klemp — Secretary

Chloe Nelson — Director of Events

Chelsea Beaudoin — Director of Travel Teams

Michael Lucerto — Director of Captains

Marc Perkel — Director of Marketing and Communications

Sean Corcoran — Co-Director of Football Operations

John Mancone — Co-Director of Football Operations

Sean Davis — Director of Recruitment and Player Development

Anthony DeRose — Director of Fundraising and Sponsorships

Jay Potter — Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Patrick Simmonds — Director of Volunteerism

Red McSwiggan — Director of Rules and Referees

Theresa Waterbury — Director of Health and Safety

2023 League Sponsors

We are in the process of recruiting sponsors for the year. If you know a business that may be interested, please share their contact information with Anthony, our Director of Fundraising and Sponsorships.