Team Fees

AASL fees are assessed as a team fee of $1,550, which remains unchanged since 2008.

Team captains determine their team’s roster size and divide the team fee accordingly. It is common (and encouraged) for team captains to exclude themselves from contributing towards the team fee, as their role as captain should have some tangible benefit considering the role they play and the responsibility they have throughout the season. But, this decision is made entirely on a team by team basis.

Returning Teams

New Teams

It's easy: Contact your captain, fill out the online registration form, pay your captain your share of the team fee as instructed by the captain, and pay attention to this site to make sure your captain gets the paperwork in on time!

If you're registering after the team has submitted a team form and payment, you still need to complete a form before you can play.

Individual Registrants

AASL recommends that individual registrants (not affiliated with an AASL team) register online as soon as possible for the best chance of placement. AASL intends to place individuals based chronologically on when enrollment forms are received. Placement occurs on a first-in, first-out basis as captains request individual men or women to be placed on their team (or on new teams who register for a team space and then need additional players). If you wish to play on the same team as another person, please note this on your form. If you are placed on a team, your captain will let you know what your share of the team fee is. (Note that in past years, individual players have submitted payment at time of registration - this caused more administrative headaches than necessary, so we've revised this part of the process.)

In past seasons, we've placed only a few individual registrants before the season started, then we were able to place a few more as the season progressed and teams realized they needed additional players to field a team each game. Having a registration/waiver form completed and at the Town provides your best chance of being added to the league.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When does registration for AASL officially start?
   There is tremendous interest from new players and new teams well before the winter snow melts. But it’s the registration process and timeline that determine when things officially begin. Registration officially begins on Monday, February 28, at 7:00 PM when the form is available online and at 8:00 AM the following morning when the Recreation Department opens for business.
    
2. Team fees seem high compared to other town softball leagues. Where does all this money go?
   During the offseason, AASL management prepares a detailed budget that accounts for all monies coming in to the Recreation Department through AASL and what is directly expensed. We have significant costs for field dragging/lining, electricity for lights at Elm Street, pre-season field preparation, contributions to capital expenditures like the Elm Street Lighting project completed in 2007, and equipment. We, like you, are players and would prefer to pay less, but we do think that the value you get is worth the cost of the season.
    
3. Is the AASL league budget made available publicly?
   League operating budgets are not published. But any questions about the league budget or financial stewardship of dues collected may be directed to AASL league officials or the Acton Recreation Department.
    
4. If I was waitlisted last year (as a player or representing a new team), am I automatically re-waitlisted again this year?
   No. Our advice is to again register as a new player as soon as possible when registration starts!
    
5. Should new players contact captains directly for a better chance at being placed on a team?
   The best advice is to get on the official waitlist as soon as possible. If you know a captain or players on existing teams, you are certainly allowed to contact them. But we encourage captains to draw from the waitlist and many do.
    
6. Why don't individual players submit individual payments?
   In past years we had too many issues with partial payments, checks made out incorrectly to "Acton Adult Softball League," checks made out to captains, and checks from individual registrants who never were placed (so checks were returned). To minimize the administrative overhead we require only the team payment. Captains can then determine the right per-player rate for team members to repay the captain.
    
7. Do per-player fees vary by team?
   Yes. Teams have varying roster sizes. In 2007, the smallest team had 16 registered players and the largest had 25. Since each team is assigned the same number of games/field time, the team payments are equal, but clearly the share of team membership and the amount of playing time a player should expect differs. As a captain, you should start the season with the right roster size to make sure you can always field a team without having to forfeit while making sure you can play a decent amount of the game without sitting too many innings. Through experience, captains find that injury, vacation, family priorities, unplanned business trips, etc., sometimes requires adding additional players to the active roster. These new players would pay a pro-rated registration fee to the team captain.
    
8. If I quit the team, move away, get injured, or otherwise decide not to play, do I get a refund?
   Not from AASL. Our recommendation is to discuss this with your captain who handles team finances and will probably need to replace you on the roster.
    
9. If my captain adds more players to the team, should I expect a pro-rated refund?
   Yes. When your captain is forming the team’s roster, he/she is basing the team roster size on a number of factors. Larger rosters mean more players, which could all show up for any given game. If all players show up, each player has less time on the field and as such each player should have contributed less to play on the team. If a new player is added to the roster, hopefully the captain has discussed the need with the team beforehand. If it’s to replace somebody (who might have been given a refund by the captain), the net change is zero. Since new players should be paying a pro-rated fee to play, captains are expected to reconcile the plans and payments with all players on the active roster.
    
10. Can we reduce team fees somehow?
    AASL and the Recreation Department expect a full payment from a team. Some teams offset this cost by securing sponsorship (e.g., a restaurant or bar, a store) or find sponsors to pay for shirts or hats. Other teams have larger rosters to accommodate fewer active players (or players with less time commitment) and therefore each player has a reduced fee.
     
11. As captain, can I add players to my team at any time?
    Our goals are to (a) collect liability waiver forms from all players and (b) provide reasonable flexibility to avoid forfeiture. Therefore, we allow teams to add players on an ongoing basis throughout the season IF a player submits a liability waiver (registration form) to the Recreation Department before participating. Note that AASL rules specify that players must participate in a certain number of regular-season games to participate in playoffs and that there are penalties to teams who allow unregistered players to play in games.