All of these drafts are scheduled to try to give players a blend of fun activities, down time, and plenty of softball. Schedules are subject to change based on total number of registered players and weather conditions, so check back here closer to the event for an exact schedule.
If you are planning your travel ahead, then the following guidance will help you with those plans. This is most typically what an Ultra Draft schedule looks like:
We highly recommend getting in-town on Friday and being ready for activities to begin sometime around 7pm Friday evening.
Date is subject to change. Drafts are typically done privately with the coaches, with results emailed the following day. Please allow 24 hours for draft results to be emailed. If the draft will be held live with spectator options, the details will be emailed to everyone ahead of the event.
As long as you are signed up and fully paid, or on a payment plan, you are ready to go!
Yes, there are no try outs. All paid players and those on payment plans will be selected to the draft.
This is not a popularity/skills contest. Our salary cap forces coaches to make tough decisions and novices sometimes get selected in the first round, while top players fall to late rounds. All teams end up mixed - but balanced!
League Joe Ultra Drafts are different from other drafts because we use science, not randomization. All players complete their skills surveys, and a combination of peer reviews, research, and coach interviews helps provide a better overall skill analysis for a player.
In Ultra Drafts, everybody plays and every team is even, so our competition is real without the drama.
Teams are not randomly selected. Instead, individuals with enough League Joe Reputation Points sign up to be official coaches and they will be responsible for drafting their teams.
Just like a fantasy football draft, coaches will alternate selecting players. Those coaches will strictly adhere to a salary cap that ensures every team is created evenly, and fairly.
Coaches will draft 80% of their team, and the other 20% of their team will be selected by Ultra Draft Event Operators as part of the balancing process.
All players will complete player skill surveys in order to obtain their playing history. Based on their answers, they will receive a salary ranking between 1 and 20. The salary is not public, and will only be used by the coaches.
All players are drafted regardless of their salary. Novice players are just as welcome as the more skilled ones.
Players who have received peer reviews, vouches, and have previous playing experience will have their accounts listed as "Trusted." These players we have confidence that their salary is appropriate. For Rookies without the Trusted designation, their profile is appropriately balanced to address possible errors in rating.
Sandbagging is strictly prohibited and any player deemed to be intentionally trying to exploit the salary system may be removed from the event.
Players may choose to link their profile with one other player to ensure that both players are drafted to the same team. While we highly recommend every player register as a single to gain the full experience, we understand some will be nervous, particularly on their first experience.
We reserve the right to break up any couple that we believe is intentionally trying to evade salary cap rules.
Note: The number of couples that may register is intentionally limited to prevent balancing issues. Register early if you intend to couple!
Ultra Drafts welcome players of all skill levels - including novices who may not have perfect control over their hitting or fielding. As such, our event operators may put into place a number of special rules explicitly for player safety.
Check the Rules tab to officially review all rules for your event.
Ever been a random pickup in a group of a bunch of people that already know each other? Awkward! In League Joe, every team has a bunch of people who may have never met before, and you get to spend 8 weeks getting to know one another. It makes socialization, networking, and making new friends easy!
After the season ends, come back next season and the teams will mix up again, giving you more new players to meet while you get to face off against old friends who have become foes! Within a few seasons of play, you don's just know your teammates.... you know the entire league!
Once upon a time, we all played sports for fun. At a certain point, our culture shifted and put so much emphasis on winning that it sucked all the fun out of sports.
We are here to play sports for fun and have a great time, and we're here to make new connections while doing it. Players who show poor sportsmanship, over-aggressiveness, and an unhealthy urge to win at all costs are shown the door. There are plenty of leagues and tournaments for hyper-competitive players - ours ain't that.
That does not mean the competition is not intense, though! Players are all trying to win, and championships are celebrated. But we celebrate our opponents just as hard as we celebrate our teammates - that's the League Joe way!
Tournament is single elimination. All teams eliminated before the semis will join a Doghouse bracket for additional prizes.
