Good news. Our new lights are operational at the Farmer’s Soccer Complex and we can now play weeknight soccer competitions under the lights. For our first go at this, we’re offering these competitions:

All games will start at 7 p.m. and we’ll use standard league rules. Among other things, that means we play 90 minute games, divided into two equal haves.

Please note that all of these competitions have nothing to do with the Sunday league competition. If you want to enter your Sunday team, you can do that. If you want to register a completely new team, you can do that. The point is to provide you an opportunity to do something different. If you want to buy Christian Ronaldo from Real Madrid, you can do that, too.  

In all 3 competitions, we’ll keep standings and leading scorers and misconduct reports just like on Sunday. You also have to wear numbered uniforms and they all have to be the same color as your teammates. 

Because we’re starting a new competition in the middle of an existing season, we’re doing something different for the application process. Instead of submitting an electronic entry like we did for fall and summer, we just need to have you notify us either by calling the office or by sending us an e-mail that you intend to enter a team and we’ll set up a team folder for you.  

All player registration is electronic. There are no player forms and there is no team package you need to come get at the office. If you’ve already run a team since summer of 2009, you already know how to add players to your roster. If you have not and are new at this team registration thing, then we’ll still set up your team folder and provide you the player registration instructions that are already posted in the Team Representative Notebook on the front web page. 

Every player will need a separate passcard for each weeknight team on which they play. Yes, a player can play on a different team each night. No, a player can’t play on two teams on the same night. Since all the games are at the same time, we don’t think we should have to explain to you why this is. 

We’ll be modifying the documents in the Team Representative Notebook to accommodate any changes needed to conform to the different timing of playing on weeknights. What’s important now is getting commitments so we’ve included information on the three most important questions posed in soccer:

• When is my game: It is on whichever weeknight division you have chosen to enter. Please see above.
• Where is my game: All games will be at the Farmer’s Soccer Complex in Bernalillo. Technically, at Santa Ana Pueblo. Yes, we know it’s not by your house. Sorry. At least you won’t have the lights shining through your window on the nights you don’t play.
• How much does it cost: Keep reading.

How Much Does It Cost? 

Unlike every other league in the world, playing in ASL isn’t free. Sorry.  We know it’s unfair. 

There is no team fee. The player fee for players currently registered in ASL or AWSL is $60. The player fee for a player who is not currently registered in either ASL or AWSL is $85. The difference is the one time insurance and national and state player registration fee. If a player pays this in the April-May season, then the player can register as an existing player for any summer competition (or any additional spring competition) and not have to pay it again. Consider it an annual fixed charge. No, it doesn’t count if the player played in summer 2009. All registration expires on August 31, the end of our fiscal year. 

You can register as many players as you want and play up to 21 in a game. 

When Do We Start and How Long Does it Run 

We’ll play 8 games, planning to start the last week of March, weather permitting. If it’s still cold, we’ll just push the start out one week. 

Important: So we know you have a team, we need at least 7 players paid for and entered in your team folder by March 13. We need to know you really have a team. That’s also the week after the spring ASL and AWSL Sunday seasons start, so you will have had an opportunity to talk to your players and can’t blame it on the fact that you were getting ready for the spring season which happened a week before the deadline. 

Are there a lot of things I can do to make this much more complicated than it has to be? 

Absolutely. And we don’t even have to tell you what they are, but we’ll start listing them as they are delivered, as the office staff is itching to have an “At the Office” feature based on the things people really come and say. 

How do I get my questions answered? 

E-mail us at aslsoc@swcp.com or call the office at 346-0831. Please note that our office hours are Monday through Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you call at other hours, no one is going to answer the phone. If someone is at the counter during office hours, they get waited on and you can leave a message. You’re better off sending an e-mail.