July 30, 2010

Start Your Own League today!

Bring the RFL to your community today! This page shows you how to get a league started, organize teams, build a field for play, and run games.

What do you need to do? (click on each item to page down to the section about it)

1. Register as a league commissioner.

2. Have an RFL field - Buy pieces and assemble or build your own.

3. Set up game schedule - This site provides all you need to set it up and get it going.

4. Report results - League organizers enter scores of games as they are played and your team's standings are reported on your league page, and on the RFL national rankings page.

The field- The RFL rules state that a regulation field "dimensions may vary but must remain a 2 (length) to 1 (width) proportion. The recommended play mode is 4 robots against 4 robots on an 8 x 16 feet field." This page gives directions for two ways to build an 8x16' field: 1) The border only method, and 2) the full field method.

Border only - With this approach you use interlocking pieces to form the border of the field only, placing it on any smooth flat surface. The surface can be concrete such as in a garage, or on a basketball or tennis or racquetball court. Very short carpet is allowed, but not recommended as the robots perform better on a surface that allows their wheels to skid. The figure below shows a simple interlocking border segment. The interlocking pieces for the border can be constructed of 2 sections of 1" x 2" wood, bonded together with glue or screws and with an overlapping construction that leaves room for another section of field border to fit into it, like a puzzle piece. The short wooden dowells on one end ensure good fit and solidity of the border.

The pieces can be laid end to end to form each of the four sides, and at right angles to each other to form the four corners. The length of the segments is up to you depending on how easy to store and transport you want to make it. 2' segments are recommended for greatest convenience. A commercially available 1' segment will be available on this site soon for those that do not want or cannot construct the pieces themselves.

Cost? Do it yourself, about $25 to $35 depending on how many sections you make, and paint (if any) that you choose.

The full field - A full field consists of 4 plywood or similar wood sheets joined together to make a smooth surface, with 1 1/2" square wood border pieces that bolt onto it. This type of field is also portable, but more difficult to build (and expensive) and would require a truck or trailer to transport the pieces. Detailed plans for how to build this type of field can be seen by clicking here.

Cost? $200-250 depending on materials selected.

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Set up schedules – Each team in your league must register, then you register your field or fields.  Then the League Manager form allows you to select those teams, and designate your playing fields.  If you like, you can select “make my schedule” and the League Manager software will set up a schedule for you and you add times and dates to the games.  This schedule is posted on your league page for all team members to view when they like.

Download this flyer to announce games in your community.

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Report results – As the games are played, you log in and enter the scores for each game.  Team standings are generated and posted automatically on your league page and on the RFL home page  with national rankings.

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