Finding out even basic information about a sporting club can be difficult - and it's no fun for the people you're asking, either, who are always answering the same standard questions. Hence this FAQ...

If you have a question that's not answered here, please email us. We'll reply personally, but may also then put your question (and an answer!) up on this site if it's helpful to others.

• What does "registration" actually mean?
• How do know which age group my child is in?
• When does the season start?
• I have children of different ages: how do I calculate a discount? And do I get a discount for a child playing GoalKick?
• How much does it cost to play?
• Why have the fees gone up from last season?
• How do I volunteer to help?
• When and where are games played?
• When is training?
• What about insurance?
• My child is young and hasn't played soccer before - how can he/she get started?
• What do I wear to play?
• How do I know what team/league I'm in?
• What sized Match Balls are used during games?
• How long are the games?
• I'm a girl. Do I have to play in the same team as boys/do I have to play in a girls only team?
• How do I keep up with what's happening at the Club?
• Does the Club have a Code of Conduct that players, coaches and spectators can refer to on how we should behave?
• I want to post something to the Club. Where do I send it?

Q. What does "registration" actually mean?

It means two things:

1. That we have a record of your family, and players, on our system
2. That you have paid for the current season

If you have registered before (either on-line or via a printed form) then your details are already on the system. We don't need them again, although you may of course want to update your details.

But having your details on our system does not mean you are registered for this season. Your registration expires every year and needs to be renewed by paying fees before the start of each new season.

Without payment, we have no way of distinguishing you from other players who are on the system but are not returning to play this season.

From an insurance point of view, a player is not covered for the new season unless registration is paid, and for this reason we cannot allocate a player to a team unless payment has been received.

So please login using your existing username and password, update any details that need updating, and pay on-line using our secure credit card payment system (or select the option that indicates that you will send us a cheque).

Or, if you are new to the club, select Register to play from the menu, enter your details, and pay on-line using our secure credit card payment system (or select the option that indicates that you will send us a cheque).

Q. How do know which age group my child is in?

Age groups are calculated by calendar year.  If a player turns, say, 8, on any day of the year, then he or she plays in the Under 8s.  For 2008, the following rules therefore apply:

Parents may apply to the committee if they believe there is a special reason why a player should play above his/her age group.  However, there are no circumstances which allow players to play below their age group (i.e. with a younger group).  This is a rule of the competition in which our teams compete.

Note: There has typically not been a competition for U17s, so U16 players can expect to move straight into U18 competition.

Q. When does the season start?

Season 2008 dates are:

• Senior Men’s State, Provisional and Metropolitan league competition to commence on Saturday 5 April, 2008
• Juniors, Thirds, Masters and Women’s State league competition to commence Sunday 27 April, 2008
• Sub-juniors (or what the FFV calls "Rooball") (i.e. under 10s and below) to commence on Sunday 27 April, 2008
• GoalKick is expected to commence in May, 2008

Q. I have children of different ages: how do I calculate a discount? And do I get a discount for a child playing GoalKick?

This website will automatically charge you full price on the younger or youngest child, and then claim the discount for your other children. This will give you the best possible discount. If you have specific questions about the Registration process, please contact us us and we'll try to help.

Q. How much does it cost to play?

In 2006, fees ranged from $99 for GoalKick (our beginners' program for U6-U8) up to $257 for U18.  In order to try and ease the burden on parents with more than one player, we normally offer discounts for second and subsequent players.  Apart from the registration fee, you'll need Club socks (approx $10) and shorts (approx $30).

In 2007, our fees were:

* Note that in the above table, "2nd/subsequent players" refers to other players from the same family.  The full fee is charged for the youngest player, which maximises the discount for older siblings.

These fees are comparable with other clubs and reflect the charges levied on us by official bodies such as the Football Federation Victoria, Football Federation Australia, and the Bayside City Council. On top of that there are insurance charges.  The fees also include a component to help us run the club, purchase club shirts, balls, nets and cones, pay the electricity bill for our floodlighting expenses, and last but not least, pay the referees who officiate at our matches each week.

Then there's the ongoing cost associated with our capital works program, which has seen a major upgrade to the floodlighting at Dendy Park.

And we have a few payments to make on our $25K share of the extensions to the Pavilion at Dendy Park, which opened just after the end of season 2004.

Q. Why have the fees gone up from last season?

The small increases from 2007 to 2008 are largely a result of the introduction of newly-introduced registration fees for FFA (Football Federation Australia).  This is a charge over and above the registration fees passed on to the FFV (Football Federation Victoria).  For 2007 the FFA fee is $6.50 for players under 18 and $12.00 for (amateur) players over 18.

During the early months of 2007 and 2008, the club also incurred substantial costs in hiring alternative venues for pre-season training, given that we were not able to use Dendy Park due to Stage 3 water restrictions.  At this stage we have decided not to pass on these costs to members, but this may become inevitable in future years unless the drought situation eases.

In 2006, fees were increased for the following reasons:

1. To cover a substantial increase in the fees charged by the FFV to register and insure each player
2. To help fund capital works at Dendy Park
3. To fund the payment of employees instead of volunteers in some of the more time-consuming tasks around the club.

It wasn't all bad news, though.  We discontinued the $40 fee for exemption from voluntary duty.  We did this because we found that too many of the people who didn't pay the levy (thus indicating that they would be prepared to assist at some stage during the season) then failed to make themselves available when called upon to help.  Or worse, said they'd help with something but then failed to fulfil that commitment.

This was particularly a problem with rostering of volunteers for "canteen duty" - to the extent that we virtually abandoned the volunteer system halfway through the 2005 season, in favour of using a small roster of paid workers in the canteen (typically club players looking for some pocket money!) We continued with this system in 2006 and plan to again in 2007, meaning that we no longer require volunteers to work in the canteen.  This system, however, costs the club money, and this was the major reason behind the committee's decision to do away with the $40 volunteer levy and simply charge everyone a roughly equivalent increase across the board.

Please note that all fees include team photo expenses - we won't be chasing you for money for team photos during the season.

Q. How do I volunteer to help?

When registering a player, you are asked to nominate a volunteer activity. In previous seasons, we charged a volunteer levy of $40 levy per player to those parents who were unable to (or chose not to) assist the club by way of volunteer activities. This was calculated automatically during the registration process. We are not charging the $40 levy in 2006 - see the previous question/answer for further details.

Q. When and where are games?

• GoalKick is on Sunday mornings at Dendy Park from 10am
• U7s play on Saturday mornings at various bayside venues
• U8-U10s play on Saturday mornings at various south-east venues
• U11-U18 boys play on Sundays at various times and south-east venues
• U12-U18 girls play on Sundays at various times and venues
• We play home and away (apart from GoalKick), so exactly half the games are at home at Dendy Park

Q. When is training?

This differs for every team, and is up to the coach. We try to have this information completely up-to-date on the sub-juniors and juniors pages. If there are last-minute changes during any given week, it's the responsibility of your coach and/or manager to communicate these changes to you.

Q. What about insurance?

All registered players are insured through Football Federation Victoria, and we also have public liability insurance. If you have a question about our insurance policy, please email us.

Q. My child is young and hasn't played soccer before - how can he/she get started?

Football Federation Victoria (FFV) has, in 2008, introduced its "Small-Sided Games" initiative (SSG) which is designed to give children the best experience of the game in a non-competitive environment, with maximum touches on the ball.  If your child is aged 5-6 we have a program running on Sunday mornings from 10am to 11am.  For kids turning 7 and 8 this year (i.e. born in 2000 or 2001) we have "Under 7" and "Under 8" squads of 12 players each, these squads play 5-a-side games on Saturday mornings against other Bayside clubs such as Beaumaris, East Bentleigh, Glen Eira, Hampton and Sandringham.  Some of these squads also have midweek training.
Please note that all Under 7 and Under 8 squads are full for season 2008.

Q. What do I wear to play?

The Club has a uniform approved by Football Federation Victoria (FFV), which is worn every game.  At the start of each season each team is provided with a set of team tops (also known as strips).  Team managers take care of these, and distribute them to players at the beginning of each match.  The cost of providing the tops is covered in your Club registration fees.  It's club policy to not allow players to take the tops home between games - we don't lose so many over the course of a season if they stay together, and they last longer when they are washed as a set.

Each player also needs club socks and shorts, which you buy from club's exclusive retailer, Echo Sport, at 411 Hampton Street, Hampton.  And every player must wear shinguards and soccer boots for both training and games. You don't have to wear the uniform to training, but make sure what you wear is comfortable and takes into account Melbourne's famously unpredictable weather!

On the subject of shinguards, which are worn under long Club socks, we suggest you buy the 'step into' type rather than the cheap variety that clip onto shins.  They offer greater protection for the ankles, and last for years, and you can get them (and boots) from the club's exclusive retailer, Echo Sport, 411 Hampton Street, Hampton.

If you're a GoalKick player, you don't have to have a uniform, but you can buy one. We don't insist on you wearing boots and shinguards for GoalKick, but we do recommend it.

Don't forget to bring a drink bottle to every training session and every game: staying hydrated is vital, and by the time a player is thirsty, he or she is already dehydrated.

We are currently changing the club colours from all dark green ('bottle green') to a combination of gold and green.  Due to the expense of replacing all the shirts at once, we are doing this over 3 seasons, starting in 2007 and concluding in 2009.

Q. How do I know what team/league I'm in?

At the start of the season you will have been given a roster showing when and where each game is being played.  If you want to cross-check this with official fixtures, go to the Sub-juniors, Juniors (boys), Juniors (girls), Open (Men) or (Women) or Over-35 (Men's) Masters page (whichever is appropriate) and click on the fixtures link for your team.

Brighton Soccer Club is part of the South East Region of the Football Federation Victoria, which arranges fixtures for Sub-Juniors (U9-U10), Juniors (U11-U18) and Girls Leagues, usually on the basis of home one week, away the next.

U7 and U8 teams are part of the Bayside Competition and play at local Bayside grounds (Brighton, Beaumaris, East Bentleigh, Glen Eira, Hampton, Sandringham).

How many players there are in each squad is determined by the size of the pitch and how many players are allowed on the pitch at any one time.  This varies depending on age: U7-U9 teams play with smaller teams on smaller pitches; from U10 upwards, boys/mixed teams teams play 11-a-side on a full-size pitches, although U10 girls still play 7-a-side on a smaller pitch and don't graduate to a full-size pitch until U11.

Squad sizes are also determined by age levels - U7-U9 and U10 girls generally have squads of 12 players, U10 boys and up generally have larger squads of around 15 but one or two more may be allowed at older age groups.  When more than 15 players are in a squad, the coach and manager may need to roster players off if all players are available for a given match.  Only 16 names are allowed on an FFV teamsheet.

Q. What sized Match Balls are used during games?

U7-U9 (inclusive) Size 3
U10–U13 (inclusive) Size 4
U14–U18 (inclusive) Size 5

Q. How long are the games?

Here's a table showing when each level played during the 2006 season, and the duration of matches:

The Football Federation Victoria organises competitions from U9 upwards.

The Sub-Junior (U9-U10) competition is 'non-competitive', i.e. results are not recorded, and there is no ladder.  There can be more than one team from each Club in a section.

The Junior Competition (U11 upwards) is most definitely competitive, with results recorded each week.  At the end of the season, awards are presented to the winning team in each section of the ladder.  A team's position on the ladder at the end of a season determines which division it is placed in the following season. The FFV asks us to self-grade our teams in U10 and U11 competition, and then imposes grading from U12 upwards, using ladder positions at the end of the U11 season to determine the makeup of the U12 leagues.  It has been a rule that there can only be one team from each club at each level of the ladder.  This rule is usually enforced, with clubs who have too many teams for, say the South region, at any given age group, being required to enter one of these teams into the East region.

Q. I'm a girl.  Do I have to play in the same team as boys/do I have to play in a girls only team?

No. Girls play in mixed teams as long as they're happy doing so. We generally try and have two or three girls in a mixed team, so you shouldn't end up as the only girl!  At around 11 years old, we find most girls prefer to go into a girls' competition, but this is flexible.  We do our best to put girls into teams with similar skill levels.
If you are keen on playing in a girls' team, please contact Linda Ryan on 9592 3575 or by email at linda@brightonsc.org.au

Q. How do I keep up with what's happening at the Club?

When team allocations are done, you'll receive an email giving contact details for the team's coach and manager. Your first point of contact should be your coach or manager, so please ask him or her when you need to know something. And just as important, please keep coming back to this website - add it to your Favourites list!

Q. Does the Club have a Code of Conduct that players, coaches and spectators can refer to on how we should behave?

Yes. Reading it is a mandatory part of the registration process, and abiding by it is a mandatory part of belonging to Brighton Soccer Club. It's also available for reference, right here.

Q. I want to post something to the Club. Where do I send it?

Please send all correspondence to Brighton Soccer Club, PO Box 398, Brighton 3186

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