To be eligible to play in “under age” grades, a player must be under the relevant age on the 31st December of the previous year. For example, to play Under 6 (U6) in 2022 you must be 5 or younger on 31st December 2021, to play Under 12 (U12) you must be 11 or younger on 31st December 2021. The minimum age you are allowed to register is 4 years old. The player must have turned four (4) years old by, or on, the 31st December in the previous year. In 2022, you must have turned 4 years old by, or on, the 31st December in 2021. To be eligible to play in “over age” grades, a player must be over the relevant age when you register for that team. There is no maximum age limit.

Full matches start in early-April for all age groups. (The season runs until the last weekend of August). ​ Preparation for that date starts with team formation / grading of players (where required) mid-February. See our home page for more information on dates. Team training starts in March and pre-season trial games on the last 2 or 3 weekends of March.

Macquarie Dragons Football Club (MDFC) is a family-oriented football club. We believe in promoting participation in our game, equal opportunity for all players, development of football and team skills, and above all, enjoyment of the game. Competitive success is recognised as a valid motivator for individual players and teams to varying degrees. However, the Club believes that placing players in a team and grade appropriate to their skill level plays a significant role in forming our teams. The club has a full grading policy which aims to promote and balance these objectives. That Grading Policy guides our process of individual player grading and overall team formations.

Please send any further queries to Our Club Registrar – registrar@macquariedragons.com.au Our Club Secretary – Prentice Peddar secretary@macquariedragons.com.au Or Club President – Sherif Yazbeck president@macquariedragons.com.au

Experience has shown the majority of children will quickly make new friends when put into a team of the appropriate skill level — so playing with friends is not a club priority. However, MDFC understands that it is important for some children to play with their friends and school groups. The club will therefore attempt to accommodate "play with friends" requests subject to the following considerations: · All players graded with a nominated friend will be graded down to the level of the lowest skilled player of the nominated children. (e.g. if your child is graded in the ‘A’ team and is/her friend is in the ‘C’ team, if the request is granted both children will play in the ‘C’ team) · Nominations to play with friends must be received, prior to grading completion, including email consent of parents of all friends wanting consideration to play together; via email to the Coaching staff coaching@macquariedragons.com.au · The club will then attempt to place your child with the friend. No absolute guarantee can be given for all “play with friend” requests. Final determination of teams depends on a range of factors including significantly suitable player numbers being allocated across all teams. Adult teams (outside our top Premier League) are organized by the relevant Age Manager in consultation with team coaches / managers. ​ We welcome any new players not associated with a particular team and we will be able to allocate you to a suitable team.

The club charges a one-off registration fee to play. The cost varies depending on the age group. The registration fee covers costs such as hire of grounds, referee fees, administration charges, insurance and all the other costs associated with running the club and the competition. Less than half the registration fee goes to MDFC (Macquarie Dragons Football Club) and is made up of costs we have to pay to the association for ground hire and competition coordination and governing body costs paid to Football NSW and Football Federation Australia for administration of the game. For more details on our 2024 fees see our Registration Page. A full breakdown of where your fees are allocated is available online when you register. Active kids vouchers are accepted. The fees that do get collected by the club help us cover ground hire fees, player jerseys, training balls and equipment, training costs and other administration and running costs of the club. Every member will be given a playing jersey for the season (which must be handed back at season end). Each player needs to purchase Club shorts and socks to play in, this is available from the Club. Please see our on line store (https://www.macquariedragons.com.au/shop) . In addition, every player must have football boots and shin pads which you can buy at most sports stores. All players from U6 - U12 that are a part of the Co-Op program will be given a training jersey. Socks & Shorts can be purchased as a club minis pack for $30 on the set Minis days. There are no other ongoing fees or charges.

Registration to play with Macquarie Dragons Football Club is a simple online registration process – follow the instructions and links under the registration tab on the club website https://www.macquariedragons.com.au/copy-of-training-development-programs

Competition games take place as follows: Mixed U6 - U18: Saturday mornings Men U21, Men All Age and above: normally Saturday afternoon (occasional Friday night and Sunday games for some age groups) Girls U6 - U18: Sunday mornings or afternoons Women All Age: Sunday afternoons Masters (Men and Women): Friday nights A full draw will be made available showing all game times and venues late March / early April.

All teams require a coach. Our club is run on volunteers and we ask parents of players / club supporters and our senior players to consider coaching and managing our junior teams. The club seeks to have all our coaches trained and accredited. For 1st Division Team (U9s - U21s) we have a Coach Nomination process allowing for all interested persons to nominate for such positions accredited. We ask such nominees to present their experience and accreditation details to our Club’s Director of Coaching who will determine those Division 1 team coaching appointments. For our non-competitive and lower division teams we look for coaches from parents and senior-players. Coaching is a great experience as a parent and you only need some basic knowledge of football to be able to perform the coaching role. The club will support new and existing coaches no matter what their experience levels and have both online and practical resources to assist, as well as offering FFA accredited coaching courses free of charge to our club coaches. For our youngest players – MiniRoos U6 - U12, we run a Co-Operative training program where all teams in these ages train at the same time under the guidance of professional Academy coaches employed by the club to assist in setting up and running the activities and ensuring the coach is supported in their role.

Macquarie Dragons Football Club use Fontenoy Park for all U6 – U12 games; Waterloo & Marsfield Parks for all U13 and above games. The draw is set by the Association and we endeavour to seek a high proportion of home games for our teams throughout the season. For all the girls/women team games, they are played at Waterloo Park every 2nd Sunday and Morrison Bay & Meadowbank park on the alternate weekends.

Teams train one or two session per week (depending on age and division). Our MiniRoos U6 - U12 teams participate in our Co-operative Training Program which is run by Sydney FC – on Tuesday & Wednesday nights. Tuesday Nights 5:00pm - 6:00pm: U6 and 7 6:00pm - 7:00pm: U8 and U9 Wednesday Nights 5:00pm - 6:00pm: U10, U11 and U12 Other teams will train across Mon-Thurs and will be allocated space across Waterloo Park & Marsfield Park. The voluntary team Coaches / Managers will liaise with the team to determine the most convenient training night for the team and the full training session allocation schedule will be negotiated by the Club Secretary working together. All training session requests are subject to the club being able to allocate ground space at the preferred time.

All games are ON unless told otherwise! Team managers will be notified if there are any changes to the scheduled training/games. This information will also be posted on our social media platforms (facebook and instagram). If you do not receive any information, the training/game will still go ahead. Ryde Council updates their sportsground status at 9am and 2pm each day and will be the basis of our decision.

NWSF uses Dribl to publish the draw and table for the season. Please note that tables are only used for age groups U12s and older. It is recommended to download Dribl from the app store. But it can also be accessed by this link - https://nwsf.dribl.com/fixtures