Fall Signup Schedule Announced

Fall Signup Schedule Announced

SportSignup Opens
CyclingJuly 3, 2023
Golf Level 2 and AboveReturning Athletes Only
Long Distance RunningJuly 3, 2023
PowerifingJuly 3, 2023
Soccer Adult (16+)July 3, 2023
Soccer Youth Elementary and Middle SchoolJuly 3, 2023
TennisJuly 3, 2023
Young Athlete ProgramJuly 3, 2023
BowlingJuly 30, 2023 at 5PM

Bowlers – please note that Bowling practice will start earlier, at 10 AM, at the request of BowlAmerica.

Once signup opens for your sport

  • Athletes go here to signup
  • Volunteers go here to signup

Roster Caps Likely to Impact Fall Sports

This Fall, we expect continued high demand and expect most or all Fall sports to hit their roster caps.

When a sport hits its roster cap, we follow our Guidelines for Managing Roster Caps During Sign-ups. While we recommend that you read the 1 ½ page policy, here are some tips to improve your athlete’s chances of joining a Fall Sport.

  • Ensure Your Athlete is Eligible for Fall Sports: An athlete is eligible for Fall Sports if we have an approved Medical Package on file whose expiration date is after the date of State Competition for that sport. Athletes whose Medical Packages do not meet this standard at signup receive the lowest priority for making the team. It can take our volunteer medical team as long as two weeks to process Medical Packages. Submit your athlete’s Medical Package early to help ensure that processing is complete, and your Medical Package is approved before signup opens. You can check the expiration date for your athlete’s Medical Package on the SOMO website here. You can find current Special Olympics forms here. (Please use this link. Google searches for Special Olympics forms sometimes point to obsolete forms that Special Olympics Maryland cannot accept.)
  • Sign-Up Early: The order of sign-up is one tiebreaker for who makes the team. Athletes who signup early may benefit from this tiebreaker.
  • Become a Coach or Team Manager: Our volunteer coaches make our programs possible. We assign first priority for making the team to a coach’s family member. If you are interested in joining our coaching staff, please talk first to the Head Coach for your sport. You will need their approval to join their coaching team. You will also need to complete some training. Alternatively, you can join our behind-the-scenes administrative team.

We are working hard to serve as many athletes as possible, but SOMO is an all-volunteer organization completely run and managed by volunteers. To grow our programs, in addition to facilities, we need additional volunteers to coach, manage teams, and help administer the program. Approximately 75% of our Coaches and Management team are parents. If you are interested in volunteering, please talk to your Head Coach or any member of our SOMO Management Team (Shelly, Rachel, Tina, or John). 

Signup Close Dates Will Be Final

Our processes require athletes to signup each season for their sport. As more sports hit roster caps, we can no longer add athletes after the signup window closes. While we typically announce the signup close date, please remember that signup can close early once the team is full. During signup, sports shift to waitlist once it appears that the team will fill its roster cap. Waitlist signups may still make the team depending on their priority under our Guidelines. We close signup when it becomes unlikely that additional signups have a chance to make the team. It remains important to signup early.

Choosing Multiple Sports Within A Season

Under our Guidelines for Managing Participation in Multiple Sports Within a Season, it is possible to participate in more than one sport in limited circumstances. However, athletes choosing to participate in more than one sport must “be able to fully participate in each sport they signup for.” This means that an athlete can attend the required number of practices and qualifiers and compete in State Games for both sports they choose. The Head Coach for a sport has the final say on whether participation in another sport has no conflicts. Please note that sports hitting their roster caps assign lower priority to athletes who signup for more than one sport, so you may not make the team in both sports you sign up for.