What to pack for Fort Walton Beach

1. Matching jerseys with numbers

   This one is a rule, not a suggestion. Matching jerseys with numbers are required, and bracket play does not waive it. Reversible is fine if both sides are a real uniform. A mix of college practice shirts is not.

2. A second set

   The 35-49 and 50-54 divisions list 4 guaranteed games. That is enough sweat to ruin a single jersey by Saturday evening. Pack the spare before you leave home. Buying one in Destin on Friday night is how numbers stop matching.

3. Shoes you have already played in

   A new pair on a 94-foot court, which is what the 35-49 and 50-54 pages list at FCP Sports, is a bad first game. Break them in at home. Bring the old pair in the same bag in case a lace or a sole goes.

4. Enough bodies, not just enough bags

   Four players can start a game. Three cannot. The 55+ page tells captains to bring 9 or 10 because three games in a day with six healthy players is how a bracket ends. If you are short, do it now through the free agent list, not in the lobby.

5. Proof of the birth year, in the captain’s notes

   Eligibility is age on December 31, 2027. Write the years down before you travel: 1978–1992 for 35-49, 1973–1977 for 50-54, and on or before December 31, 1972 for 55+. Players do not play down. A roster argument at the scorer’s table is a forfeit waiting to happen.

6. Warmups for a gym, not the beach

   The games are indoors at FCP Sports, 33 Jet Drive NW. February on the Gulf is mild outside and cold under the vents. A shooter who skips the warmup because the parking lot felt like spring tightens up by the second half. The rules page is the rest of the on-court standard: running clock, shot clock, five fouls to disqualify unless a sheet says otherwise.

7. The trip around the games

   Rooms: check the hotels page. Group rates are still being set, so book what is posted. Flights: VPS and Pensacola. Anyone not playing: what to do on the coast and where to eat.

Register the team Questions captains ask