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Post by Big Kev on Feb 14, 2017 18:55:58 GMT
As discussed at the last meeting I have put together a few ideas as to were we could steer this great league of our to ensure it's longevity.
My Suggestions:
1) the league is run over 3 divisions with 10 teams in each (any shortfall in numbers is realised in the bottom divisions so premier league stays at a full 10) .. along side the league we run a team knockout competition similar to the mick white competition we run already but a separate competition for each division. This will be run on Thursday and will pad out any short fall in League fixtures
2) the league is run over 4 divisions of 7-8 teams where we play each over 4 times (2 home , 2 away)
3) we continue as we are, I would say that if that is what we decide to do then I seriously think we need to look at limiting the number of teams getting promoted and relegated as atm teams seem to yo-yo up and down. Maybe we could limit it to 1 team promoted/ relegated and a play off between the team finishing 2nd and the team finishing 2nd bottom for another premier league spot
4) we introduce a handicap league. We have successfully run this during the summer months thanks to our new chairmen Keith matthews. we change the way the matches are played. We drop the doubles from the structure and play 6 singles and thus open up the possibility of having 3 man teams were each player can play twice once in each half. This could increase the amount of teams entering which could help us increase the amount of divisions that are run. An earlier star time might need to be decided on.
5) we start advertising our league. Try and get some new blood into it, maybe run a gravesham open on one day at pockets or at Meopham and maybe try and start the Henry fidge competition running again to entice young players back into the league.
6) keeping the format and leagues the same but use a handicap for one season as an experiment.
7) We offer a free to under 18's coaching workshop on sundays,
8) organise a challenge match between gravesend and Medway league?
9) keeping the format and leagues the same but switch to 3pts for a win
As with all these options they all have pro's and con's but I strongly believe we do need to act now to try and save our league while we still have a league to save
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Post by Big Kev on Feb 14, 2017 18:59:59 GMT
And now it's time to hear your views on my suggestions and to put forward any ideas you may have to make our league great again. We have an Egm set for the 10th April so let's get your thoughts in time for that .... over to you  |
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Post by Lee Turner on Feb 15, 2017 22:04:17 GMT
Amateur golf uses a handicap system so why not amateur snooker? Suggest keeping the format and leagues the same but use a handicap for one season as an experiment..
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Post by James on Feb 16, 2017 16:37:04 GMT
I like the idea of more leagues, could we expand the catchment area also to attract more teams? Dartford, snodland etc...
either way I totally agree kev something needs changing
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Post by Big Kev on Feb 16, 2017 18:21:09 GMT
Hi James, The catchment area is 12 miles as the crow flies from the clock tower. It was expanded from 10 miLes a few years back. So we are open to teams entering from up Erith all the way down to snodland and from Wrotham up into Essex. Have sent out to applications to all the clubs / snooker halls that i can find in our catchment area from on the internet but as of yet we haven't had any new teams from these areas.
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Post by Big Kev on Feb 19, 2017 13:54:18 GMT
Anyone else ?
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Post by Lee martin on Feb 27, 2017 8:13:51 GMT
four leagues of 10 sounds good, the handicaps should be based on the leading players frames won/lost. New blood is needed, maybe organise a challenge match between gravesend and Medway league? As a group we are far to old! I'm happy to give up a few Sundays to coach any player under 18, they are after all the future of this league. So if anyone else wpuld like to get involved in the coaching contact me. Shouldn't have to wait a year to change something, captains votes should be sufficient. I'm happy to help out where needed.
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Post by Big Kev on Mar 1, 2017 17:56:50 GMT
Some good points Lee,
Four Leagues of ten sounds good but as we only have 28 teams it seems slightly optimistic. Maybe three Leagues of ten is a more realistic place to start. Then hopefully within time we can grow to 4 divisions. Aso for handicaps until late this year they were based on leading player stats but we moved away from this as it doesn't always give a true representaction of the best players.
Like the idea of enticing young players to play in our league and personally would love to see the league running a free to enter, open competition for younger players with maybe a cash prize, all sponsored by the league. This way gets them involved and we can then follow up with coaching for those interested.
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Post by secretary01 on Mar 12, 2017 17:23:46 GMT
all these are very good points and hopefully at our EGM in a few weeks time we can get something sorted.
the more players attend the more ideas we can get. this is much bigger than just a captains vote, all player need to be heard and voice their opinions
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Post by Tony Sharp on Mar 21, 2017 22:29:07 GMT
I would like to propose a 6 frame match, no handicaps as yet as think there would be too many unhappy players over how they would work. All singles frames, minimum 3 man team, maximum 6. 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw. Deciding factor on teams level on points being frames won. Strict 7:30 start to accommodate extra frame, with also strict guidance on frame deductions for lateness.
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Post by Craig Mahoney on Mar 24, 2017 16:56:25 GMT
League format
Personally i don’t think there is a issue with the league format if anything maybe there could be a change of the points system instead of frames won it could be just 3 points for the win , you could still count frames won to determine the player of the year.I don’t think handicaps are needed in the league as in any sport you will always get different levels of skill and there are players of all levels in our league and anyone can beat anyone on their day .
Advertising
I think for the league to expand and attract more teams we need to advertise the league in the local papers have them run a editorial and show the public what the league is all about and how they can get involved and we are open to taking more teams.
More venues/More teams
I know Aaron and Kevin have sent letters to local clubs asking is there is any interest in starting a team which i think needs to be done again and maybe if any league players knows of any clubs that have a snooker table then let us know and we could contact them or even one evening a few of us could meet up and google local clubs and social clubs and get in contact with them via letter or email and see if there is any interest in them starting a team in my eyes the more teams the merrier.
Competitions
One thing i cant understand is why there is lack of interest in league players entering the singles scratch and handicap competitions especially from division one players maybe start a singles competition just for division one players this could be a scratch or handicapped maybe then this will give them more confidence to enter all tournaments.just look what Derek Reynolds has done this season reaching the final of the Lee Ford handicapped competition at the age of 80 surely that proves handicapped competitions do work and surely this should make the papers what a story,we need as many players as possible entering the competitions .and maybe for the first prize in a tournament see if we can get a cue supplier like john parris to supply a new cue or accessories as first prize and in exchange advertise the cue maker on the league website.
Presentation Night
Why is the presentation night always in august cant this be changed to some time in may just after the league has finished i have been to the last two and was surprised at the lack of turn out from league players unless they was getting a trophy is this because august is holiday time ? i think we should also have photos of the winners and runner ups getting there trophies and send them to the local papers this is more advertising.this would be a long shot but maybe get kent pro barry Hawkins to give out the trophies bit of celebrity input for the league and in the local papers.
Andys Memorial
I know it is still undecided what to do in Andy’s memory how about naming the high break trophy after Andy and have a high break trophy for both leagues.
Six Red Tournament
Also i wondered if there would be any interest from league players in a fun six red competition
Maybe held over a Saturday or Sunday depending on entrants say at meopham club where there is three tables,I am sure the club hosting would be glad of the bar revenue.
These are just ideas of mine I am putting out there I just want to play in the league and competitions as long as possible and see the league go on until I am 80.
Kind Regards Craig.
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Post by Big Kev on Apr 3, 2017 14:43:57 GMT
Cheers for your input Craig,
I like the idea of advertising locally for players or even just to display our tables. We could also advertise on Facebook.
As mentioned in an earlier post we have been sending out letters to clubs in our catchment area for as long as I have been on the committee but with very little success. It's easy to say that we want more teams but I personally feel the league needs to change to entice these teams in, but we also have to be careful not to alienate our current members.
As for competitions, I agree it would be great to get more player to enter but I also understand that the league already runs 9 competitions and I actually think adding another competition would dilute the ones we run already without adding more players/teams first. My personal thoughts would be to stretch the handicaps even more so you get more players like Derek getting to finals.
The presentation night was always a separate night to the AGM. I remember when I first started playing it was held down at bowaters and was a great night. But as numbers dwindled in the league Less and less people attended and it wasn't a viable option. The committee did try and revive it and had a couple of successful years at Meopham before the interest was lost and we switched back to a agm/presentation night.
Like the idea of a one day competition but personally would prefer it to be with 15 reds.
Some great discussion points cheers👍
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Post by Big Kev on Apr 11, 2017 11:30:20 GMT
At last nights very long EGM the structure of our league was discussed and every suggestion was debated and voted on.
It was voted in that we should stick with our existing format ( 2 divisions of 12-14 teams, with matches consisting of 4 singles & 1 doubles) but with a couple of important changes .
A rule was brought in that the minimum players required to play in the league would be reduced from 4 players to 3. Teams with only 3 players would then have one of there players randomly picked to play the 4th frame. This is only available for the 4th frame so teams with only 2 players would still have to forfit the 3rd frame.
It was also decided to limit the number of teams promoted / relegated to 2 up 2 down (a drop in one to try and stop teams yoyo up and down).
These small changes have been made to try and tweek the league without alienating our existing players but trying to help teams struggling to attract players still play.
The committee will also look into advertising the league, with an eye to bringing new teams.
It was also agreed to keep this forum open
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Post by Phil Reynolds on Dec 10, 2019 13:37:22 GMT
Old thread but the number of teams has since dropped down to only 21. There is a vast difference in ability between the top say 5 teams and everyone else. It must make sense to review the format and have something like 3 leagues of 7 teams. 2 x home and 2 x away. That gives 24 matches a season compared to 18 - 20 at present. Only 1 team promoted/relegated from each league. It would also even out the abilities in each league and there shouldn't be run-away winners or losers as a result. With the present format, teams do not actually want to get promoted to the Premier league which can't be a good thing.
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Post by Martin C on Jan 5, 2020 19:18:39 GMT
I like that suggestion Phil 👍🏻
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