Dear Colleagues

Whatever passes for a summer seems to be dwindling anyway. Maybe we'll get an Indian summer but who knows. Anyway - as September approaches we turn our minds to the season ahead. The first fixtures are scheduled for the middle of that month. Just a few notes that you may find useful.

• David Sumner has corresponded with all of the people who have so far shown interest in the Singles event. Last season we ran two trial days in different formats to test popularity. It was! This season in it intended to run a 4 session season probably on a ladder basis. If you have members who did not take part last year but are interested then make sure they contact David.
• Junior League will be starting up as usual in October. An annual reminder to you - juniors are the future. Try to encourage some at your club. Better still set up a junior section with coaches that you generate from within your clubs. The league will always support new coaches. Of course you can just let your club retire in the sunset when you all stop playing. Have a think about it.
• We sadly lost Mel Lievesley (as posted on the web site) to cancer. Cegelec are participating this season but I have no details of who will be running the club. Please be aware that as soon as the web site is updated then the downloadable handbook is automatically updated. I will try to find out asap. Please do not use old contact details in case it causes the family concerns.
• Also, sadly, Congleton are not participating this year. We hope to see them back in the future. Well done Sarah for trying your damndest recently. it wasn't enough.
• Please make sure you keep on top of your player registrations. John proposed to keep the fees the same for the coming season at: £15 team registration, £5 senior player, £3 Junior Player. It was suggested we continue to waive the John Ford entry fee.
• This is our first season under a new Chairmanship regime. Make sure you welcome Carl McGregor-Ogden into the job if you see him. In case you thought you would not see or hear much about our ex chairman, don't be fooled. David will be running the singles event and very evident in and around the Junior League. Crosses will still be functioning with him very much at the helm. David enjoyed having a fuss made of him at the annual dinner where some really nice gifts were bestowed on him. See the web site gallery for some pictures.
• You will remember that we adopted an on-line handbook last year. It was very successful so we carry on. As with all pdf documents you will be able to print the whole thing or sections thereof. Because it is an on-line document, it will change dynamically as and when we make alterations to the calendar or the fixtures or many other pieces of information). It is synchronised with the web site.
• We introduced an new role into the executive at the AGM, that of vice-chairman. Chris Geal of Alsager has stepped into that post. We welcome Chris to the fold.
• There was a correction made to a rule at the AGM. If your club defaults on a fixture either within or outside of 24 hours, you will still potentially be liable to some excess court fees if the home club can't avoid them.
• The Player Pool scheme introduced last year had very modest success. Having said that, the two or three cubs who made use of it gained a great deal. There are no changes to the associated rules so we encourage all clubs to understand it and use it to avoid conceding fixtures. You don't have to concede through lack of players any more!!

• Also from the AGM there was a very novel proposal made by Northwich put forward to inject a bit more competition into disciplines where we now only have a single division and the results have somewhat become predictable.  The idea tabled was to give every team a chance to and compete for something meaningful, regardless of standard. The committee agreed to work on the idea and trial something this season, and are now pleased to introduce "The Plate," where teams are handicapped, ensuring that every point is contested and the winner is determined by the most improved team related to their handicap throughout the season. We hope this new format captures the spirit of the suggestion while balancing additional complexity and administrative work (i.e very little). It should be emphasised that the divisional title will still be calculated in the traditional manner based on match points. The plate is an additional contest which may have some silverware if we keep it.

   

  It is proposed to run the plate as follows:
   

  Handicaps:
  Each team will receive a handicap before the season starts, this handicap will be inverse and proportional to their average points difference per match from the previous season.  

  Example - a strong team with a positive, average difference points per match such as +150 will have a handicap of -150

  a team that finished with a negative average points difference per match such as -100 will have a handicap of +100.
  a mid placed team, with an average points difference per match such as -5 will have a handicap of +5

  Scoring & Rankings:
  Match results (points per game) will be recorded as usual.  Our website will generate a separate ranking table for "The Plate," reflecting each team's performance of current average points difference per match with their handicap factored in.

  New Teams:
  New teams joining the division will start with a 'zero' handicap, placing them in the middle of the table. This approach seems a fair starting position for a newly introduced team, as there is no prior history to consider.

  Objective:
  The objective is for each team to improve on their previous season's performance. The team that shows the most improvement by the end of the season will top "The Plate" table, which is independent of the traditional division standings.

  Handling No-Shows:
  We recognise that no-show results, resulting in a 21-0 scoreline, could skew overall result. Should it happen, we reserve the right to disregard these results. 

   

  This trial will initially be implemented in the Mixed Division. We hope "The Plate" will provide a new competitive edge in addition to the traditional format and are excited to see how it evolves over the season. Feedback most welcome.

Have a good season everyone, best wishes

Brian