I do agree with many of the things that Stormin has said, it is not the first time that I have heard the idea of a "Triangular" format being used for the internationals and in many ways that would provide many answers to the "problems" that people always seem to mention when they are talking about these..... which always revolve around the cost and distance to travel for "only 2 games of bar billiards". I must say at this stage that is not a particular point of view that I agree with, every international I have attended (Home & Away) has always been far more than "just a couple of games of bar billiards" as far as I am concerned.
However, I do think that there are a few potential issues in the proposal that Stormin has put forward, especially as far as this is concerned....
At the expense of sacrificing the pairs on the Friday Evening, (these could even be held on the Saturday, given the fact that they used to have 400 entrants for the weekend)
Looking at the schedules for the last couple of World Championships (Singles and Pairs) it is hard to see that the 4 hours that would be lost from the Pairs on Friday evening could be made up anywhere else.... so the World Pairs would have to go which I am sure would disappoint many people, especially if it were to be replaced by Internationals meaning that the players selected for those teams would get "table time" on the tables to be used in the competitions for the rest of the weekend. I feel that there could be a lot of objections to that idea.
My next point would be about the format that could be used....
England could field an A and a B side with 7 players in each side, and the 4 teams would go into a draw to decide the semi final draws.
.... yes, potentially England probably could raise 2 teams of 7 to bring over, although last year it was not easy to raise a team away to Jersey. But the current formats for all of the internationals are all different....
When England play Jersey, it is usually 11 games of singles played in double legs with a point awarded for each leg won and a extra point for the aggregate win.
When Jersey play Guernsey, it is 6 games of singles in a single leg with 3 players from each team having the break and the others playing against it. If the games won are level, then aggregate score decides the winner.
When Guernsey play England, there are usually 4 or 5 doubles matches played over 4 legs and then either 9 or 11 singles games played over 2 legs with a point awarded for each leg and an extra point for aggregate win.
Obviously, if it can be played as a "triangular" competition then it would be easiest if we all played using the same format, that way you could easily see who are the "overall" winners.
But, will all of the teams agree to that when the existing formats have been used for many years?
My suggestion would be as follows....
Hold a triangular competition on a weekend of its own so there is no clash with other tournaments and no need to lose an existing competition to accommodate the internationals.
One year this could be held in Jersey, the next year in Guernsey.... potentially you could add that the 3rd year could be played in England, but I think that England would find it easier to get players to go away to these matches (especially if there were more games to be played) than perhaps either Jersey or Guernsey who have both had some of their top players missing in recent matches in England and (sadly) Jersey were unable to fulfill the fixture this year at all.
If teams want to carry on playing under their existing formats that would be fine and the matches would continue to be considered in their own rights as they are as present.... if all the teams were happy to use the same format then they could play for an "overall" trophy.
If the matches were started on a Saturday afternoon and played through into the evening it would mean that players would then have plenty of time to arrive in the morning (if they did not want to go over on Friday), have plenty of matches during the competition and then return home during Sunday.
Depending on the format that is decided upon, we could look at the option of a 2nd England Team or maybe even an England Ladies Team.... if there was enough interest from the relevant players of course.
So, to summarise, what would be the benefits of this proposal....
1) Less travelling for the Guernsey & Jersey players.... even if the decision was that every 3 years the matches would be played in England that is still less often than the current system of every other year.
2) More games to be played for all of the players.... which has often been something that some of the England players have asked for to make the journey worthwhile.
3) No need to change or remove any existing competitions.... the Guernsey Open & Pairs could continue as could the World Championships and Pairs on their current weekends in their own right.
4) The International matches between the teams could either continue in their existing formats, or they could be changed to a format that all the teams play under to determine an overall winner.
I would agree that the world championships coming up in Jersey would be the ideal time for those involved to discuss the future, especially as nearly all of the players that are likely to be involved will almost certainly be there as well to discuss the options that are available.
Above all, we do need to try to protect the future of the internationals as it certainly is a privilege and an honour to be chosen to represent your country at anything.
(oh dear.... I have just realised that I have written another ENORMOUS post.....
.... I'm sorry everyone, I just get too enthusiastic sometimes!!
.... I'm sorry everyone, I just get too enthusiastic sometimes!! 
