Ideas for League Cup

[little legs]

The last few seasons the league cup has been run as an off-the-spot competition , we feel a change is needed , please give us your ideas on how you would like this League to be played next year.

It has previously been run with 2 games of doubles and 1 singles , best of 2 games , players still drawn out as not to give same person singles each week.

Let us know what you want .

[BB Warrior]

Personally, I quite like the off-the-spot format...... ;D

However, as the same teams still appear to be near the top of the League, perhaps it would be an idea to make it a bit more interesting..... ???

So, to "steal" a format from Mid-Sussex..... 8-)

The Charity Cup has been played there for several years, based on a handicap system. The away teams get all of the breaks and nominate their players first, they play 2 games of singles, 2 games of doubles and one final singles match.

Mid-Sussex use a "banding" system for player handicaps, which is based around the player averages (someone who averaged 4k+ is A Rated, a beginner is H Rated..... clearly Nigel would have to be either AAA or blindfolded with both hands tied behind his back! ;D) and they then also add in a special table handicap based on the average scores for the match table from the season before..... it sounds more complicated than it really is. ::)

Rather than copying their system, I would suggest that the player handicap is based on a percentage (80-90%?) of their average for the season before, but unlike the Brighton Summer Cup system which can heavily penalize someone with a very high average when they have to play a table that is not high scoring, that we also introduce a table handicap system that reflects that more fairly.

I like the fact that it is a nominated system, rather than lucky (or unlucky!) draw as it gives the captains a chance to use the handicap system to their advantage in matches..... 8-)

I would also suggest that we could make it 4 games of singles, 2 games of doubles (to give teams the option of playing anything from 4-12 different players on one night) which would also give the possibility of draws.... but add a bonus point for the team winning the match to give people a little extra incentive to go for the win.

The Mid-Sussex Charity Cup has worked well and it has often proved to be the "weaker" teams (well, perhaps I should say lower Division 1 sides) that have won the competition rather than the Premier Division Teams. 8-)

I can easily work out some statistics for you to show how the Handicap System would work if there is any interest in this idea?

[jan]

Personally, I liked the original format as mentioned by Kev. Drawn like in a normal league match, the first two drawn out made up the first doubles pair etc. And, which I'm probably one of the few old enough to remember, it was played on neutral tables so there was no home advantage.

It was a simple and straightforward structure, easy to understand, nothing to argue about ;D but the emphasis on doubles rather than singles, and playing best of 2 on neutral tables, made it completely different from the regular league games.

[BB Warrior]

Apr 14, 2010 9:30:52 GMT jan said:

Personally, I liked the original format as mentioned by Kev. Drawn like in a normal league match, the first two drawn out made up the first doubles pair etc. And, which I'm probably one of the few old enough to remember, it was played on neutral tables so there was no home advantage.

It was a simple and straightforward structure, easy to understand, nothing to argue about ;D but the emphasis on doubles rather than singles, and playing best of 2 on neutral tables, made it completely different from the regular league games.

Both alternatives have their merits and would offer something that is different to the usual "League Match" format..... 8-) ;D

I'm sure that we will enjoy the matches as much as usual.... ;D