League Setup

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[CannedHeat]

Here is the current situation that our league is facing. I should mention that our league is about 5 or 6 years old, it's a relative new sport out here.

We have a 2 tiered system. Tier 1 is a more competitive league, and Tier 2 is for newer teams. (we used to have a 3 tiered system, more on that in a minute).

This year, for whatever reason, we only have 4 teams signed up for tier 1. And 18 teams for tier 2. So what our league committee did was split tier 2 into two 9 team divisions. They ranked teams by the skill rating section (you rate your talent level based on some questions about throwing, fitness and knowledge). Then after the first 8 games, the 2 divisions will be split up further based on competitiveness.

Previously, we had 3 tiers, and it was a big stink, because teams didn't want to play tier 1, but didn't want to "move down" to tier 3.

The problem i have with it is that we have like 18 of these 22 teams are mostly returning teams. And teams who won the tier 2 championship (actually the top 3 -4 teams) were like 14-2 in the regular season. Outscoring other teams by 10 all the time. These top 3-4 teams refuse to move up to tier 1. And we even had a team who was in tier 1 move down to tier 2 this year. (they lost all but one game in the reg season, and actually beat my team in the playoffs).

Also, one of the rules stated by the board was that there would be no movement between tier 2 and tier 1 this year.

Should i be after the board to force up some of these teams? Or is this arrangement better in the long run (3 or 4 tiers with hopefully movement during the season)? Playing the same 3 teams all summer is going to get pretty boring.

Has anyone had a similar league setup, or have a better league setup that could benefit us?

[Tenk283]

What a mess 

Sheesh...

I'd get up the board and tell them that some teams from div2 need to move up. You might want to work on a "promotion/relegation" scheme like the english soccer. If you are top 4 in tier 2, you move up to tier 1. Bottom 4 tier 1 move down to tier 2. Have 12 teams only in tier 1 and everyone else in tier 2. For the future that is.

You'll have to remove some of the "image" surrounding the div1 league. I'd emphasize it as the place to be with tier2 being the place for people that can't quite play due to slightly diminished mental ability . You need to convince those teams that are winning by 10 goals or more that they need to move up. Maybe if your board buys a tier 1 trophy and nothing for tier 2 would be a way of shifting the focus. But right now, people are too preoccupied with playing in "tier2", rather than playing against an appropriate skill level. If you split the league into a "tier2a" and "tier2b", you'll run into problems when it comes time to assign people who go up to tier 1 and people who stay in tier 2 because the two tier 2s might not be a equal level of skill.

The board needs to set down what they want. If they try to keep everyone happy, this problem will get work and you'll end up with 6 "tier 2s" and no elite level ultimate and no development level ultimate. It will just be a mismash of craziness. If they set down what is going to happen, people will whinge and complain. And then they get over it. If a team deliberately loses while in tier 1, then they are wasting their money (that they spent paying for the league) and the board should consider banning them from tier 2 .

Its certainly an interesting challenge. I'd love to sink my teeth into it . But it comes down to this:
- Get the board behind you.
- Change the image surrounding tier 1 and tier 2 (can do that by having the board put a bit more money into tier 1 teams, encourage teams to play tier 1, stuff like that)
- Set up a non-negotiable system that the tiers will opperate under. Teams are promoted. Teams are relegated. When tier 2 hits x amount of teams (tell everyone now so it isn't a surprise when you actually get that many teams), there will be a third tier set up which will opperate under the same system. Make the system public, have the public contribute too.
- Never threaten teams. You do not want to force anyone into playing anywhere. You'll need to convince them. Once you put the above system in place, you can say: "if you do get your butt kicked, you'll be back in tier 2 and there will be no harm done."

Apart from that:

Good Luck.