It ain't in the cards for everyone, Al
But as they're playing Novice already and get no prizes and no respect...
2--this mindest presumes all players and all teams begin with the same set of goals in mind and that his patently incorrect. Your frame of reference Al, is that you and your team are capable of that level of achievement given sufficient time, dedication and committment of resources and as you well know, I'm sure, the demand placed on your time, your cash and your teammates is a heavy one.
So what happens to the the teams that simply can't make those committments but still want to and enjoy playing? And we haven't even begun to talk about ability yet. The reality is only a small percentage of players have the combination of factors required to play at the uppermost level of any sport yet your's and manike's arguments seem to imply that everybody must either 'read the writing on the wall' and quit if they can't progress or find some pleasure in being everybody else's cannon fodder. (And you're not going to get any promoters or organizers to help you put themselves out of business.)
The simple answer is twofold: start treating each level of play regardless of it's name independantly and enforce promotion at the Mil Series and NPPL/PSP level for Novice and Am ranks. Promotion keeps fresh blood in the upper levels and forces the cream of the crop upward but doesn't worry about mid-pack regardless of how long they've been playing.
(And at the Pro level you also enforce relegation because the whole point is the actual best teams, isn't it? And the relegation rule could be tied to total number of teams playing in a given series cycle.)
PS--and no, Mark, we're not completely off topic as this will eventually lead around to Nov prizes.
1--OK, if sandbagging is such a big concern and you (as a member of one of 'the teams') knows pretty much who belongs and who doesn't let's name some names. Who are the sandbaggers? As there are no rules at present to deal with it then the only way to compel movement is to shame them into it, right?
But as they're playing Novice already and get no prizes and no respect...
2--this mindest presumes all players and all teams begin with the same set of goals in mind and that his patently incorrect. Your frame of reference Al, is that you and your team are capable of that level of achievement given sufficient time, dedication and committment of resources and as you well know, I'm sure, the demand placed on your time, your cash and your teammates is a heavy one.
So what happens to the the teams that simply can't make those committments but still want to and enjoy playing? And we haven't even begun to talk about ability yet. The reality is only a small percentage of players have the combination of factors required to play at the uppermost level of any sport yet your's and manike's arguments seem to imply that everybody must either 'read the writing on the wall' and quit if they can't progress or find some pleasure in being everybody else's cannon fodder. (And you're not going to get any promoters or organizers to help you put themselves out of business.)
The simple answer is twofold: start treating each level of play regardless of it's name independantly and enforce promotion at the Mil Series and NPPL/PSP level for Novice and Am ranks. Promotion keeps fresh blood in the upper levels and forces the cream of the crop upward but doesn't worry about mid-pack regardless of how long they've been playing.
(And at the Pro level you also enforce relegation because the whole point is the actual best teams, isn't it? And the relegation rule could be tied to total number of teams playing in a given series cycle.)
PS--and no, Mark, we're not completely off topic as this will eventually lead around to Nov prizes.
