MINIMUM PLAYER SKILL:
RACE GRID League:
Beginner. Anyone who wants to learn the game of pool can join the league.
PERFORMANCE League:
A 5 handicap or skill level. Determined based on the average skill of a 5 in various leagues. A number is not an exact science; thus players may receive an ‘assessment’ by the Director to ensure they are ready for this league. All new recruits have to be approved by the director before adding to a roster to ensure that they are ready for the league and thus the league skill level balance is preserved.
If a player ends the season with a performance # less than 4.0, they may be asked to take a break from league in order to refine their skills.
MAXIMUM PLAYER SKILL:
RACE GRID League:
A player may not be higher than a 11 skill level – based on comparisons of the other players in the league.
This does not mean that a 12 skill will play as a 11 – it means that higher than a 11 cannot play in the race grid league.
If a 11 skill becomes to dominate for the league, they will need to be reviewed by League Director.
PERFORMANCE League:
Can’t be a current or recent professional (5 years removed); great amateurs are welcome
Everyone has a format they can plan in. But the PERF league will not turn into RACE GRID, nor will the RACE GRID turn into a PERFORMANCE league.
- Some players are so good that a handicap race would be too long of a race (in order to allow a 50% chance) for our allotted time slots for league – Note: some locations end league at a certain time. Or, shortening the race makes the match to short and not ‘value for their time/money.’
- Remembering that the purpose of RACE GRID league is for the lower players, the league rules for this league type have to accommodate them.
- The PERFORMANCE league is intended for the better players and the lower players are not allowed in this league.
UNKNOWN SKILL LEVELS:
Those with ‘unknown’ skill levels will be given a skill assessment by the league manager or director to ensure league competitive balance.
MINIMUM/MAXIMUM TEAM SKILL:
MIN TEAM SKILL:
Grouping of the minimum player skill level may only result in the team losing regularly and thus hurt the overall balance of the league.
- If this is the case, the coordinator and/or league director may ask higher skilled players (from other teams in the league) to join this type of team – goal to balance out the league.
- The coordinator should be recruiting outside the league to help rosters that need balance.
MAX TEAM SKILL:
TEAM MATCH POSTING CAP:
There is a posting cap in place to provide the guideline for a ‘max skilled team.’ Our cap fluctuates based on league needs. We may raise or lower cap depending on team strengths. Overall our cap is higher than most other Race Grid Leagues – point is, it is already high which allows for a ‘good team’ to form and leaves room for player growth.
Going over the cap (soft cap with penalties) may need to happen on occasion as players have unexpected scheduling conflicts for the night. However, if this continues then a team will need to recruit more players to will fix this attendance problem in the short term to get their lineup back in line with league requirements. So ‘going over the cap’ is allowed, but not intended for ‘regular use.’ It could result in a team trying to stack players and beat the system by whipping other teams (even with penalty points).
- Thus a rule is in place that the usage of ‘going over the cap’ can only be used three (3) times in a season. If a team uses this option more than three (3) times they may receive a individual match forfeit – to be determined by League Director – depending on situation(s).
- The league coordinator and/or league director may have to step in and adjust their roster to help them meet the posting requirements. Competitive team skill balance is the key to a healthy league.
DYNASTY:
No ‘dynasty’ will be allowed without changes to their roster. If one team dominates either league (2 seasons in a row in 1st place they are considered a Dynasty team). The stable roster will need to be changed to ensure the end result is a balanced league.
Options:
- If they have enough players on their 1st place roster, they may be asked to split into two teams.
- Or, Adding 1 new player – a 1, 2, or 3 skill to team roster and playing them regularly
- Or, Adding 2 new players that need to be trained – low skill (1,2,3) or 4,5 skill that are ‘new to league’ (don’t understand defense, strategy – need training as they are behind others same skill level). This option is if the 1 person add didn’t help tight the standings
- Or, If they don’t have enough to split into 2 teams, and if they can’t recruit new players from outside the league (as explained above), then they may be asked to ‘trade’ a player to another team to result in a lower player added to roster.
- Or, trade a few players for a few / merge with a lower team to create two equal teams that help the league balance out – if they can’t recruit or trade as described above.
- Or, the issue isn’t the dynasty team, it is the other captains in the league not meeting the ‘Expectations of a Captain.’ (see section)
IF they change roster and continue to win, tip your hat to them. They obviously are well organized and can win with any new / lower /untrained player joining the team. Note: if as long as they change their roster each season, they are in compliance. Their ultimate goal should be to build their team up to the size it can split into 2 teams – thus they continue to play together and help grow the league.
NOTE: if the league isn’t competing with a team that changes rosters each season, then the league is the issue not the dynasty team. A league is strong when it has good captains that are organized, train, etc. (See rulebook section for captain). If the competitive issue is the captain, or captainS, then change the captains. If the competitive issue is the players, then captains should change the players by recruiting or trading. If the captain cannot be a successful captain, they should step down themselves vs complain that they are not as good as a 1st place team (ie. don’t blame those that are doing everything right; don’t reward bad captains for being bad — replace them!).
One team dominating a league – and/or captains who are not meeting the expectation of a captain – most likely results in the other teams knowing they can’t win and the following tends to happen:
- The best players from other teams join together to try to beat them (ie. 2 or 3 stacked teams); the league becomes top heavy and lack of team competitive balance as lower teams cannot compete with top teams.
- Players quit and go join other leagues to explore chances of winning
- Last place teams tend to fold; leagues shrink.
- A lot more work required for coordinator to recruit an entire team. It is much easier to recruit to a last place team that is balanced.
ROSTER BALANCE/TEAM BALANCE is the key to ensure a success league long-term. Teams should be comparable to other teams in the league. Should be – but life is never equal – thus it is a journey of training the captains to be successful. Those that show promise can continue, those after a season or two that can’t recruit should be replaced.
All rosters (at league formation and beginning of each season) will need to be submitted to the league director to review team strength to ensure league balance. Director may not approve a team roster submitted if it doesn’t meet the min or max guidelines, or if the roster is too far out of line from the ‘average’. The director may move players from team to team to move the league towards balanced rosters. A director may and SHOULD replace captains at the start of every season where ever appropriate. Assistant captains should be trained to replace captains. The system works if followed. Allowing bad captains to continue ruins the long term balance and success of the leagues.
Reminder to Director/Coordinators/Assistant Coordinators: Reward those that do well; teach others to emulate/learn from/copy them; replace those that can’t keep up until the league is balanced and competitive.