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Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 10:50:46 +0100
From: Steve Sheppard <S.Sheppard@ftel.co.uk>
Organization: Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Ltd
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To: britdisc@csv.warwick.ac.uk
Subject: Re: SE Regionals tournament report
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S J Hill wrote:
> I thought I'd reply to your question...
> 
...
> and then 1.:
> A tournament format independent of seeding?  The big barrier to this is
> of course the necessity to play the tourney out within a w/e... The only
> genuine way of ranking all teams is to run a complete league.
> Clearly this can't happen in a w/e... and a league running over the summer
> is something very far away from how ultimate seems to work....
> 
> However, an alternative is to have a ranking system based on tourney results.
> This is pretty obvious.  What is not obvious is how this should be achieved.
> However, if the results are to be counted towards some sort of ranking/seeding
> for nationals then the system has to be clear - but also able to cope with
> a) ever-changing faces of teams...
> b) the fact that not everyone can enter every tourney - nor should they be
> expected to.
> c) tourneys are thus of varying strengths and a position in some should be
> "worth more" than the same position in another.
> 
> I have been working on how we might usefully have such a system working at
> a number of specified tournaments.  An outline of this will probably be in
> the next issue of ultimatum, (because of course its important that its an
> idea that most people want to try out).
> 
> Whilst this won't help from the point of view of your question immediately,
> I hope that if it works out to be popular
> it could eventually become a fairer method by which teams qualify for
> Nationals, although I certainly haven't considered exactly how that would work
> as yet: there are obviously several alternatives....
> 
> Of course if people *are* interested in the idea it will basically give us a
> league (the ranking tour) and a cup (national finals).... which will open
> up the intriguing question of how many consecutive years Shotgun can "do
> the league and cup double"!
> 

This seems like a good idea! Unfortunately I can't see how it will fit
in with 
the student teams. Particularly if the Nationals continue to be at the
end of
October. It oftens happens that the ability of a student team can change
dramatically between academic years when several key players finish
their
courses.

This brings me onto the topic of the date for the nationals, something
which 
I'm sure has undergone lengthly discussion already. But I thought I
would keep
the discussion going ;-). Is their no chance that the nationals could be
arranged 
for July sometime, to fit between the end of exams and the end of term
for 
most students. (This may mean the regionals will need to be around
easter, 
but at least they won't be consecutive weeks, the average age of our
team is 32
after all!).

This alternative date would allow the freshers to gain some experience
and 
improve the prospects of better weather. I was a little concerned that
the
bad weather at the regionals may put off some freshers for whom this was
probably their first tournament!

Just my own opinion!

Steve
STAN

P.S.: Thank you to all the regional TD and assistants for there hard
work. My only
disappointment was when the tea ran out on Sunday ;-)!

-- 
Dr Steven J. Sheppard
Fujitsu Telecom. Europe Ltd	** email: S.Sheppard@ftel.co.uk
Birmingham Business Park	** phone: 0121 717 6503
Birmingham, B37 7YU		** fax  : 0121 717 6014