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Date: Fri, 28 Nov 1997 13:35:34 +0000
From: ALEX EVANS <aae96@aber.ac.uk>
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Subject: Student eligibility
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The biggest problem I've had with the student eligibility rules over the
years is getting hold of a copy. Relying on word of mouth is pretty
unsatisfactory and has caused trouble in the past. Perhaps it's time to
put them on the BUF homepage?

I might as well put the boot into the 5 year rule while I'm here. This
year I started a new team in Aberystwyth, Mwnci See, and in April we
attended our first tournament, the Student Championships in Southampton.
I was the only player who had ever been to a tournament before, and had
I been ineligible to play (if I'd taken an extra year before returning
to univeristy then I would have been) then I suspect that the team might
not have made that trip.

Just to rehash a few more of Wee Jim and Mr A J Tucker's points:

Why the need to be consistant with the American collegiate rules? Since
BUSA membership is more of a priority than a British-American student
championship shouldn't we be trying to bring ourselves more into line
with BUSA rules?

This 'too good for the student championships' mentality seems perverse
to me. Are we more concerned with raising the standard of play or with
having 'fairer' matches? If the former then let all students play; if
the latter then let's ban anyone with more than 6 months experience.

And finally the matter of consistancy. It seems odd that someone with
five years experience at student level should be barred, but someone
with the same amount of experience at junior level (or even open level
for mature students) should be allowed. Or are we going to kick out
former junior players in the name of consistancy?

My beginners really enjoyed Southampton. There were a lot of good
experienced players there, and we were whooped 15-0 by Catch in our
first ever match. They weren't intimidated, they enjoyed it and they
learnt from it. It would be a shame to turn the student championships
into an homogenous swillfest (no offence to undergrads).

Alex
Mwnci See/UTI