Season 2016 (Season 6)

I apologize for being so late this year. I have been more busy than usual and the late start of the playoffs also took my eyes off preparing for the next season. Based on input from various admins while at the same time realizing that there is a lot of idle time for many teams we will give a round robin format a shot. The plan is to play in Divisions of 10 which means 9 rounds to be played.

The preliminary look of the divisions is as follows:

Division 1:

WA, NJ, ON, MI, MN, IA, OH, NC, SC, TN (currently leading SD)

South Carolina is currently facing admin issues. If those cannot be resolved, Pennsylvania could be a potential candidate to fill the spot due to their extremely strong showing in Division 3 both in terms of results and depth.

Division 2 could look like this:

NM (last place Division 1), SD, CO, CA, AZ, OR, VA, FL, IL, PA (strongly leading Indiana in the playoffs)

Wisconsin would be in Division 2 based on results. However, the admin situation has gotten to a point that without clear commitment we don't see ourselves spending constant effort to remind to accept and lock challenges.

Div 3 could look like this:

IN, MD, UT, MS, GA, OK, KS, NH, KY, AL (awaiting confirmation)

Louisiana is left out for now unless the admin situation there improves.

That means we have a pretty good idea how things will look like. Once we can clarify the question marks then it will be put in its usual format.

If you have suggestions or comments please let us know. Last season has definitely been more challenging than previous seasons. For many teams, the existing admins have moved on to other things and no suitable replacements have been found. However, that doesn't take away from the remaining teams that have expediently accepted and locked the matches. Thank you very much!

We hope that the round robin format will work out and find greater acceptance. At least, there won't be month long waits any longer and more consistent play for all teams.

As an alternative idea for Division 1 where there is quite some disparity due to the size differences of the teams it would also be conceivable to split the division in 2 and play a double round robin involving either 5 or 6 teams. That would take some more shuffling and thinking but we am throwing it at least out there.

Thank you very much!

Bob, Dietmar, Elizabeth, & Scott

Quick update: We have confirmation from Alabama and Louisiana that they will be in.

Also when does this league start or around what time?

It is always on July 4th. We are cutting it a bit close this year because I dropped the ball a bit but we will get it done. There hasn't been much (any) feedback so far about the intended change which means either everyone is happy with or nobody has read the post ...

Thanks I'm fine with it hopefully everyone esle is

Oh small question but  for Div. 3 is one team going to get a bye every round since there's 11 teams now?

We are confirming with some teams before we set the divisions. But yes, if it ends up being 11 then there would be a bye. Also, Division would play an additional round. There aren't enough teams to split the division in 2 and the extra round should not be too bad.

Ok sounds good

I will be ceasing leadership of TEAM KANSAS and was asked to give a "yes" or "no" by today or tomorrow. I am working hard at that. Sadly, so far, no one is stepping up to take the yoke of managing these matches for TEAM KANSAS. This is not a definitive "no" but so far, things are not looking promising. I will report back within 36 hours with a definite answer. Thanks for your patience.

Thank you very much for looking into it, CaptainPike! It would be nice to have more committed admins like you that work out to keep this site interesting and appealing.

ksflyfisher will be representing kansas, Dietmar. He is already SA there. I have asked him to contact you; but it may not hurt to contact him. He will need to become a member here and be pointed out to the forums he needs to visit to be brought up to speed.

TEAM KANSAS is in. With regrets, I won't be participating. I simply just do not have the time to remain in every group I wish to remain active with.

Ok. Thank you.

Danny, this season has already started. When the next season (2017) starts, NY will be in.

It would be one way or another as the season starts mid year. Sorry for the confusion.

You pick a team you want to play for (most folks play for their home team which just makes too nuch sense but not every state is represented. Florida is without leadership as of now so once the makeup of the divisons will be announced you will find your choices available.

You would have to be admin for the team representing Florida and that Florida team would need to have an active Superadmin. As you are a non-premium member you could fill the admin role. Looking at the various Floridian teams it looks like this:

South Florida Chess: 269 nominal members, 2 SA gone for three + years, third one online but not involved with team activities, 1 regular admin, last online 5 years ago. As a result, last match played 5 years ago

Central Florida Chess (you are a member of): 97 nominal members, 1 SA last online 7 months ago, 2 regular admin, both online, one is paying member. One current match ongoing

Team Florida (playing this year): 78 nominal members, 1 SA who has stopped communicating leading to the aforementioned trouble, 2 regular admin, one online, one not, one is paying member. One current match ongoing

Looks to me, that the best chance to reactivate Florida is to work with Central Florida Chess. Have a chat with Sefra and see whether he wants to become SA. If he does PM me then I will try to get him promoted. As your team has an inactive SA this should be doable unlike with Team Florida. Then he can promote you to be admin and you guys can go out and try to recruit members from the other Florida teams.

The task of being a regular admin is actually pretty darn simple. Issue or Accept match challenges at the time advertised. Ideally, you set up the match correctly which isn't rocket science either. Then it is up to the team how much they can energize their members to sign up. But the basics are straightforward.