First off, I just want to thank you all for a successful 2021-22 season. It was the season with the most teams in league history, and we were able to complete it smoothly, with some of the best participation we've ever seen. Many thanks to all team admins whose dedication and efforts made all of this possible.

Happily, our trajectory of growth has continued, as we welcome four new teams to the league this season:

• Team IDAHO
• Massachusetts Matchplay
• West Virginia Chess
• Wyoming Chess Club

With these additions, we can complete our plan of going to a four-division model, with the above four teams joining a fully established Division 4. Each division will run as a single round robin. The top two teams from Divisions 2, 3, and 4 will be promoted to the next higher division, and the bottom two teams from Divisions 1, 2, and 3 will be relegated to the next lower division. The size of each division is as follows:

• Division 1: 10 teams
• Division 2: 10 teams
• Division 3: 10 teams
• Division 4: 8 teams

With the addition of a new rung in our divisional ladder, it was also a good time to review board minimums. Participation in Divisions 2 and 3 was exceptional this past season, particularly in showdowns of New York vs. Ontario (54 boards) and Arizona vs. Hawaii (45 boards), both of which outpaced any match in Division 1. After review of median match sizes, we have selected the following minimums to be used in the 2022-23 season:

• Division 1: 12 boards
• Division 2: 9 boards
• Division 3: 6 boards
• Division 4: 3 boards

Eventually, our goal is to further increase from a 12-9-6-3 model to a 15-10-6-3 model. However, while we want to encourage more participation and larger matches, we also want to avoid putting teams of smaller sizes at too much of an immediate disadvantage. Thus, this remains a future goal, rather than an imminent one. However, teams in Divisions 1 and 2 should start making efforts to reach 15 and 10 boards, respectively, so that we may reach this goal sooner rather than later. 

Promotions and relegations going into this season will be finalized at the end of the month. Remember that league trophies are not awarded until the end of the year, and the standings at the time of a new season do not necessarily reflect the final trophy assignments.

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below! We're excited for what we hope will be our best season yet, and we hope all of you are as well.