USCL 2011 Schedule Revealed!!

  Howdy do everyone!

   Well I'm going to try to kickstart this group back into existence by saying that the 2011 Schedule has been announced at the U.S.C.L. Site.

   The season runs from August 29th to November 20th, that includes the regular season and the playoffs as well.

   Time controls will range from 60+30 to 90+30 depending on the start time and time zone (or sometimes even faster in rare cases).

   The first week's matchups are as follows: (The team listed first in each matchup gets the White pieces on Boards 1 & 3)

Week 1: Monday, August 29th

1. Boston Blitz vs New England Nor'easters                             7:00 PM EST        
2. Manhattan Applesauce vs Philadelphia Inventors                   7:15 PM EST
3. Miami Sharks vs Arizona Scorpions                                     9:00 PM EST       
4. Los Angeles Vibe vs Dallas Destiny                                      9:00 PM EST

Wednesday, August 31st

5. Carolina Cobras vs New Jersey Knockouts                          7:00 PM EST
6. Baltimore Kingfishers vs New York Knights                         7:15 PM EST
7. St. Louis Arch Bishops vs San Francisco Mechanics                8:30 PM EST         
8. Seattle Sluggers vs Chicago Blaze                                      9:00 PM EST

  Last year, the U.S.C.L. Championship was won by the New England Nor'easters as they took down the Miami Sharks 3-1. Of course we all know New England is spear-headed by our very own and now GM Sam Shankland.

   For more information on the new schedule, player stats, downloadable PGNs from seasons past, just visit the Official site. 

   -Mark

I have a doubt about how games are conducted? by computer?

  Pdela - yes, all of the USCL games are conducted online, and sorry to say and from what I know, they are not available to watch here on Chess.com/TV but on ICC. 

   You can find the rules (now updated on 7/16/11) here

   -Mark 

We do? I mean, the rosters aren't set at all yet, and they do change from year to year. Who knows how busy Sam is this year... I don't.

Speaking of which, I need to find a way to contact the manager of my local team - I may be an 'arbiter' this year.

   Well, he was anchoring it last year , that's what I meant. Hopefully the rosters will fill up soon so we know where each team stands.

   I do wish you luck on becoming an arbiter. That will be pretty neat to be present as the games are being played, even though they are played online. It'll still be a sweet experience I think. 

  -Mark

I showed up at most of the matches last year to watch anyway, and I was asked to be arbiter then, but I couldn't reliably get to the site early enough, usually showing up somewhere in the early to full middlegame.

Does anybody know when the rosters are expected to be set?

  I have been checking almost every day to see if they're up. Here's something from the Rules section on the Official USCL Site:

4. Full team rosters must be submitted to the Commissioner at least one week before the opening day of the season; teams who fail to do this will almost certainly face a sponsorship penalty. If teams wish to make any minor changes to their roster after this deadline, prior to their first match, they will generally be allowed to do so with no penalty. However, should they add a new player to the roster at that stage, they will not be able to use that player in their first match.

   Since the schedule starts in about 2 weeks, I guess we'll know soon enough. 

  -Mark