Upcoming league season -- first fixture

Hey all,

registration will soon be open for our first match of the new league season, against Herefordshire-Worcestershire-Shropshire (snappy name!). They are new in Div 1, so not sure what to expect from them. But they seem to have a large roster.

We will have one match per month up till July (except March, where there'll be two).

In general, we can expect some tough matches this season. We did well to stay in Div 1 last season, since we are one of the smaller teams, and our players were consistently playing against people rated 100s higher.

A further complication for the coming season is that there is a new minimum of 10 players per match in Div 1 (up from, I think, 5 last season). If we don't make it, it's a forfeit. Last season, we often didn't make 10. So please do sign up for matches! There is no maximum number of players. And, personally, if there's a choice between everyone who wants one getting a game vs trying to gerrymander the boards so we're as strong as possible . . . I'd prefer the first.

So: sign up for the first match when you can, get ready for a fight . . . and if you know anyone lurking on this site who might want to join the team, let me know and I'll invite them—new members very welcome!