The Mid Season Captains' Meeting was held at Shenanigans on the 30th of March.
Thanks to the following 14 teams which were represented:
3 Alley Pub
Bull and Barrel Frozen Fingers
Bull and Barrel Rising Stars
Bullldog Rackem and Crackem
Dolce Vita Angry Birds
Dolce Vita Sweet Life
Hollywood Epic
Hollywood Scandal
Scrooge Pub Phoenix
Scrooge Pub Wonky Triangles
Seoul Pub Futa
Shenanigans Boomtown Rats
Sin Bin Laffing Devils
Sin Bin Potato
The rest of you all suck.
Agenda:
Important dates to remember:
April 5th, Saturday - Mid Season Singles Trophy Tournament - Sign-ups at Shenanigans
June 13th, Friday - End of Season Banquet
June 14th, Saturday - End of Season Singles Money Tournament
Suggestions for Website enhancements:
a) Adding special games to a players profile page, so that when you click on a player, it will not only show their win/loss record for that season, but also how many special games they have.
b) Adding a tick box for each match, indicating regular or scotch doubles for each match.
This will be discussed with our webmaster, Bernard, to see if it is feasible or not.
Items voted on:
Item 1:
Proposal for Allowing Players to Change Teams During the Season
Currently, players are not allowed to change teams during a season if they have played one or more games already. However, some exceptions have been made regarding this, based on individual circumstances and the discretion of the Executive Committee. In an attempt to eliminate the arbitrary nature of allowing players to change teams, there are the following two proposals:
Proposal # 1:
If a player wishes to change teams during the course of a season, the following conditions will apply:
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First, and foremost, BOTH captains must agree to the switch. To verify this, all three parties (the player, the original team's captain, and the new team's captain) must confirm with the Executive Committee that the change is agreed upon. It will be up to the player and the captains to come to an agreement.
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A player will only be allowed to switch once per season (so a player is only allowed to play for a maximum of two teams per season).
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A player is NOT eligible to change teams if he or she has played five or more matches for his or her original team.
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No switches can be made after the 15th week of the season.
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If a team drops out for whatever reason, players who did show up for that teams games should be allowed to change to another existing team. However, a) only one player from the dropped team can join any other given team (2 or 3 players cannot all migrate to the same team), b) each case will be dealt with individually, c) final approval must come from the executive committee, and d) team captains must be informed of any roster changes resulting from this.
Proposal # 2:
If a player wishes to change teams during the course of a season, the following conditions will apply:
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First, and foremost, BOTH captains must agree to the switch. To verify this, all three parties (the player, the original team's captain, and the new team's captain) must confirm with the Executive Committee that the change is agreed upon. It will be up to the player and the captains to come to an agreement.
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A player will only be allowed to switch once per season (so a player is only allowed to play for a maximum of two teams per season).
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A player is not eligible to change teams after Week # 3 of the season. Three weeks should be enough time for a player to determine if their team is a good match for them or not.
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Any new player that joins a team after Week # 3 and plays at least one match (game) will have to stay with that team for the remainder of the season. New players have the option of waiting a few weeks or more to see which team best suits them.
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If a team drops out for whatever reason, players who did show up for that teams games should be allowed to change to another existing team. However, a) only one player from the dropped team can join any other given team (2 or 3 players cannot all migrate to the same team), b) each case will be dealt with individually, c) final approval must come from the executive committee, and d) team captains must be informed of any roster changes resulting from this.
Two further ideas were expressed regarding this:
1) It should be at the discretion of the player and new captain only. If there is some reason why the player wants to change, it could probably be as a result of some personal differences. By allowing the current captain a veto, it might mutate into a personal issue. I think the current captain should certainly be informed, but not necessarily have a vote on the issue.
2) Some players are picked up on the night when a match is played, due to insufficient players in a team. Team rosters are littered with players who have only had 2 or 3 games a season. These players are sometimes excluded from later matches when the roster of regular team members is once again filled. So, the proposal has been made that a player in this situation not be locked into a team after week 3, or whatever. It would be more fair if the player who was picked up for a couple of matches have a game limit set. This would allow that player to participate in another team, and get more games in.
Result:
After much discussion, and very little name-calling, it was decided that the guidelines will be:
1) Both captains and the player involved would be consulted, but the old captain does not necessarily have to agree to the change, if the Executive Committee decides to allow the change.
2)A player will only be allowed to switch once per season. This will be followed regardless of circumstances.
3) A player will not be allowed to change teams after playing for a minimum of three matches for their original team. This can be waived at the discretion of the Executive Committee, based on specific situations.
4) No switches can be made after the 10th week of the season. This can be waived at the discretion of the Executive Committee, based on specific situations.
5) If a team drops out for whatever reason, players who did show up for that team's games will be allowed to change to another existing team, according to the discretion of the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee will have final say on all cases.
Vote result: 13 in favor, 0 against
Item 2:
Proposal to require all doubles games to be scotch doubles
Currently, home teams decide whether the doubles games for any given match will be regular or scotch doubles. I have had a few people request that we consider having all doubles games in the league be scotch doubles.
The reasoning behind having scotch doubles is that regular doubles doesn't really seem like doubles. Many times it is just like a singles game, with only one or two the the players taking shots. Scotch doubles makes for more chances for everyone to shoot. Since it is a friendly league, for enjoyment, it seems logical to play scotch doubles, so that both partners can be involved.
Result:
After much discussion, and quite a bit of name calling, it was decided to keep the format the way that it presently is.
Vote result: 12 in favor, 2 against
Item 3:
Optional shot clock – revisited.
At the organizational meeting, we voted in the following rule:
Players will now be given the option of using a shot-clock for their games. Before each game, the referee needs to ask the two players if they want to implement a shot-clock for that particular game. If neither player wishes to use a shot-clock, then players may take as long as they wish to make shots during the game. If either player (it does not need to be both players) states that they wish to use a shot-clock, then the following shot-clock rule will go into effect for that game.
Shot-clock rule:
A player will have 90 seconds to strike the cue ball from the moment the cue ball comes to a stop from the previous shot. A player may have one 30-second extension per game. Referees should let the player know when 60 seconds has passed, and then if the player exceeds 90 seconds more than once during the game, it will be considered a foul, and ball in hand will be awarded to their opponent.
At the organizational meeting, it was agreed to examine how this was working, and then decide at the mid-season captains' meeting if we should keep it or alter it in any way.
Result:
Again, a lot of discussion. Most teams never implement the shot-clock, except against one particular team. It doesn't seem to have much bearing on the matches or the league. However, some captains suggested that it should be allowed to ask for the shot clock after a game has already commenced, since we don't always know which players will play slowly until they start playing. So, the following was voted in:
We will keep the shot clock option, however, in a game where the shot clock was not requested before the break, if a player feels that his/her opponent is taking too long, he/she can ask the referee to warn the opponent once, and if the opponent is still taking too long, implement the shot clock.
Vote Result: 12 in favor, 0 against
Item 4:
Table runs - revisited
At the organizational meeting in January, we voted in the following:
1) As voted on at the mid-season captains' meeting last season, starting this season table runs will also be recorded and awarded with Table Run pins. These will need to be recorded on the scoresheets in the same manner which 8-ball runs and Break and Runs are recorded. When inputting the scores, captains need to check the “Tbl” box in the Table Runs column.
A table run is any time that a player runs all of the balls of his or her group, followed by the eight ball, in one inning. This means that if your opponent hits one of your balls in before you pocket any of your balls, and then you sink all of the balls in your group followed by the eight ball in one trip to the table, you get credit (and a pin) for a table run.
These table runs will be added to players' special games totals and will be counted for the trophy awarded for most special games at the end of the season.
At the organizational meeting, it was agreed to examine how this was working, and then decide at the mid-season captains' meeting if we should keep it or alter it in any way.
Result:
No discussion and no vote, since there have only been a total of 9 table runs so far in the season.
Item 5:
Proposal for a traveling championship trophy
Currently, the IPL is awarding trophies to six teams per season. The top three teams in the Championship bracket each get large trophies, descending in scale, as do the top three teams in the Best of the Rest bracket. Most of these trophies end up stashed away somewhere, never to be seen again.
We are proposing that we establish a travelig trophy for the Championship bracket, with the winning teams' names inscribed on it each season. The winning team keeps the trophy until the end of the following season, where it is inscribed with the team name of the new champion, and handed over to the championship team at the banquet. This would preserve a record of our champions, and bring a bit of ceremony to the awarding of the championship trophy.
Players on the winning teams would still get individual trophies or medallions.
Second and third place teams in the Championship bracket, and first through third place in the Best of the Rest bracket would receive banners, similar to the dart league banners. These banners would have the bar name, team name, and the names of 8 members of the team (currently, that is the limit that can be put on a banner). The 8 players with the most games played for the winning team would be included on the banner.
The Championship team would receive a banner, as a permanent award, in addition to the honor of housing the traveling trophy.
Result:
Some discussion, but generally all in favor of this proposal. The Executive Committee will make arrangements for this.
Vote Result: 12 in favor, 0 against
Item 6:
Adding a tick box for sportsmanship
If someone voluntarily calls a foul on themselves that is not obvious and the ref didn't catch it immediately, there could be a tick box on the score sheet, and the web interface, for sportsmanship recognition. Both captains would have to check with each other and confirm that the player's conduct deserved a sportsmanship check mark
It doesn't necessarily have to be only calling fouls on one's self, any form of exceptional sportsmanship could be recognized. At the end of the season, we could recognize it as an individual Sportsmanship award (male and/or female) based on the most good sport check marks, not to replace our Bob Denny award, but expand on it.
A variation of this was also suggested:
Since the executive committee has a hard time getting people to vote for the Bob Denny Award each season, this sounds like a decent compromise. The team with the most checks at the end of the season wins the Bob Denny Sportsmanship Award. Checks can be made for things like teams that are happy to move games to accommodate a player who is running late, calling fouls on themselves, and even asking the ref to check closely before you play a risky shot.
Result:
It was felt by most that this was a bit like rewarding people for simply being human and following the spirit of the league. It was also considered a bit cumbersome and runs the risk of being ignored by most captains. Therefore it was voted not to pass this proposal.
Vote result: 3 in favor, 9 against
Item 7:
Keeping the seeding of divisions, but doing away with the divisional playoff system
Beginning last season, the four divisions have been determined by seeding the top 16 teams, to ensure that the divisions are somewhat balanced. Along with this system, a divisional playoff system has also been adopted. In this system, the first two rounds of the playoffs are within each team's division, with the top 4 teams in each division eligible. This has resulted in strange playoff match-ups where top teams play each other very early in the playoffs. It has been suggested that we continue the seeding of divisions, but go back to the original playoff format, where the top 16 teams are seeded according to record, not division.
Result:
This was approved, so next season we will seed the divisions, but the playoffs will revert to the way we previously set up the playoffs in seasons past, with a seeded bracket of the top 16 teams.
Vote result: 10 in favor, 2 against
Item 8:
Changing the name of everything associated with the Itaewon Pool League to “Lenny”
The suggestion was made on Off the Break to rename the doubles, "Lenny Doubles", and rename the pool league the LPL....Lenny Pool League.
Result:
This did not require much discussion at all, and passed overwhelmingly. However, it was shot down by Jim Dewey and Jeff Trageser, mainly because of jealousy and envy. Something about 'election fraud' or something. I don't get it. So, some of the bar staff voted as well. What's the big deal?
Vote result: 23 in favor, 2 against.
A splendid time was had by all, and the meeting adjourned with very little ill-will.
Lenny Erickson
