League News: 2014.09.09

Subject: Are you ready?

The VDSL's first matches are scheduled for September 24th. That's just 2 weeks away!

We would ask that all clubs ensure they have booked off their doubles court as appropriate for the coming season. (See schedule section below.)

Captain Profiles

We would appreciate it if all captains would log into the VDSL site on Quick-Draws (default password sent in previous e-mail), update their profile, and change their password from the default. Please provide at least one e-mail address, and a phone number so that the other captains can reach you in a hurry.

We are not aware of any way to add co-captains to the VDSL pages on Quick-Draws. If you do, let us know and we'll pass it on.

Team Lists and Spare

The rules and guidelines about who is eligible to play in a given division are to help make each match as competitive as possible. The structure is to encourage and restrict players to be playing with and against players of similar skill level. Players too strong or too weak should be avoided.

Team Lists

If captains have not already updated their team lists on Quick-Draws we would appreciate them doing so now. This will facilitate updating the lists on the unOfficial site.

Quick-Draws begins with a list of regular players and spares. It is recommended that you list the 5 or 6 players you anticipate will play most of the matches as regular (core) players. If you wish, add others as spares.

As the season progresses, if you call upon someone not on your list, you must add that person to your list to ensure the match can be recorded. In most cases they should be listed as a spare.

Rick will publish a team list of players. Again, those who will likely play the bulk of your matches should be listed as core players. Others you are likely to call upon but less often, list as spares.

The QD list of players must remain open so that all matches may be recorded. Rick's doubles site list will be frozen as of October 1st.

It is Rick's doubles site that will be used to determine who can and cannot spare in a given division. Captains and players should ensure that the team lists on both QD and Rick's web site are accurate.

As of the moment, the lists on the unOfficial site are not finalized. We have used what we could currently find on the Quick-Draws team lists. So please review, and advise of any corrections and or updates.

Team lists on Rick's unOfficial site:

Spares

The guideline for spare selection should follow this order.

Select from the team list of core and spare players.
Select from other teams of the same division firstly from the same club and then other clubs.
Select from other teams of a lower division firstly from the same club and then other clubs.
A player of suitable skill for the division but not appearing on any team list may be selected.
Players from a higher division may not be selected.
Players may play only once in an evening.

This season, to help out Division 4, there is one exception to the above guidelines. During the first half of the season, teams in Division 4, if they have exhausted all other options, can call upon players listed on the VRC Div 3 team (McCorkell/Kochanski) as spares.

An individual player that spares up a division will remain eligible for the division they are registered in. If there is a pattern of playing up a division, the player will be reassigned to the higher division.

Extraordinary Situations

For those unforeseen situations where a match is in jeopardy of being a default, the above rules may be relaxed. The team in difficulty should consult with the opposing team at the earliest opportunity. The desire it to have matches played while upholding good sportsmanship and fairness.

A and B Pairs

The intent is that the better pair is A and the weaker is B. For some teams there is little difference between A and B, however, the designation of A and B should be based on skill and not who can play at 6pm.

Captains are expected to exchange A and B line-ups prior to their match so that any concerns may be settled before the day of the match.

Again this season, the A and B pairs alternate each week between being the first pair to play and second pair to play.

It does not appear that we can display this information on the schedule on the Quick-Draws site. But, on Rick Kochanski's unofficial VDSL web site, the order of play is clearly identified in the first column of the schedule displayed there.

Home Team and Social Hosting

Home team is designated in the QD schedule. The home team provides balls and is responsible for recording and reporting scores. The home team most often plays on their home court, but there are a significant number of matches played on the opponents' court.

League Points

League points remain the same as last season.

One point per game won.
Team with most games won earns 2 bonus points.
If total games won are tied, total points decide the winner.
If a tie cannot be broken, each team receives one bonus point.

Schedule

Oh yes, the schedule is now available on Quick-Draws.

We would ask that all clubs ensure they have booked off their doubles court as appropriate for the coming season.

Okay, with respect to the schedule we have had to develop a bit of a workaround. As such there are two different sets of schedules for each half of the season. 4 divisions in the first half, 3 divisions in the second.

First Half of the Season on Quick-Draws

Second Half of the Season on Quick-Draws

An alternate format of the schedule is available on Rick's unOfficial site. It:

identifies which pair plays first each week
clearly identifies matches moved to a different venue
clearly identifies matches moved to a make-up week

We believe all conflicts have been resolved, or removed, and that the two versions of the schedule are the same. That said, if you find any errors, or discrepancies between the Q-Ds and unOfficial versions, please let Rick and Lynn know as quickly as possible.