TORNADO ALLEY
Why do they build trailer parks in tornado alley? Why do people hang decorative towels fabrics that are not supposed to be used directly above the sink? Why do they arrest people for being legally drunk'? If it's legal, then what the hell is the problem? Why do all sanctioned dart leagues run the same format, and repeat the same mistakes year after year? The answer for all above questions is: Because that is the way it has always been done. My biggest complaint about area dart leagues is the scheduling practices. Do I have all the answers to their problems? You are damn right I do!
Every type of league in existence starts with the basic premise of an even schedule. Whether it is pool, softball, fantasy football, bar league cribbage, intramural Frisbee golf, or naked underwater beer chugging drawing up an evenly weighted schedule is most essential for any league. So why is this universal truth so foreign to sanctioned dart leagues? Would it not be worth some small adjustments to ensure that no team has a schedule advantage? After all, it is unfair to play 4 teams three times, and 1 team only twice. When that missed game leaves your team with the tougher schedule, and you miss first place by 2 games, you have been cheated. A round robin schedule is like a round of golf, you cannot declare a winner until it is completed. There is no trophy for the leader after 17.
Even Schedules The 14-week schedules spit out by the dart league programs used by local operators are fine as long as you have 7 or 8 teams. However, for any other number of teams they are inherently flawed. For 4, 5, and 6 team leagues simply increasing to 15 weeks solves the problem. For 9 12 team leagues a little ingenuity is involved. Once one full round is played, split the teams into divisions for a playoff' round the final weeks. Here is an explanation of each:
12 teams Use a 14-week schedule, play every team once (first 11 weeks) then separate into 3, four-team divisions. (Division 1, Division 2, Division 3) Play one playoff' round in each four-team division (3 weeks). Continue adding wins and losses to the 11th week total. Teams cannot pass another in the division above. Division 1 teams will place 1st 4th, Division 2 teams 5th 8th, and Division 3 teams 9th 12th.
11 teams Use a 14-week schedule, play every team once (first 11 weeks) then separate into 3 Divisions. (Similar to 12 Teams.) Top four teams are Division 1, next four are Division 2, and the bottom three are Division 3. Play one playoff' round in each division (3 weeks). Continue adding wins and losses to the 11th week total. Teams cannot pass another in the division above. Division 1 teams will place 1st 4th, Division 2 teams 5th 8th, and Division 3 teams 9th 11th.
10 teams Use a 14-week schedule, play every team once (first 9 weeks) then separate into two divisions. Division 1 is the top 6 teams. They play one more round (5 weeks). The bottom four teams make Division 2. They play a five week round robin. Though this schedule is unequal for the bottom four teams during the final weeks, it is completely fair for the top 6 which is most important. TPA tried this format once but endured much negative feedback. However, the reason for the discontent was because they did not follow my instructions completely. Team records should not be wiped out after week 9. Continue adding up wins and losses to decide position - but do not allow division 2 teams to pass up division 1 teams.
9 teams Use a 14-week schedule, play every team once (first 9 weeks) then separate the top five teams into Division 1, and the bottom four into Division 2. Similar to 10 teams.
8 teams Use a 14-week schedule; play every team two times each
7 teams Use a 14-week schedule; play every team two times each, with two bye weeks
6 teams Use a 15-week schedule; play every team three times each
5 teams Use a 15-week schedule; play every team three times each, with three bye weeks
4 teams Use a 15-week schedule; play every team five times each
Assigning Teams to A, B, C The league coordinator should not have to guess by name recognition which teams belong in which league. Add up the four players averages to come up with a team mpr or ppd. The top eight teams will be A' league, the next 8 B' league, and so on. For accuracy and to avoid sandbagging I would use a player's top season average achieved over the last two years. For players with no league history I would average the other three players and assign them that number. Certain player caps would be the only exception to the simple mathematical team ranking.
Player Caps As Twin Ports Amusements currently does, there would be individual player caps. Anyone scoring above a particular average would not be allowed to shoot in a lower league. The difference is I would print these specific player caps on the sign-up sheet so the players could set up their teams accordingly.
The Gap A huge talent gap has formed between Monday Cricket teams. In Winter 2002 the top four area teams each had combined averages near 12.0mpr in Twin Ports Amusements A' league. Eagle's top teams and TPA's upper B' league were around 9.0. In the middle were two A' league teams averaging near 10.5, cut off in no mans land between A and B league. In fact, in the past four seasons, several teams in this 10.5 area have been dropping out. The dominant top four teams contain the best 9, and 15 of the top 20 players in the area. It is very difficult to come up with any combination that can compete, and virtually impossible while bringing new players up. One possible solution is team caps.
Team Caps The only way to force top players to spread out may be team caps. Still, this cannot be done in a way that pushes top players right out of the league. Coming up with the number may be tricky. Until the proper equilibrium is found this number may need to be slightly adjusted each season. Another option is to create a Masters league for those teams who do not wish to break up, which is described below.
The Masters League Option Twin Ports Amusements packs enough Monday Cricket teams in to fill four leagues. Instead of having two B leagues, they could add an open masters league with no team mpr cap. Teams that exceed the A league cap would play in Masters, but allow any A team to sign up for Masters if they choose. Why would they? Money. The Masters league just needs to pay better than the rest. Now good friends are not forced to break up, and B teams can move up and play A level players without the culture shock of getting wiped out every week of the season by the stacked 12.0 teams.
When The Numbers Don't Add Up Ideally, every league would have eight teams. TPA will typically separate into 8-team leagues whenever possible making proper use of the league program. However, this is not always possible. If a league consists of 18 teams and you separate into 8 team divisions there are two teams left over. This obviously will not work. The solution; set up three 6-team leagues and expand the season to 15 weeks. If 23 teams sign up, the top 8 are A, next 8 B, and the bottom 7 are C. What if you have 27 teams sign up for TPA's Monday cricket, and five of them qualify for Masters league? The five Masters teams play the 15 week schedule, leaving 22 teams. Instead of separating them 7-7-8 leaving only 24 of 27 teams playing each week separate it 8-8-6 so only one team has a bye each week. Give me any number, and there is a logical solution keeping as many teams playing each week as possible.
One More Complaint Another inexcusable mistake with league schedules and this is not limited to sanctioned leagues is the lack of thought into the specifics of team schedules. For example; some teams have 8 home games while others have only 6, teams having 3 consecutive away matches, or establishments sponsoring 2 teams that are both away on the same week. There is no rational reason for any of these simple mistakes that piss off players and bar owners. While tossing around numbers a few years back I stumbled across a formula for writing out schedules with these bonus qualities: An equal number of home matches for every team (within one on odd week schedules), no team ever plays 3 consecutive home or away matches, and every position on the schedule has an opposite. (Teams that alternate home weeks) Because of this, any sponsor with 2 teams would be guaranteed exactly one home match every week. An eight-team league could operate in only four bars with a single board in each. A bar with three boards could have six home teams, and never have a scheduling conflict. Simple logic beats the hell out of overpriced dart league software.
Payback Info Where is the league fees going? Players do not join leagues for the money, however, they also do not wish to blindly pay fees without specific explanation of where it goes. As Eagle Amusements started doing, a league should hand out this explanation along with league paybacks. List league costs, sanction fees, banquet costs, and any other expenses paid with league fees. This could answer the simple questions players ponder. For example; NDA sanction fees - which are paid from league money - are only collected once per calendar year. Shouldn't Winter league paybacks be noticeably higher than the Fall league paybacks since most players NDA fees have already been paid?
Consistency is the key Derive a system and use it every season. In addition, share league caps with the players so they can assemble teams accordingly. Give special attention to even schedules with 7 home matches for every team. Never budge on the rules to satisfy players threatening to quit. With consistency much of the complaining by players and bar owners will subside.
Using a pure mathematical system eliminates most of the arbitrary decisions currently made by league coordinators. What does this solve, you ask? The dissatisfied can no longer direct blame to the individual in charge. Instead, they will be forced to mount an intellectual argument about how to improve the system. The eventual finding will be that most complaints are merely emotional outbursts created by disappointment in the play of ones own team. The whiners can simply be directed to the rule sheet for the answer to their questions. Follow my advice and create a superior dart league to any that are currently available in this area. Do not park your mobile home in tornado alley and then act surprised when a twister relocates it in the next county. Try something different . . . something better . . . Superior Darts you could even say!
Darrin Barker
June 8, 2002 |