Get Hooked

Get Hooked...for what's happening next, go to Upcoming Events
Go to our Web site at Big Fish Tennis

Thursday, December 20, 2012

What's new? Well, I'm glad you asked...

Big Fish Tennis has been West Georgia's own league since it was created back in early 2010.  Not so, anymore!  We're branching out to nearby Cobb County, GA.  This doesn't affect our fish in West Georgia, though.  The two ponds will be separate and will not require fish from West Georgia to travel to Cobb (or vise versa).  Here is a list of great things to look forward to in 2013...
 Barracuda League Tennis
The old Big Fish Jr. League has been re-named!  It is still the same great opportunity for kids to enjoy this game, but just under a new name.  This will be the place for kids 16 and under (16U).  There is a Guppy League in the works for kids that are 10U and lacking in tennis experience (and don't fit onto the 0-80 tencap rating scale).  However, this may not be something that gets rolled out this year. 

Point System
We've tested this and feel that this is a very fair system for handing out points.  The winner of a match that has been played will receive 9 points.  The other player (loser sounds a little harsh), will receive 3 points for a 2 set loss and 5 points for a 3 set loss.  There are no more Big Fish Bonus Points.  Alright!! (I may have just high fived myself out of excitement about this one).  This makes me especially happy as the system didn't do this auto-magically, so I had to go through and look at the individual match results for all matches and see how many bonus points were earned.  The thought behind them was good, but see ya later, Big Fish Bonus Points! :)  Default wins are worth 6 points and are -2 points to the defaulter. 

Defaults/Substitutes
As is the problem with flex leagues, we've struggled with some players accepting defaults due to becoming busy, injured, uninterested or whatever.  This seems like a good solution to the defaulting player as they are giving their opponent a win, right?  Not right.  Defaults are evil and need to be avoided at all costs.  When we put down our hard earned money to play, we want to play.  Accepting a default leaves an empty feeling inside, because it wasn't earned.  So, here's what's new on this front: 

Defaulting players will be required to line up a substitute to play in their place if they are unavailable to play a match.  This keeps it easy for the available player in that they don't have to find their own match.  If the defaulting player finds a sub, they will not be charged a default and will maintain good standing with the league.  If a player defaults or neglects to find a sub for their opponent, it will count against them in them in terms of their standing with the league.  If a sub is not found, the player can find their own sub to play the match.  This fixes the problem of  (1) not getting to play tennis (what we all want) and (2) it also provides a way to get those extra points that can sometimes be the difference between making the playoffs and being all done.

Three Strikes Policy
This is not baseball or bowling (although it pretty well describes my bowling game).  These are issues of discipline for players.  I'm not in this to be a disciplinarian, but in order to keep the league fun for everyone, it is my job to make sure that we are all swimming in a direction toward the goal of everyone enjoying the social, competitive and game-improving benefits of recreational tennis.  Those that are not swimming toward that goal are at risk of accumulating those dreaded strikes.  Strikes would be earned for excessive defaults (more than 1 is excessive as the substitute policy makes it easy to provide your opponent a player), not making contact with your opponent and making the scheduling process difficult, on court craziness (tantrums and such), making bad line calls and generally just being a pain to deal with. ;)  This may not seem like a good move when I am trying to grow the league, but we're trying to stock our ponds with all the right fish to make this league enjoyable for everyone.  If we take a hit on numbers, but the enjoyment level of our players goes up, then we'll be just fine. 

The Logo!
Not much to say, here.  I'm sure you've noticed the logo, already.  Nice, huh?  I'm only interested in opinions that match mine on this one ;).   

Registration/Payment Process
This one is very exciting...to me, and makes things a bit easier for you.  Instead of registering in 2 separate steps, it is all tied together.  You will pay your entry fee with a credit card as a part of the registration process.  No more "Buy Now" buttons that are sometimes hard to find.  This will also make it easier in that I won't have to track down money, anymore.  If a person is on the registration list, it is because they've paid their fee and are all set to play!

Entry Fee
Here's the downside of the greatness of the previous item.  This method of doing online payments was more expensive, so I had to pass that along rather than eating it.  However, $18 is still the best price you will find for a flex league (that I know of, anyway).  My goal is to provide opportunity for the tennis community to come together that isn't cost prohibitive.  The entry fee for early registration is $18 and late registration (all registrations that occur during the last week of registration) are $24.  The idea here is to encourage early sign up (not punish the procrastinators).  We procrastinators have  enough stuff to deal with without someone trying to stick it to us for another $6.  Sign up early, but the late registration period is there as a safety net for those that need it. 

Metro Atlanta...& Beyond!
Big Fish Tennis will begin reaching out to other cities around the southeast early in 2013.  I think Big Fish is the best tennis league ever, and why would I keep this from others.  That is just a little mean, right?  It is cheaper than most leagues.  I hesitate to say of its kind because I believe that Big Fish Tennis is more than just a tennis league.  I know my experience with this has brought me into contact with many very cool people in my community that share my interest of tennis...while also allowing me an outlet to get my competitive juices going on the court!  Plus, the social network feel of the site is like having Facebook for tennis players.  I've even heard it referred to as Fishbook (which I think is awesome!).  So, I think this league can be a great blessing to tennis players in other areas (hopefully many other areas) as well.

Thanks!

Eric


No comments:

Post a Comment