USATT Sanctioned League Vote
USATT recently sent out an email announcing that they are going to open league play to be sanctioned the same as tournaments. This means the ratings that apply to the league would affect your official USATT rating the same as a sanctioned tournament.
We have a feeling opinions on this may be divided, so we would like to get a feel for that. Please vote so we can get an idea of how the Kansas City table tennis community feels about this.
You will need to register for the site and login in order to vote.
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Not sure I understand what we’re voting on. If you are talking about having the Thursday league matches count against and change our USATT tournament rating, then I vote no.
Yes, if the league is sanctioned it would affect your official rating the same as a sanctioned tournament would. I’ve added some more info about that to the page to make that more clear.
League ratings and Tournament ratings become merged in 2016 with the changes USATT is making. I think this is a good change, as it makes Leagues mean something. I’m all for it. More ways to get a better and more accurate representation of your current rating rather than a few tournaments a year. For those of us without access to monthly tournaments like you get on the east and west coast, this is a very nice change.
Yes, I agree. I believe USATT will still allow you to run non-sanctioned leagues, so they aren’t completely merging everything, but yes, the option to run a sanctioned league is being introduced, and I think it would be a neat thing to do.
Another option might be to run two separate leagues, but we would probably need to get one of our other venues (besides Athletic Club) to do something like that.
Your feedback is much appreciated!
I think it’s bad idea to make our league sanctioned, at least half of the players do not participate in any sanctioned tournaments, including me. I am not willing to pay another $50 per year just to play in the league. I also believe that league is not a priority as far as table sharing, we all pay the same membership, so we should all get the same amount of playing time. If you are going to proceed with this anyway, at least move it to Sunday.
Thanks,
Ilya
Thanks for the feedback! The extra annual cost is definitely something to consider. I think they’re actually raising it to $75, too, so I can see how some people would not want to be forced to pay that in order to play in the league.
Are you enjoying the league overall if it remains unsanctioned?
I like the idea of adding a bit more competition to the league by making the league sanctioned. However i think there are too many downsides to doing this.
Firstly, it becomes more unwelcoming to incoming/new players. The extra fees will likely deter many new players from joining the league.
It would also add tension between club members. When you’re constantly putting your rating up for people that you play with every week to take from you, there’s bound to be some sort of confrontations.
Also I don’t believe the system will accurately represent someone’s rating. There may be an unorthodox 1900 player that i play frequently at the club who I’ve learned to play against. Just because i’ve played this player enough times and would be able to beat this player wouldn’t mean that I myself am deserving of taking their points. In tournament situations you don’t come against your playing partners very ofte.
More great feedback, thanks! I personally kind of both agree and disagree with many of your sentiments. Sort of a “right now” vision vs. a “what could we make this become” sort of vision.
On one hand, it could very well deter some current players from signing up and becoming a part of it because of the additional cost. On the other hand, if we can continue to attract players in general, and help them get better and more interested in the sport, then all of a sudden the additional cost wouldn’t be such a problem for people. It might even attract people from a broader range, too, if it was organized and run well. For example, if we can get enough donations and generate some good revenue we could even offer scholarship programs to juniors for basic training and covering their USATT costs to get started in the sport. At that point it could actually be attracting more than detracting.
As for the tension…I prefer the term “competitive atmosphere.” The fact that it means something adds the little bit of extra emotion and the drive to get better. If one is frustrated that an awkward style is giving them difficulty they will work harder to negotiate that particular obstacle. Also, once again, if we are able to grow and get new people playing or broaden our player range then you wouldn’t be playing the same people all the time. That said, we may need to restructure how groups are built so it’s more random. That’s something we can look into regardless of whether the league is sanctioned or not.
I agree with your comment about the rating, specifically about what immediate impact it might have. However, I would once again point to future potential of a wider range of players. If that sort of thing could get going with a decent range of players it may actually prove to be a more accurate assessment of your level. Many of us only play in tournaments 2 or 3 times a year. If you happen to hit a group that matches your style well (or not) that could greatly affect your rating, and then you would’t get a chance to fix it until you go to another tournament…in another year..?? Then you’re saying something like “well, I’m rated 1400 but I think I’m playing better now” instead of “I’m rated 1550”. If you’re playing a lot more often it will be current more often.
Please keep in mind these are simply my opinions, and we greatly appreciate the feedback! We won’t do anything the players at the venues don’t want us to do. If we need to find different days/times to play at our current venues, find different venues, run separate sanctioned vs. non-sanctioned leagues, or whatever it takes, we will do out best to figure it out without ruffling too many feathers.
In the final analysis, there are both pros and cons to a sanctioned vs nonsanctioned league. What is most important here is that your voice be heard and your vote be counted. You will vote on the issue in november and the results will be published immediately. Kctt leadership depends on you the membership to determine the 2016 tt league format. You can cast your vote in person on one of the 3 nights of league play in november. Voting results will be published on the web site.. Thanks in advance for your participation. Joe