Public holidays & seasonal factors

School holidays are over, with not much impact on numbers after all, except perhaps:

* The game on Monday, 11 June 2012, at Kallang, was cancelled.
* The weekend of 16-17 June 2012, both the Saturday and Sunday games at Turf City ended up 7-a-side instead of the usual 8-a-side. Father's Day on Sunday might have had an effect too.
* The game on Tuesday, 19 June 2012, at East Coast ended up as 6-a-side, instead of the usual 7-a-side.

On the other hand, we managed two games on each of Sunday, 10 June 2012, and Thursday, 14 June 2012.

International schools continue to be in vacation until September 2012, so those with children in international schools may be away in July or August 2012, but the numbers are smaller, and spread out over a longer period.

Apart from the continuation of vacations for international schools, we're into the Puasa month. I don't expect numbers to pick up until after Hari Raya Puasa on 19 August 2012 (Sunday).

Before that we have National Day next Thursday (9 August 2012). Instead of the night game at Khalsa, I will try 5 to 6 pm at Turf City. The night game at East Coast will be scheduled as usual.

Sunday (19 August 2012) is Hari Raya Puasa, so Monday is a public holiday. People might be away for the long weekend, so I won't schedule two slots on Sunday, just the single slot from 5 to 6 pm on Sunday. Instead, I will schedule an extra game at Turf City from 5 to 6 pm on Monday.

The Monday night game at Kallang will be scheduled as usual.

I overlooked that this Friday is Hari Raya Haji. I usually schedule a game on the covered big pitch from 5 to 6 pm on public holidays. I checked availability this morning. However, with all the changes at Turf City, a covered big pitch is not available for Friday.

As I'm keen to try out Kickers Bay at Indian Association, I have managed to get a big (uncovered) pitch there. I will schedule a game to see if there is sufficient interest.

We didn't have enough players for a game on Hari Raya Haji last Friday - stuck at 8 when we needed at least 12.

In fact, numbers for the weekend were so bad even the Sunday evening game at Turf City was cancelled - again stuck at 8.

Oct 28, 2012 9:21:12 GMT 8 Rajiv said:

Not even enough for a game on a small pitch. I guess too many people away or have made plans for the long weekend. Game cancelled.

Can't be entirely down to people being away though. We still managed four reserves on Saturday.

Martijn missed out on both days:

Oct 25, 2012 12:53:38 GMT 8 Martijn said:

... I am trying to play on Friday ..., but if that does not work I would like to join on Sunday

The next public holiday is Deepavali on Tuesday, 13 November 2012. I have a big covered pitch at Turf City from 5 to 6 pm.

Oct 30, 2012 20:39:02 GMT 8 Rajiv said:

....

The next public holiday is Deepavali on Tuesday, 13 November 2012. I have a big covered pitch at Turf City from 5 to 6 pm.

We had a game from 5 to 6 pm at Turf City on Deepavali. The regular Tuesday night game at Kallang was cancelled.

A lot players away or have social obligations at this time of the year, with Christmas and the new year around the corner. It has been a bit of a struggle to fill games over the past few weeks, although no game has been cancelled (apart from the consolidation of the two Thursday games).

I've not sure whether to schedule games on Christmas and New Year's Eve and Day (24, 25 and 31 December 2012 and 1 January 2013). I'll take them one at a time. I won't schedule the regular Tuesday night games at Kallang for Christmas Day and New Year's Day themselves (25 December and 1 January), but I haven't decided on whether to try a 5 to 6 pm game at Turf City (that is, treating the public holiday in the same way as a Saturday/Sunday).

With the regular games on both Sunday and Monday proving slow to fill up, I won't schedule a game on Christmas Day (Tuesday) itself.

I went back to check:

* Christmas fell on a Sunday last year - the regular Sunday game was cancelled with only 4 players down for it.
* Christmas fell on Saturday in 2010. No game was scheduled.

The game on Christmas Eve last year, which fell on a Saturday, only filled up after it was brought forward an hour, to 4 pm.

I don't think it would be sensible to schedule a night game on New Year's Eve either. We managed a game last New Year's Eve, but that was an earlier game as it was a Saturday.

As with Christmas, we haven't had a game on New Year's Day over the last 2 years:

* The game this year (on Sunday) was cancelled with no one down for it.
* No game was scheduled on 1 January 2011.

On the other hand, as both Mondays following last Christmas and New Year's Day, 26 December 2011 and 2 January 2012, were public holidays, we did have evening games at Turf City on those days. I might wait to see how the Sunday game on 30 December 2012 fills up before deciding whether to have an evening Turf City game on New Year's Day (Tuesday).

We ended up with a reserve for the game yesterday (Saturday), and today's game filled up by Friday evening.

On the other hand, we are stuck at 3 for the game tomorrow night (Christmas eve) at East Coast. I won't bother pushing ahead with a game on Christmas eve. Instead, I'll try to have a game on Christmas Day instead.

Two options:

* Have an extra game from 5 to 6 pm at Turf City (the usual suggestion for a public holiday).
* Move the Monday night game to Tuesday night. To broaden the pool of players, switch the game to Khalsa.

I checked with those who put their name down for Monday night. Most are not available on Tuesday, so there seems little point with the second option. I'll stick with an early principle:

Jan 29, 2011 10:50:57 GMT 8 Rajiv said:

....

The simple approach would be to treat public holidays in the same way as Saturdays and Sundays, and have a game from 5 to 6 pm on the big pitch at the Premier Pitch.

....

The game scheduled for Christmas Day from 5 to 6 pm at Turf City didn't go on as we were stuck on 5 players.

Even the game today (Boxing Day) at Khalsa has been cancelled, as we were stuck on 6 players.

However, the games for tomorrow at Khalsa and Saturday at Turf City are full, with reserves.

On the other hand, no one down yet for Sunday at Turf City.

Monday is New Year's Eve. I haven't bothered to schedule a game.

For New Year's Day, I'll schedule both the regular Tuesday game (9 to 10 pm at Kallang) and an extra game from 5 to 6 pm at Turf City. Whichever fill up (if any) will go on.

The schedule will be as usual from next Wednesday (2 January 2013) onwards.

4pm at Turf City is better. One can play and still make it for Christmas/New Year dinners/parties starting from 7pm.

Jan 20, 2012 11:51:33 GMT 8 Rajiv said:

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For weekends, it makes sense when the next day is a working day to have the game from 5 to 6 pm, as people are more likely to have family activity earlier in the day (Sundays). If the next day is an off day, it may make sense to bring the game forward to 4 to 5 pm as people may go out in the evenings (Saturdays).

Unfortunately, as stated in the preceding posts, the 4 to 5 pm slot has not been generally available on Saturdays.

....

The 5 to 6 pm game has been brought forward to 4 to 5 pm three times over the past year:

* Christmas eve last year (Saturday, 24 December 2011).
* The game on Sunday, 22 January 2012, before the Chinese New Year public holidays on 23 and 24 January 2012.
* The game on Sunday, 5 February 2012, to accommodate Jye.

When I used to schedule both a 4 to 5 pm and a 5 to 6 pm game on Sunday, we regularly found that far fewer could make the 4 to 5 pm slot.

However, the game on Sunday, 30 December 2012, is proving slow to fill up. Perhaps a lot of players are not working on Monday (New Year's eve), so perhaps I should treat it as a long weekend and bring the game forward to 4 to 5 pm. I'll check availability of the slot, and with the player(s) down for the game (currently only Damian) later today.

As for 1 January 2013, I will leave the extra game at Turf City as 5 to 6 pm as the next day is a working day. And subject to availability, I'll bring the regular night game at Kallang forward to 8 to 9 pm.

For the Christmas/New Year period:

* No game on Christmas eve (Monday, 24 December 2012). Usual night game at East Coast was scheduled, but cancelled due to insufficient players.
* No game on Christmas (Tuesday, 25 December 2012). An evening game was scheduled at Turf City, but cancelled due to insufficient players.
* No game on the day after Christmas (Wednesday, 26 December 2012). A night game at Khalsa was scheduled as usual, but cancelled due to insufficient players.
* There was one game on Thursday, 27 December 2012, the night game at Khalsa.
* The usual weekend evening games at Turf City, on Saturday and Sunday. Although the Sunday game was slow to fill up, in the end, there were several reserves.
* No game was scheduled on New Year's Eve.
* Although slow to start filling up, there was an extra evening game at Turf City New Year's Day (Tuesday, 1 January 2013), with several reserves.
* The usual Tuesday night game at Kallang was cancelled as there was no one down for the game.
* The Wednesday night game at Khalsa on 2 January 2013 was cancelled as we were stuck on 11 players.
* All but one of those down for Wednesday could make Thursday, 3 January 2013. With numbers consolidated for Thursday night, we had two games, one at Khalsa and one at East Coast.

More or less as expected. What was surprising was that there were no games on both Wednesdays, the working day after the public holiday. However, we had night games at Khalsa on both Thursdays, with no East Coast game at all in the week of Christmas.

Chinese New Year falls next Sunday and Monday (10 and 11 February 2013). Monday and Tuesday (11 and 12 February 2013) are public holidays. I will schedule the following games on a big covered pitch at The Grandstand (formerly Turf City) over the weekend:

* Saturday, 9 February 2013, 5 to 6 pm. 4 to 5 pm is not available.
* Sunday, 10 February 2013, 4 to 5 pm.
* Monday, 11 February 2013, 4 to 5 pm.
* Tuesday, 12 February 2013, 5 to 6 pm.

The games on Sunday and Monday have been brought forward to 4 pm so that players can still attend evening functions. The game on Tuesday is left at 5 to 6 pm as the next day is a working day.

I won't schedule the regular night game on Monday, but I will for Tuesday (as Wednesday is a working day).

I don't expect numbers to pick up until after Chap Goh Mei, the 15th day of the lunar calendar, which falls on 24 February 2013.

The game today (Sunday) was cancelled on Friday night with no names down.

With no names down for the game tomorrow (Monday), it will take a late surge for it to go on, but I'll give it until 11 am tomorrow.

We'll see how the games scheduled for Tuesday go - both the extra game and the regular game.

The Monday game was cancelled as well, but the extra game on Tuesday went ahead, filling up late on.

The regular game on Tuesday was cancelled.

There was also no game on Thursday, 14 February 2013, Valentine's Day. Although we had 10 for a game at East Coast, and a small covered pitch was available, several were not keen to switch to a 5-a-side.

Feb 23, 2012 10:46:39 GMT 8 Rajiv said:

....

Apart from public holidays, other special occasions, such as ... Valentine's Day, ..., can affect numbers and games.

....

Looking art Valentine's Day in previous years:

* 2012, a Tuesday, game scheduled at East Coast:

Feb 14, 2012 16:43:00 GMT 8 Rajiv said:

....

Down to 10 again. No 5-a-side pitch available though.

Best to cancel. Sorry about that. ....

* 2011, a Monday, no games were being scheduled on Mondays at that time.

* 2010, a Sunday:

Feb 13, 2010 12:19:18 GMT 8 Rajiv said:

With both Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day, no one has put their names down, so the game is cancelled.

In 2010, Chinese New Year fell on 14 and 15 February.

Three factors in why the Chinese New Year affects numbers, especially for the weekend games:

* Several people use the opportunity of 2 public holidays in the same week to go away for the whole week - just need to take 3 days leave, and you can go away for 9 days - Saturday to the following Sunday.
* Visiting friends and relatives continues to the following weekend.
* Chingay and Chap Goh Mei on the 15th day.
* The very wet weather, with greater incidence of the flu.

Apart from there being only 3 games last week (Saturday (9 Feb), Tuesday (12 Feb) and Wednesday (13 Feb)), the evening games on Saturday, Tuesday, and this weekend have been relatively slow to fill up. The game last Saturday (eve of the Chinese New Year) didn't fill up until after 2 pm on the day itself. We only had 3 for the Tuesday game the evening before, and again, the game only filled up after 2 pm on the day itself.

Yesterday (Saturday, 16 Feb), with not even enough players for a game on a small pitch, the game was cancelled in the late morning, before a concerted effort brought numbers up to 14, enough for a 7-a-side.

The game today (Sunday) also ended up as a 7-a-side.

Next Friday (29 March 2013) is Good Friday, a public holiday.

I usually try to schedule a 5 to 6 pm game on a big covered pitch at The Grandstand on public holidays, but no covered pitch is available from 3 to 7 pm that day due to various events.

I'll try 10 to 11 am instead.

With an extra game on Friday, I won't schedule the extra 6 to 7 pm slot on Saturday.

The game on Good Friday didn't work out.

For the rest of the weekend:

Apr 1, 2013 11:52:19 GMT 8 Rajiv said:

....

....
* 31 March 2013 - Down to 13 at 11.29 am, up to 16 by 2.07 pm.

....

The Saturday game on 30 March 2013 filled up in less than half an hour, and we had up to 8 reserves. In the end, with withdrawals and several of the reserves putting their name down for Sunday, only Jake and Kien's friend didn't get to play. Rockstar subsequently withdrew from the Sunday game.

Before Good Friday:

* The Wednesday Khalsa game was cancelled due to insufficient players.
* We only had 12 for the one game on Thursday, at Khalsa.

I might have thought it was due to a long weekend, but:

* We still had a lot of reserves for the Saturday game.
* The game the following Wednesday (3 April 2013) was also cancelled due to insufficient players.

However, we managed 2 games on Thursday, 4 April 2013 (a 7-a-side at East Coast and a 6-a-side at Khalsa), while there was no one on the waitlist for the Saturday game yesterday (6 April 2013).

Apr 7, 2013 12:26:31 GMT 8 Rajiv said:

....

In fact, when we were one player short yesterday afternoon, I just about got a replacement, despite asking around quite widely.

And for a change, the Sunday game today filled up yesterday, and remained filled up.

Those whose children are in international schools, or expats who follow their home calendar, with a few weeks of spring break, might be on holiday until mid-April. The Wednesday game at Khalsa may have suffered from a degree of consolidation in the game organised by Elvin/Jye at The Grandstand. Yesterday's game may have suffered from injuries picked up in a somewhat bruising game last week.

Several factors at play I guess. Let's see how it goes this week and next.

No public holidays in April, but two in May:

* Wednesday, 1 May 2013, Labour Day.
* Friday, 24 May 2013, Vesak Day.

For Labour Day (next Wednesday, 1 May 2013), the game will be from 5 to 6 pm at The Grandstand. I will not schedule the regular night game at Khalsa.

Apr 25, 2013 22:39:35 GMT 8 Rajiv said:

For Labour Day (next Wednesday, 1 May 2013), the game will be from 5 to 6 pm at The Grandstand. I will not schedule the regular night game at Khalsa.

Gerard has asked that I schedule the Khalsa game on Wednesday as usual. I'll do so.

With a public holiday midweek, and 2 games scheduled for Wednesday, over this week, games that are too slow to fill up will be cancelled.