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Post by Rajiv on Mar 8, 2013 23:08:33 GMT 8
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Post by Rajiv on Apr 7, 2013 21:27:10 GMT 8
The Disabled and Unavailable Lists are as follows: .... .... * Disabled List. Those who were previously on the Approved List, but have not played a regular game in the preceding 5 months. Their account will be disabled at the end of the sixth month, which means they can no longer post on the schedule board and as such, cannot put names down for a regular game. "(D)" will be placed before their display name. * Unavailable List. However, those who inform me that they have not played because they have long term illness or injury, or are away from Singapore for a prolonged period, will be listed as unavailable for up to 6 months before having their account disabled. This will be indicated by "(U)" before their display name. ..... . However: Players who are unavailable but continue to post, can remain on the Unavailable List indefinitely, as long as they continue to post on the message board. That means that their account will not be disabled at any time. On a separate note: .... The total number of players on the Approved List at the start of the month dropped back from 167 last month to 165. The highest so far: * 169, start of March 2012. * 168, start of February 2012. * 167, start of March 2013. * 166, start of February 2013. * 165, start of April 2012, and start of April 2013. Last year, there was a big dip to 158 at the start of May, and 152 at the start of June. Let's see if we can avoid that this year. The second half of the year saw numbers climb gradually back to 164 by December 2012. The total number of players on the Guest List at the start of the month dropped from 81 to 73. As the total number of games per month has increased, it is an indication that those who continue to play play more regularly. The fall is in the number of casual players. |
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Post by Rajiv on Jun 29, 2013 22:33:20 GMT 8
.... For the Monday night game at East Coast, Jamie has brought in several friends to add to numbers a couple of weeks ago when the game was struggling. Due to haze-related withdrawals, the game went ahead as a 5-a-side on a small pitch. Jamie has put 4 of them down for the coming Monday (1 July 2013). They wouldn't take up his quota of guests if they registered. Only Javier has registered. However, he informs me that the remaining three are under 21, so in any event, I would not approve their registration.For Monday's game, they fall within the post-48 hour restriction, that is, 1 guest per player. Also, there are two approved players on waitlist. However, as these guests did their part in keeping a particular game going, I am reluctant in these circumstances to turn around and prevent any of them from playing just because other players have come in and their are other approved players are on waitlist. The simple solution is actually for other approved players to "adopt" one such guest each. For example, in this case, if Javier "adopted" one, and Jamie got another regular approved player to "adopt" another, the rules would be complied with. Jason Poh and Tim Soh are two players between the age of 18 and 21 who have been playing fairly regularly as guests. I am also prepared to relax the rule so that if players between 18 and 21 play 10 or more games, I will approve their registration. Jason has played 10 times so far, Tim Soh 16. |
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Post by Rajiv on Oct 22, 2013 21:53:47 GMT 8
From the schedule thread for the game on Tuesday, 15 October 2013, at Kallang: .... Can I suggest Imran and Azmi as team selectors? I think they'll be familiar with most if not all the players. Also, they are the two players playing with the most number of games since I started keeping count in January 2009 - 195 and 230 respectively. Apart from Azmi, only Rockstar (258 games) and me (225 games) have more games than Imran. An "all-time" list? Those who played the most since inception? I'll try to do one at the start of July 2013. Last time was at the start of July 2012: . Perhaps in January 2014, to mark 5 years of records since January 2009. On a separate note: .... Excluding players on or to be moved to the Disabled or Unavailable List, The total number of players on the Approved List climbed to 170 for the first time, at the end of last month. The previous highs: | End of Month | Number on Approved List | | February 2012 | 169 | | July 2013 | 168 | | June 2013 | 168 | | January 2012 | 168 | | March 2013 | 167 | | January 2013 | 166 | | March 2013 | 165 | | March 2012 | 165 |
.... . |
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Post by Rajiv on Feb 8, 2014 9:07:44 GMT 8
The "Filling places & withdrawals" section under The GIFFA System has been expanded to state as follows: Guests who are between the age of 18 and 21 who play at least 10 times may also have their registration approved. Under the new template, registered players can hide their age. I will therefore require newly registered players to provide me with their year of birth before I approve their registration (in addition to contact number and nationality). The number of approved players (excluding those who may be moved to the disabled or unavailable lists) peaked at 177 at the end of December 2013, before dropping to 175 at the end of January 2014. I have charted the number of players on the Approved List since the end of December 2010:  The spreadsheet can be found here. It has always been the intention to have proportionally more approved players than guests. We achieved the goal of having at least twice as many approved players as guests some time ago. This has consistently been the case since the end of January 2012. With 175 players on the approved list and 68 on the guest list at the end of January 2014, the ratio of approved players to guests is 2.57 to 1, the highest ever. I suppose working towards 3 to 1 is a more realistic goal for this year, rather than reaching 200 approved players. The profile of our players is also changing: .... In the early years (2008 and 2009), players were just glad to get a game. Pitches were fewer and often fully booked, groups organizing social games were fewer, and breaking into existing groups was harder. Players have a lot more choice these days, with more pitches having opened up and better organized leagues. Also, most of the players in the early years were average, and we had several weaker players. The fact that, increasingly, our games were on a big pitch may well have attracted better players to our game. As the standard has gone up, better players have come in, and many weaker and average players have dropped out. With more games about, better players do have more choice where they play. .... .... In the first few years of doing this (starting 2008), we often had extra games on public holidays. I think players saw our games as a break from their routine, rather than as part of their routine, so they were more likely to play on public holidays. However, in the last couple of years, treating a public holiday like a Saturday or Sunday hasn't often worked out. Players increasingly see our games as part of their routine, so when they have a public holiday break, they take a break from the games as well. Perhaps it is a change in the profile of our players, with more serious players compared to more leisure players in the early years. Or perhaps it is a broader change in the way players see public holidays - as a time to get away or do something different, rather than just some extra leisure time. Perhaps a combination of both factors. ....
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Post by Rajiv on Mar 4, 2014 17:04:29 GMT 8
From above: I now have the chart and the link to spreadsheet on a separate "Information on Player Lists" thread stickied on the Player Lists Updates & Playing Records" board. This will allow the information to be updated each month in one place. I have also changed the reference to the point in time from the end of each month, to the beginning of the subsequent month. Therefore the data now starts from beginning of January 2011, which is also consistent with the period for which I have been keeping track of the total number of games each month. Also from the "Weekly schedule & number of games" thread: Also from the March 2014 thread: .... The number of players on the Guest List also climbed, from 68 to 71. And from above: .... It has always been the intention to have proportionally more approved players than guests. We achieved the goal of having at least twice as many approved players as guests some time ago. This has consistently been the case since the end of January 2012. With 175 players on the approved list and 68 on the guest list at the end of January 2014, the ratio of approved players to guests is 2.57 to 1, the highest ever. I suppose working towards 3 to 1 is a more realistic goal for this year, rather than reaching 200 approved players. .... Let's see which target is reached first.  Previously on this thread: .... ..., we will now have the following player lists: * Approved List A - Those who have played in the past 6 months, are registered, and have had their registration approved (indicated by no letters in front of their name). * Guest List - Those who have played in the past 6 months but are either not registered or have not had their registration approved yet (indicated by (G) before their name if they are registered). * Pending List - Those who have registered but have not had their registration approved as they have not played before (indicated by (P) before their name). * Approved List B - Those who have not played in the past 6 months, but have played in the past 7 to 12 months, and have not had their account disabled yet (indicated by (AB) before their name). * Disabled List - Those who have not played in the past 7 to 24 months, and have had their account disabled (indicated by (D) before their name). .... All it means is that players who don't play for 7 months or more (more in the case of players who have played or contributed more in the past) will have to go through additional steps before they can again put names down for a game: * If on the Disabled List, contact me. * If their registration is deleted, re-register. .... and .... ..., maintaining Approved List B is more work for me than it is worth. From the start of the new year, I will do away with Approved List B. The player lists will be as follows: * Approved List. Those who are registered, have their registration approved and have played at least one game in the preceding 5 months. Only those on the Approved List can post on the schedule board, which you need to do to put names down for a regular game. * Guest List. Those who are not registered, or have not had their registration approved, but have played at least one game in the preceding 5 months. They cannot post on the schedule board, so cannot put names down for a regular game, but can post elsewhere on the message board. * Disabled List. Those who were previously on the Approved List, but have not played a regular game in the preceding 5 months. Their account will be disabled at the end of the sixth month, which means they can no longer post on the schedule board and as such, cannot put names down for a regular game. "(D)" will be placed before their display name. * Unavailable List. However, those who inform me that they have not played because they have long term illness or injury, or are away from Singapore for a prolonged period, will be listed as unavailable for up to 6 months before having their account disabled. This will be indicated by "(U)" before their display name. * Pending List. Those who have registered, but have not had their registration approved, as they either have not played a game yet, are not yet 21, or it has not been established that they meet our minimum standard. This will be indicated by "(P)" before their display name. * Female Players. Indicated by "(F)" before their display name. A player whose account is disabled can only put their name down for a game through me or another player on the Approved List. After 1 or 2 games back, I may enable their account, and move them back to the Approved List. Anyone who remains on the Disabled List for 3 years will have their account deleted. They can re-register, but they will have to go through the approval process again. .... And from "The forum & modes of communication" thread: I've settled on some changes to the appearance of the message board: .... - All "Approved Players" are now indicated as such above the Profile Avatar. I've removed all other details about the post and the user. I've set a default Avatar for all users. As with your Display Name, you can change your Avatar through your Profile page.
.... .... Further, from the "Filling places & withdrawals" section of the "GIFFA System" thread: .... You have to be registered, approved and logged in to put your name down for a game on this board. The registration of players who are or will be 21 or above in the current year, have played with us before as a guest, and meet the basic standard will be approved. Anyone who is not registered, or whose registration has not yet been approved, will require an approved player (or myself) to put their name down for a game as a guest. .... Based on the above, I previously did not accept new registrants unless they also qualify as "Approved Players". Although the aim was to allow only approved players to put names down for our regular GIFFA-defined games, it also meant that new registrants could only post elsewhere on the forum as guests, which is not convenient. I have now discovered that using "groups" allows me more flexibility. I have created the following groups: - Approved Player
- Inactive Player
- Unavailable Player
- Female Player
The "Inactive Player" group replaces the "Disabled List". Only approved players have permission to post on the schedule threads for our regular GIFFA-defined games. I will remove the (D), (U), (P), (G) and (F) that I placed before the names of those on the Disabled, Unavailable, Pending, Guest and Female Lists. From now on, I will accept all registrations, subject to having or being provided with the registrant's year of birth, mobile number and nationality. Those who register but do not fall within any of the above groups will be designated as "Registered User" for now. I will put on hold all deletions of accounts. |
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Post by Rajiv on Mar 7, 2014 9:47:11 GMT 8
From "The forum & modes of communications" thread: I have revised the first post on the "Overview" thread on this, the "Overview, Announcements & Developments" board .... .... The most material changes to the "Overview" post relate to the following, from the "Player lists & playing records" thread: .... ..., I previously did not accept new registrants unless they also qualify as "Approved Players". Although the aim was to allow only approved players to put names down for our regular GIFFA-defined games, it also meant that new registrants could only post elsewhere on the forum as guests, which is not convenient. I have now discovered that using "groups" allows me more flexibility. I have created the following groups: - Approved Player
- Inactive Player
- Unavailable Player
- Female Player
The "Inactive Player" group replaces the "Disabled List". Only approved players have permission to post on the schedule threads for our regular GIFFA-defined games. .... From now on, I will accept all registrations, subject to having or being provided with the registrant's year of birth, mobile number and nationality. Those who register but do not fall within any of the above groups will be designated as "Registered User" for now. .... The passages on the "Overview" post relating to player lists and playing records is now as follows: .... .... There is a basic standard for our regular men's games. You have to be currently approved to put your name or your guests down for a GIFFA-defined game. There is more information on obtaining approval on the "Information on Player Lists" thread on the "Playing Lists Updates & Playing Records" board under this "Administration" category. Other registered users can post on all other boards on this forum. Before I accept a new registration, I require the registrants year of birth, mobile number and nationality. Upon approving the registration of a user, I will set his or her Display Name to a proper name, either the one he or she registered with or the name by which he or she was introduced. The Avatar is set to default. Registered users can change their Display Name and Avatar through their Profile page. Please do not change your Display Name more than once within any 6 month period. .... Current player lists are monitored under the "Player Lists Updates & Playing Records" board. At the end of each month, there is a listing of players by the number of games played in the preceding 6 months. .... I have renamed the "Approved Player" group as the "GIFFA Player" group. Apart from the chart of the number of approved players at the start of each month since January 2011, I have added the following to the "Information on Player Lists" post stickied on the "Player Lists Updates & Playing Records" board: Everyone in the "GIFFA Player" group can put their names down for GIFFA-defined men's games. To be added to the "GIFFA Player" group, a player needs to be registered, have his registration accepted, and fulfil the following conditions: - Be 21 years of age or above in the current year.
- Have played at least once in the current 6 month period.
- Meet our basic standard.
- Participate in accordance with GIFFA values and principles.
GIFFA players who have not played for 6 months or longer will be moved to the "Unavailable" group or the "Inactive" group. If I am informed or learn that a such a player is suffering from a prolonged or long term illness or injury, or is away from Singapore long term or for prolonged periods of time, I will move him to the "Unavailable" group. All other players who have not played for 6 months or longer will be moved to the "Inactive" group. Serious breaches or disregard of the GIFFA values and principles or of the playing rules may result in the player's registration being deleted and a permanent ban on playing in our games. The number of players on the "GIFFA Player" List (or its precursors) at the start of each month dating back to January 2011 is set out below. It excludes players moved or to be moved to the Unavailable or Inactive groups (or their precursors). .... Players who are 18 or above but under 21 in the current year will be added to the "Under-21" group. Save for anyone who is under 18 in the current year, I will accept the registration of any registrant after they provide me with their name, year of birth, mobile number and nationality. If I cannot tell a registrant's gender from his or her username, I will also request that information before accepting the registration. There is a separate "Female Player" group. Anyone other than those in the "GIFFA Player" group who has played in the current 6 month period is a "guest", regardless of whether he is registered or not. At the start of each month, I create a thread on this board stating the players who are due to be moved out of the "GIFFA Player" group. Each Friday, I post on that month's thread the names of players added to the "GIFFA Player" group and of new guests. At the end of each month, I list GIFFA Players by the number of games they have played over the preceding 6 months in that month's thread. I separately list guests by the number of games they have played over the preceding 6 months. I have also created a "Under-21" group. .... I will remove the (D), (U), (P), (G) and (F) that I placed before the names of those on the Disabled, Unavailable, Pending, Guest and Female Lists. .... I have removed all except (P). "(P)" or "Pending" meant the registrant had not been accepted yet as he had yet to play a game. Under the old system, playing at least once was a requirement before I accepted or approved a registration. As accepted users cannot now put their own names down for games unless they are also added to the "GIFFA Player" group, I have accepted all such pending registrations, even though the earliest dates back to May 2011, where the registrant has provided me with his details. That is a total of 8, the latest having registered in July 2013. I will remove the "(P)" in due course. Two of the three "(G)" players were under 21. One of the two is over 18 and has been added to the "Under-21" group. The other is under 18, so unfortunately, I have had to delete his registration. As for the remaining "(G)" player, I had doubts as to whether he met our basic standard. I have removed the "(G)" before his name and he will be just a "Registered User" for now. I am considering having a separate "Trial" or "STI" ("Subject To Improvement") group. .... I will put on hold all deletions of accounts. There were 10 other "(P)" registrants who never responded to my request for details. The earliest registered in April 2011. I have rejected the first 9 of these pending registrations, the last of which was in February 2013. As the last the 10 was in November 2013, I will leave it until April 2014 (6 months). Previously on this thread: and From the schedule thread for the game on Tuesday, 15 October 2013, at Kallang: .... An "all-time" list? Those who played the most since inception? I'll try to do one at the start of July 2013. Last time was at the start of July 2012: . Perhaps in January 2014, to mark 5 years of records since January 2009. .... I have now added a Wikipedia user page with a sortable list for number of games played over the following periods: - January 2009 to December 2013
- January 2011 to December 2013
- January 2012 to December 2013
- January 2013 to December 2013
A total of 872 players between January 2009 and December 2013. It excludes anyone who hasn't played since 2008. I suppose we can forget about players who haven't played since 2008. Not 2009 though - from the update for this week: .... Each of the weeknight games had a player returning after more than 6 months. Ber Luen, returning after 5 years, is the longest interval between games ever! .... The lists in a Word document can be downloaded here. The file is too large (1.59MBs) to attach to this post! Players with 100 games or more between January 2009 and December 2013 are listed in Annex 1 to the "Information on Player Lists" post on the "Player Lists Updates & Playing Records" board. The annex ends with: .... The following information is also available (as sortable lists): .... Also, from this first post of this month's player list thread: .... With a lot of guest players registering, a sharp climb in the number in the GIFFA Player group (excluding those dropping from the list) by the end of February 2014 to 184! .... A new high. Previously (from the post above): I am now looking at it as the start of the following month, rather than the end of the preceding month. With the use of forum groups to supplement player lists, and the consolidation and streamlining of updates, I will re-name this thread "Player groups, lists & playing records", and the "Player Lists Updates & Playing Records" board as "Player Groups, Lists, Updates & Playing Records". I have also changed the information page on that board from "Information on Player Lists" to "Information on Player Groups & Lists". |
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Post by Rajiv on Apr 3, 2014 20:28:48 GMT 8
From above, a month ago: ....
..., from this first post of this month's player list thread:
A new high. ....
And from the player thread for this month: .... With a lot more players registering in March 2014, we had 197 players in the GIFFA Player group, excluding those to be moved out. The number on the Guest List has fallen from 71 to 66. . The graph is re-produced below:  Also from above, 2 months ago: .... With 175 players on the approved list and 68 on the guest list at the end of January 2014, the ratio of approved players to guests is 2.57 to 1, the highest ever. I suppose working towards 3 to 1 is a more realistic goal for this year, rather than reaching 200 approved players. .... Looks like we'll achieve both sooner rather than later! Also from above: .... A total of 872 players between January 2009 and December 2013. .... .... .... Players with 100 games or more between January 2009 and December 2013 are listed in Annex 1 to the "Information on Player Lists" post on the "Player Lists Updates & Playing Records" board. .... .... And from the "Team selectors/captains & line ups" thread: .... The aim is to have more experienced players as team selectors. With records now going back more than 5 years, there are players who played a lot in the early years but not so much in recent years. As our games are always evolving, and new players are constantly coming in, not playing so much in recent years devalues the amount of experience a player has of our games. Therefore, from the next game onwards, instead of the total number of games dating back to January 2009, I will look at the number of games over the preceding 12 quarters, plus the current quarter - so in effect, 3 years inclusive of or plus the current quarter. .... I have replaced Annex 1 to the "Information on Player Lists" post as follows: .... Players who have played 5 or more games between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2014: Name | Number of games played | | Lynz | 182 | | Rai | 173 | | Kelvin Au | 167 | | Chen Hong | 161 | | Rockstar | 161 | | Brendan | 148 | | CH Lim | 144 | | Arijit | 141 | | Babs | 138 | | Stan D Man | 135 | | Fred | 134 | | Jeff Salleh | 132 | | Melvin Au | 131 | | Damian | 126 | | David T | 124 | | Desmond Ong | 124 | | Foo Cheong | 124 | | Dave H | 119 | | Jye | 118 | | Rainer | 118 | | Azmi | 117 | | Tim T | 117 | | Rajiv | 113 | | Justin R | 109 | | Gerard | 108 | | Derian | 107 | | Raminder | 107 | | Elvin | 106 | | Philip S | 106 | | Tan Wee | 105 | | Imran Khan | 104 | | Niel L | 101 | | Sean Luo | 101 |
.... The full list (658 players) is attached as a Word document .... .... I've only listed those with 100 games or more in the above quote. The second season of the team selector table concluded with Rai winning the prize of $50 credit. .... Winners will also get one star over the avatar for each win. So that's Lynz and Rai with one star each. .... No surprise that the two winners so far also have the most number of games over the past 3 years. As I always say, experience of our games matters! Also from above: .... A total of 872 players between January 2009 and December 2013. It excludes anyone who hasn't played since 2008. I suppose we can forget about players who haven't played since 2008. Not 2009 though - from the update for this week: .... Each of the weeknight games had a player returning after more than 6 months. Ber Luen, returning after 5 years, is the longest interval between games ever! .... .... Last month, we had another player returning for the first time since 2009 - David Guang - but after 4.5 years only.  |
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Post by Rajiv on Jul 8, 2014 10:46:48 GMT 8
At the end of June 2014, Sean and Keith join five others in having played 50 or more games over a 6 month period. The 5 are: - Babs, 58 games between February and July 2012.
- Brendan, 54 games between February and July 2012.
- Ron, 54 games between July and December 2009.
- Sean L, 53 games between January and June 2014.
- Keith, 51 games between January and June 2014.
- Chen Hong, 50 games between January and June 2012.
- Sushil, 50 games between July and December 2009.
Babs still holds the record with 58, with Brendan and Ron on 54. Amazingly, Ron only played 56 games in total! Other players to have played more than 40 games over 6 months: - Chen Hong, 48 games between December 2012 and May 2013.
- Sushil, 48 games between April and September 2009.
- Justin R, 47 games between January and July 2011.
- Neil M, 47 games between July and December 2009.
- Imran, 46 games between July and December 2009.
- Gilbert L, 44 games between April and September 2009.
- Kelvin Au, 43 games between August 2013 and January 2014.
- Lynz, 43 games between August 2011 and January 2012.
- Rockstar, 43 games between April and September 2011.
- Azmi, 43 games between July and December 2009.
- Rockstar, 42 games between December 2011 and May 2012.
- Ganesh, 42 games between April and September 2010.
- Desmond, 42 games between October 2012 and March 2013.
- Stephen C, 41 games between October 2010 and March 2011.
- Kelvin Au, 40 games between January and June 2014.
- Gerard, 40 games between July and December 2013.
- Justin R, 40 games between July and December 2010.
Where a player has exceeded 40 more than once within a 6 month period, I have taken the highest. Where a player has reached the same figure more than once within a 6 month period, I have taken the latest. The figures from April 2010 onwards are from the "Player Groups, Lists, Updates & Playing Records" board. The figures before that are from the participation records I maintained in 2009 and the first quarter of 2010. From this month's thread: The number of games played by those in the GIFFA Player group from January to June 2014 (199 players in total): | Name | Number of games played | 1 | Sean Luo | 53 | 2 | Keith Neo | 51 | 3 | Kelvin Au | 40 |
weak performance by me. I am committed to do better in the next few months to be top of the table. Kelvin, the target is 59 games over a 6 month period. Earlier on this thread: The monthly round ups on the forum started with the following posts: - and, on the threads for April 2010:
The monthly round up will from now on appear on the message board. The round up comprises of:
* A listing of those who have played the most number of games over the past six months (top 40).
* A listing by points accumulated over the past 6 months (top 40).
* Player of the month (top 10).
They will be set out as comments below. How points are awarded is set out here. The aim is to promote sportsmanship and greater participation. .... The monthly player lists was started on the board in May 2010 with the following: From this month onwards, the player lists will be posted on this board ( "Player Lists" board), which has been created for that purpose. The Participant List will include everyone who has played at least once since the start of the year, and for whom I have either a e-mail address or mobile number. I have your e-mail address once you register on the message board. Guest List A is everyone who has played at least once since the start of the year, but for whom I have neither an e-mail address or a mobile number. Guest List B is everyone who has registered as a member of the message board, but has yet to play. If anyone provides me with an e-mail address of others who are interested but have yet to play, I will add them to Guest List B. .... To everyone who wants to play, please register as a member of the message board. Those who have registered, please log in to put names down for a game on the "Schedule" board. As a registered member, you don't need to complete the security check and tick the box to agree to Proboards terms of service each time before you post. I will change the settings sometime in the second half of this year so that you have to be registered and logged in to put names down on the "Schedule" board. Registered members will continue to be able to put names down for others, including guests. From that point onwards, only registered members and invited guests will be able to play in GIFFA games. However, even after the change is made, you will not have to be a registered member to add a post on the "Reports" board. You do not have to be a registered member to start a thread or add a post on the "Queries, Suggestions, Information & Chat" board. .... I have now gone back and merged the monthly "Player Lists" and "Round Ups" for the period from May to December 2010, and renamed all the threads before January 2011 simply by the month, as has been the case since January 2011. As each month's "Player Lists" thread had more posts and more views than the "Round Ups" thread, I moved the posts from the latter to the former. Also, posts on players being added to the lists and on the monthly update were often on the preceding month's thread, before the player lists for the current month had been updated. I have moved such posts to the month to which they apply. Also from earlier on this thread: .... I have renamed the "Approved Player" group as the "GIFFA Player" group. .... I've tidied up the references in the Forum Overview thread, as well as the GIFFA System thread (under "Filling places & withdrawals", "Payments & penalties" and "The game, reports, credits, round ups & tables"). The number of current GIFFA Players hit a new high of 197 at the start of April 2014. It remained at 197 at the start of May 2014, before climbing to a new record of 199 at the start of June 2014. It has remained at 199 at the start of July 2014. It is not that the numbers have been static. It just means that the players being added have been roughly equal to the numbers dropping out of the GIFFA Players group. The chart as it currently stands: Also, from the earlier post on this thread: .... .... With 175 players on the approved list and 68 on the guest list at the end of January 2014, the ratio of approved players to guests is 2.57 to 1, the highest ever. I suppose working towards 3 to 1 is a more realistic goal for this year, rather than reaching 200 approved players. .... Looks like we'll achieve both sooner rather than later! .... We need a net increase of just 1 to get to 200. The closest we got to the 3:1 ratio was at the start of April 2014, with 66 on the Guest List and 197 in the GIFFA Players group, just one short of 198 for a 1:3 ratio. Since then, the number on the Guest List has increased to between 68 and 70. From the "GIFFA system & playing rules" thread: .... The following was moved to the first section of the "Playing Rules & Principles" thread: .... Anyone who repeatedly breaches or disregards the rules and principles may be blocked from playing for a period of time. .... More serious cases may result in an indefinite or permanent ban. An equivalent was added to the introductory section of the GIFFA System thread when it was first divided into sections in January 2014. I have now expanded on it as follows: .... Any player who repeatedly or persistently disregards the requirements of the GIFFA System, or disregards a reasonable request made by me, may be blocked from playing, for one or more games, a period of time, or indefinitely, depending on the seriousness of the non-compliance. .... On Sunday, we had a player blocked indefinitely, for repeated no shows. .... A player may be blocked for one game, a fixed period of time, an indefinite period of time, a particular venue, or a particular day of the week. I have created a "Suspended Player" group. Players blocked for a period of time or indefinitely will be moved from the GIFFA Player group to the Suspended Player group for the duration of the suspension. The player's records remain under the GIFFA Player group. From the "Latecoming, late withdrawals & no shows" thread: .... At 4.28 pm yesterday, I SMSed Fergus as follows: Fergus played 6 times from January 2014 onwards without incident. The no show yesterday has destroyed any remaining credibility he may have had. Fergus only replied at 10.40 pm yesterday, as follows: Fergus is no longer able to put his name down for games on the schedule board. However, he can still log in and post on other boards. Rainer has repeatedly put to me his view that players who are late or fail to show should not be allowed to play. .... Fergus will not be allowed to play again in our games unless and until Rainer posts on this thread that Fergus should be allowed to play again. I will provide Fergus with Rainer's contact details, so that he can make any appeal directly to Rainer. In even more serious cases, the player's account will be deleted. That has happened once, in January 2014. The player's records were moved to the Guest List.
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Post by Rajiv on Oct 10, 2014 12:39:50 GMT 8
From the players thread for this month: .... ..., the total number of players in the GIFFA Player group at the start of the month has fallen from 198 to 192, the lowest level since the start of April 2014, when numbers jumped from 184 at the start of March 2014 to 197, peaking at 199 at the start of each of June and July 2014. The total number on the Guest List has also fallen, from 68 to 62. With the big fall in the number on the Guest List, we finally have a ratio of GIFFA Players to Guest List players greater than 3:1. I would have preferred it to have been achieved by an increase in the number of GIFFA Players, but oh well.  The numbers at the start of each month since January 2014: | Jan 2014 | 177 | | Feb 2014 | 175 | | Mar 2014 | 184 | | Apr 2014 | 197 | | May 2014 | 197 | | Jun 2014 | 199 | | Jul 2014 | 199 | | Aug 2014 | 195 | | Sep 2014 | 198 | | Oct 2014 | 192 |
Good increase since January 2014, but a bit disappointing that we haven't surpassed 200, after having reached 199 in June/July 2014. Continuing from the above thread, Keith reached 56 games in the 6 months from February to July 2014. I've added a listing of those who have played 40 or more games over a 6 month period as Annex 2 to the "Information on Player Groups & Lists" thread on the "Player Groups, Lists, Updates & Playing Records" board. Sean Luo messaged me a couple of days ago to suggest that the player with the most number of games over the preceding 6 months have a cap added to his avatar (in the same way those who win the team selector/captain 6-monthly season have a star added). I've fine with that. Just need to find a suitable icon. I'll start a thread on the "Introductions, Requests & Chat" board to discuss this. |
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Post by Rajiv on Feb 14, 2015 17:51:22 GMT 8
Continuing from the post above, the number of players in the GIFFA Player group at the start of each month up to February 2015 is as follows: | Jan 2014 | 177 | | Feb 2014 | 175 | | Mar 2014 | 184 | | Apr 2014 | 197 | | May 2014 | 197 | | Jun 2014 | 199 | | Jul 2014 | 199 | | Aug 2014 | 195 | | Sep 2014 | 198 | | Oct 2014 | 192 | | Nov 2014 | 192 | | Dec 2014 | 186 | | Jan 2015 | 180 | | Feb 2015 | 191 |
After continuing to decline until the start of the year, the number has finally picked up, but: .... ... still below the peak of 199 in June/July 2014. The number on the guest list is more volatile, and isn't really an indication of anything. If numbers on the guest list go up, the possible reasons include two extremes, either: - A lot of new players wanting to join our games.
- A lot of games are short of players, so regulars have to bring in their friends to make up the numbers.
Since November 2014, I have stopped tabulating the guest list at the end of the month in the way I did before, and continue to do for the GIFFA Player group.In any event, the aim of having at least 3 times as many players on the GIFFA Player group as there are on the guest list has been consistently achieved, with the ratio at the start of this month at 191:57. I have created a spreadsheet showing the number of games played by every player who has played between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2014, a period of 6 years. The spreadsheet is viewable on Google Docs, and comprises of the following 7 sheets: - Last sheet is an alphabetical listing of every player who has played over that period, with the number of games played in each of the 24 quarters over that period. I have a column with the introducer's name, so that players with similar names can be distinguished.
- First sheet is a listing of players by the number of games played between 2012 and 2014. The number of games played in 2014, and 2013 to 2014, is also shown.
- Second sheet is a listing of players by the number of games played between 2011 and 2013. The number of games played in 2013, and 2012 to 2013 is also shown.
- Third sheet is a listing of players by the number of games played between 2010 and 2012. The number of games played in 2012, and 2011 to 2012, is also shown.
- Fourth sheet is a listing of players by the number of games played between 2009 and 2011. The number of games played in 2011, and 2010 to 2011, is also shown.
- Fifth sheet is a listing of players by the total number of games played between 2009 and 2014. The number of games players between 2009 and 2013, and 2010 and 2014, is also shown.
- Sixth sheet is a listing of players by the total number of games played in 2009 and 2010. The number of games played in each of 2009 and 2010 is also shown.
The total number of players between 2009 and 2014 is 1,034. Players playing for the first time in 2015 will be added next year. I have replaced Annex 1 to the "Information on Player Lists" post on the "Player Lists Updates & Playing Records" board with information about and from the new spreadsheet. |
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Post by Rajiv on Feb 3, 2017 16:13:25 GMT 8
Continuing from the above post, I have created a new spreadsheet, comprising of the following 6 sheets:
- Players listed by total number of games played from 2009 to 2016 (8 years).
- Number of games played from 2009 to 2016 listed by name, with breakdown by year.
- Players listed by total number of games played from 2012 to 2016 (5 years).
- Players listed by total number of games played from 2014 to 2016 (3 years).
- Players listed by number of games placed in 2016.
- Players listed by number of games played in 2015.
- Players listed by total number of games played from 2011 to 2015 (5 years).
- Players listed by total number of games played from 2013 to 2015 (3 years).
I have amended Annex 1 to the "Information on Player Lists" post on the "Player Lists Updates & Playing Records" board accordingly. From that post: .... The total number of players between 2009 and 2016 is 1,241. Further to the post above, after the number of players in the GIFFA Players group (players registered and having played in the last 6 months) peaked at 199 at the start of June and July 2014, it has fallen back to 164 or 165 at the start of December 2016, January 2017 and February 2017. There is always a significant turnover of players dropping out of and coming into the group. However, it is noteworthy that many of the players are coming back after time away. More effort is needed to inculcate new players into our system and core values. The preference for regulars over new or ad hoc players is also highlighted in the following. From above: With the number of guest players at the start of December 2016, January 2017 and February 2017 between 35 and 43, the ratio of GIFFA Players to guests in the current 6 month period is roughly 4:1. |
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Post by Rajiv on Sept 20, 2018 17:51:14 GMT 8
From the "OPSAGE, women's & all-comers' games" thread: With withdrawals, we were short for even a 5-a-side for the game at Khalsa on Thursday, 8 December 2016. Ziliang got a female friend to make up the numbers. Continuing from the post above, an All-Comers/Mixed Game remains an important objective. I spend too much time trying to stabilise the regular games, but we are getting there. .... , and from the "All-comers' game" thread on the OPSAGE board: From the September 2018 thread on the "Player Groups, Lists, Updates & Playing Records" board: Hansel has put Sophie down for the game next Thursday (13 Sep 2018). The same considerations as discussed in the posts above apply. I am prepared to consider putting up a poll for the Thursday game, after all the places are filled, whether it should be converted to an all-comers' game. .... .... All of the above gives rise to the following concerns:
- ....
- If female players are allowed into our regular GIFFA-defined games under the ordinary priority rules, then:
- Female players could put their names down for any game. As such, regular players in those other games should also have a say.
- We could have more than one female player in the game, even up to half or more, which would in any event change the ordinary dynamic of the game. Even those who voted for allowing female players under the ordinary priority rules (including the female players themselves) may find that the dynamic has changed so much that it is no longer the kind of game they signed up for, and lose interest, and drift away, which is an issue I have faced before in the past.
For the rest of September 2018, and perhaps October 2018, I will not change the ordinary rules. Instead, for each Thursday night game, I will add the link below, and allow female players to sign up on this thread. Female players can post their names on this thread, and then after 48 hours, I will move the post to the schedule thread for the Thursday night game, and add a poll for that game on that thread, as I did for the game on 13 September 2018.
Also, to give more weight to longer term regulars, for the poll above, and for each Thursday game, I may:
- Replace the poll above with one that would apply to all GIFFA-defined games.
- Limit the voting on the poll on this thread to longer term regulars, for example, those who have played at least 15 games in the current 6 month period or 50 games over the past 3 years (the figures ordinarily used to decide which players are included in the team selector poll).
No player on the Female Player group has played in a GIFFA-defined game since the group was created in March 2014. Going forward, I will include Georgina and Sophie as guests in the payment spreadsheet, so that their playing records will be included, under "Female Players". |
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Post by Rajiv on Jan 5, 2019 10:30:54 GMT 8
As set out above, to qualify for the GIFFA Player group, a player must:
- Be male.
- Be 21 years of age or above in the current year.
- Have played in one of our games at least once before.
- Meet a basic standard of play.
- Be registered on the forum.
Players in the GIFFA Player group have priority for all GIFFA-defined men's games in the first 48 hours after the schedule thread for the game is put up. Previously, anyone who was not in the GIFFA Player group could only play in a GIFFA-defined men's game as a guest. To allow female players and players under 21 greater opportunities to play, I have for some time now been trying to get all-comers' games going. However, although there has been some interest, it has been insufficient to get enough players for a game. From the All-comers' games thread on the OPSAGE board: Senthil has introduced Sanjay and Sajiv to the Sunday game at Grandstand. They are both 19 years old, and keen to play regularly on Sunday (which is often short of players). Going forward, I'll allow female players and players between 18 and 21 to be put down as guests (that is, 48 hours after the schedule thread goes up). If a game does not fill up fast enough, it makes sense to extend the game to others who are keen to play. I previously created the following additional groups: However, as no female player or U-21 player registered or or asked to play in our games between December 2012 and August 2018, these groups were abandoned. However, from the September 2018 thread on the "Player Groups, Lists, Updates & Playing Records" board: And from above: .... Before Sophie played on 6 Sep 2018 (Thursday), no player on the Female Player group has played in a GIFFA-defined game since the group was created in March 2014. Going forward, I will include Georgina and Sophie as guests in the payment spreadsheet, so that their playing records will be included, under "Female Players". The Female Player group has been re-activated, and Sophie has been added. Players on the Female Player group and the U-21 group can put their names down for the regular GIFFA-defined games after 24 hours, and for All-comers' game at any time. To be on the Female Player Group, a player must be female, 18 and above in the current year, and have played at least three times before. To be on the U-21 Group, male players must be between 18 and 21 in the current year, and have played at least three times before. To make all of the above clearer, I will rename "GIFFA-defined games" as "Primary Routine Games", and the GIFFA Player group as the PRG Group. Priority for Primary Routine Games will be as follows: - Players on the PRG Group can put their own name down and the name for one other player on the PRG Group within the first 24 hours of the schedule thread going up.
- Players on the PRG Group can put an additional name down after 24 hours and up to 48 hours of the schedule thread going up, of players on the PRG Group, Female Player Group or U-21 Group.
- After 24 hours and up to 48 hours of the schedule thread going up, players on the Female Player Group and the U-21 Group can put their own names down, and the name of one other player from any of the three groups.
- After 48 hours, names of any player who is 18 and above in the current year can be put down for the game.
- In the last 24 hours before the game, players who are 16 and above in the current year can be put down for the game.
If any name is put down for a game outside of the above priorities, I will adjust the list of names for the game to reflect the correct priorities. I have been doing so for some time already.
The PRG Group, Female Player Group and U-21 Group will collectively be referred to as the GIFFA Groups. Everyone else is a guest. For the monthly compilation of number of games played, from the start of February 2019, I will cover all GIFFA Groups. As Georgina is not registered, I will move her from the Female Player Group to the guest list.
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Post by Rajiv on Sept 1, 2019 22:27:33 GMT 8
I have been monitoring the number of GIFFA Players (registered players who have played in the preceding 6 months) at the start of each month since January 2011.  After reaching and remaining at 199 at the starts of June and July 2014, and despite a major push last year to reverse the trend, the number has steadily declined to 152 at the start of September 2019. There has been a concomitant decline in the number of games per month, from an average of 23.83 to 22.00: .... Number of GIFFA-defined games per month since January 2011: | Month | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | Average | | January | 20 | 26 | 27 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 24.00 | | February | 18 | 25 | 20 | 24 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 21 | 21.78 | | March | 23 | 21 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 27 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 24.22 | | April | 21 | 24 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 23.56 | | May | 20 | 29 | 23 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 24.89 | | June | 23 | 27 | 23 | 25 | 23 | 17 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 22.67 | | July | 24 | 27 | 23 | 24 | 18 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 23.44 | | August | 27 | 25 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 24.00 | | September | 29 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 24 | | 24.00 | | October | 28 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 26 | 26 | | 24.00 | | November | 26 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 20 | | 24.50 | | December | 25 | 24 | 19 | 24 | 25 | 17 | 19 | 23 | | 22.00 | | Total | 284 | 304 | 280 | 286 | 280 | 281 | 282 | 277 | 176 | 23.59 | | Average | 23.67 | 25.33 | 23.33 | 23.83 | 23.33 | 23.42 | 23.50 | 23.08 | 22.00 | 23.55 |
In my view, the clustering of players, and the hogging of places, in the most popular games, which I have been trying to address since at least October 2015, is a significant factor. The more established games, with a high number of regular players, have a higher degree of familiarity between the players, consistency in terms of standard of play and competitiveness of the game. It is inevitable that players are drawn to these games, which are currently the Saturday evening game at Grandstand, the Monday night game at Macpherson and the Wednesday night game at Khalsa. On the other hand: - From the "GIFFA values, principles & standards" thread:
.... We have had up to 12 on waitlist for popular games, enough for a second game. This may not include other players who did not bother to put their names down after seeing so many on waitlist. I have considered mini-tournaments (4 teams, 2 hours) or playing three teams over two hours to accommodate more players in the popular games, but the change in format has not been popular. .... For each of the three popular games, there is an equivalent game at the same venue and at about the same time on another day of the week (originally, Sunday evening at Grandstand, Tuesday night at Macpherson, and Wednesday night at Khalsa). However, despite my best efforts, including asking around extensively, these three games have been difficult to get started or sustain. It does not make sense to me, that despite having enough players for these 3 pairs of equivalent games, one of each pair fills up fast, sometimes with long waitlists even within the first 24 hours, while the other of each pair struggles to fill up, and is always, often or sometimes cancelled, even after I ask around, depriving those who commit to those games of a game. As stated above, the entire system is based on a pooling effect, and on everyone being accommodating and flexible. In giving players an opportunity to play, I seek to accommodate as many players as possible. .... .... - And from the "Keeping score & the competitive edge" thread:
.... To keep each season competitive, I aim to maintain or increase the number of games each month. Unfortunately, there has been a gradual decline in the number of games, as players are reluctant to put their names down for slow-filling games, and rush to play in the more popular games, resulting in more slow-filling games being cancelled due to insufficient numbers. While the GIFFA system is structured to be a contest between selectors/captains as to how best to deploy the players available, it has unfortunately become a "competition" for places in the more popular games.  The "competition" for places in popular games is meaningless, and in fact, counter-productive for the entire system, which is based on a "pooling" effect, and with the aim of giving everyone who wants a game the opportunity to play. .... The recent changes to the priority system, increasing the number of routine games (now 6 fixed and 3 rolling), and the use of the price per player and admin fees, can only have a limited effect. The biggest issue is the high level of players dropping out, together with a decline in the number of new players joining. Players who repeatedly lose out in the rush for limited places in the more popular games often lose interest rather than switching to less popular games. Players have also become more reluctant to introduce friends and acquaintances, perhaps believing that the players they introduce may end up competing with them for the limited places in the more popular games. Or they don't want to be responsible for their guests. In this sense, the popularity of certain games is double-edged, counter-productive even. Other than the Wednesday night game at Khalsa which is still made up largely friends of David T, Sean and Keith, the players in the other popular games (Saturday evening at Grandstand and Monday night at Macpherson) largely met, and became familiar with each other, through those games. I am not looking to capture a large base of the general public, the way Stranger Soccer is. There is some amount of risk in playing with strangers. There has always been a large element of socialisation and value shaping in our games. We need significantly more regulars to sustain our routine games. It had been an objective from early on to increase the ratio of GIFFA players to guest, to reflect that this is a community based on core values. From earlier in this thread: .... With the number of guest players at the start of December 2016, January 2017 and February 2017 between 35 and 43, the ratio of GIFFA Players to guests in the current 6 month period is roughly 4:1. The ratio is now closer to 5:1. Unfortunately, this has been achieved by the number of guests shrinking faster than the number of GIFFA players.
Regulars start off as guests. Past growth in numbers has largely been by way of word of mouth, attracting stray players looking for a particular type of game. New players have always been limited, in order to maintain the dynamics of our games, and the social dimension of our community. However, with guest numbers falling to 34 at the end of August 2019, the entire set up is shrinking. It may well be that there is a general decline in the number of people playing football in Singapore. Natural playing fields are limited, and astroturf pitches may be too expensive for many young people. School fields are often fenced off and locked when not scheduled for physical education classes, so many younger people don't grow up playing football, the way an earlier generation did. Stranger Soccer may well be picking up most or all the stray players looking for a game, which was where a lot of the early growth in numbers came from. There are also a lot of alternative activities to football now more readily available in Singapore. Nevertheless, if we do not get to 200 GIFFA Players by the end of September 2020, I may well stop organising our routine football games and focus on other types of activity instead. Unless they play regularly elsewhere, or are very fit, it is not easy for new or newer players to come into our more popular and competitive games. It also does not help if the regulars in the more popular and competitive games are not accommodating of new or newer players. If we had a large enough pool of players, I would consider a two tier system, with the more competitive games having a higher grading than the less competitive games, and limiting who can play in the more competitive games. However, we do not have a large enough pool of players For now, I am seriously minded to allow every GIFFA Player who introduces a new guest player to a slow-filling or rolling game to play that game for free. I have also generally relaxed the rules on guests. Other types of games may well be one way to expand our pool of players, such as:
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Post by Rajiv on Jun 13, 2021 14:57:19 GMT 8
With our games interrupted from end of March 2020 to September 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions, I took the time to update the season tables up to September 2019. With the further interruption since early May 2021, I have updated the season tables up to March 2020. The seasons will resume in first October or April after our games return to normal. I have also taken the time this time round to upate the player records, under the Annexes to the "Information on Player Groups & Lists" thread (which I have renamed as "Overview") on the "Player Groups, Lists, Updates & Playing Records" board (which I have renamed "Players & Playing Records"). I have also renamed this thread from "Player groups, list & playing records" to "Players & playing records". The Annexes updated or added are as follows:
.... I have updated the spreadsheet for games played by each player from 2009 to 2019 (11 years!). The updated spreadsheet is here. The total number of players between January 2009 and December 2019 is 1,541. The top 20 for 2010 to 2019 (10 years): .... Below are the top 2 players for each year: ....
- Annex 2 updated (previously only up to December 2016):
.... Players who have played 40 games or more over any 6 month period: ....
.... Of the 1,610 players who have played from January 2009 until May 2021, I have the nationality for 751 players, including 624 of the 635 registered players. The nationalities are as follows: ....
.... I have the years of birth for 744 of the 1,610 players (including 634 of the 635 registered players). However, some of the 1,610 players have played over far more years than others. Taking the average of the age in the year when a player first played and the age in the year the player last played, we have as follows: .... There are two players whose average age is 61, neither of whom is still playing. Taking the age of each player when they last played, the breakdown is as follows: .... Again, of the 3 players who last played in the year they turned 61, none are still currently playing. Of the 155 players currently in the PRG group (registered players who have played within the last 6 accounting periods), I do not have the year of birth for one. The breakdown for the other 154 is as follows: ....
.... I have created listings of how each player came to join our games, which I refer to as "introducers". The listings are here, as follows:
- Sheet 1: Listing of players introduced by each introducer.
- Sheet 2: Listing by each introducer of players who have played at least 10 games since 2009.
- Sheet 3: Listing of each introducer of players who have played at least 10 games since 2015.
- Sheet 4: Listing of introducers by number of players introduced since 2015. Those who have introduced at least 3 players are listed below. 2 players have 2 co-introducers.
....
Some highlights:
- Sean Luo (583 games, 167 between 2010 and 2014, 218 between 2015 and 2019) was only 1 game behind Raj Singh (584 games, 241 between 2010 and 2014, 281 between 2015 and 2019). For now I have excluded 2020 because of disruptions caused by Covid-19. I will find a way to include 2020 and 2021 later. I have also excluded 2009 so as to make 10 years from 2010 to 2019, divisible into two 5 year periods (2010 to 1014 and 2015 to 2019).
- Nazriee, with 55 games between August 2018 and January 2019, and Gerard, with 53 games between May 2017 and October 2017, join the list of players who have manages 50 or more games over a 6 month period. Sean makes the list twice.
- We have had 44 different nationalities play.
As the accounting period for October 2020 was extended to December 2020, I used the same period for the player record update, renaming it "October to December 2020". I followed suit for the next two accounting periods, January and February 2021 and March and April 2021.
Other modifications:
- From the January and February 2021 playing records thread:
From the Covid-19 Restrictions thread: .... Since the start of the year, I have been counting each 4-a-side game, or 5-a-side played under modified rules, as a half game in the number of games played in each accounting period. .... As we have reached 23 games for this accounting period, I will close it today, and start a new one tomorrow (1 Mar 2021). .... - From the March and April 2021 playing records thread:
From the payment thread for the current accounting period: We had 12 games in March 2021. I will extend the accounting period into April 2021, so this thread continues. I have amended the thread subject accordingly. The same applies to this thread.
- And from the May 2021 playing records thread:
With our games currently on hiatus due to Covid-19 restrictions, the current threads for both payment records and playing records will continue until the end of a month where we reach 20 odd games. |
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The "competition" for places in popular games is meaningless, and in fact, counter-productive for the entire system, which is based on a "pooling" effect, and with the aim of giving everyone who wants a game the opportunity to play.