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Post by Rajiv on Jan 15, 2014 7:31:42 GMT 8
Brendan contacted me a couple of weeks ago to say that Elvin was giving up the Monday night slot on a big pitch at The Grandstand, and asked whether I could bring the game under GIFFA. As this is an existing game, with several players who play in our games at The Grandstand at the weekends, I'm ok with adding it to the GIFFA Schedule. The GIFFA System and the GIFFA Playing Rules & Principles will apply. As there is hardly any overlap between the players who play at The Grandstand and those who play at East Coast, it should not affect the Monday night game at East Coast. The two games will have separate schedule threads. I will start on 6 January 2014, after The Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand re-opens after refurbishment. With two games on Monday night, I hope that those who are keen on the Monday night game at The Grandstand will make an effort to get enough players. If both games are slow to fill up, my focus will remain on the East Coast game, as it is currently the only game at East Coast each week. .... I put up threads for 6 and 13 January 2014. We had only 2 players for 6 January 2014, so it was cancelled. The East Coast game went ahead as usual on 6 January 2014. For 13 January 2014, we got to 5. As I couldn't fill the East Coast game for 13 January 2014, I tried to fill The Grandstand game instead, but with withdrawals, we were stuck on 5, so The Grandstand game was cancelled as well. For next Monday (20 January 2014), Brendan has asked for the pitch at The Grandstand, so I'll transfer the booking to him and I won't schedule a game there next Monday. I don't see the Monday night game at The Grandstand taking off until well after Chinese New Year (31 January and 1 February 2014). I will nevertheless schedule the game every week at least until the end of February 2014, unless one of the regulars asks for the pitch from me before the schedule thread goes up on the Wednesday morning. Until this game takes off, I will not have the usual restrictions on putting names down for others. This has been stated in both threads so far, and in future threads. |
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Post by Rajiv on Jan 25, 2014 15:46:07 GMT 8
Games in December 2013: * 30 November to 5 December 2013: Basic 6 games. * 7 to 12 December 2013: 5 games, with the Thursday game cancelled. * 14 to 19 December 2013: 4 games, with the Monday game cancelled and the Wednedsay game affected by the weather. * 21 to 26 December 2013: 3 games, with the Sunday game (at Rainforest Sports Hub) cancelled, attempts at having games on Christmas eve (Tuesday) and Christmas Day (Wednesday) unsuccessful, so games only on Saturday, Monday and Thursday. * 28 December 2013 to 2 January 2014: 2 games, with the Sunday game (again at Rainforest Sports Hub) cancelled, game on Monday cancelled, no game scheduled for New Year's eve (Tuesday), and both games scheduled for New Year's Day (Wednesday) cancelled, so games only on Saturday and Thursday. With games affected by Christmas and New Year, only 19 games in December 2013. Games per month since January 2011: | Month | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | | January | 20 | 26 | 27 | | February | 18 | 25 | 20 | | March | 23 | 21 | 26 | | April | 21 | 24 | 25 | | May | 20 | 29 | 23 | | June | 23 | 27 | 23 | | July | 24 | 27 | 23 | | August | 27 | 25 | 21 | | September | 29 | 25 | 25 | | October | 28 | 24 | 24 | | November | 26 | 27 | 24 | | December | 25 | 24 | 19 |
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Post by Rajiv on Feb 5, 2014 9:20:20 GMT 8
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Post by Rajiv on Mar 2, 2014 9:47:54 GMT 8
Games in February 2014: Commencing with October 2012, I have been summarizing the number of games per week on a monthly on this thread. Before that, from February/March 2012, it was on the "Days, times & locations" thread". Commencing with July 2013, I have been referring to the weekly round up for the number of games per week. As we haven't had a regular Friday game up to now, the GIFFA week runs from Saturday to Thursday, as shown in each weekly and monthly summary. Up to 2009, under the old FIOFAFI blog, the weeknight games were dealt with separately from the weekend games. Also, under the "Scheduling & numbers" section of the "GIFFA System" thread, it is stated that: .... Our regular sessions are as follows: - Saturdays, 4.50 to 6.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand.
- Sundays, 4.50 to 6.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand.
- Mondays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Sports Planet @ East Coast.
- Tuesdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, The Cage @ Kallang.
- Wednesdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Balestier Road.
- Thursdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Balestier Road.
.... Although I went back to listing the games from Saturday to Thursday by October 2012, the listing was not included in the GIFFA System thread until much later, sometime in 2013. Even if we do finally get round to having a regular Friday game, I will add it at the end of the week, rather than switching back to a Monday to Sunday week. As weeks don't usually fall squarely within a month, when I do the monthly round up based on the weekly round up, there is usually an overrun or truncation at the the beginning or end of the period covered. Rather than continue with doing a monthly round up on this thread, from this month onwards, I will just provide a summary of each week in the weekly round up post in the weekly round up thread for each half year on the "Weekly Round Up & Team Selectors Table" board. It will also save me some amount of work at the beginning of each month. In July 2012, I looked at the number of games per month dating back to January 2011. From December 2012 onward, I kept track of the number of games per month on this thread, often comparing the number with the equivalent month in 2011 and 2012. In July 2013, I put the information in a table, which I have been updating and repeating every month up to last month (updated to include January 2014). Rather than repeat the table every month on this thread, I have created an annex to the "Overview" thread, setting out the table, to be updated each month. The table is useful in showing how the number of games per month fluctuates between months and years. From "The forum & modes of communication" thread: .... From the two threads relating to venues/pitches: .... 7 links have been added to the "Scheduling & numbers" section of the GIFFA System" thread, including the following 4 relating to venues:
It strikes me as unnecessary to have so many announcements and discussion threads relating to venues, so I will merge them into 2: - "Venues & team sizes" (45 posts and 1,268 page views) and "Pitches @ The Grandstand" (119 posts and 2,893 page views), to be renamed "Venues/pitches & team sizes" covering the various venues/pitches that are available nationwide, and the maximum and minimum number of players for each pitch.
- "Pitches @ Balestier Road" (68 posts and 3,722 page views) and "Sports Planet @ East Coast" (92 posts and 2,227 page views), to be renamed "Our regular venues & pitches" to cover all other issues relating to the venues/pitches we regularly play at (Premier Pitch @ Balestier Road, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand, The Cage @ Kallang and Sports Planet @ East Coast), including the condition of the pitch, the state of the netting/fencing/padding surrounding the pitch, how weather conditions affect the game (including weather the pitch is covered or not), making bookings, getting there and parking and facilities at the venue or in the vicinity, including shower facilities and food and drink.
Although the three threads relating to specific locations cover both areas, the "Pitches @ The Grandstand" tends to deal more with availability and team sizes, while the other two tend to deal more with other issues, so it makes sense to merge them in this way. In any event, the first post of each thread is being changed to read as follows: As the post views of the thread that is moved is lost, in each case, I will move the thread with fewer page views. .... Both thread mergers are done. .... .... There are three other announcements & developments threads listed under the "Scheduling & numbers" section of the GIFFA System thread - this one, "Days, times & locations" and "Public holidays etcetera": - This thread covers the scheduling method, the current regular games, a record of the number of games per week or month, and past and current trends.
- "Days, times & locations" looks at preferences in terms of days, times and venues, new or extra games, and the future.
- "Public holidays etcetera" looks at how public holidays, school holidays and other seasonal factors affects numbers.
I will keep the three threads separate. However, I will re-name this thread "Weekly schedule & number of games" to be more focused on what it covers. I will also re-name the "Scheduling & numbers" section of the "GIFFA System" thread as "Weekly schedule & venues". |
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Post by Rajiv on Mar 19, 2014 14:45:00 GMT 8
From "The forum & modes of communication" thread: .... I have changed the settings for the "Post-Game Reports & Comments" board so that threads remain listed by the date they were created rather than the date of the last post. This should make the report thread for any particular game easier to find. If it works out okay, I will change the settings for the schedule thread in the same way, and for the same reason. I implemented the same for the schedule board yesterday (Wednesday). Previously, schedule threads were only archived according to the date of the game as I locked the thread once the game was over. While the thread was "live", each new reply brought the thread to the top of the board. Now, like the report board, threads remain listed according to the date on which they were created, even when new replies are posted. It applies to all schedule threads from yesterday's game onwards. I have also added colour-coded labels to the subject for each schedule thread from yesterday's game onwards. The label appears at the start of the subject, and the colours are:
- The Grandstand - Red
- Balestier Road - Green
- East Coast - Blue
- Kallang - Purple
If you click on a label on the listing of threads on the schedule board, only games at that venue will be listed. I have changed the subject format to "[Day of week], [Date], [Session start time], [Venue] @ [Area]". Previously, the last part was [Area] ([Venue]). The day of week is the first 3 letters of the day. The date is in D Mmm YYYY format. As ProBoards v5 allows more letters in a subject, I have, since the move to v5 in January 2014, expanded the abbreviated venue names. Our regular venue names are now as follows: - Prem Pitch (C) - Premier Pitch's covered pitch at The Grandstand.
- Premier Pitch - Premier Pitch at Balestier Road.
- Sports Planet - At East Coast.
- The Cage - In Kallang.
The area is the colour-coded label repeated in ordinary text.
The WhatsApp group chat has a shorter subject. From "The forum & modes of communication" thread.
.... .... ... it reads "[Day of week][Date] @ [Area]". As the number of characters in the subject is limited, I will abbreviate the day of the week to the first three letters. The date is a basic D/M in numbers. For area, I drop "The" and "Road". The subject for report threads captures different information: I've been using the following format for the subject of each report thread - "[Day] [Part Of The Day] [Payment Cycle Number] - [Date]" "Day" is the day of the week expressed in full. The "Part Of The Day" is "Afternoon", "Evening" or "Night". We don't have morning games. The date is expressed as "XX Abc YYYY", with "XX" as the day of the month (one or two digits) "Abc" the month in full or abbreviated to three letters if necessary, and "YYYY" the year. .... We currently don't have afternoon games either. I have been adding the following to the schedule threads for games at Balestier Road since early February 2014: .... I will also start referring to our regular venue at Balestier Road as "The Premier Pitch @ Balestier Road" instead of "The Premier Pitch @ Khalsa"). .... And the following since around mid February 2014: .... ... I will resume adding 10 minutes before the game, .... .... As it has been sufficiently publicised, and remains clear from "The GIFFA System" thread, I will drop both from schedule threads for games from April 2014 onwards. The additional 10 minutes is reflected in the subject, and in the details table within the first post, of each schedule thread. As I am now putting 4.50 pm or 8.50 pm as the start time of each regular session (instead of 5 to 6 pm or 9 to 10 pm), I am leaving out the end time from the subject, to reduce the number of characters. The amount of space for the subject is limited (although slightly more under ProBoards v5 compared to v4). |
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Post by Rajiv on Mar 29, 2014 8:05:37 GMT 8
From above: .... I have also added colour-coded labels to the subject for each schedule thread from yesterday's game onwards. The label appears at the start of the subject, and the colours are:
- The Grandstand - Red
- Balestier Road - Green
- East Coast - Blue
- Kallang - Purple
If you click on a label on the listing of threads on the schedule board, only games at that venue will be listed. .... From the schedule thread for the game on 1 April 2014 (Tuesday at Kallang) onwards, I have added the following labels: - WD-N / WE-E / WE-N / PH-E - Part of the week/day, as follows: Weekday ("WD", Monday to Friday), weekend ("WE", Saturday or Sunday) or public holiday ("PE"), and evening ("-E", 4 to 8 pm) or night ("-N", 8 to midnight). So far, we've only had games between 4 to 7 pm (currently only 5 to 6 pm) and 8 and 10 pm (currently only 9 to 10 pm). The label for evening games are in red. Anyway, I see Sunday night in the same way as I do weekday night games. If a regular night game is scheduled on a weekday that is also a public holiday, I will use "WD-N", not "PH-E". If we ever get round to having morning games, I will create new labels.
- Saturday / Sunday / Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday - Day of the week. Saturday and Sunday are in red. So far, we haven't had a game on Friday other than a public holiday.
As I am now using red for evening games and for Saturday and Sunday, I have changed the colour for The Grandstand to brown. To shorten the labels, I have dropped "The" before "Grandstand", as well as "Road" after "Balestier". As the labels appear in alphabetical order, I have added (a) for labels for part of the week/day, (b) for days of the week, and (c) for area/location, so that they appear in that order. By clicking on a label, the threads on the schedule board can be listed by that value. Unfortunately, I am informed that you can't see the labels if your device's browser is on "mobile view". You need to have it on "desktop view" to see the labels. Also from the post above: .... I have changed the subject format to "[Day of week], [Date], [Session start time], [Venue] @ [Area]". Previously, the last part was [Area] ([Venue]). The day of week is the first 3 letters of the day. The date is in D Mmm YYYY format. The session start time includes the 10 minutes before the start of the game. As ProBoards v5 allows more letters in a subject, I have, since the move to v5 in January 2014, expanded the abbreviated venue names. Our regular venue names are now as follows: - Prem Pitch (C) - Premier Pitch's covered pitch at The Grandstand.
- Premier Pitch - Premier Pitch at Balestier Road.
- Sports Planet - At East Coast.
- The Cage - In Kallang.
.... So as not to duplicate information in the subject, the subject for each schedule thread will be [Date], [Session start time], [Venue]. As area/location is no longer included, to avoid confusion between the Premier Pitch at Balestier Road and the Premier Pitch at The Grandstand, I will use the following names: - Premier Pitch (Khalsa) - Premier Pitch @ Balestier Road (on the premises of Singapore Khalsa Association).
- Premier Pitch (C) (GS) - The covered pitch at the Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand
The information is in any event spelt out in the table within each schedule thread. With effect from the game on 1 April 2014 onwards, I have also made the contents of the table bold, and tidied up the contents of each schedule thread, as follows:
I have changed the description of the Schedule board from: to: |
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Post by Rajiv on Jul 5, 2014 8:46:54 GMT 8
Continuing from above, the amount of space taken by labels in the title to each thread on the schedule board is large, so if a player inadvertently clicks on one of the labels instead of the thread subject, he will get to a listing of threads by that label, instead of into the thread itself. The player can click on the thread subject he wants in the listing of threads by the label to get into the thread, but that is an extra step, and it might take him a while to figure out what happened. If he keeps clicking on a label, he will keep getting a listing by the label. To reduce the risk of players accidentally clicking on a label when they actually want to get into a thread, I will reduce the length of the labels. Days of the week will be by the first three letters (that is "Sat", "Sun", "Mon", "Tue", "Wed" and Thu") and the venue/location will be reduced to two letters, as follows: - GS: The Grandstand
- BR: Balestier Road
- EC: East Coast
- KG: Kallang
Also, from "The forum & modes of communication" thread: .... ... from the "Weekly schedule & number of games" thread: .... Unfortunately, I am informed that you can't see the labels if your device's browser is on "mobile view". You need to have it on "desktop view" to see the labels. .... Which resulted in: .... Rajiv, can u kindly add (back) the day notation to the game listing as well? He didn't know to switch to desktop view, or found it too troublesome to switch. I have made a request for labels to be viewable on mobile view. It is being processed. In the meantime, I will add ([Day]) after the date in the subject for both schedule and predictions & report threads. Also, the use of a name or initials in brackets to distinguish the Premier Pitch venue at Balestier Road from that at The Grandstand is cumbersome. For consistency and simplicity, I will stick to the following for the subject of threads on both board: - Premier Pitch @ Khalsa
- Premier Pitch (C) @ G'stand
- Sports Planet @ East Coast
- The Cage @ Kallang
I have backdated this to 1 April 2014 on both boards.
....
No update on labels being viewable on mobile view, so no change. |
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Post by Rajiv on Nov 2, 2014 7:04:45 GMT 8
From the "Days, times & locations" thread: From the "Regular venues & pitches" thread: .... The next game at The Cage @ Kallang starts a new payment cycle. I am now very reluctant to incur the cost of a new payment cycle when numbers have been so bad over the past four weeks, especially when I have paid for bookings at Sports Planet @ East Coast and SBSA @ Kallang which I have not been able to use. I have a balance of 2 bookings at Sports Planet @ East Coast, for which they are refusing to give a refund, despite the issues over the conditions there ..., and 4 bookings at SBSA @ Kallang, which have already been paid for. I have put up a schedule post for a Friday night game at SBSA @ Kallang for three weeks now ( 3 October 2014, 10 October 2014 and 17 October 2014), but trying to fill up regular games is taking up too much of my time, and I haven't had the time to try to fill up a new game. As I have pointed out before, new games need a lot more effort to get going. In the circumstances, I have no choice but to switch the Tuesday night games to first SBSA @ Kallang, and then to Sports Planet @ East Coast, until all the bookings that have already been paid for are utilised. Only then will I move the game back to The Cage @ Kallang. From the schedule thread for the game on Tuesday, 28 October 2014: .... ..., SBSA @ Kallang have changed their operating hours, and now close at 9 pm. I'll switch the game back to The Cage for this week, and re-look the Tuesday game from next week onwards. .... .... ..., over the years, several players have told me they find 9 to 10 pm too late. In the end, it is a matter of personal preference, but I don't see much harm in having one weeknight game from 8 to 9 pm, so that players have greater choice. So the Tuesday night game at the SBSA @ Kallang will be from 8 to 9 pm. I scheduled this Tuesday's game from 8 to 9 pm at SBSA @ Kallang, but at least five regulars at The Cage want to stick with the game there, and there were concerns about the earlier timing as well. I guess there is no point trying to build the game at SBSA @ Kallang out of The Cage regulars, so for this week, I will switch the game to The Cage, and from next week onwards, I will schedule two games on Tuesday separately. As such: - We will have a 7-a-side game scheduled every night from Monday to Thursday.
- One of those will be from 8 to 9 pm, the Tuesday night game at SBSA @ Kallang.
- The Tuesday night game at The Cage will be unaffected.
As the Tuesday night game at SBSA @ Kallang is now an extra game, I won't try to start an extra game on Friday nights as well. I have scheduled a slot on Friday nights at SBSA @ Kallang from 3 October 2014 until 31 October 2014, but hadn't made any effort to get it going. Therefore, for November and December 2014, the weekly schedule will be as follows: - Saturdays, 4.50 to 6.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand.
- Sundays, 4.50 to 6.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand.
- Mondays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Offside @ HYFA.
- Tuesdays, 7.50 to 9.00 pm, SBSA @ Kallang.
- Tuesdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, The Cage @ Kallang.
- Wednesdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Khalsa.
- Thursdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Khalsa.
The Monday night game has been moved from East Coast to Macpherson since 11 August 2014. After getting off to a good start, it has struggled in recent weeks, with 3 of the last 4 games cancelled. Hopefully, it is just a blimp. From the "Filling places & choices" thread: There was a good game on Monday, 20 October 2014, but the game last week (27 October 2014) was cancelled again, stuck on 11, and a couple of players not keen on 6-a-side even if we got one more. On a separate note, the information in each schedule thread has been modified as follows since the start of September 2014, and is now as follows: The address with a link to a location map was added on 1 September 2014. The general location for the Premier Pitch @ Khalsa was earlier changed from "Balestier Road" to "Serangoon" and the label from "BR" to "SR". The pitch type was added on 1 October 2014. Since 27 September 2014, I have been adding a notice for the Saturday games, which now reads as follows: |
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Post by Rajiv on Feb 26, 2015 22:44:44 GMT 8
From the "Filling places & choices" thread: Other than the 5-a-side game on Tuesday at The Cage and the 7-a-side game on Thursday at Khalsa, since the start of the year, our other games (which are all 7 or 8-a-side on bigger pitch) having been filling up within a day or two of the schedule thread going up (5 days before the game). However, with withdrawals, there are often places available the day before or on the day of the game, especially for the Wednesday game at Khalsa and Saturday game at The Grandstand, which have taken turns to be the most popular game for some time now. Currently, the Monday game at Macpherson and the Sunday game at The Grandstand are filling up as fast. Although the Thursday game is slower to fill up, it doesn't suffer as much from withdrawals, so we are often left with players on waitlist for that game. Only the Tuesday game at The Cage remains a struggle to fill up. .... The Tuesday night game at The Cage has continued to be difficult to fill. We only managed to get 10 for the game on 3 February 2015 after a player who ordinarily doesn't play in our 5-a-side games came in later on and brought 2 others after his regular Tuesday night training session for his 11-a-side team was cancelled. The game on 10 February 2015 went ahead fairly smoothly, but the game on 17 February 2015 was switched to a 7-a-side at the SBSA @ Kallang, and the game this week (24 February 2015) was cancelled, stuck on 3 players. On the other hand, other than the two Khalsa games last week being cancelled due to Chinese New Year ( Wednesday, 18 February 2015 being the eve, and Thursday, 19 February 2015 being the first day of the Chinese New Year), all our other games have been filling up fast or with several players on waitlist. Since the Monday game (previously at The Cage @ Kallang) and the Tuesday game (previously at Sports Planet @ East Coast) were switched round in October/November 2012, there have been occasions when Tuesday game at The Cage has filled up well, but mainly it has struggled. It is frustrating that despite all my efforts, it is the only longstanding game that does not regularly fill up on the forum without requiring a lot of asking around on my part. It is clear that most of our regulars prefer playing 7 or 8-a-side on a bigger pitch, and there are many regulars who are not interested in playing 5-a-side on a small pitch. And from the "Days, times & locations" thread: .... On 16 January 2015, we also had our first ever game on a Friday ( excluding public holidays). It was a 5-a-side at The Cage @ Kallang, a standard 9 to 10 pm game. .... The week from 10 to 16 January 2015 was also the first time we had games on every day of the week. For some time now, we have had a standard 6 games scheduled a week. Usually, all 6 go on, but occasionally, a game or two are cancelled due to shortfall in numbers or the weather. .... For now, I will continue to schedule a Friday night 5-a-side game at The Cage @ Kallang. However, the games that fill up fast and have several players on waitlist are the 7-a-side games. .... .... (other than Friday). For March 2015, I will switch the Tuesday game to SBSA @ Kallang, from 9 to 10 pm. There is an issue of whether we should play 6 or 7-a-side there, but it is still a bigger pitch than the The Cage @ Kallang. The game at The Cage will be on Friday. On a separate note, as went on to say in the above post from the "Days, times & locations" thread, the only convenient/available additional slot (in terms of day, time and location) for a 7-a-side game is Sunday night, 8 to 9 pm, at Khalsa. We previously had three games at that slot in April/May 2014 (see giffas.proboards.com/board/10/post-game-reports-comments?filters[]=label_id:eq:23), although one went ahead 6-a-side and another was reduced to a 5-a-side due to lack of numbers. I continued to schedule an additional game on Sunday nights until August 2014 (see giffas.proboards.com/board/11/schedule-system-playing-rules?filters[]=label_id:eq:14), but we didn't get another game due to lack of numbers. I resumed scheduling a Sunday night slot at Khalsa in February 2015. We haven't managed a game yet. As there was no response, and 22 February 2015 was a long weekend for the Chinese New Year, I did not schedule a Sunday night game at Khalsa on 15 and 22 February 2015, nor have I scheduled one for 1 March 2015. I will resume scheduling a Sunday night game at Khalsa, 8 to 9 pm, on 8 March 2015. We'll see how it goes. |
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Post by Ian D on Mar 5, 2015 9:11:23 GMT 8
Rajiv, the Cage regulars were discussing the other day and the consensus was that it would be difficult for most to play on Friday nights. As far as possible, the preference is to keep to Tuesday which has been worked into our routines.
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Post by Rajiv on Apr 2, 2015 19:23:46 GMT 8
With reference to Ian's post above, this has been discussed further on the "Filling places & choices" thread and on the "Days, times & locations" thread. From the latter thread: .... I will stick with the following for April 2015: - The game on Tuesday will be at SBSA @ Kallang, 9 to 10 pm, 6-a-side.
- The game on Friday will be at The Cage @ Kallang, 9 to 10 pm, 5-a-side.
Despite requests from several regulars to move the Tuesday night game back to The Cage, I am reluctant to do so for the following reasons, several of which have been addressed previously on this thread or on the "Filling places & choices" thread: - Not enough of our players are willing to play 5-a-side on a regular basis. Some may not be willing even to play 6-a-side, but of those not willing to play 5-a-side, some might play 6-a-side.
- Over the years, one of the main reasons given to me by players for not wanting to play at The Cage is that with each pitch enclosed by walls, it is too stuffy (even with the industrial fans). This is not an issue at SBSA @ Kallang.
- I have tried for 4 and a half years to make a game at The Cage in the early part of the week self-sustaining, even to some extent at the expense of other games, but it never regularly filled up on its own.
- The Cage management requires me to cancel by Sunday night if the Tuesday game is not going ahead, and The Cage game in the early part of the week (whether on Monday or Tuesday) hardly ever filled up or even reached the minimum number by the weekend, with even regulars waiting to see what the work week will be like before committing. Therefore, I bore the risk of waiting until Tuesday to see if the places filled up. With the possibility or even the likelihood of withdrawals on Monday or Tuesday itself, the risk was even greater. I was often left scrambling on Monday and Tuesday asking around for the second or even third time. I am no longer willing to take on that risk, and that extra burden.
We have now had two regular Friday night games, the first on 16 January 2015 at The Cage, and the second on the second on 27 March 2015 at Khalsa, 5-a-side (as a pitch was not available at The Cage). I have also been scheduling a Friday night game fairly regularly since February 2015 (see url=http://giffas.proboards.com/board/11/schedule-system-playing-rules?filters[]=label_id:eq:43). I will continue to do so in April 2015, at The Cage. We can finally have a game for each day of the week, which has been an objective since at least June 2010. On a separate note, from above: .... I resumed scheduling a Sunday night slot at Khalsa in February 2015. We haven't managed a game yet. As there was no response, and 22 February 2015 was a long weekend for the Chinese New Year, I did not schedule a Sunday night game at Khalsa on 15 and 22 February 2015, nor have I scheduled one for 1 March 2015. I will resume scheduling a Sunday night game at Khalsa, 8 to 9 pm, on 8 March 2015. We'll see how it goes. I tried on Sunday, 8 March 2015, but again, there were no names down, so the game was cancelled. We then had the one week school holidays from 14 to 22 March 2015 (inclusive of both weekends) when players might be away, and then the Easter period, when again, many players are away, so I didn't schedule the game. In particular, the Saturday and Sunday games have not been filling up fast, and we even went ahead 7-a-side the last Sunday (29 March 2015). For April 2015, I will be focusing on stabilising the Tuesday and Friday games, so I will not try the additional Sunday game before May 2015. I have modified the "Weekly schedule & venues" section of the GIFFA System thread as follows: .... Our regular men's games are currently at the following venues/pitches: - Uncovered pitch at Offside @ HYFA (MacPherson) (7-a-side, 6-a-side if short of players). Usually $10 per player. 8 Mattar Road.
- Uncovered pitch at Premier Pitch @ Singapore Khalsa Association (Serangoon) (7-a-side, 6-a-side if short of players). Usually $10 per player. 2 Tessensohn Road or access from 49 Balestier Road.
- Covered pitch at Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand (Bukit Timah) (8-a-side, 7-a-side if short of players). Usually $12 per player. 200 Turf Club Road, Plot 9.
- Covered pitch at SBSA @ Kallang (6-a-side, 5-a-side if short of players). Usually $10 per player. Kallang Fields (SBSA), 31 Stadium Crescent
- Covered pitch (usually Pitch 4) at The Cage @ Kallang (5-a-side, 4-a-side if short of players). Usually $10 per player. 38 Jalan Benaan Kapal.
The above links are to location maps. Our regular sessions are as follows: - Saturdays, 4.50 to 6.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand.
- Sundays, 4.50 to 6.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand.
- Mondays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Offside @ HYFA.
- Tuesdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, SBSA @ Kallang.
- Wednesdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Khalsa.
- Thursdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Khalsa.
- Fridays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, The Cage @ Kallang.
.... On another note, since the schedule thread for the game on Saturday, 21 February 2015, I have been including in the first post the following quote from the "Payments, credits, penalties & usage" thread: .... With effect from 21 February 2015 (after Chinese New Year), when I provide the payment information for a game, if a player owes for more than one previous game, I will give the player a choice, pay an additional $1 admin fee or be moved down to the bottom of the list of players. If there are players on waitlist who do not owe for more than one previous game, then the player may be moved to waitlist. .... With effect from the game on Wednesday, 1 April 2015, I have re-organised the general information in the first post of each schedule thread as follows: The format for the game information for each game remains unchanged. |
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Post by Rajiv on Nov 29, 2016 9:49:29 GMT 8
From the "GIFFA-defined & other men's games" thread: .... On the other hand, the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand has been struggling, with several games cancelled in recent weeks, including the game yesterday. In fact, we've only had one Sunday game over the past 7 weeks ( since 9 October 2016). In order to breathe life into the Sunday game, I am prepared to use it for a "team match". .... .... After the team match on a small pitch at The Grandstand last Sunday (27 November 2016), the Sunday game on a big pitch at The Grandstand resumes this Saturday (4 December 2016). Continuing from the post above, the Tuesday game was switched to a small pitch at The Grandstand from April 2015 onwards as the pitch at SBSA @ Kallang was no longer available. As Offside ceased operating the pitches at HYFA from September 2015 onwards, I now refer to the venue as "HYFA @ Macpherson". As set out under "Weekly schedule & venues" section of the GIFFA System thread, our regular sessions are as follows: - Saturdays, 4.50 to 6.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand.
- Sundays, 4.50 to 6.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand.
- Mondays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, HYFA @ Macpherson.
- Tuesdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Grandstand (small pitch).
- Wednesdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Khalsa.
- Thursdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Khalsa.
The section goes on to state: From the "Filling places & choices" thread: .... Apart from the Sunday night game at Grandstand not filling up, the Saturday game at Grandstand has been relatively slow to fill up for a few weeks now. Further, for several weeks now, the weeknight games have been filling up better than the weekend games. The Sunday night game at Khalsa is intended to provide more places for those who play the weeknight games. I will continue to schedule the Sunday night game at Khalsa until the end of November 2016. .... The Sunday evening game at Grandstand will resume from 13 November 2016 onward, at the usual time slot, 5 to 6 pm. .... Even though the Sunday game at Khalsa has not taken off, I'll continue to schedule it as an extra game until the end of the year. However, to make it more akin to a weekend game, I will schedule it from 9 to 10 pm, and see if that works better. |
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Post by Rajiv on Oct 29, 2017 10:52:17 GMT 8
With effect from June 2017, the Sunday game at Grandstand has been moved from 5 to 6 pm, to 4 to 5 pm. The GIFFA System thread has been updated as follows: Weekly schedule & venuesOur regular sessions are as follows: - Saturdays, 4.50 to 6.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand (covered big pitch), 200 Turf Club Road, Plot 9 - maximum 16 (8-a-side) or minimum 14 (7-a-side) at $12 per player.
- Sundays, 3.50 to 5.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand (covered big pitch), 200 Turf Club Road, Plot 9 - maximum 16 (8-a-side) or minimum 14 (7-a-side) at $12 per player.
- Mondays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, HYFA @ Macpherson (uncovered big pitch), 8 Mattar Road - maximum 14 (7-a-side) or minimum 12 (6-a-side) at $11 per player
- Tuesdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Grandstand (covered small pitch), 200 Turf Club Road, Plot 9 - - maximum 10 (5-a-side) or minimum 8 (4-a-side) at $11 per player
- Wednesdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Khalsa (uncovered big pitch), 2 Tessensohn Road or access from 49 Balestier Road - maximum 14 (7-a-side) or minimum 12 (6-a-side) at $10 per player.
- Thursdays, 8.50 to 10.00 pm, Premier Pitch @ Khalsa (uncovered big pitch), 2 Tessensohn Road or access from 49 Balestier Road - - maximum 14 (7-a-side) or minimum 12 (7-a-side) at $9 per player.
The above links are to location maps.
There may be changes to the schedule from time to time. Extra games will be scheduled as and when necessary.
.... . It appears to be reasonably stable now. I will look at putting it back to $10 per player after Chinese New Year next year. The following have been decided by polls: Other than the Sunday game, all our games have been filling up on the forum. I still need to ask around for the Sunday game (on Friday or Saturday), but I am usually able to fill it up with regulars (who would rather have me ask around than put their own names down!). We even have players on waitlist for most games, although with withdrawals closer to the game, everyone usually gets to play, other than the Monday night game, where several players are often left on waitlist. I have been looking at an additional game for some time now. As both weekend games are at the Grandstand, I have tried Sunday night at Khalsa at various times over the past few years, but this game has not taken off. As we do not have a game on Friday night, I have also considered a Friday night game, as I get asked about a Friday night game from time to time. Further, games on a big pitch are more popular than games on a 5-a-side pitch, and as we only have a 5-a-side game on Tuesdays, I have considered an additional game on a big pitch on Tuesday nights. Also, based on the current popularity of the big pitch at Macpherson for the Monday night game, it would appear to be a popular pitch. In any event, we only have one game on that pitch each week. Based on current availability, I will schedule the following additional games in November 2017: - 8 to 9 pm on a big pitch at Macpherson on Fridays. If that is too early, the alternative for Friday nights is 9 to 10 pm at Khalsa.
- 10 to 11 pm on a big pitch at Macpherson on Tuesday. Currently, there is no alternative.
On a separate note, the current management at Premier Pitch @ Grandstand are more interested in cultivating new customers than keeping existing customers happy. They have twice in recent months made our regular Tuesday night slot on the covered pitch available to other customers, forcing us onto the uncovered pitch - on 12 September 2017 and again on 10 October 2017. I am now informed that the same applies to two further dates in November and December 2017 - 14 November 2017 and 12 December 2017. Again, we are forced onto the uncovered pitch. It looks like some other customer wants the covered pitch once a month on a Tuesday night (including 9 to 10 pm), so we have to make do with the uncovered pitch.
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Post by Rajiv on Jan 17, 2018 9:07:10 GMT 8
From the "Filling places & choices" thread: .... Other than the Tuesday night game on a small pitch at Grandstand, the games have been filling up well since the start of the year, with several players left on waitlist for games on Saturday, Sunday and Thursday. I will try extra games this week:
- Friday, 19 Jan 2018, 8 to 9 pm, at Macpherson.
- Sunday, 21 Jan 2018, 6 to 7 pm, at Khalsa.
I have scheduled the above games for 19 Jan 2018 and 21 Jan 2018. As they are new games, they will require a lot of asking around to fill places. On the other hand, the Monday night game at Macpherson has been an issue for some time. Although it usually fills up fast when the schedule thread is put up on Wednesday, often with several players on waitlist, there are often many withdrawals after the WhatsApp group chat is create on Sunday, leaving us scrambling for players on the Monday itself. Previously, on the "GIFFA system & playing rules" thread: The GIFFA System currently provides as follows (under the "Filling places & withdrawals" section): The above was introduced in December 2016. The reason for the above, as set out on "The price of fast-filling game" thread on the "Stand-Alone Polls board, was that fast filling games often suffer from a lot of withdrawals in the last 24 hours. Players "choping" places had been an issue for some time before that. However, until recently, "choping" places has not been an issue this year, and the rule has so for not been applied. Until September 2017, we have not had so many players on waitlist for the more popular games, and the less popular games have been filling up better on the forum itself. However, in October 2017, the problem arose again for the Monday night game at Macpherson, as follows: - For the game on 9 October 2017, we got to 8 on waitlist. With 5 withdrawals (3 after the WhatsApp group chat was created), we were left with 3 on waitlist.
- For the game on 16 October 2017, we got to 7 on waitlist. With 5 withdrawals (4 after the team selector poll was created), we were left with 2 on waitlist.
- For the game on 23 October 2017, we got to 10 on waitlist. With 3 withdrawals after the WhatsApp group chat was created, we were left with 7 on waitlist.
- For the game on 30 October 2017, we got to 8 on waitlist, but with 10(!!!) withdrawals (8 on the day of the game itself, including 5 from the waitlist), we were left with only 12.
The game on 30 October 2017 was compounded by rain after 8 pm. 2 players did not want to go ahead in wet conditions. If we had had the full complement of 14 players, we could have still gone ahead 6-a-side, as the rest of the players were keen or willing. In September 2017 (and on several occasions before that), we had 4 players on waitlist for the Monday game on a few occasions, but with withdrawals, we were rarely left with more than a couple of players on waitlist. The situation in October 2017, as described above, was significantly worse. Therefore, from this month onwards, I will implement the rule strictly (especially since I am also creating additional games to accommodate more players). I will modify it slightly, as follows, to give players a bit of leeway: I have modified the section on the GIFFA System thread accordingly. .... Since November 2017, the situation for the Monday night game has become even more volatile: - 6 November 2017, 10 players on waitlist, but 9 withdrawals leave us with only 1 player on waitlist.
- 13 November 2017, 5 players on waitlist, but 8 withdrawals leaves us with a 5-a-side even after 2 additional players coming in.
- 20 November 2017, 1 player on waitlist, but 4 withdrawals requires us to get replacements, and we end up with 1 player on waitlist in the end.
- 27 November 2017, 1 player on waitlist, but 4 withdrawals leaves us with 6-a-side even with 1 additional player, until we get 2 more late on to make 7-a-side.
- 4 December 2017, rare occasion when we have 14 and only 14, and no withdrawals.
- 11 December 2017, stuck on 12, and even with additional players coming in, withdrawals leave us stuck on 12 until late on.
- 18 December 2017, stuck on 4, so game cancelled.
- 25 December 2017, no night game on Christmas Day.
- 1 January 2018, no night game on New Year's Day.
- 8 January 2018, just about get to 14, and need a replacement for a withdrawal to keep it at 7-a-side.
- 15 January 2018, 4 players on waitlist, but 9 withdrawals leave us with 9 on the day itself, even with my asking around extensively, and the game is cancelled late on.
The high volatility for the Monday night game at Macpherson is unacceptable. Too many players are either just putting their names down to "chope" places, or putting their names down without sufficient commitment to play. I cannot be cancelling games at Macpherson on the day itself, with the management there repeatedly reminding me that I am required to give at least 2 days' notice for cancellations, and that I will have to pay for the pitch if I cancel late.
We need more players who are committed to play, and can do without players who just want to reserve a place until they decide what they really want to do on a Monday night (after the weekend), including perhaps playing in some other game that is not confirmed until Monday itself.
In the above circumstances, I will not schedule a Monday night game at Macpherson until March 2018, after Chap Go Mei which is on 2 March 2018. Until then, the alternative games are: - Friday nights at Macpherson (9 to 10 pm).
- Sunday nights at Khalsa (6 to 7 pm).
- Tuesday nights at Khalsa (10 to 11 pm).
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Post by Rajiv on Nov 16, 2018 11:00:12 GMT 8
Continuing from the thread above, the Monday night game at Macpherson has been filling up well since July 2018, regularly reaching 5 or more players on waitlist within a day or two of the schedule thread being put up. Although with withdrawals, the waitlist dwindles, we have not been left short of players. I have been considering having a second weeknight game at Macpherson. The only day where a pitch is available at our regular weeknight time slot of 9 to 10 pm is Tuesday. Further, Tuesday night is the only weeknight where we don't have a 7-a-side game. The Tuesday night game at Grandstand had been switched from a 5-a-side on a covered pitch to a 6-a-side on an uncovered pitch from July 2018 onwards, but it has this month been switched back to a 5-a-side on the covered pitch. There were 10 players on waitlist for the game next Monday (19 November 2018) within a day of the schedule thread going up on Wednesday (14 November 2018). I will additionally schedule a Tuesday night game at Macpherson for the rest of this month (20 and 27 November 2018) to see if there is sufficient interest. Since several of those who play Monday night at Macpherson also play Wednesday or Thursday night at Khalsa, I will delay the schedule threads for the Wednesday and Thursday night games by a day for the rest of this month, to give time for the additional Tuesday night game to sink in. |
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Post by Rajiv on Jun 26, 2019 21:25:51 GMT 8
From the "Filling places & choices" thread: .... For April and May 2019: - Those who remain available for the games on Tuesday night at Macpherson and Thursday night at Khalsa will have priority in the first 24 hours after the schedule thread goes up for the next games on Monday night at Macpherson and Wednesday night at Khalsa.
- Those who remain available for the Sunday evening game at Grandstand will have priority in the first 24 hours after the schedule thread goes up for the next games on Saturday evening at Grandstand Tuesday night at Grandstand.
- Those who remain available or the game on Tuesday night at Macpherson will have priority in the first 24 hours after the schedule thread goes up for the next game on Tuesday night at Grandstand. Players can put their names down for both Tuesday night game, indicating their preference against their name.
And from the "Days, times & locations" thread: .... Numbers for Monday night at Macpherson and and Wednesday night at Khalsa have eased up, and the Thursday night game at Khalsa and the Sunday evening game at Grandstand are still slow to fill up. With Ramadan starting earlier this month, and school holidays in June 2019 (families being away), I don't expect numbers to pick up, so I will stop scheduling the Tuesday night game at Macpherson until July 2019. I will resume the extra game at Macpherson on Tuesday nights. I will also start implementing the additional $1 admin fee for withdrawals from the most popular games after the selector poll is put up from July 2019 onwards. |
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Post by Rajiv on Aug 28, 2019 8:27:04 GMT 8
After some recent variations and changes in the venues for our PRG games, the weekly schedule has settled back into the following: - Saturdays, 4.50 pm to 6.00 pm, 8-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Grandstand (big covered pitch).
- Sundays, 3.50 pm to 5.00 pm, 8-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Grandstand (big covered pitch).
- Sundays, 4.50 pm to 6.00 pm, 7-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Khalsa, (7-a-side uncovered pitch).
- Mondays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 7-a-side, at HYFA @ Macpherson (7-a-side uncovred pitch).
- Tuesdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 6-a-side, at Rainforest @ Grandstand (6-a-side uncovered pitch).
- Wednesdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 7-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Khalsa, (7-a-side uncovered pitch).
- Thursdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 7-a-side, at HYFA @ Macpherson (7-a-side uncovered pitch).
- Fridays, 8.50 pm to 10 pm, 5-a-side at The Cage @ Kallang (5-a-side indoor pitch).
The Thursday night game at Macpherson replaces the longer standing Thursday night game at Khalsa, which was struggling to keep going, and the Tuesday night at Macpherson introduced this year, which was struggling to get going at all. I understand that the Macpherson pitch is better than the Khalsa (not having played at Macpherson myself), and the Monday night game at Macpherson has longer waitlists than the Wednesday night game at Khalsa, and as several of the regulars play twice a week, hopefully, enough of them start to see the benefits of a better spread between a Monday/Thursday split over a Monday/Wednesday split.
The Friday night game at Kallang is new, and is just to have a regular Friday game. Friday was the only day of the week we did not have a game scheduled, and I had been considering introducing a regular Friday night game for the longest time. If no names are put down, I roll over over the thread for the following week, if within the same calendar month. This method of rolling over has made it easier to schedule a Friday night game every week, and to test the level of interest.
The Sunday evening game at Grandstand was reinstated this month after an appeal by Elvin. I have retained the Sunday evening game at Khalsa as a fallback. However, for this weekend, we have the following:
To create more places for Saturday, I will move the Sunday evening game at Khalsa to Saturday evening. If the places are not at least quarter full by Friday morning, I will roll the game back to Sunday evening, using the same thread.
Next Tuesday (3 Sep 2019), the Rainforest pitch is closed for refurbishment. The game will be switched to the Arena @ Woodleigh Park, where we have played once before. The pitch is suitable for 6-a-side. As the pitch at Woodleigh Park is available on Friday nights, and our regulars don't like The Cage, I will switch the Friday night game to the Arena @ Woodleigh Park in September 2019. If the places are not at least quarter full within 72 hours of the thread going up on Sunday morning, I will roll over the game to Saturday night, so that I can then test out Saturday nights as well. As Monday night at Macpherson is currently the most popular game, with up to 12 on waitlist within 24 hours of the schedule thread gong up, and Tuesday night at Grandstand is the only regular game which has less than 14 places. To create more places, I will also have a rolling game on Monday/Tuesday night at Braddell (as the pitch is generally available). To incentivise PRG players giving the new, newer or less popular games a go:
- For the most popular games which have players on waitlist within 24 hours of the schedule thread going up ("fast-filling games", currently, Monday night at Macpherson, Wednesday night at Khalsa and Saturday evening at Grandstand), after priority for selectors/captains from, and the PRG players who provide first reports for each team for, the previous week's game, priority is given to those who commit to play in a slow-filling game in the 7 days up to the day on which the schedule thread for the fast-filling game goes up. A slow-filling game is one that does not fill up within 72 hours of the schedule thread for that game being put up.
Rolling games will create more places for everyone. Also, having a second game on the same day and at the same time as the most popular games will give those who can only play on a particular day and at a particular time a better chance to get a game. There is no second game for Wednesday nights as the regulars for the weekend games at Grandstand have their own 8-a-side game at the Grandstand on Wednesday nights.
Also, from the "Social dimension, and fun" thread:
.... .... Players becoming familiar with other players across venues and days benefits the entire system. Players may be more willing to play whenever they are available (rather than sticking rigidly to one venue or time) and that enhances the pooling effect. .... Players who are flexible, and willing to play at several venues, on different days, will always benefit. .... To further try to fill slow-filling games, and encourage new or newer players to join our games, with effect from the game on Saturday, 31 August 2019, the guest rules will be relaxed as follows: ....
Therefore, from September 2019 onwards, the routine games will be as follows:
- Saturdays, 4.50 pm to 6.00 pm, 8-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Grandstand (big covered pitch).
- Sundays, 3.50 pm to 5.00 pm, 8-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Grandstand (big covered pitch).
- Mondays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 7-a-side, at HYFA @ Macpherson (7-a-side uncovred pitch).
- Tuesdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 6-a-side, at Rainforest @ Grandstand (6-a-side uncovered pitch).
- Wednesdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 7-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Khalsa, (7-a-side uncovered pitch).
- Thursdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 7-a-side, at HYFA @ Macpherson (7-a-side uncovered pitch).
Additionally, there will be the following rolling games:
- Saturdays, 4.50 pm to 6.00 pm, 7-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Khalsa, (7-a-side uncovered pitch), rolling over to Sundays, same time, same venue, if the Saturday game does not look likely to go ahead.
- Mondays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 6-a-side, at the Arena @ Woodleigh Park (smallish 7-a-side uncovered pitch), rolling over to Tuesdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, if the Monday game does not look likely to go ahead.
- Fridays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 6-a-side, at the Arena @ Woodleigh Park (smallish 7-a-side uncovered pitch), rolling over to Saturdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, if the Friday game does not look likely to go ahead.
Each rolling game, covering two consecutive days, is one game. If the first day's game goes ahead, there will be no game on the second day. If a rolling game is slow-filling, players who commit to either day's game will have priority in the 7 days commencing with the day of the game(s) to which they commit.
If no names are put down for either of the two days, the same schedule thread will be rolled over to the following week, provided the first of the two days is within the same calendar month.
With the 3 rolling games in addition to the 6 fixed games, we will now have 9 routine games scheduled each week. From "The social dimension, and fun" thread: At least as far as the regular schedule is concerned, this is now for the first time literally true. Let's see if we can make it true in terms of actual games that take place (for which we may need to double our pool of players), and more metaphorically, in terms of what our games provide for our regulars. |
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Post by Rajiv on Sept 29, 2019 11:48:26 GMT 8
Following from the post above, I've tried out the new schedule for fixed games for a month now, and it seems to be working better. The Monday / Thursday split for the two weeknight games at Macpherson, and the return of some old names, has seen us have the Thursday night game at Macpherson on 22 Aug 2019, 12, 19 and 26 September 2019. The 7-a-side pitch was not available on 29 Aug 2019, and we did not get enough players only for 5 Sep 2019. The longstanding Saturday evening game at Grandstand has occasionally being switched to a challenge match (as it has on 7 and 14 Sep 2019, and now again on 5 Oct 2019), thus giving the regulars more choice as to how the particular game is run. As such, the rolling game on Saturday evening at Khalsa has not rolled over to Sunday evening, either because there was no fixed game on the Saturday (due to the regular Grandstand on Saturday being converted to a challenge match), or the fixed game on Sunday evening at Grandstand being slow filling. Going forward (starting next Saturday, 5 October 2019), I will fix the Saturday evening game at Khalsa. Now that the Thursday night game is at Macpherson instead of Khalsa, we do not have a second game at Khalsa each week (the only game at Khalsa being Wednesday night). As both longstanding weekend games are at Grandstand, it has been a longstanding goal to have a weekend game more to the east than Grandstand, again to give players more choice. The Wednesday / Saturday split for the Khalsa game should work better than the Wednesday / Thursday option we had before, which meant we had a completely different crowd for the Thursday game as compared to the Wednesday game. With the Wednesday / Saturday split, hopefully, some of the Wednesday regulars will play on Saturday (as some did in the Saturday evening game at Grandstand on 21 Sep 2019). I also hope to get some of the regulars at the former Thursday night game at Khalsa, who have fallen away earlier as we struggled to sustain the game, or after I switched the Thursday night game to Macpherson, will come back and give the Saturday evening game at Khalsa a try, thus adding to the numbers. There is currently no fixed game on Friday nights. The Friday night rolling game (rolling to Saturday night), has been scheduled as a 6-a-side on a smallish 7-a-side pitch at the Arena @ Woodleigh. I was reminded a couple of weeks that there are two such pitches side by side, but there is no netting between the two pitches, so when the ball is out of play in one game on the side where the other pitch is, there is a risk of it running onto the other pitch, which is annoying. As there will now be two fixed games on Saturday, we do not need an additional rolling game on Saturday, so I will fix the Friday night game. The 6-a-side pitches at Stadio @ Balestier are better, and generally available on Friday nights from 9 to 10 pm, so I will move the Friday night game there instead. However, the pitch is $20 more per hour, so the price per player will have to be $2 more ($12). I would have preferred the Friday night game to be on a 6-a-side pitch at Rainforest, so that those who play on the 6-a-side pitch at Rainforest on Tuesday nights have the choice of playing Friday nights as well, and the Tuesday / Friday split should work well (like the Monday / Thursday split for Macpherson, and the Wednesday / Saturday split for Khalsa), but the pitch is generally not available on Friday nights. Anyway, I hope that those who play on Wednesday nights at Khalsa, or those who used to play Thursday nights at Khalsa might give a Friday night game in the same area a chance, if they cannot make a Saturday evening game at Khalsa. A Friday night game at Balestier is also an option for a second weeknight game for those who play Monday nights at Macpherson or Tuesday night at Rainforest. Therefore, from next month (October 2019) onwards, we will have 8 fixed games a week, as follows: - Saturdays, 4.50 pm to 6.00 pm, 8-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Grandstand (big covered pitch), which may from time to time be converted to a challenge match.
- Saturdays, 4.50 pm to 6.00 pm, 7-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Khalsa (uncovered).
- Sundays, 3.50 pm to 5.00 pm, 8-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Grandstand (big covered pitch).
- Mondays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 7-a-side, at HYFA @ Macpherson (7-a-side uncovred pitch).
- Tuesdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 6-a-side, at Rainforest @ Grandstand (6-a-side uncovered pitch).
- Wednesdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 7-a-side, at Premier Pitch @ Khalsa, (7-a-side uncovered pitch).
- Thursdays, 8.50 pm to 10.00 pm, 7-a-side, at HYFA @ Macpherson (7-a-side uncovered pitch).
- Fridays, 8.50 pm to 10 pm, 6-a-side at Stadio @ Balestier (6-a-side uncovered pitch).
Apart from having two games already available for Saturdays, if any game fills up within 24 hours of the schedule thread for that game being put up, I will fix a rolling game on the same day at the same time at Arena @ Woodleigh Park, so those who just want to play regardless of the circumstances can put their names down. If the rolling game is slow-filling, those who put their names down will get the usual priority in the 7 days after the date on which the rolling game is scheduled. I will only create one thread each week for a rolling game, and move the thread through the week as necessary. As our weekly schedule runs Saturday to Friday, I'll start looking at rolling games for games scheduled next week (the week commencing 5 October 2019). |
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Post by Rajiv on Mar 4, 2020 10:32:03 GMT 8
Despite COVID-19 and the Thursday night game at HYFA being cancelled on 20 and 27 Feb 2020, we had 28 games in February 2020, a record for the month of February. Since I first started keeping tabs of number of games per month (from January 2011), the record is 29, in September 2011 and May 2012. The last time we reached 28 games a month was in March 2015. Over the last three years, we have struggled to get to 26 or 27 games a month, with the number 25 or lower most months, and even falling below 20 four of times. February has traditionally been a month with fewer games. The average for February before this year was 21.78, one of only two months for which the average was below 22, the other being December with an average of 21.67. After last month, the average for February has shot up to 22.40. |
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