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Post by Rajiv on Mar 9, 2013 8:53:06 GMT 8
.... From next month onwards, I will schedule two slots on Saturday, the first from 5 to 6 pm, and the second from 6 to 7 pm. As was the case when we used to have two slots on Sunday (one from 4 to 5 pm, and the other from 5 to 6 pm), I will use one thread for both slots. This is how it will work: * If there are enough players for two games, the first game will be limited to a 7-a-side on the big covered pitch. The first 14 will be in the first game (5 to 6 pm). * The second game (from 6 to 7 pm) will also be on the big covered pitch. This is for players outside the first 14. The minimum number is 12 (6-a-side). The maximum number will be 16 (8-a-side). The aim is to get 14 (7-a-side). Players outside the first 14 who cannot make 6 to 7 pm should indicate as such against their name. * If there are not enough players for two games, then the first 16 will go into the 5 to 6 pm slot, and it will be converted to an 8-a-side. * Although one of the aims of prepayment was to fix the payment so that it would not vary with the number of players, this was based on the difference between the minimum and maximum number of players for the game being two. However, as we will now have a range of 12 to 16 (difference of 4) for a game on Saturday, the price will have to vary with the number of players - $13 for 8-a-side, $14 for 7-a-side, and $15 for 6-a-side. Therefore, there will be 2 games if we have 26 to 30 players. Players from the first game will be allowed to make up numbers for the second game, up to 14. However, priority in the second game will be given to players not playing in the first game. If we have less than 26, only the first 16 get to play in the single game from 5 to 6 pm. We've tried it two Saturdays now, 2 March 2013 and 9 March 2013. On both occasions, we didn't have enough for a second game from 6 to 7 pm, so the 5 to 6 pm game has gone on or will go ahead with 16 players at $13 per player. .... .... creating a later additional slot has its ... difficulties, including: * Persuading players to switch from the very popular 5 to 6 pm slot to an unknown new slot. * Trying to get enough players for an additional slot later on Saturday evening, when many players will be planning a Saturday night out. .... More generally, players may have other commitments later on a Saturday evening. Further: .... Too many players injured or away, but I think a second slot from 6 to 7 pm is viable in the longer term. I'll try again every week. .... However, once everyone is back, we should have more than enough players for two games on Saturday evening, provided that enough players can be flexible. How quickly the equivalent Sunday game (5 to 6 pm at The Grandstand) fills up will also be a factor in how much effort I make to get the second game going on Saturday. If by Friday evening, we are still significantly short of players for the second game, and the number of places left for the Sunday game is roughly the same or greater than the number of players we have for the second game on Saturday, I am likely to cancel the second game on Saturday, and ask the players down for that whether they would like to switch to the Sunday game. Another issue raised is that the GIFFA System currently provides that in the first 48 hours after the schedule thread is put up: .... 1. Each approved player can put a maximum of 4 approved players down inclusive of himself. 2. No guests (non-approved players) can be put down. .... We've had players putting 3 or 4 names down for each of the games on 2 and 9 March 2013. ..., I wonder if we shoud reduce the number of players a single person can register to 2. For games that tend to be over-subsribed, I think this will be fairer (first-come-first-serve basis). What do you think? Since I generally don't change the system between putting up the schedule thread and the game itself, I replied that the change would be made from next week onwards, together with other changes. From next Saturday onwards: 1. The maximum number of names an approved player can put down for the 5 to 6 pm game in the first 48 hours will be 2 (including the player himself), and the other player must also be an approved player. 2. The maximum number of names an approved player can put down for the 6 to 7 pm game in the first 48 hours will be 6, and up to two of the 6 can be guests. So if you want to put down a group of players, or introduce new players, please use the 6 to 7 pm slot. I have no objections if a player puts names down for both slots. Priorities will be determined after 11 am on the Saturday. Also, the target number for the 5 to 6 pm game is 14 (although if we only have one game, I'll put it up to 16). Therefore, the price per player for the 5 to 6 pm slot will be fixed at $14 (whether it is 7-a-side or 8-a-side). The target number for the 6 to 7 pm slot is also 14, although we may go ahead with 12, or if there are players who want to continue from the 5 to 6 pm slot (particularly if they want to play with friends who are playing from 6 to 7 pm), we can go up to 16. If we only have 12, 2 to 4 players will be allowed to continue from the 5 to 6 pm game to bring numbers up to 14 or 16. To encourage players to consider the 6 to 7 pm slot, until at least the end of March 2013, I will reduce the price per player by $1, therefore $13 for a 7-a-side, $14 for a 6-a-side, and $12 for an 8-a-side. Further, if we have 1 to 4 players continuing from the 5 to 6 pm game in order to make up numbers to 14, or to play with friends down for the 6 to 7 pm game, I will let them play the additional hour for $8 each. The later 6 to 7 pm slot will be cooler, so I expect it to get going sooner or later, as we move into the warmer part of the year. However: .... ... if the 6 to 7 pm slot doesn't work out, then I will press the Premier Pitch for a 3 to 4 pm slot - currently a small pitch is available, but a big pitch may become available in the future if one of three other small pitches becomes available, to be combined to form a big pitch. |
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Post by Rajiv on Mar 18, 2013 8:16:03 GMT 8
For the Saturday just gone: .... I messaged about 130 players, but no takers for the 6 to 7 pm slot. Of the few who replied, most are injured or away. With school holidays in Singapore, and then Easter holidays in international schools, I don't expect the 6 to 7 pm slot to take off until sometime in April, but I'll try every week until May. .... I'll put the price per player back to $13. I expect that's how it will be over the next few weeks. |
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Post by Rajiv on Mar 30, 2013 10:38:03 GMT 8
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Post by Rajiv on Apr 1, 2013 11:52:19 GMT 8
For several weeks since Chinese New Year, we've had to wait until Sunday afternoon to get sufficient players for the Sunday evening game at Turf City, or had to settle for a 7-a-side: * 17 February 2013 - Got to 14 just before noon, and went ahead 7-a-side. * 3 March 2013 - We got to 15 at 12.21 pm. With a subsequent withdrawal, we went ahead 7-a-side. * 17 March 2013 - We were stuck at 12 until 12.38 pm. We were up to 16 by 1.41 pm. * 24 March 2013 - Got to 14 at 10.51 am, went ahead 7-a-side. * 31 March 2013 - Down to 13 at 11.29 am, up to 16 by 2.07 pm. I try to get to at least 14 by the Saturday. However, it's reached the stage where even if numbers drop to 12 on the Sunday morning, I don't worry until 2 pm. Of course, I still have to ask around before then, which is tiresome. The Saturday game on 30 March 2013 filled up in less than half an hour, and we had up to 8 on waitlist. In the end, with withdrawals and several of those on waitlist putting their name down for Sunday, only Jake and Kien's friend didn't get to play. One of them, Rockstar subsequently withdrew from the Sunday game. |
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Post by Rajiv on Apr 27, 2013 21:21:39 GMT 8
.... Increasingly, players who put their names down for a game on a big pitch don't necessarily want to play on a small pitch. Apart from 5-a-side games at The Cage, we've only had 3 games on a small pitch since the last mini-tournament in June 2010: * On Tuesday, 20 December 2011, at East Coast, due to Sports Planet double booking the big pitch. * Saturday, 4 August 2012, at Turf City, due to insufficient players (back in the day when the Saturday game didn't fill up as fast as it does - surprisingly, not that long ago). * Thursday, 6 December 2012, due to insufficient players. In fact, increasingly, players who put themselves down for a game on a big pitch would rather withdraw than switch to a small pitch when we have insufficient players for a big pitch but sufficient players for a small pitch, and a small pitch is available. The effect of such withdrawals is likely to be that we don't even have sufficient players for a small pitch, and the game is cancelled. On several recent occasions when we have been short of players on Sunday afternoon for the game that evening at The Grandstand, players have made an extra effort to get to 14 (including getting friends in), rather than risk having to play on a small pitch. 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. My aim remains to provide opportunities to play, by having at least one game each day. So far, we haven't managed a regular game on Friday. If more players want to play on a particular day, then I try to create an extra game on that day. For a while, we managed 2 games on Sunday. We manage 2 games on Thursday nights, on and off. We haven't managed to get 2 games on Saturday. Players come and go: .... .... ..., over the years, I've seen many regulars come and go for one reason or another. Actually, usually without giving me any reason whatsoever.  .... Ultimately, whether anyone plays in any of our games is, and should be, a choice. Coming back to Saturday evenings: ..., if there are 24 players then make it a big pitch 7-a-side plus a 5-a-side .... .... If a second game either later (6 to 7 pm) or earlier ( 3 to 4 pm) doesn't work out, and it is clear that players only want to play from 5 to 6 pm, then having two games simultaneously from 5 to 6 pm on Saturdays, one on a big pitch and one on a small pitch, would give players a different choice. If there are not enough players for 2 games, then the only one goes on (in all likelihood, the one on the big pitch). That's how it works for the 2 games from 9 to 10 pm on Thursday nights, at Khalsa and East Coast respectively. However, even if a pitch is available, a second game on a small covered pitch at The Grandstand will inevitably be seen as inferior to the game at the same time on the big pitch, so I can't see us getting the numbers for that, and thus it will in all likelihood be a wasted effort. If the time slot (5 to 6 pm) is popular, we can consider a game elsewhere, thus also giving players a choice of venue. When we finally started having regular games on Saturdays in August 2009, they were on the covered 5-a-side pitches at Sports Planet @ East Coast. It was a struggle to keep the game going. By February 2010, I was looking to change the venue. When we finally re-started the Saturday game in April 2010, it was at Turf City. There have been periods when the game struggled, such as in July 2011, but it has become exceedingly popular since November 2012. We can consider having the second game at Sports Planet or elsewhere. However, as a covered pitch would be preferable for that time of the day, and the pool of players will not be big, it is likely to be a 5-a-side game. The only covered big pitch is the one at The Grandstand, which we are using. A second game will take some time to get going, as players will stick with the tried and tested game at The Grandstand. Therefore, it's not likely to be anytime soon. |
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Post by Rainer on Apr 27, 2013 22:38:55 GMT 8
maybe worth trying for an additional location, i.e. i would also play other locations.
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Post by Rajiv on May 4, 2013 23:23:09 GMT 8
The Saturday game continues to fill up fast, even after I put the schedule thread up a day earlier (on Sunday morning instead of Monday morning) for the game today. Since the start of April 2013: * Saturday, 20 April 2013: Filled in just under an hour and a half. With withdrawals, 4 of the 6 reserves got in, with 3 going on to play. * 27 April 2013: Filled in just under an hour. Only 1 of the 6 on the waitlist got to play. * Today (4 May 2013): Filled up within 4 hours, despite the schedule thread being put up a day earlier. With withdrawals, 4 of the 6 on waitlist got to play. So for today: .... For the game on 4 May 2013, I will try bringing the schedule thread forward to this Sunday (28 Aprill 2013), sometime between 7.30 and 8.30 am. Fewer, if any players will be at work that early on a Sunday morning. If you're still asleep, try to wake up early. Also, with the extra game at The Grandstand on the Labour Day holiday (1 May), I won't bother scheduling the extra 6 to 7 pm game for 4 May 2013. .... However, with only 1 name down, the 6 to 7 pm game was cancelled. With the poll on trying out 3 teams over two hours (from 5 to 7 pm) still pending: ..., I will continue as follows for the rest of the month: * I will put up the schedule thread for the Saturday 5 to 6 pm game on Sunday morning. * If the 5 to 6 pm game fills up by Monday morning, I will put up a schedule thread for a Saturday 6 to 7 pm game. .... If we do go ahead with trying 3 teams over 2 hours, there will only be one schedule thread for that game. The rationale for proposing 3 teams over 2 hours: .... My view, going back to January 2009, is that playing with 3 teams over 2 hours is a lot of wasted time. If we do have it at all, it is an exception. Like I said above, I suggested that we try it out once or twice on Saturday to get players used to the idea of playing 6 to 7 pm, and to allow more players to play on those one or two occasions. However, beyond that, I am looking at two separate games, one from 5 to 6 pm and the other from 6 to 7 pm. If 6 to 7 pm is too late on a Saturday, 3 to 4 pm might become an option, but it may be too warm for this time of year, up to around September. .... If the 6 to 7 pm slot at the Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand doesn't get used at all this month, I will abandon it, and try for a second 5 to 6 pm slot at another venue later in the year. .... A second game will take some time to get going, as players will stick with the tried and tested game at The Grandstand. Therefore, it's not likely to be anytime soon. , it will give rise to a choice of venue, rather than a choice of time. For the rest of this month: .... When it comes to replacing players who withdraw from the 5 to 6 pm slot, I wonder if it is worth giving priority to those who put their name down for the 6 to 7 pm slot. .... When it comes to replacing a player who withdraws from the waitlist, I think it is only fair that a player who makes himself available for both slots should get in ahead of a player who makes himself available for the 5 to 6 pm slot only. |
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Post by Foo Cheong on May 5, 2013 8:34:16 GMT 8
This can be gamed. If I am a late registrant (#20 say), to get ahead of nos. 17 to 19, I will also sign up for the 6pm game, thereby getting priority over no. 17, and knowing that the 6pm game will not take place. If the 6pm game does go ahead, I can withdraw from the 5pm wait list.
Apologies for again making your life complicated.
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Post by Rajiv on May 5, 2013 8:57:50 GMT 8
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Post by Rajiv on May 7, 2013 9:29:13 GMT 8
Being stuck at 10 for the game last night (Monday) at East Coast, we switched to a 5-a-side on a small pitch. A different outcome from the last time such circumstances arose, on Valentine's Day - 14 February 2013. On that occasion, the game was cancelled as several players were not keen to switch to a small pitch. On that occasion, the fact that it had been raining until quite close to the game was also a factor, although not in the expected way. You would think with the rain and the wet pitch, players would want to switch to a covered pitch. However, I think most players had already got it in their heads that the game would be cancelled, and were not keen to travel in the wet weather. Even for yesterday, there was some reluctance on the part of a couple of players to switch to a small pitch, but as others were keen, all 10 switched. As stated above, the majority of our players prefer games on a big pitch (6, 7 or 8-a-side).
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Post by Rajiv on May 16, 2013 14:27:50 GMT 8
So the poll on trying 3 teams over 2 hours is closed. From June 2013 onwards until further notice, if a Saturday game fills up within 2 hours of the schedule thread being put up, I will automatically switch it to a two-hour game with 3 teams, subject to the availability of the pitch from 6 to 7 pm. |
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Post by Rajiv on Jun 1, 2013 20:36:47 GMT 8
As set out above, the Saturday game hasn't been filling up as fast as before. The game today (Saturday) only filled up on Wednesday morning, even though the schedule thread was put up on Monday morning. However, there was still some concern about how the timing of the schedule thread might affect whether players are able to access the message board in time to put their name down before all the places fill up. My response: .... Whatever way you cut it, only 16 get to play. Whatever day or time I put it up, only the first 16 get to play. .... One solution: .... ... for those who don't have access on Monday mornings: .... From next Saturday onwards: 1. The maximum number of names an approved player can put down for the 5 to 6 pm game in the first 48 hours will be 2 (including the player himself), and the other player must also be an approved player. .... .... Ask another regular to put you down. .... Another solution: .... ... if an approved player adds a comment to the report thread for the previous Saturday game (minimum 30 words), and adds a request to play in the following week's Saturday game, when I put up the schedule thread on the Monday morning, I will add his name to the list immediately. If more than one player does so, I will do so in the order in which they posted. .... If it works out, I will continue to do so until further notice. .... was the only player to take advantage of this for today's game. As it addresses a certain concern, and players have to contribute something to earn this benefit, I will, as I said before, continue this until further notice. |
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Post by Desmond on Jun 1, 2013 22:38:20 GMT 8
Jiv, if you look at the game report for the previous Saturday's game, I'd also asked to be added for the next game but I think you missed it.
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Post by Rajiv on Jun 2, 2013 10:48:13 GMT 8
Sorry I missed your request Desmond. Did you add it after I posted on the credits for the game? I posted on credits on Saturday evening, but I see your post was edited on Sunday evening. Not a problem, but if you do so, just message me as well. I tend to look downwards from my last post, at subsequent posts.  .... ... Rajiv can sign me up for the game the following Saturday (15 Jun) (note: not 8 Jun) ;D Sorry Foo Cheong, it only applies to the next Saturday game. It is expressly limited to the "following week's Saturday game". Never mind, you can post on the report thread for the game on 8 June 2013 even if you are not playing, as it is not limited to those who played in the previous week's game.  It might be hard to come up with 30 words on a game you aren't playing in and didn't watch, but I'm sure you can manage.  And sorry you wasted your efforts yesterday, but I'm sure you would have posted anyway, even without this additional incentive.  |
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Post by Rajiv on Jun 8, 2013 17:28:12 GMT 8
The Saturday game today first filled up on Monday afternoon, more than 7 hours after the thread was first put up on Monday morning. However, with several withdrawals, a further five players got a place, including 3 yesterday and today. Arijit put Brendan's name down for him on Monday morning, but: When I created the WhatsApp group chat this morning, Brendan messaged to say he is out of town, and didn't know he had been put down. Looks like Arijit put him down without a request or without informing him. .... As I said some time ago: Not confirming with a player before or when putting his name down for him has caused a problem in the past, for example, a game on Sunday, 10 October 2010: ... Erik called me shortly before the game was due to start yesterday to say Ken was overseas, and he thought Ken's name had been removed. Unfortunately, Ken's name had not been removed (probably a miscommunication between Erik and Ken), and it was far too late to find a replacement. ... Erik put Ken's name down for him last Monday. .... . My response for a long time after was to double check with players whose name was put down by others, which was additional work for me. Even then, there were occasional problems, for example: I had SMSed Keng Loon at 4 pm to ask for Alan's number but there was no reply. Lester didn't have Alan's number, and no one could contact Alan. It didn't look like Alan would show. Fortunately, Wee Teck was playing with Fai's team in an earlier game from 8 to 9 pm, so he came in for Alan. .... Since then, I have tightened the rules on putting names down for others, so I don't double check with the player whose name is put down. Although the WhatsApp group chat is a form of a double check, not everyone is on it, and even those who are don't always check it regularly. What if Brendan hadn't checked his WhatsApp while away? He wouldn't have known his name was down, he wouldn't have informed us he was away, his name would have remained on the list of players, and the game would have been left a player short. That would have been a pity, when there are so many players who want to play on Saturday. Even with many regulars unavailable, each time a place became available yesterday and today, it was taken up almost immediately. The GIFFA System actually provides: It is the responsibility of the player putting another player's name down for him to confirm with him that he will be playing. If Brendan's name had not been put down, today's game would only have filled on Tuesday morning. |
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Post by Rajiv on Jun 16, 2013 17:31:35 GMT 8
Due to insufficient players, no games on Thursday, 13 June 2013. .... I'm not sure to what extent it being the second week of the June school holidays was a factor in the low numbers for Wednesday and Thursday. Generally, for Thursday night: .... Although we have two slots for Thursday night, we often don't have enough players for two games. With its more central location, there are usually more players willing to switch from East Coast to Khalsa than from Khalsa to East Coast, so the Khalsa game is more likely to go on. Also, the Premier Pitch @ Khalsa are far more accommodating of late cancellations then Sports Planet @ East Coast. The Thursday night games since April 2013: * 11 April 2013, one game at East Coast. * 18 April 2013, one game at East Coast. * 25 April 2013, two games, one at Khalsa, one at East Coast. * 2 May 2013, one game at East Coast. * 9 May 2013, two games, one at Khalsa, one at East Coast. * 16 May 2013, one game at Khalsa (no pitch available at East Coast). * 23 May 2013, no game (eve of Vesak Day public holiday). * 30 May 2013, one game at Khalsa. * 6 June 2013, one game at Khalsa. * 13 June 2013, no game. Even excluding 9 May 2013, when no pitch was available at East Coast, 4 weeks now without a game at East Coast on Thursday, and two of those weeks, we didn't have a game at all. Until numbers pick up, I will schedule just the one game on Thursday nights, at Khalsa. Longer term, I haven't ruled out making the Thursday night game at East Coast a 5-a-side from 8 to 9 pm, subject to availability of a 5-a-side pitch.
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Post by Rajiv on Jun 24, 2013 8:12:50 GMT 8
For the Saturday games so far this month, I have been adding the following to the schedule thread: .... .... From June 2013 onwards until further notice, if a Saturday game fills up within 2 hours of the schedule thread being put up, I will automatically switch it to a two-hour game with 3 teams, subject to the availability of the pitch from 6 to 7 pm. If necessary, I will extend it to filling up within half a day or even a day. .... The speed at which the Saturday game has filled up has varied a lot this since I reverted to putting up the thread on Monday morning: * The game on 1 June 2013: After 2 days, on Wednesday morning. * 8 June 2013: Even though it first filled up on Monday morning, with several withdrawals, even those who put their name on waitlist on Saturday morning itself got in. * 15 June 2013: The game filled up on Monday afternoon, and we had 5 on waitlist by Tuesday night. With one more joining the waitlist on Saturday itself, followed by one wihdrawal, only 1 of the 6 on waitlist got to play. * 22 June 2013: Excluding those who were just holding places, the game filled up in about 2.5 hours. Although there were 3 on waitlist by Wednesday night, with withdrawals due to the haze situation, 3 players managed to get their names in on Saturday itself. Besides the speed with which the Saturday game fills up, there are two additional factors to take into consideration: * How many players there are on waitlist. If it fills up within an hour, but there are only 16 right through to Saturday, there isn't really any issue. * How many places are available for the game at The Grandstand on Sunday. Players who can't get in for Saturday do sometimes play on Sunday instead. Therefore, from this Saturday onwards, I will only convert the Saturday game to a session with 3 teams playing over two hours if by Friday morning: * If the places filled up within 24 hours and no place became available after that. * There are at least 5 on waitlist. With 21, we can play with 3 teams of 7. * At least 21 of the players are or have been fairly regular for the Saturday game. * There are less than 5 places left for the Sunday game. |
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Post by Rajiv on Jun 29, 2013 19:35:59 GMT 8
Currently, the GIFFA System provides: For the game today (Saturday), Kien put his friend down on Wednesday. He was the first on the waitlist. Fergus put his name down on Friday afternoon. When Nick Hunter withdrew on Friday night: The GIFFA System actually provides: .... On the waitlist, approved players will have priority over guests. .... Kelvin is a new guest, Fergus is an approved player. Let me look at this again in the morning. Fergus has messaged to say let Kelvin in before him as he did sign up first, so Kelvin Tan in for Nick Hunter. There was a further withdrawal, so Fergus got to play after all. 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. I am looking to start several new games over the next 12 months. For new games, the restrictions after 48 hours will not apply. |
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Post by Rajiv on Jul 11, 2013 22:03:50 GMT 8
With the June school holidays in Singapore over, I assumed more parents would be back at work, and numbers would pick up. It did for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday last week (1 to 3 July 2013), but it was struggle to fill the game on Thursday at Khalsa, the usually popular game on Saturday at The Grandstand barely filled up, and we were left 1 short for Sunday game, also at The Grandstand. From the report thread for the Sunday game: .... The games early in the week filled up fast. The games from Thursday onwards were slow to fill up. Even the Saturday game was slower than usual, and had places left on Friday morning. .... The Monday game this week was cancelled and we were also one short for the Tuesday game at Kallang. In fact, I made an extra effort to make sure that the Tuesday game (with only 8 to 10 players required) went on, as I didn't want two games in a row to be cancelled. As for the Monday game: 4 of the 9 don't want to switch to a small pitch, so best to cancel. . With numbers for last Sunday's game stuck on 12, there was some discussion on the WhatsApp group chat about complacency. If we don't have at least 14 by Saturday, I actually message about 100 players on Friday or Saturday. If we are still short on Sunday, I message again, largely the same 100 players but some other more remote possibilities. I wouldn't call that complacent. The problem is several players wait until Sunday before deciding to play, or can only be sure of their availability on Sunday itself. Often, the players who have come in on the Sunday afternoon had been messaged twice, once on Friday or Saturday, and again on Sunday. Bearing that in mind, I sometimes wonder whether it is worth my while messaging before Saturday evening. Nevertheless, apart from the Monday game being cancelled, both the Sunday and Tuesday games started with a player short (although in both cases, we did manage to pick up a player from the venue itself,, notably, a female player for the Sunday game). .... From the replies I get (and only about 1 in 10 reply), several players are away. Could it be they are away in July to avoid the June holidays and get cheaper flights? I suppose it is a factor, especially for Singaporeans without children in school, who can avoid the mad rush during the June school holidays. A lot of expats are also away, mainly because the holidays in their home countries run from July to September. On top of that, we are in Ramadan, so our few Muslim players may be unavailable, especially for night games. Whatever the reason, there was quite a dip in numbers between last Thursday and this Tuesday. It seems to have stabilised for the games from yesterday (Wednesday) onwards, but volatility can return at any time. Longer term, if a game is not three-quarters full 48 hours before the game, or doesn't even have the minimum number in the 24 hours before the game (2 less than the maximum number), then those who are keen for the game to go on should make more of an effort to ask around or even introduce new players. If it comes down to me having to message players twice, or even thrice, we're getting desperate. Also, I'm not sure WhatsApp messages always get through, or whether everyone who is on WhatsApp checks it regularly, but if a player shows up on WhatsApp, I use WhatsApp unless it is clear he hasn't checked WhatsApp for several days or more. When I'm messaging up to 100 players each time, I avoid SMSing. |
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Post by Rajiv on Jan 2, 2014 9:56:25 GMT 8
There are currently the following restrictions on putting names down for others: The change of priority in the last statement is payment related, and has been changed. For the other restrictions: The restriction of 1 guest per approved players in any event gives rise to a maximum of half the players being guests. The limit of 3 or 4 per game is hard to monitor and will be dispensed with. There is also an age restriction. For after 48 hours, the passage will be re-worded as follows: |
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Then maybe we might have a chance of getting a second game going. 
