|
|
Post by Foo Cheong on Sept 10, 2012 15:28:39 GMT 8
The Saturday game should remain at Turf City. It is convenient for regulars to switch between Saturdays and Sundays depending on their weekend commitments.
Indian Association's pitch is also 7-a-side, so if trying to get 14 for Turf City is difficult, then it would also be the same for IA. On the other hand, if lescathay 14, can downsize to small pitch at Turf City, and if more than 16, can upsize to uncovered pitch at Turf City. There is no option for this at IA.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Sept 11, 2012 11:06:44 GMT 8
Because the current issue of filling up the Saturday game goes all the way back to the start of July 2012? The Sunday game has generally been easier to fill up during the same period (although we haven't had back-to-back games on Sunday since June 2012). I know the fact that we only got to 15 last Saturday, while we've had 2 to 4 reserves for the last two Sundays is too short a period to extrapolate from, but the trend since July 2012 is a much longer term outlook. We even ended up with a 5-a-side on a small pitch on Saturday, 4 August 2012. If, to start with, I'm looking to keep one of the two weekend games as 7 or 8-a-side (even if it means moving to Balestier) and one at 9 or 10-a-side on the uncovered pitch at Turf City, which should it be? I think the numbers speak for themselves. I know there are several Saturday regulars who have been away or injured, but the same applies to Sunday. If anything, it is a reason to keep one at 7 or 8-a-side to start with. By the way, Foo Cheong plays both, so it's just 2 Saturday regulars. Of course I'd like to hear what the others have to say, but I find that players only speak up if they are strongly opposed to something. I assume the rest are willing to give it a try. I expect Jye will now add his voice.  |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Jan 7, 2013 23:07:31 GMT 8
For the weeknight games at East Coast: The East Coast game was moved from Tuesday to Monday night on 24 September 2012. The Kallang game was first switched from Monday to Tuesday night on 9 October 2012. On Tuesday, 2 October 2012, I tried a game on a small covered pitch at Turf City. The games on 2 and 9 October 2012 were cancelled. The Kallang game on Tuesday night was more consistent after that, and I returned to putting up the schedule thread 5 days beforehand. Apart from the game on 15 October 2012 being somewhat unexpectedly cancelled, the Monday night games at East Coast have been filling up reasonably well. With Christmas and New Year's Day both falling on Tuesday, both the Monday night and Tuesday night games were affected. With a longer interval between Monday and Thursday, until towards the end of the year, the Thursday night game at East Coast has also been more consistent. Since switching the East Coast game from Tuesday to Monday, the Thursday games have been as follows: * Two games on 27 September 2012, but both washed out by rain. * Two games on 4 October 2012. * One game on 11 October 2012 at East Coast. * One game on 18 October 2012 at Khalsa. * One game on 25 October 2012 at Khalsa. * One game on 1 November 2012 at East Coast. * One game on 8 November 2012 at East Coast. * Two games 15 November 2012. * One game on 22 November 2012 at East Coast. * One game on 29 November 2012 at East Coast. * Two games on 6 December 2012. * One game on 13 December 2012 at Khalsa. * One game on 20 December 2012 at Khalsa. * One game on 27 December 2012 at Khalsa. * Two games on 3 January 2013. For the Saturday game at Turf City: The schedule thread for the Saturday game at Turf City filled up very quickly in successive weeks in November 2012: * Game on 3 November 2012, within a day of the schedule thread being put up, with 3 reserves 24 hours of the schedule thread being put up. * Game on 10 November 2012 - within 12 hours of the usual time of putting up the thread (about 8 am). * Game on 17 November 2012 - within 12 hours of the thread being put up. * Game on 24 November 2012 - in just over 2 hours of the thread being put up. * Game on 1 December 2012 - within an hour and a half of the thread being put up. .... Like the East Coast game when it was on Tuesday, with withdrawals in the day or two before the game, most of the reserves for the Saturday game at Turf City have gotten to play. When a game develops a reputation for being very popular, players try to get their name down quickly, and then withdraw later if they find they can't make it. So you end up with games filling up within 2 hours. .... With several players away, it took a fair bit of SMSing on the Friday to fill the game at Turf City on Saturday 8 December 2012, the week after the game that had filled up in an hour an a half. Several players who don't usually get to play on a Saturday got to play. With several players being away of having other social commitments at this time of the year, the Saturday Turf City games last week and this week have filled up well, again, with several players who don't usually play on Saturdays or who are new. It is good that the pool of players is broadened, but when everyone is back and raring to go in the new year, the Saturday Turf City game may well fill up faster than ever. For me, a game filling up by the second day after the schedule thread is put up is too fast. You get players rushing to put their names down, and then withdrawals as you get closer to the game, which makes for much volatility and uncertainty, and can be a barrier to playing for less regular players. The aim is to have several players down by the end of the second day, and full or almost full by the third day, 2 days before the game itself. It's a sign of a good spread of games and players - sufficient players and sufficient games - which makes the system sustainable. However, unlike the Tuesday East Coast game, I can't move the Saturday Turf City game. My preference would be to start a Saturday morning game at Turf City to take some of the pressure off the Saturday evening game, but unfortunately, a covered pitch at Turf City is not available on Saturday mornings as it is block booked by a soccer school. Also, it is never easy to start a new game, as it does not have a "track record". However, if in the new year, the Saturday Turf City game regularly fills up within an hour or two, I will need to find a solution. It might well be a Friday night game at The Rainforest Arena at Turf City, a bit further up from the Premier Pitch. Another option is to not allow guests in the first 48 hours after the schedule thread is put up. Players who want to get in quickly for Saturday would need to be approved players. New players need to get at least one game in before their registration is approved. If they can't get a game in on Saturday, there are lots of other games to get in for. There were 3 reserves for last Saturday, and this Saturday's game filled up in just over 2 hours. I was actually trying to schedule a Friday night game at the Rainforest Sports Hub @ Turf City before putting up the the schedule thread for the Saturday game, but I didn't have the time, so I went ahead and scheduled the Saturday game as usual, albeit the thread went up over an hour later than usual. This would be our first Friday night game. We've only ever had a game on Friday when it was a public holiday, and thus had an evening game at Turf City as we do at the weekend. The reason why it is at Turf City is that those who fill up the weekend places, especially the Saturday game, seem to prefer Turf City. Trying to fit an extra Turf City game at some other time over the weekend is difficult, so I'll try Friday night instead. Not everyone is out on a Friday night, and some may prefer a game on football. Others may like a game of football before heading out for the night, in the way that beers after the Saturday game can be a prelude to a night out. Friday night also leaves an interval from the other weeknight games at Turf City organized by Elvin/Jye/George. There are several different pitch sizes at the Rainforest Sports Hub. To start with, not knowing how many players we'll get, we'll go with 6-a-side. It would ordinarily work out to $10 per player (same as with all other uncovered pitches), but as a new game with no track record, I'll fix it at $9 per player to start with. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Jun 11, 2013 22:51:00 GMT 8
As far as I am concerned, the mad rush for the game from 5 to 6 pm on Saturday at The Grandstand filling is a problem. However, neither a Friday night game at The Grandstand, or a 6 to 7 pm slot on Saturday, appears to be the solution. What I'm left with is: .... .... 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. .... I've been including the above at the end of each schedule thread for the Saturday 5 to 6 pm game. As for a game on Friday night: .... I get asked about a game on Friday night from time to time, .... Further, if I do get round to introducing a Friday night game, it is likely to be at Kallang, where we only need 8 to 10 players for the game to go on. However, the pool of players for Kallang is not big enough, struggling to sustain one game a week, let alone two. The game at Kallang was switched from Monday night to Tuesday night in October 2012, and has been filling up well of late. It is the only one of our regular venues where we only have one game, so players don't have a choice of playing on another day. I have sounded out a few Kallang regulars, and they would be interested in a Friday night game. Unless you have to work late (in which case, you wouldn't be looking to play), most people try to get out of the office a bit early on Friday, so 8 to 9 pm would be viable. It also allows players to head out for the night after the game. I am looking to start scheduling a Friday night game from 8 to 9 pm at Kallang as early as from 5 July 2013. Other new games I am considering over the next 12 months (in order of priority): * Sunday, 8 to 9 pm, Khalsa (or Indian Association). Previously, I was looking for the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand to fill up before trying to get a Sunday night game going at Balestier. However, increasingly I find the pool of players for The Grandstand is quite distinct from the pool of players for Balestier. The Khalsa games on Wednesday and Thursday suffer from being on consecutive days. A Sunday night game would provide a better spread. * Tuesday night at The Grandstand (Rainforest Arena). Currently, I only have weekend games at The Grandstand. Monday and Wednesday are out as Elvin/Jye/George (or whoever runs it from time to time) have their own games at The Grandstand, and I have no desire to be competing with them for players. Tuesday night may workable, as the pool of players are distinct from those who play at Kallang, and it provides a decent spread from the weekend games. And not everyone who plays at the weekend get in for the Monday or Wednesday game, even if they want to play weeknights. Or they may not be available Monday/Wednesday night. I would start with 6-a-side so we wouldn't need as many players. * Saturday morning at East Coast. It's worth giving a weekend morning game a try, and a 5-a-side on a covered pitch may be viable, providing an alternative to the weeknight 7-a-side games at East Coast. Perhaps from 10 to 11 am, so no need to wake up too early on a Saturday morning. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Dec 27, 2013 22:47:43 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 stated on the old blog on 3 August 2008: Funnily enough, the Monday night game at The Grandstand was one that I previously gave away. Previously: .... As for a game on Friday night: .... I get asked about a game on Friday night from time to time, .... Further, if I do get round to introducing a Friday night game, it is likely to be at Kallang, where we only need 8 to 10 players for the game to go on. However, the pool of players for Kallang is not big enough, struggling to sustain one game a week, let alone two. .... I have sounded out a few Kallang regulars, and they would be interested in a Friday night game. Unless you have to work late (in which case, you wouldn't be looking to play), most people try to get out of the office a bit early on Friday, so 8 to 9 pm would be viable. It also allows players to head out for the night after the game. I am looking to start scheduling a Friday night game from 8 to 9 pm at Kallang as early as from 5 July 2013. Other new games I am considering over the next 12 months (in order of priority): * Sunday, 8 to 9 pm, Khalsa (or Indian Association). Previously, I was looking for the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand to fill up before trying to get a Sunday night game going at Balestier. However, increasingly I find the pool of players for The Grandstand is quite distinct from the pool of players for Balestier. The Khalsa games on Wednesday and Thursday suffer from being on consecutive days. A Sunday night game would provide a better spread. * Tuesday night at The Grandstand (Rainforest Arena). Currently, I only have weekend games at The Grandstand. Monday and Wednesday are out as Elvin/Jye/George (or whoever runs it from time to time) have their own games at The Grandstand, and I have no desire to be competing with them for players. Tuesday night may workable, as the pool of players are distinct from those who play at Kallang, and it provides a decent spread from the weekend games. And not everyone who plays at the weekend get in for the Monday or Wednesday game, even if they want to play weeknights. Or they may not be available Monday/Wednesday night. I would start with 6-a-side so we wouldn't need as many players. * Saturday morning at East Coast. It's worth giving a weekend morning game a try, and a 5-a-side on a covered pitch may be viable, providing an alternative to the weeknight 7-a-side games at East Coast. Perhaps from 10 to 11 am, so no need to wake up too early on a Saturday morning. and .... I am currently not scheduling a game at East Coast on Thursdays: .... With getting numbers a struggle, I have have only been scheduling one game on Thursdays since 1 August 2013. As for some time before that, when we have had enough for a game, it has been for a game at Khalsa, the game that has not been scheduled is the East Coast game. .... .... . Now, with a game at The Grandstand on Monday nights, I doubt I will try one on Tuesday nights, at least not in the first half of 2014. Any other additional game will have to wait. However, a Sunday night game at Khalsa and a Friday night game at a venue to be decided are possibilities later in the first half of 2014. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Feb 11, 2014 17:12:44 GMT 8
I'll resume scheduling the Monday night game at The Grandstand from 17 February 2014 onwards. If there is significant interest, I will continue beyond March 2014 until perhaps May 2014. If the game hasn't taken off by then, I'll give it a break. The games at Balestier Road on Wednesdays and Thursdays have been filling up well, with a lot of players on waitlist. I will try adding a Sunday night (8 to 9 pm) game at Balestier Road from 23 February 2014 onwards. If the above games take off by May 2014, I will try two more in the second half of 2014: |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Apr 5, 2014 11:20:39 GMT 8
Since we first played at the Premier Pitch's covered pitch at The Grandstand in July 2008, the venue has grown in popularity. In those days, our games were on the small pitch, but for some time now, hardly any of our players want to play on the small pitch there. From the "Filling places & choices" thread: .... Currently, the Wednesday night game at Balestier Road is the most popular. The Saturday evening game at The Grandstand, which from November 2012 to June 2013 was by far the most popular game, has barely been filling up on the forum since the start of the year. The Monday night game at East Coast, which at various times has been the second most popular game, has required some effort to fill up of late. The Thursday night game at Balestier Road also requires some effort to fill up, and with a lot of different non-regular players taking up places from week to week, it is difficult to predict how the game will turn out. The pool of players for the Tuesday night game at Kallang is smaller than for the other venues, with fewer players wanting to play 5-a-side and at The Cage, so if several of the regulars are unavailable, we struggle to get to 10. .... The Sunday evening game at The Grandstand has been struggling since early last year, but more so this year: - Three games cancelled at the turn of the year due to insufficient players. I don't know if the switch to an uncovered pitch while the covered pitch was re-surfaced was a factor, but it the Saturday games went on as usual on the uncovered pitch.
- The games on 16 and 23 March 2014 went ahead with the minimum number (14), so they were 7-a-side.
- The game yesterday (30 March 2014) was stuck on 5 on Friday morning. Although I made an effort to fill up the places, and we managed to get to 16 in the end, there were many new, newer or non-regular players. In fact, the games for much of the year so far have been slow to fill, and have required some, if not a lot, of effort.
It's hard to believe that on several occasions between December 2011 and June 2012, we had back to back games on Sundays at The Grandstand, one from 4 to 5 pm and the second from 5 to 6 pm. Before that, in July 2010, we had back to back games from 5 to 6 pm and 6 to 7 pm. Keeping the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand has required a fair amount of work over the weekend. From earlier in this thread: .... 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. .... This is still often the case. Also from above: .... Apart from a few names down for the first two weeks ( 6 January 2014 and 13 January 2014), there have been no names put down for the Monday night game at The Grandstand. .... Hardly anyone put their names down, but it really wasn't surprising as I didn't make any effort, and players won't try a new game without a lot of canvassing on my part. I would rather give the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand a rest and make an effort to get the two new games going. What I plan to do is not schedule the Sunday evening at The Grandstand for the whole of April 2014, and instead schedule both the Sunday night game at Balestier Road and the Monday night game at The Grandstand. Those who want a second game at The Grandstand still have it, on Monday night, and better spaced from the other game on Saturday, so players can play both games if they want. It also means that we now have a weeknight game at The Grandstand. And we get a weekend game at a venue besides The Grandstand. While trying to fill up the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand over the past couple of years, I have become aware that there are players who would otherwise play on Sunday who find The Grandstand too far from them. It also means that the Sunday game is at a cooler time of day. The heat at 5 pm is a factor, even on the covered pitch. .... Unsurprisingly, the regulars for Sunday evening at The Grandstand want the game back. Damian is a longstanding regular, while Kenny is a longstanding player who has been regular at various times. Gerard and Kien are more recent regulars. Apart from those posting their preference on the thread for the Monday night game at The Grandstand, Wing Kong, another longstanding player who has been fairly regular, and Jon Stratton, a more recent regular, have messaged me in support of the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand. As the aims are to have a game at a venue other than The Grandstand at the weekend, and to have a Monday night game at The Grandstand, it is inevitable that as between the Saturday and Sunday evening games at The Grandstand, the Sunday game will take the hit, as it sits in the middle of it all. Like I said, I'm only giving the Sunday game a break. I suppose my primary purpose in doing so is to get the Sunday night game at Balestier Road and the Monday night at The Grandstand going. With regard to the Sunday night game at Balestier Road, we do need a weekend game at a venue other than The Grandstand ( as reflected by how many we got with just some effort), and Sunday night at Balestier Road is really the only viable option. From earlier in this thread: .... .... All our games were entirely weeknight up to April 2009, and there was resistance to weekend games to being with. I guess it's human nature to resist new things. The aspect of Turf City which is a bigger headache than for Khalsa is that if we're stuck at 12, I have to consider switching to a small pitch at Turf City, but that has been addressed under the other thread. The fact remains all our weekend games are at Turf City, which increases choice for some, and reduces choice for others. .... .... plus a link to the old blog on how the weekend games came about. The Monday night game at The Grandstand has a different history. Since Brendan asked me at the end of last year to take over the Monday night booking at The Grandstand, we haven't managed a game at The Grandstand on Monday night. Also, from the Venues/pitches & team sizes thread: .... Our first game on the refurbished pitch was the game today (Sunday). One comment so far: The newly redone turf is really nice!! Maybe we can consider moving one of the week nights from Khalsa to here?  As there is only one covered big pitch at The Grandstand, it has always been an issue of availability. There is now an additional game at The Grandstand on Mondays. Since last Monday. .... Unfortunately, I am not aware of the covered pitch being available on weeknights, other than, now, Monday. .... Unfortunately, I can't keep the Monday night booking at The Grandstand indefinitely without the game taking off. I am under some pressure from the Premier Pitch to give up the booking if I'm not using it. If I give it up, I doubt we'll get a weeknight slot for a covered big pitch at The Grandstand for the foreseeable future. It's a stark choice for The Grandstand regulars - use it or lose it. Slots at the weekend are more readily available, so I am less concerned about cancelling weekend games at The Grandstand. I made the same effort to fill the Monday night game at The Grandstand as I did to fill the Sunday night game at the Balestier, but we only have 7 so far. We need at least 7 more. Unfortunately, Brendan, who might have helped to fill the game up, is away until Wednesday. Other players who might have played, such as Foo Cheong and Rainer, are out with long term injury or illness. I will try again the following week (Monday, 14 April 2014). The weekend after that is the Good Friday/Easter weekend, so I'm not sure whether I should try again or just bring back the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand sooner. I am thinking of proceeding as follows: - For next weekend/Monday, I'll stick with the new games - Sunday (13 April 2014) night at Balestier Road and Monday (14 April 2014) night at The Grandstand.
- For the following weekend/Monday, which is a long weekend for Good Friday, we just have the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand. Not a good idea to push ahead with new games over a long weekend, and a good opportunity for those who favour the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand to show their support for this game by getting the numbers up.
- For the last week/Monday of April, I am thinking of replacing all 3 games with an 11-a-side game using the GIFFA System, the first event to mark 5 years of GIFFA in November 2014.
- In May 2014, I will schedule all 3 games, and each week, any of the games which doesn't look like getting sufficient players will be cancelled.
- In June 2014, I will schedule at least 2 of the games, but only those that looked like they were stabilising in May 2014.
- In July 2014, I will schedule all 3 games, and hopefully by the end of July 2014, all 3 games will be stabilised.
Also, from May 2014, I intend to bring the Sunday game at The Grandstand forward from 5 to 6 pm to 4 to 5 pm. From earlier in this thread: We had two games again on Sunday (11 December 2011), the first from 4 to 5 pm, and the second from 5 to 6 pm, like the last time. Foo Cheong sent me the following private message at 5.15 pm on Sunday: The Saturday game at Turf City was from 4 to 5 pm from when it was first started in April 2010 until September 2010. It was switched to 5 to 6 pm in October 2010 because: ... we have struggled to fill the big pitch from 4 to 5 pm for a few Saturdays before that. From October 2010 onwards, I have the big pitch at the Premier Pitch on Saturday for both 4 to 5 pm and 5 to 6 pm. The 5 to 6 pm slot is very popular on Sundays, and it might be a bit easier to fill places for the 5 to 6 pm slot on Saturdays as well, so I'll switch the game on Saturdays to the later time from October 2010 onwards, and cancel the 4 to 5 pm booking. .... Even since the switch, the Saturday game has at various times struggled to fill up, as recently as several games in July 2011. I don't think whether the weekend game are from 4 to 5 pm or 5 to 6 pm makes much difference as to player availability. 4 to 5 pm is hotter, and more draining during the hotter seasons. Apart from that, it appears to be more about who else is playing. Since then, the Saturday game has become very popular. However, the 4 to 5 pm slot has not been available for an extra game on Saturdays. I think what happened on Sunday is that when players saw who were playing in the 4 to 5 pm game, they thought it would be a more competitive game, so some who were available for both later indicated a preference for the earlier one. It is still advisable that those who are available for both indicate they are available for both, even if they indicate a preference as well, so that they maintain their priority for both games. If you state only one game, but don't get in for that game, either because there are 16 players ahead of you, or the game is cancelled due to insufficient numbers, you have no priority for the other game. Anyway, there is only one 4 to 5 pm booking left until the end of the year, that is, this Sunday (18 December 2011). January 2012 bookings are not available yet. Now, with the night game at Balestier Road on Sundays, I will bring forward the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand an hour so that there is a better spread of games. And Foo Cheong finally gets his wish! Hopefully, he will be back by then. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Apr 14, 2014 22:41:57 GMT 8
Following on from the post immediately above: - We managed to get a full complement of 14 for the new night game at Balestier Road on Sunday, 6 April 2014.
- Some of the regulars for the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand put there names down for the game on Monday night (7 April 2014) at The Grandstand, but we had no more than 7 players, so the game was cancelled.
- With 3 withdrawals on the day, including a late withdrawal, the night game at Balestier Road on Sunday, 13 April 2014, was left one short, and was therefore cancelled.
- Apart from one player from the Sunday night game putting his name down for the Monday night game at The Grandstand last night, no one else was down, so the game was cancelled.
I'm not sure how many people are away, but with Easter break in international schools last week, this week a short week with Good Friday on 18 April 2014, and a long weekend coming up, I'm pretty sure numbers will be affected. Although the Saturday evening games at The Grandstand (both last weekend and this weekend) filled up within the day, and Wednesday night game at Balestier Road filled up within an hour, apart from the Sunday night game at Balestier Road and the Monday night game at The Grandstand being cancelled, last night's game at East Coast was also cancelled due to insufficient players ( stuck on 8). Both Brendan (via e-mail) and Babs (via WhatsApp) contacted me to ask if we could have a game at The Grandstand on Good Friday. There is no availability from 4 to 8 pm on a big covered pitch at The Grandstand, so the options are: - 3 to 4 pm or 8 to 9 pm on a big covered pitch.
- 5 to 6 pm on an uncovered big pitch.
As 8 to 9 pm on a public holiday may be too late, and an uncovered pitch carries the risk of cancellation due to heavy rain (and it has been raining a lot recently), I'll put up 3 to 4 pm on a big covered pitch. If there is a preference for either of the later slots, I may change the time/pitch.
As we will be having an extra game at The Grandstand on Friday, I won't schedule a Sunday afternoon/evening game at The Grandstand. As we came so close to having a night game at Balestier Road on the Sunday, I will try again for the coming Sunday. Also, as it is a long weekend, I won't schedule the Monday night game at The Grandstand.
For the following weekend (the last weekend of April 2014), I was considering having an 11-a-side game on Sunday afternoon/evening instead of any of the Sunday/Monday games at The Grandstand/Balestier Road. I was thinking of having it on the 9-a-side pitch at the Premier Pitch @ Khalsa (which is used for 11-a-side), but the Premier Pitch @ Khalsa is not available on 27 April 2014 due to a day long event. Therefore, apart from no pitch being available at Khalsa on 27 April 2014, I will start the May 2014 schedule for Sunday/Monday from 27 April 2014: - Sunday, 4 to 5 pm, The Grandstand (covered pitch)
- Sunday, 8 to 9 pm, Balestier Road (uncovered pitch)
- Monday, 9 to 10 pm, East Coast (uncovered pitch)
- Monday, 9 to 10 pm, The Grandstand (covered pitch)
Any one or two games that are slow to fill up may be cancelled. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Apr 27, 2014 11:29:13 GMT 8
Jon Stratton messaged me as follows on Tuesday morning: As set out above, Foo Cheong had earlier argued in favour of playing 4 to 5 pm instead of 5 to 6 pm. I was neutral at that time, but since we had been playing 5 to 6 pm for some time, I left it at that. As stated above, now that we are also going to have a night game at Balestier Road on Sundays, the earlier start for the game at The Grandstand gives us a better spread for the 3 weekend games. Also, as we have been struggling to fill up the Sunday game at The Grandstand for some time now, I hope the change in timing is enough of a shake up. Damian, you can discuss with Jon and the other players at today's game. Or anyone can post their views on this thread. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on May 11, 2014 23:31:57 GMT 8
Both Sunday games went on today, the 4 to 5 pm game at The Grandstand, with 14, and the 8 to 9 pm game at Balestier Road, with 12. This is the first time we've had 2 games on Sunday since June 2012, when we had back to back games at The Grandstand from 4 to 5 pm and 5 to 6 pm. Although we only had the minimum number for both games, it is remarkable we managed two games, as not only were a lot of players away (with Tuesday being a public holiday, Vesak Day, people take Monday off for an extra long weekend), but today is Mother's Day, so a lot of players had additional family commitments. I will continue to schedule both games indefinitely. The only question is whether the afternoon/evening game at The Grandstand should be 4 to 5 pm or 5 to 6 pm. One reason I moved the game forward was to have a better spread of the two Sunday games. However, it has become clear that there is little overlap between those playing at The Grandstand and those playing at Balestier Road, and it is unlikely anyone playing at The Grandstand in the afternoon/evening is unlikely to play again at Balestier Road at night, so the spread doesn't really matter. The best way to decide this is through a poll. The voting will be applied in the future. For this month, the game will remain from 4 to 5 pm. As for the Monday night game at The Grandstand, from the "Public holidays & seasonal factors" thread: .... The extra game on Labour Day (Thursday, 1 May 2014) will be in place of the night game at The Grandstand on Monday (28 April 2014). Likewise, any extra game on Vesak Day will be in place of the night game at The Grandstand on Monday (12 May 2014). The extra game on Thursday or Tuesday is better spaced from the 2 regular games at The Grandstand at the weekends, so there is no point having the game on Monday as well, especially since the Monday night game at The Grandstand has yet to take off despite efforts since the start of the year. In fact, I might skip Monday, 5 May 2014 as well, and only try again from Monday, 19 May 2014 onwards. .... The extra afternoon game on Labour Day was cancelled, with numbers stuck on 8, and the regular Thursday night game not filling up until later. I have a covered big pitch at The Grandstand from 4 to 5 pm on Vesak Day (Tuesday, 13 May 2014), so I'll try an extra game again. . I will schedule the Monday night game at The Grandstand for the next two Mondays, 19 and 26 May 2014. If neither game goes ahead, it means that the Monday night game at The Grandstand would not have taken place despite several attempts since January 2014, so I won't try again until July 2014. If either goes ahead, then I might consider trying again in June 2014. A reminder that if we give up the slot, it is unlikely we will get it back anytime in the foreseeable future. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Jun 30, 2014 22:08:08 GMT 8
From above: .... The only question is whether the afternoon/evening game at The Grandstand should be 4 to 5 pm or 5 to 6 pm. .... The best way to decide this is through a poll. The voting will be applied in the future. For this month, the game will remain from 4 to 5 pm. .... From the poll thread: The poll has been locked. 7:3 in favour of reverting to the 5 to 6 pm slot. So it shall be. I thought the 5 to 6 pm slot was still available, so I scheduled this Sunday's game for the later time slot. Unfortunately, it is not available until July 2014, so I have to bring the game forward to the earlier time slot of 4 to 5 pm for the rest of June 2014. The Sunday evening game at The Grandstand returns to the 5 to 6 pm slot from July 2014 onwards. Also from above: Both Sunday games went on today, the [evening] game at The Grandstand, with 14, and the [night] game at Balestier Road, with 12. .... Although we only had the minimum number for both games, it is remarkable we managed two games, as not only were a lot of players away (with Tuesday being a public holiday, Vesak Day, people take Monday off for an extra long weekend), but today is Mother's Day, so a lot of players had additional family commitments. I will continue to schedule both games indefinitely. .... While the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand has picked up and has been filling up well over the last couple of weeks, we only managed one more Sunday night game at Balestier Road, a 5-a-side the following week (18 May 2014). Once players feel that the game is not going to go on, they stop putting their name down for the game, and we have had no names down for the Sunday night game at Balestier Road since the game scheduled for 8 June 2014. It hasn't helped that the friends of Nic F and Nic G who formed a core group of players for the Sunday night games at Balestier Road between 11 May 2014 and 1 June 2014 have largely left Singapore. With the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand filling up on its own,I'll make more of an effort over the course of the third quarter of 2014 to fill the Sunday night game at Balestier Road. Also from above: I struggled to get 3 names for the game on 19 May 2014, and there were no names down for 26 May 2014, so I did not schedule any Monday night games at The Grandstand this month (June 2014). I will resume scheduling Monday night games at The Grandstand from July 2014 onwards, starting next Monday, and over the course of the quarter, will also make more of an effort to fill the game. Other games I will consider starting in the second half of 2014: - Friday night game at either Kallang or The Grandstand. The Tuesday night game at Kallang has been filling up well, so maybe it's time for a second game at Kallang each week.
- Tuesday night at The Grandstand. There is currently no game on a big pitch on Tuesdays.
- Saturday morning at East Coast (5-a-side).
As the covered pitch at The Grandstand is unlikely to be available on either Friday night or Tuesday night, we are looking at an uncovered pitch, either at The Premier Pitch or Rainforest Sports Hub.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Jul 22, 2014 9:51:58 GMT 8
From the Regular venues & pitches" thread: .... There are just too many issues with the game on the big pitch at East Coast .... I'm away next week, so I won't schedule a Monday night game at East Coast, as same old issues will arise, and I can't manage them while I'm away. From above: .... I have always been ready to stop playing on the 7-a-side pitch at Sports Planet @ East Coast if a majority of the regulars are prepared to switch to other venues. However, there have always been a significant number of players who want to stick with Sports Planet @ East Coast. However, the number of former East Coast loyalists willing to play at Balestier Road is increasing all the time. If numbers for East Coast dwindle to such an extent that we regularly don't have enough players for a 7-a-side game at Sports Planet @ East Coast, the game will in any event no longer be feasible. The alternatives to the Monday night game at East Coast are the Sunday night game at Balestier Road, the Monday night game at The Grandstand (to be re-started in July 2014), the Tuesday night game at Kallang, and the Thursday night game at Balestier Road. .... An increasing number of former East Coast loyalists are no longer playing regularly at East Coast. Either they play more regularly at Khalsa, or they hardly play anymore. With all the problems with the big pitch at East Coast, I am inclined not to schedule any more games there. Players would then have to make the following choices: - Those who want to stick with a big pitch on Monday night will have to consider travelling to The Grandstand for the Monday night game there.
- Those who want to stick with a big pitch closer to East Coast should consider the Sunday night or Thursday night games at Khalsa.
- For those who want to play at East Coast, and don't care if it is a big pitch or small pitch, I will try out a Monday night game on a small pitch at East Coast in August 2014.
For those who are not prepared to consider any of the above alternatives, I am sorry, I have nothing left to offer you if we go down the above route. Accordingly, no Monday night game at East Coast next Monday (28 July 2014), and the game will be switched to a small pitch for the whole of August 2014. From above: .... ....While the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand has picked up and has been filling up well over the last couple of weeks, we only managed one more Sunday night game at Balestier Road, a 5-a-side the following week (18 May 2014). Once players feel that the game is not going to go on, they stop putting their name down for the game, and we have had no names down for the Sunday night game at Balestier Road since the game scheduled for 8 June 2014. It hasn't helped that the friends of Nic F and Nic G who formed a core group of players for the Sunday night games at Balestier Road between 11 May 2014 and 1 June 2014 have largely left Singapore. With the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand filling up on its own,I'll make more of an effort over the course of the third quarter of 2014 to fill the Sunday night game at Balestier Road. .... I'm reluctant to start asking around for the Sunday night game at Khalsa until the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand has filled up. The latter has just about been filling up, usually at the weekend itself, so by then, it's too late to get the Sunday night going. As I'm away from Saturday, I won't bother scheduling the Khalsa night game for this Sunday (27 July 2014). A couple of players put their names down for 6 July 2014 and 13 July 2014, but without more interest, the game wasn't likely to go on. Also from above: .... .... I will resume scheduling Monday night games at The Grandstand from July 2014 onwards, starting next Monday, and over the course of the quarter, will also make more of an effort to fill the game. .... No names down at all for 7, 14 and 21 July 2014. A bit hard for me to make an effort when there doesn't seem to be any interest. Again, as I'm away from Saturday, I won't bother scheduling the Grandstand game for next Monday (28 July 2014). I am back on 2 August 2014. Also from the "Regular venues & pitches" thread: .... ..., The Premier Pitch @ Khalsa have informed me that they will be re-turfing the pitches between 27 July 2014 and 10 August 2014, during which time, they will only have one big pitch. As such, they have cancelled two of my bookings, on 6 August 2014 (Wednesday) and 7 August 2014 (Thursday). .... I asked if they have small pitches on those days. They only have one on the Wednesday. I also asked at the uncovered pitches at The Grandstand. An uncovered big pitch is available from 8 to 9 pm on both days. For the week from 2 to 7 August 2014, I propose the weekly schedule be modified as follows: - Saturday, as usual, 5 to 6 pm, on a covered big pitch at The Grandstand.
- Sunday, as usual, 5 to 6 pm, on a covered big pitch at The Grandstand.
- Sunday, 8 to 9 pm, on a big pitch at Khalsa.
- Monday, 9 to 10 pm, on a big pitch at The Grandstand.
- Monday, 9 to 10 pm, on a small pitch at East Coast.
- Tuesday, as usual, 9 to 10 pm, on the small pitch at Kallang.
- Wednesday, 8 to 9 pm, on an uncovered big pitch at The Grandstand and, 9 to 10 pm, an uncovered small pitch at Khalsa.
- Thursday, 8 to 9 pm, on an uncovered big pitch at The Grandstand, and 9 to 10 pm, on an uncovered big pitch at East Coast.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Sept 18, 2014 9:30:49 GMT 8
From above: .... I finally had a look at the two covered pitches at the SBSA @ Kallang. .... I am quite keen to start using the pitches there. .... I won't schedule extra games ... until the we've settled into the new venues (HYFA @ MacPherson and SBSA @ Kallang). The Monday night game has been at MacPherson since 11 August 2014. We have now had 6 games there. The main issue seems to be that they have to switch off the lights at 10 pm sharp (due to neighbouring flats), so we can't carry on playing past 10 pm. However, if there is no one playing before us, they will let us start earlier. We've tried the SBSA @ Kalllang pitch once, on Wednesday, 27 August 2014. Several issues about the pitch and the venue were raised, to which I have responded. Also from the "Regular venues & pitches" thread: .... ..., I guess no point switching from the better pitches at Khalsa and MacPherson to SBSA @ Kallang even as a one-off to allow players to try it out. Instead ..., I am looking at the following: - Switching the Tuesday games on 16, 23 and 30 September 2014 to SBSA @ Kallang, so that we can have a 7-a-side game on Tuesday, while keeping it at Kallang until the end of September 2014.
- From October 2014 onwards, switching the Tuesday game to MacPherson, so that we have two games at MacPherson each week, and a 7-a-side game every night from Monday to Thursday. The Cage game would be switched to Wednesday night, so we will have two games on Wednesday night, one 5-a-side (for those who prefer 5-a-side) and one 7-a-side.
- From 19 September 2014 onwards, trying to have additional games on Friday night (8 to 9 pm or 9 to 10 pm), Saturday afternoon (4 to 5 pm) and/or Sunday night (8 to 9 pm) at the SBSA @ Kallang.
. I guess players want to stick with what they are familiar with.  I will leave the Tuesday game at The Cage for now. I will try SBSA @ Kallang for a new game, either a Friday night game or, with both our Saturday and Sunday games at The Grandstand (Bukit Timah) an extra game in the East at the weekend. I am targeting 3-5 October 2014. As for the Tuesday night game at The Cage, if numbers are sustained or increase, I am looking at having two games schedule there a week, which probably means moving the Tuesday night game. Also, at some stage, I will start a 7-a-side game on Tuesday, so that there is a 7-a-side game every day of the week. I'll come back to this later. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Feb 1, 2015 20:53:32 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. .... 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. It came about because, as posted on the schedule thread: .... Several players left on waitlist over the past week, and the weekend games are already full, so I'll schedule an extra game for this Friday. .... 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. I have tried on and off to get a regular game going over the past couple of years. I have considered various options, including 7-a-side games at The Rainforest Arena at The Grandstand or the SBSA @ Kallang. Ironically, we have come back to a point made on this thread earlier on: .... ..., if I do get round to introducing a Friday night game, it is likely to be at Kallang, where we only need 8 to 10 players for the game to go on. .... When asking around to fill up the places for the game on 16 January 2015, I received the following reply from Babs: Earlier on this thread, I said: .... Friday night also has a different dynamic from other weeknights. More people try to get out of the office a bit earlier so that they can go out for the evening. If they were to squeeze a game in in between, it may well have to be an earlier slot. .... However, while the dynamic is different from other weeknights, it may not be as I thought. Several of the players who played on 16 January 2015, or who from time to time ask about a game on Friday, regularly work late or overtime. They are therefore not able to play often Monday to Thursday. However, if they are keen to play, they are more likely to try to squeeze in a game on Friday. 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. The only convenient slot (in terms of day, time and location) is, as previously discussed on this thread, Sunday night, 8 to 9 pm, at Khalsa. Therefore, the extra games in February 2015 will be: - Fridays, 9 to 10 pm, The Cage
- Sundays, 8 to 9 pm, Khalsa
I earlier scheduled an extra game for today (Sunday), for the following reasons: Athough the Wednesday night game at Khalsa was cancelled despite having several on waitlist due to 9 withdrawals, we have had players on waitlist for the Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday games this week, including 8 on waitlist for tomorrow. If there is sufficient interest, we can have an extra game tomorrow night at Khalsa, partly to make up for the Wednesday night game being cancelled. .... However, as the game was scheduled very late on, we didn't get enough players, and it was cancelled, despite my asking around extensively. I'll continue to schedule both extra games. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Apr 1, 2015 14:21:01 GMT 8
From the "Filling places & choices" thread: From above: 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. .... And from the "Weekly schedule & number of games" thread: .... 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: I think we do need to have a game on a big pitch every day of the week (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. .... We'll see how it goes. and: 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. Unfortunately, Tuesday night at The Cage only has a handful of regulars. There are others who play from time to time but over several years, even players who may play regularly for a few months then stop for long periods. We do not have a big enough pool of regulars. There is still a regular game on Tuesday night, 9 to 10 pm, at Kallang, except that it is at SBSA instead of The Cage. I hope that some of the players who only want to play on a big pitch give it a try and become regulars, so that the pool is bigger, and the game becomes more sustainable. The games on Tuesday went ahead at SBSA @ Kallang on 10 March 2015 (5-a-side), 17 March 2015 (7-a-side to the side lines), 24 March 2015 (7-a-side off the nets) and yesterday, 31 March 2015 (5-a-side). After some discussion, for the last game yesterday, numbers were limited to 12, but it didn't fill up, so we went ahead 5-a-side. We only had one game on Friday in March 2015, last week (27 March 2015), a 5-a-side at Khalsa. The game was switched to Khalsa as no pitch was available at The Cage. However, this was only our second ever regular Friday night game. From the schedule thread for the game this Friday (3 April 2015): This Friday is Good Friday, and all the games since the weekend have been slow to fill up. From the "Public holidays & seasonal factors" thread: .... In the circumstances, I won't schedule a game on Good Friday itself (3 April 2015). .... As we had a game last Friday, Azmi today asked if there is a game this Friday. I will go ahead and schedule a 5-a-side to see if there is sufficient interest. As there is no pitch available at The Cage, I will schedule it at Khalsa. .... 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.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Apr 26, 2015 11:58:18 GMT 8
From above: ... 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.
.... And from the "Venues, pitches & team sizes" thread: Just as I thought the Tuesday night game was settling down at SBSA @ Kallang, ... I got a message from the guy at SBSA that Sport Singapore (who presumably licence SBSA to use Kallang Fields) will not be allowing football there for at least the rest of April 2015 in order to plan for the 2015 SEA Games, to be held from 5 to 16 June 2015. I'm not sure how that works but no one is going to argue with Sport Singapore. Anyway, I have been left scrambling to to find an alternative venue for the next few Tuesdays. With a view to keeping the game at 6 or 7-a-side, I tried HYFA @ Macpherson, Premier Pitch @ Khalsa, Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand (uncovered pitch), Stadio at Balestier and The Rainforest Arena @ The Grandstand. No pitch available between 9 and 10 pm. Although pitches are available after 10 pm, I am not keen on changing the timing, as our weeknight games are routinely from 9 to 10 pm. While no big covered pitch is available at The Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand (on which we play 8-a-side at the weekends), a small covered pitch is available. We used to play 6-a-side on the small pitch there when we first started playing at The Grandstand (then known as Turf City). I've booked the pitch for the next few weeks. Although my own view has been that 5-a-side is preferable on the small pitch, when Elvin's Wednesday night game used to be on Monday nights on a small pitch, they used to play 6-a-side on the small pitch as well. The minimum number is 2 less than the maximum number. If we cap numbers at 12 ($9 per player), we can still go ahead with 10. If we cap numbers at 10 ($11 per player), we would need to be able to go ahead with 8 (4-a-side), which is tough. I'll allow up to 12 to begin with. .... So far, we've had 3 games on a small pitch at The Grandstand for Tuesdays - 14 April 2015, 21 April 2015 and 28 April 2015. They have all filled up well, and apart from the first game, have filled up on the forum without the need to ask around extensively. They have all been 6-a-side, apart from the last one, where two late withdrawals left us with a 5-a-side. It would appear that a Tuesday night game on a small pitch at The Grandstand is sustainable in the longer term, so I will make this game a permanent fixture. I will also resume the Tuesday night game at SBSA @ Kallang in late June or July 2015, after the SEA Games are concluded. Therefore, we will have two games on Tuesday nights, both 6-a-side. I think between now and then, the pool of players for each game will evolve to become fairly separate, thus allowing for both games to become sustainable. As it is, those who play Tuesday nights already indicate a preference for one venue or the other. The Grandstand game will cater more for those who live in the west and north while the Kallang game will cater more for those who work in the city or live in the East. Before then, to bring back more of those who used to play regularly on Tuesday then Monday nights at Sports Planet @ East Coast, I aim to have a game on Tuesday at East Coast for a few weeks before resuming at SBSA @ Kallang. Unfortunately, the 7-a-side pitch at East Coast is not available from 9 to 10 pm on Tuesdays. We can either have a 5-a-side game on a small pitch from 9 to 10 pm, or a 7-a-side game on a big pitch from 10 to 11 pm. I would rather try the former than the latter, as it requires fewer players, and is at our regular time slot. Going back to the first quote above, we didn't manage a Friday night game in April 2015, but mainly because when it came to time to ask around (which I need to for a new game to take off), I got busy at work. It's Labour Day next Friday (1 May 2015). I'm not sure what numbers will be like. After good numbers in the two weeks after Easter, numbers have been down over the past week, with every game other than Monday at Macpherson and Saturday at The Grandstand a bit of a struggle to fill in. Nevertheless, I'll go ahead and schedule the usual game at The Cage next Friday, and continue to schedule a Friday night game at The Cage through May 2015. I wil schedule a Friday night game at The Cage for the rest of May 2015. However, as no pitch is available on 8 May 2015, the only other pitch available from 9 to 10 pm is the 5-a-side hockey pitch at Khalsa, which the Premier Pitch @ Khalsa allow to be used for football. We have previously played on that pitch on Thursday, 5 March 2015. The game on 27 March 2015 (Friday) was also supposed to be on the hockey pitch, but we managed to get a 5-a-side football pitch shortly before the game was due to start because it became available due to a cancellation. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on May 12, 2015 9:34:44 GMT 8
I received a call from the Premier Pitch @ Grandstand on Saturday (9 May 2015) to inform me that the pitch is not available in two weeks time (Saturday, 23 May 2015), as the owners have booked the pitch for a whole day event that day. The alternative for that day is a 7-a-side pitch at Premier Pitch @ Khalsa. As the 7-a-side pitch there is uncovered, 5 to 6 pm may be too hot, so I have booked 6 to 7 pm instead. As the weekend games by and large continue to fill up fast (with the odd game struggling to fill up), I am again looking at having an additional game on Sunday evenings at Khalsa. Previously, on this thread: Both Sunday games went on today, the 4 to 5 pm game at The Grandstand, with 14, and the 8 to 9 pm game at Balestier Road, with 12. This is the first time we've had 2 games on Sunday since June 2012, when we had back to back games at The Grandstand from 4 to 5 pm and 5 to 6 pm. Although we only had the minimum number for both games, it is remarkable we managed two games, as not only were a lot of players away (with Tuesday being a public holiday, Vesak Day, people take Monday off for an extra long weekend), but today is Mother's Day, so a lot of players had additional family commitments. I will continue to schedule both games indefinitely. The only question is whether the afternoon/evening game at The Grandstand should be 4 to 5 pm or 5 to 6 pm. .... The best way to decide this is through a poll. The voting will be applied in the future. For this month, the game will remain from 4 to 5 pm. .... .... From the poll thread: The poll has been locked. 7:3 in favour of reverting to the 5 to 6 pm slot. So it shall be. I thought the 5 to 6 pm slot was still available, so I scheduled this Sunday's game for the later time slot. Unfortunately, it is not available until July 2014, so I have to bring the game forward to the earlier time slot of 4 to 5 pm for the rest of June 2014. The Sunday evening game at The Grandstand returns to the 5 to 6 pm slot from July 2014 onwards. .... While the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand has picked up and has been filling up well over the last couple of weeks, we only managed one more Sunday night game at Balestier Road, a 5-a-side the following week (18 May 2014). Once players feel that the game is not going to go on, they stop putting their name down for the game, and we have had no names down for the Sunday night game at Balestier Road since the game scheduled for 8 June 2014. It hasn't helped that the friends of Nic F and Nic G who formed a core group of players for the Sunday night games at Balestier Road between 11 May 2014 and 1 June 2014 have largely left Singapore. With the Sunday evening game at The Grandstand filling up on its own,I'll make more of an effort over the course of the third quarter of 2014 to fill the Sunday night game at Balestier Road. .... .... to give players more opportunity to try out this new venue, I'll switch the Sunday night game from Khalsa to the SBSA @ Kallang for the time being. .... The SBSA @ Kallang game finally settled on Tuesday by the start of April 2015, but the pitch is currently not available due to the SEA Games. Also earlier on this thread: .... However, the games that fill up fast and have several players on waitlist are the 7-a-side games. The only convenient slot (in terms of day, time and location) is, as previously discussed on this thread, Sunday night, 8 to 9 pm, at Khalsa. Therefore, the extra games in February 2015 will be: - Fridays, 9 to 10 pm, The Cage
- Sundays, 8 to 9 pm, Khalsa
I earlier scheduled an extra game for today (Sunday), for the following reasons: Athough the Wednesday night game at Khalsa was cancelled despite having several on waitlist due to 9 withdrawals, we have had players on waitlist for the Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday games this week, including 8 on waitlist for tomorrow. If there is sufficient interest, we can have an extra game tomorrow night at Khalsa, partly to make up for the Wednesday night game being cancelled. .... However, as the game was scheduled very late on, we didn't get enough players, and it was cancelled, despite my asking around extensively. I'll continue to schedule both extra games. .... 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. .... This time round, a 6 to 7 pm slot is available at Khalsa on Sundays. This time slot is closer to the 5 to 6 pm slot players are familiar with for the weekends, as both the Saturday and Sunday games at Grandstand are from 5 to 6 pm. I will schedule a 6 to 7 pm game on Sundays at Khalsa for the rest of May 2015. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Jul 16, 2015 22:52:50 GMT 8
On 3 June 2015, I got the following message from the person I deal with: I have been trying to find out more about the new company. From the "Public holidays & seasonal factors" thread: ..., as the international schools and those who follow an international calendar have summer vacations between June and September 2015, numbers don't usually pick up until late August 2015. The Tuesday night game at the Grandstand has been cancelled 3 weeks in a row - 23 June 2015, 30 June 2015, and 7 July 2015. The last occasion was a pity, as we were only one short. The game on Saturday, 11 July 2015, was also cancelled, one short. Also from the post above. .... The Friday night game is currently part of the regular schedule, so I will continue to schedule it through the June holidays. We've only had one Friday night game so far, on 27 March 2015. I stopped scheduling the Friday night game with effect from 26 June 2015 (http://giffas.proboards.com/board/11/schedule-system-playing-rules?filters[]=label_id:eq:43). This Friday is Hari Raya Puasa. Although it is a long weekend, I will schedule a game. I've asked around and two slots are available:
I'll schedule both and see whether either gets a response. Both games ( the one at East Coast as well as the one at the Grandstand) have been cancelled with no names down. With the long weekend, we didn't get enough players for the regular Thursday night game even. And with the Barclays Asia Trophy, numbers are not looking good for Saturday. Anyway, over several weeks now, an increasing number of the Saturday regulars have been switching to Sunday. Not sure what that is all about. The Premier Pitch @ The Grandstand is not available on Tuesday, 4 August 2015. With several games cancelled over recent weeks, I won't schedule the Tuesday game at the Grandstand again until 11 August 2015. I have 2 hours on a small pitch at Sports Planet @ East Coast which I have to use. I'll schedule the game next Tuesday (21 July 2015) there. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on Jan 3, 2017 10:00:51 GMT 8
From the "Public holidays & seasonal factors" thread: The next two Saturdays are Christmas eve and New Year's eve. We haven't had a game on Christmas eve or New Year's eve for several years now, not in 2015, 2014, 2103 or 2012. I won't schedule games for the next two Saturdays. I currently do not have bookings for Sunday. From the "Alternatives for a regular Sunday evening game" thread on the "Stand-Alone Polls" board: .... When I called the Premier Pitch @ Grandstand on Friday evening (2 Dec 2016) to cancel at least 48 hours before as required by the current management, the manager, Zul, said that since I had only used one Sunday slot on the big pitch since 2 October 2016, he would cancel all my Sunday bookings on the big pitch, so that other customers had an opportunity to book a 2-hour slot between 4 and 7 pm. If we get enough players, I can check to see if any one-hour slot on the big pitch is still available between 4 and 7 pm. I can't really argue with that. .... I scheduled games with "flexi-time" for the next two Sundays - 11 December 2016 and today. With some effort, we got to 16 for 11 December 2016. However, today's game has been cancelled, with only 4 names down. I'll do the same for the next two Sundays - Christmas Day and New Year's Day - to see if there is enough interest. As the next two Mondays are also public holidays, I will schedule games on a big covered pitch at The Grandstand for those days as well. Only 6 to 7 pm is available for 26 December 2016, but 5 to 6 pm is available for 2 January 2017. I will not schedule games at Macpherson on those days. And from the "Weekly schedule & number of games" thread: .... 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. I will skip Khalsa the next two Sundays, and resume on 8 January 2017. Both the Monday public holiday games at the Grandstand were cancelled ( 26 Dec 2016 and 2 Jan 2017), but we did manage a Sunday game at the Grandstand on 1 January 2017 (although the game on 25 December 2016 was also cancelled). I'll continue to schedule both a Sunday evening game at the Grandstand and a Sunday night game at Khalsa until the end of the month. The Sunday evening game will continue to be "flexi-time" until it becomes regular enough for me to make the bookings in advance. |
|
|
|
Post by Rajiv on May 14, 2019 8:50:14 GMT 8
From the "Filling places & choices" thread: Continuing from above, the Monday night game at Macpherson and the Wednesday night game at Khalsa continue to fill up fast, with several players on waitlist within a day on the schedule thread going up. For example, for this week, we had 9 on waitlist for the game on Monday (25 March 2019) and 12 on waitlist for the game today (Wednesday). For both games, there were a remarkable number of withdrawals after the WhatsApp group chat was created. The Monday night game at Macpherson has had at least 9 on waitlist for a few weeks now, reaching 11 for the game on 11 March 2019. The Tuesday night 6-a-side game at Grandstand, and the Saturday evening game at the Grandstand, also fill up well, within 2 or 3 days of the schedule thread going up. The Sunday evening game at Grandstand has struggled to fill up. The game on 3 March 2019 was cancelled, while other games in recent weeks have only filled up on the day itself. For last Sunday (24 March 2019), we were stuck on 8 until the morning of the game itself. I expect numbers for the weekend games are down because of two factors: (i) people travelling at the weekends and (ii) the wide range of 11-a-side leagues in full flow, with games played at the weekends, mainly on Sunday. The Tuesday night game at Macpherson continues to struggle. We managed a game last week (19 March 2019) only because no pitch was available for a 5 or 6-a-side at Grandstand, so we instead had Grandstand regulars versus Macpherson regulars at Macpherson. The Thursday night game at Khalsa also continues to struggle, with the games on 14 February 2019 and 7 March 2019 cancelled due to lack of numbers, and the game last week (21 March 2019) cancelled due to players not being keen to play following heavy rain in the afternoon/evening, after we had struggled to get numbers in the first place. .... I have been scheduling the extra game on Tuesday night at Macpherson for some time now, but it has only gone ahead once more, on 2 April 2019, when the Monday night game was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch, and enough players switched to Tuesday. 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. |
|
