Getting fed up of League Snooker in my area.

[inevermissblue]

Hi all, just want to have a rant to let off some steam, and hopefully gather other peoples opinions as to a solution.
I play in Stoke-On-Trents ONLY! Snooker league. This is a Private Snooker League consisting of all the old CIU's, Working Mens, Bowling Clubs etc...
I was recently invited to play in a Cup match in an out of area league, and the experience has left me numb! It has given me a glimpse of something refreshing and simple. The attitutes of the people i saw were that of people who just love the game for what it is! No egos, no pride, just very very enthusiastic. I can appreciate that its not fair to compare those areas to ours, because their league covers a much greater catchment area. Although it does show the difference in attitudes, that i saw with my own eyes!!!
So my question is! What can be done to re-ignite interest in our area??? both in attitudes and popularity? We once had 4 or 5 different leagues, but now down to just 1!!! We need help, before it is gone forever!

[DeanH]

Maybe arrange an inter-league friendly, one home, one away. If your league dont want to do it, them maybe just arrange it for your own team.
Let your team members be dumb-struck as well, and it my refresh their love of the game

[inevermissblue]

Hi DeanH! Thanks for the quick response. You have a good point. The problem with this area isn't the lack of players. Its quite the opposite actually. The problem is getting them to play. Without trying to sound ungrateful, there is a distinct lack of quality players left! which may have in turn discouraged the lesser players to carry on too! This i think is responsible for the huge void we now face. There are quite a few top quality players who don't play anymore which obviously means that there is nothing left to interest them. So what do we do? As far as im concerned a match is a match, so i've continued regardless. The other area i mentioned is currently holding a cup league and they have a staggering 100 teams!!! They have a 6 division strong annual league with the usual individuals, doubles etc...
So interest is not an issue there! So much so that all but one division boasts a century! Yes!!!

[DeanH]

Why dont you talk to the league committee in the other area and blatantly ask them what they would do
Then see your league committee and make suggestions; are you involved in the league committee?, if not maybe it is your time to shine
best of luck

[Meerkat]

To keep the best players I think it is best to operate a handicap system that is capped. -14 to 30 and that's it. T

[Terry Davidson]

Perhaps the problem is the good players expect to see the same faces week after week and also they know there is little challenge for them any more as they are playing the same people all the time.

I think the suggestion by DeanH above on organizing some inter-league matches might be the answer because those great players may not know just how good (or bad) the players from the other league are plus it would be new faces (and hopefully fresh attitudes too).

We have a similar problem here in Ontario, Canada when we have our regular tournaments. All the weaker players know if Floyd Zeigler (and a few other good players) have entered then we are all playing for second place or worse and it's always the same old faces. My belief is this problem is turning off a lot of players who know they are battling for maybe a 1/4-final result (although it does show them they have to improve).

Terry

[inevermissblue]

Well after a year out of the league. We have re-entered this year, which we have deeply regretted. Last night was the final straw! We turned up to a once well maintained pair of tables, only to find that they hadn't even bothered to prepare them or provide the match balls (which were behind the bar). Shockingly they have two young lads who are aspiring pro's and they are playing on this rubbish too! We won the match 3-2 regardless. I am just gobsmacked at the low level attitudes regarding snooker. We ourselves have gone out of our way to provide the best playing experience possible. But the prerequisite must always be to provide match balls on match nights, regardless of the state of a table. I mean what other special occasion warrants them to grab the match balls out from the bar???
Well last night our team all agreed to call it quits after this season as its like pulling teeth here. I have been very pro active regarding all things snooker in my local area for the past few years, but its a case of it being pointless knocking if there is no one in!!!

[Shockerz]

To keep the best players I think it is best to operate a handicap system that is capped. -14 to 30 and that's it. T

I've heard about handicap systems in the league before; what I am struggling with is how you start one and grade each player without it being a total failure through getting them wrong.

Does anyone have a system of how to start as I suggested it when on the league committee once but this was the stumbling block.

[inevermissblue]

Don't bother with handicaps. They will only cause more problems. Not to mention the way it alters the makeup of a frame. Its a huge can of worms best left alone in my opinion.
There is only one solution. That is to have more divisions to accommodate similar abilities. Therefore giving each team in each division a fighting chance to win. It is the only positive thing you can do. Even if you are struggling for team numbers, you could run a 3 man/ 2 frames each match. Allowing most clubs to field one of two teams at the least!
This isn't an option for us though. As the league we play in (private league...bowling clubs, wmc, etc) have forbidden 'snooker clubs' to join!!! Outragious!
So we are about to embark on a league of our own where we can run it how it should be run.

[Londonlad147]

You say you won the match 3-2. What's the format of matches? 5 frames isn't a lot, especially if you're playing on two tables. Our local league, which back in the late 80s and 90s always had 35-40 teams, has trundled along with just one division of about 8 teams for quite a few years now, but each player plays two frames, so 8 frames in total.

[Shockerz]

Has anyone ever played in a league where you just have players not teams?

I wonder of there's any potential for that when there are too few teams in a league or just as an additional attraction?

[tomwalker147]

Unfortunately your problem is one that's across the board in many cases. Coventry is the same, my Dad was telling me about a time that Coventry had 7 leagues or more, now we have just the 3. The league committee do what they can but with clubs closing and snooker's popularity waning (in my opinion) I don't hold much hope for the future. There aren't enough youngsters in the league, in fact i'm one of the youngest at 25. We have an under 25s comp each year and I think only 7/8 players have entered it this year due to players like myself falling above the age bracket.

Playing competitions certainly is refreshing and like you say it is good to get together with like minded enthusiasts and play somebody new! I've certainly enjoyed venturing to SWSA for Pro am events amongst others!

[Shockerz]

Unfortunately your problem is one that's across the board in many cases. Coventry is the same, my Dad was telling me about a time that Coventry had 7 leagues or more, now we have just the 3. The league committee do what they can but with clubs closing and snooker's popularity waning (in my opinion) I don't hold much hope for the future. There aren't enough youngsters in the league, in fact i'm one of the youngest at 25. We have an under 25s comp each year and I think only 7/8 players have entered it this year due to players like myself falling above the age bracket.

Playing competitions certainly is refreshing and like you say it is good to get together with like minded enthusiasts and play somebody new! I've certainly enjoyed venturing to SWSA for Pro am events amongst others!

I've just managed to get the league to agree to an U25's competition so the younger players who struggle in the individuals comps can have their own cup, hopefully this will draw a few lesser players into competitive snooker. The format is a group system where they play each person in their group home and away and the winners and runners up in each group progress to the semi's. This way they get to have a few frames and matches even if they lose every one rather than a knockout system.

I did look at handicapping that as well so all sorts of standards would enter but we'll see how this progresses.

Can't disagree with snooker not being as popular with less divisions in most leagues, just need to share any good ideas to keep it going if possible.

[guernseygooner]

Has anyone ever played in a league where you just have players not teams?

I wonder of there's any potential for that when there are too few teams in a league or just as an additional attraction?

We have an individual league open to the top 8 players in the top leagues aggregates. Round robin group playing 5 frames each match. This is on top of 4 leagues of 6 teams. 4 man teams - top division play 3 frames each and the rest 2. Add to that the annual Island championship both straight and handicapped, annual open tournament, pairs, team KOs and an end of season shootout and the calendar is pretty packed. Not bad on an island of 60,000 people.

All this without any snooker clubs anymore, just social and ex-servicemen type places. But we face the same dilemma as everywhere else - no juniors. Back in the day there used to be an Island junior championship that would attract 30 plus entrants. It hasn't been held in over 10 years now and the youngest people playing in the leagues now are probably around 24.

[Shockerz]

We have an individual league open to the top 8 players in the top leagues aggregates. Round robin group playing 5 frames each match. This is on top of 4 leagues of 6 teams. 4 man teams - top division play 3 frames each and the rest 2. Add to that the annual Island championship both straight and handicapped, annual open tournament, pairs, team KOs and an end of season shootout and the calendar is pretty packed. Not bad on an island of 60,000 people.

All this without any snooker clubs anymore, just social and ex-servicemen type places. But we face the same dilemma as everywhere else - no juniors. Back in the day there used to be an Island junior championship that would attract 30 plus entrants. It hasn't been held in over 10 years now and the youngest people playing in the leagues now are probably around 24.

We need to put X'box's, playstations, red bull, protein supplements angry birds into every club!