Starting/Running a League

[mongoose]

hey guys, this thread is for sharing ideas on how to run a league. we've all got different circumstances, and i think that by sharing how we deal with different things, we'll all have a chance to pick up some new ideas.

Sign Up Sheets - we have one that we put out several weeks ahead of time. for us, there are some calendar events that mark the beginning of the darts season. for instance, we draft teams on the Tuesday of the Bloomsburg Fair. if someone doesn't frequent the tavern over the summer, they'll still know that they need to be signed up before "fair week".

Teams/Players - i've been running an in-house league lately. we ran leagues of four, five and six teams. when you're running a five team league, someone has to have a bye every week.

in the end, that wasn't any fun because instead of seeming like a week off, it was more a feeling that a team of shooters was being punished and not allowed to join in on the reindeer games.

we keep at least five shooters per team, so if someone is absent it isn't as hard on their teammates.

Absent/Tardy - players who miss two weeks in a row are replaced by new players of equal skill at the discretion of their captain. usually there are either good reasons, or there aren't. so if someone misses two weeks because they went to madatory overtime at work for two weeks, he's generally welcomed back with open arms.

when a player is absent, their team gets to use their average, minus a penalty. the amount of the penalty depends on the average (it's 10% basically). if a player is averaging a 30-something, they lose 3 points. if they're averaging a 20-something, they lose 2 points. etc.

if the game goes into extra innings, players do not get credit for an absent player.

as a general strategy, it is better to draft a less skilled player who never misses a game than a marginally better player with a spotty attendance record.

the games start at 7:30. we had been using a 3 inning grace period, so if a player arrived in the second, they would have 3 warm up darts, and then they'd shoot for scores in the first inning, and again for their score in the second.

we gave up on that because the younger guys abused it, basically. 7:30 start time meant we start at 7:30, not leave your house at 7:30. they got that all confused.

Schedule - it probably depends on the number of teams, but since that's been steady at four for some time we've settled into a "play everyone four times" schedule.

the season is broken into 2 halves, with the "winner" of the first half playing the winner of the second half in a playoff. winner of the playoff gets the championship and the trophies.

Dues and Fines - we have a league due of $1 a week per player. it goes towards a party/tournament at the end of the season,and trophies. if there's change we'll get T shirts or some such thing. oh, if it were legal to run a nightly 50/50 draw, we'd do that too.

we impose a fine for shooting a "1" in an inning (playing baseball). that'll cost you a dime. a blackout costs a quarter.

Food - the tavern provides the food on dart night, but this isn't always the case in all the dart leagues I know. and by food, i mean something like hamburgers/hot sausage/pierogies/pasta platters. not a veggie tray or chips/pretzels.

High/Low - the end of season party/tournament is a High/Low event where we create two man teams based on player's averages during the season.

the highest average is paired with the lowest. the second highest with the second lowest, etc. the prize pool for the event is created by a $10 entrance fee. food and drink are provided by the league treasury. generally, the high/low is the most fun event of the season.