17-06-2015, 06:38 PM
You can move the Richardson in two directions: more entries, or stronger teams. I don't think it's possible to get both. The sort of things being proposed and voted on will keep the event strong, but yes, I'm not convinced it will cause an influx of entries. Moving the event to a more weekend based approach will increase numbers, because we can see from congresses, it is a popular format.
However, I have done some analysis on the Richardson this year. In the quarter finals, of the 60 players who played a game, only 31 had played at least one Scottish congress this year. Several of those 31 (I guess myself included) have only managed 1, and those tend to be players playing their local congress only. Now as soon as you go to something requiring weekend commitment on a particular weekend at a defined venue, I guess you will knock out most of those players, for the same reasons they currently don't play congresses. Now there is no doubt that introducing this format, while being popular for many players, would severely dilute the quality of the teams.
This is why I think it is important to decide if you are after a quality or quantity based event. There are reasons in favour of both, but I sit firmly on the quality side because this is the premier team competition in Scotland.
However, I have done some analysis on the Richardson this year. In the quarter finals, of the 60 players who played a game, only 31 had played at least one Scottish congress this year. Several of those 31 (I guess myself included) have only managed 1, and those tend to be players playing their local congress only. Now as soon as you go to something requiring weekend commitment on a particular weekend at a defined venue, I guess you will knock out most of those players, for the same reasons they currently don't play congresses. Now there is no doubt that introducing this format, while being popular for many players, would severely dilute the quality of the teams.
This is why I think it is important to decide if you are after a quality or quantity based event. There are reasons in favour of both, but I sit firmly on the quality side because this is the premier team competition in Scotland.