Richardson Poll #2 - The Knock-Out Format

[George Neave]

We got a winner in poll 1 so lets drill in

[JRedpath]

I would be fairly sceptical about the results of these polls on this forum with such a small sample, however if you go by the results it seems that people are happy with the current format.

So another issue debated to death and the end result no change! Sounds familiar... :p

[Phil Thomas]

That's democracy Joe.
The Apathy party voted overwhelmingly.
Voted to abstain that is

More seriously the likely revision I see from the online debate is relaxation of the 30 mile rule.
Overdue change I say.

Just look at the map showing location of Scotland's chess clubs.

Most of Scotland by area is more than 30 miles from the nearest club.
Having a rule that applies differently, in a poorly specified way, for different locations looks to me unworkable, perhaps even bizarre,

[Alan Tate]

The 30 mile rule is actually a rule?? I was wondering what that poll was about.

[Ken_Stewart]

Historically, this rule was an attempt to prevent clubs from importing players from distant parts (in particular, from outside Scotland) as is done in 4NCL and some continental leagues.
It may not be necessay if eligibility criteria are clear otherwise.

[Jonathan Livingstone]

We need some debate on scrapping the Spens? It is going to happen at some point anyway. The focus is always on the Rich, then after that the Spens gets considered. Why is there no focus on the struggling Spens here? Scrapping the Spens could bolster the entries to the Rich. The elite players who don't want to play the weaker players/teams too often need not worry either as seeding the Rich, or having pre-qualifiers would address such issues.

Our game just can't support the 2 separate competitions, it needs 1 vibrant and well supported competition. If the elite players have to play a weaker team in an early round, is not the end of the world, or they can skip that match if desired.

[Phil Thomas]

Historically, this rule was an attempt to prevent clubs from importing players from distant parts (in particular, from outside Scotland) as is done in 4NCL and some continental leagues.
It may not be necessay if eligibility criteria are clear otherwise.

Sounds like a very old rule then - if distant parts = more than 30 miles.

If the intention of the rule, as currently worded, is to exclude those not qualified to play for Scotland OR not living temporarily in Scotland. Then why not change the rule to limit competitors to players qualified to play for Scotland OR not currently resident in Scotland. ?