I am creating an inline competition....help!

[Muzza_77 0]

Hey

I as I have mentioned where I play at there isn't actually any 'comp' so me, my grandpa and one of the co-ordinaters are going to start a comp. Though some questions, how long should each of the halves be? to fit into a one hour slot. There won't be any goalies, we will use those boards with holes in them. Does any one have any suggestions on how to make this work better? I was thinking to start with 4 teams then grow. Any suggestions? experience?

Thanks

Muzza

[Grinder 2]

My quick thoughts:

- If you have a one hour block at where ever you're playing, you could go with three 15 min periods, giving a 10 min warmup and 2 minutes between periods. Or, 5 min warmup, and 5 between periods.

- Using the plywood goalies: Establish a 5 o r 6 foot 'crease' which the opposing team must shoot from outside of. They can control the ball in it; they just have to take it outside to shoot. That way, no one can just guide the ball into the goal ('cause let's face it, that's weak!)

- You need to consider player conduct and calls. Is this self reffing? What's the consequence for a penalty? As an example, instead of using a timekeeper and sending guys off for a penalty, my league awards a penalty shot after the second penalty in a period.

- 4 teams is a good number to start with. You can expand too quickly and cause a lot of headaches for yourself. Each team should have a captain or rep who is responsible for some of the admin - use them as your contact point for that team, so instead of having to handout a schedule to every person in the league, just hand it to the rep. If his team didn't get the schedule, it's not your problem, tell them to get after their guy.

- and finally: Establish a cutoff point for fees. If a team doesn't have their all their money in by say, their third game, they get the boot.

[DamnLocust 0]

Fees and getting them all paid up on time will be an issue on pretty much every team in ever league ever. It sucks, but it's a part of the game. Just be prepared to take a hardl ine on that.

I would try to get one or two refs who will NOT be playing in the league. I played in a league where the refs were players for teams other than the two playing, and let's just keep it nice and say that they were .... somewhat biased. If there's a hockey organization that offers referee training in your area, this is highly recomended. Any good ref should be compensated, and you can either collect money for ref at the beginning with league fees, or collect ref fees at each game.

If there's a hockey organization that offers insurance for leagues in AUS, connect with them. Regardless, have every player sign waivers.

Finally, keep track of players on each team. If a team is short for a game, I don't see the harm in a member of another team playing with them, but you don't want any "Ringers" showing up around playoff time. most leagues around here have roster freezes (1/3 to 1/2 way through the season) and players need to make a certain number of games to participate in playoffs.

It can be a pain in the neck to get something like this started up, but the more organized you keep it, the better it will be, and the more fun you'll have. good luck.