Manager: Alfonso Quinonez

Text: 240-521-8700

New rules for the Thursday’s nights league:

• Each player will be assigned a group based on their current USATT ranking or current victories against other players at the club.

• Please bear with me during the first few league nights as it may take a while to input all the scores.
• The main purpose of the new rating system is to implement a “Matchmaking System” that allows players to play against others of similar skill level and gives everyone a fair chance to advance.
• Casual matches are not allowed! If a player decides to play during the league. That player must play at least two games within his group before he leaves. 
• Groups are divided not by the number of players showing up during the night but by their group level.

Example: The following table shows a possible scenario of the people who show up on a league night. 

• Group A: 4 People
• Group B: 8 People
• Group C: 3 People

• Group A: Tables 1 and 2 
• Group B: Tables 3 and 4
• Group C: Table 5

Each member must play in their assigned group and play all their matches. 

Group A: Group A will be composed of the top 12 best players that continuously play during the weekly league nights.

Group B: This group would be composed by next best eight players that did not make it

into the top 12.

Group C: Will be composed of everyone else 

that did not make it into group B.  

• Each player must play one mandatory game against a player below his current rating within his group. 

The club will display a list with your current rating 

and group. Most likely thru the WDCTT Chat:

Chat

Golden Ticket:

After tonight, April 20, 2023. The top player from groups C and B will have the opportunity to compete against the player with the lowest score in the following group.

Example:

The player in Group A who has the lowest score needs to compete against the player with the highest score in Group B. This arrangement is also applied to Groups B and C. 

Every week, players will have the chance to move up to the next group. To clarify, it’s important to note that advancement is based on outranking a player, rather than beating them.

• The players who rank highest in Groups C and B have the responsibility of keeping track and ensuring that they use their Golden Ticket, which ultimately benefits them.

• If a player from the top group is absent during the next league match, they will have to play with the best player from the lower-level group whenever this occurs.
• The highest-rated player is required to submit the final score after each game. If the score is not submitted, the player will not be allowed to play in their usual group and will instead play in the group of the next lower level.

Golden Tournament – For players that constantly play during league nights. 

To give all players a fair chance to show their skills and earn the most points possible, we will be hosting a Golden Tournament exclusively for those who consistently participate in Thursday league nights. This will take place every six months. 

Note: Players who only come occasionally do not receive any rewards.

The Golden Tournament will start with a round-robin, and players of all levels will face each other for the opportunity to win ranking points and be featured on the WDCTT Instagram account. 

Since the Golden Tournament will be held every six months. We will talk to players to ensure we can select the best night possible for everyone. 

Rewards for the best player in Group A:

I have to talk to Khalell about this, but here are some ideas to motivate the best players to keep them coming and to encourage them to stay at the top.

• Having the opportunity to obtain more RP (rank points) by playing against Khaleel, one of the other coaches, or any other top player.
• Free lessons 
• Free Merchandise
• Free passes for friends & family members
• Be featured on the WDCTT Website and Instagram Account. 

Please let me know if you have more ideas!

Note: The top-level player must maintain his ranking for three months in a row.  

Additional Notes:

Two minutes warm-ups & Number of Games per night:

I will strive to be impartial to all players. Nevertheless, I may need to make exceptions depending on the unique circumstances surrounding each table, member, and other requirements, due to the large number of players involved.

• Depending on the number of people playing in each group during the night. Sometimes warm-ups can extend up to 4 minutes. 

The Best of 3 Rule:

• If only a small number of people are present in a group for the night, and one player anticipates an easy win, a Best of 3 rule will be used. This means the player can complete their matches faster and check if players from other groups are available for friendly matches.

If the rule of 3 is accepted, players cannot play a best-of-5 game. 

Note: The purpose of this is to protect players who are at a lower level. Remember, a win is still a win! 

• If a player disagrees with the application of The Best of 3 rule, then they will have to play Best out of 5 by default.
• Note: Please be conscious of your level and the level of your opponent. We want to make things exciting and moving at a good pace. 
• If the players can’t agree, I will decide for them. 
• If all the groups are full, players must compete in best-of-three matches.
• In extreme cases, we might even see a death match (Best of 2). No points will be given if this happens.

What does it mean to be outranked?

Inactive players do not lose points, but they may lose their rank and position in any group.

Example: 

Player 1 has the lowest rating (1000) in Group B. However, they’ve been inactive. 

Player 2, who’s in Group C and has been playing consistently, reaches a rating of 1001. 

Resutl: Player 1 moves down to Group C, and Player 2 moves up to take Player 1’s place in Group B.

What are we trying to improve with this new Matchmaking system?

• We want people to have the opportunity to advance every week.
• Give everyone an accurate club rating.
• Reward players for constantly playing at the club. 
• Reduce waiting time during league nights.
• Make members happy
• The new rules, Golden passes, and punishments will create even more opportunities for players to advance to the next group. 
• We want people to engage in matches even if they think they might lose. 
• We believe that everyone deserves an opportunity to prove themselves, and we do not want anyone to feel stuck or left behind.

What are we trying to avoid with this new Matchmaking system:

• We discourage players from exclusively playing with their friends in the league to ensure a challenging experience. Playing only with friends can lead to fatigue and potentially hinder the competitiveness of the league.

Characteristics of a Matchmaking System:

• The Matchmaking system assigns rewards and penalties to players based on their victories or defeats.
• It takes players out of their comfort zone. 
• Ensure that people are always matched with new opponents based on their respective level and skills instead of solely relying on their point-based ranking. 
• It’s true that not everyone will be satisfied with the matchmaking system, especially when they’re close to ranking up. However, the system is designed to make the game fair and challenging overall, which keeps the vast majority of players happy.  

Why now?

Unfortunately, the scoring system formula for table tennis is complicated and time-consuming. I have to do pretty much everything manually! 

So even though I have wanted to do this for a while, only until a few weeks ago, I was able to make the formula work consistently. So I hope everything goes according to plan. 

Final Note: 

Players who fail to follow the rules will be penalized by not being able to play with their usual group in their next session. Instead, they will have to play in the league night following that session with a group that’s of a lower level than their usual group.

This is a method to ensure that individuals have the opportunity to improve their skills by competing against someone who is slightly better than them, or by preventing them from avoiding opponents who are close to defeating them.