GRADING SYSTEM

LYVNA use a grading system to grade the teams for the first few rounds of the season.  The intent of the new system is to make better use of the grading games and have the competition re graded after each round of grading.

During the grading weeks the fixtures will appear a bit different from the normal season so please read through the following points carefully.
 

HOW THE GRADING SYSTEM WORKS?

1. During grading there will be no sections.  Eg. All 11U teams will be in the one section

2. All teams in each age group will be ranked prior to the season from strongest to weakest. 

3. The ranking will be done by the LYVNA committee and we will use a variety of information to determine the ranking (similar to what we currently use).  These include:
   a.  Previous ladder positions
   b.  Requested section
   c.  Number of new players in the team
   d.  Age of players in the team (top age or bottom age) 
   e.  Comments made by clubs on registration forms

4. Each week of the grading, each team will play a team that is ranked either one above or one below them.  Eg. Team ranked 1 will play team ranked 2, 3 will play 4, 5 will play 6 and so on.

5. After each round, if a team wins their game, they will move up in the ranking.  If they lose their game they will move down in the ranking.  The system uses a method that ensures teams do not play each other two weeks in a row. Generally, a team will move 1-2 places up or down in the ranking each week.  LYVNA also has the ability to adjust how much a team moves up or down depending on the scale of the win or loss.  

6. Items 4 and 5 continue for each week of the grading.  

7. There will be 3-4 weeks of grading.

8. The grading system ensures that teams will continue to move up or down in the ranking until they are ranked near teams of similar ability.  

9. At the end of the grading the LYVNA committee will determine the best numbers of teams in each section and allocate the teams to sections according to the final ranking.

The intent of the above system is to have each team end up ranked near other teams of similar ability.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE AND TO PASS ONTO TO YOUR TEAMS AND COACHES

• TEAMS WILL CARRY THEIR POINTS INTO THE MAIN SEASON.  This is to encourage teams to try to win games during the grading rounds.

• During the grading rounds, teams will not know where they are on the ranking so they will not know if they have been ranked higher or lower than the section the club asked for.

• As there will be no sections, players, coaches and umpires will need to know what team number they are when checking the fixtures.  The clubs will need to ensure all players know what team number they are in.  Umpires will need to know what team number they are umpiring.

• Teams may play at different time slots each week during grading so players will need to check the website each week for changes.  If it happens, it should be only one timeslot earlier or later.

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