Great news all we will still be in Division one for 2023!
Further to the SAL AGM the following provides some information that affect us.
Division 1 in 2023 for this Track and Field League will be:
A Salisbury
B Blackheath & Bromley
C Chelmsford
D Basingstoke & Mid-Hants
E Eastbourne
F Hercules Wimbledon
G Woking
H Harrow
I Ipswich and Colchester & T (c)
K Bracknell
L Epsom & Ewell
M Medway & Maidstone
N Norwich
P Peterborough & Nene Valley
R Brighton & Hove
S Southampton
V Thames Valley
W Windsor SE&H
The dates for 2023 will be (Eastbourne in bold):
Saturday May 20th – Match 1
BASINGSTOKE RG22 5SN D A G L E S
BRACKNELL RG12 7NN K H V B F M
COLCHESTER CO2 7SU I N R W C P
Sunday June 18th – Match 2
HARROW HA3 6SW H K I D A N
ETON SL4 6HN W B L E R F
WEST LONDON W12 0DF V M P G S C
Sunday July 9th – Match 3
BROMLEY BR2 9EJ B S F N G I
CHELMSFORD CM1 2EF C P H K L E
SALISBURY SP1 3NR A D W R M V
Saturday August 19th – Match 4
BRIGHTON BN1 5JD R G S H W K
TOOTING SW11 F C B A P D
GILLINGHAM ME7 1HF M E N I V L
The above are now on our fixture list page.
League structure for 2023:
The whole league has been restructured. This is to reduce the load on officials, provide more competition and make fixtures more viable and competitive, SAL meetings will move to a six-team rather than four-team format. This is achieved by having 18 club divisions. Clubs would be arranged in pairs, we are paired with Epsom & Ewell. Each pair of clubs meeting two other pairs of clubs each match over four matches. This combines the advantages of more clubs, more athletes and more officials while retaining the round robin system and outweighs any impact of a longer timetable. This also reduces the number of fixtures in each round and per season.
Advantages:
Better competition.
More officials.
Four meetings rather than five.
Round-robin system is retained so there are different clubs in each round.
Less travelling for clubs.
Paired clubs could share the burden of hosting a meeting.
We could avoid fixtures and both April and September, where team managers struggle to get teams out.
Disadvantages:
Longer meetings – the critical path for any SAL meeting is the time taken for the long throws and having four extra competitors in each of six long throws will increase the length of the meeting.
The scoring system would have to be modified so that paired teams would not be disadvantaged if they were paired with a very strong team. For example, the first match could be scored normally 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, with 21 points available the each of the A and B strings in each event. In subsequent matches, clubs would lose a point if one of the teams they beat was its pair. Suppose there were pairs, A & B, C & D and E & F. If the finish order was D, A, C, F, E, B, then teams D, A and F finished ahead of their pairs and would score one point less. Consequently, the points allocation for this event would be 5, 4, 4, 2, 2, 1, with 18 points available for each of the A and B strings in each event. Similarly for the match points. This could be implemented in the results software.
Promotion and relation would be similar to the existing rules, with four teams relegated from Division 1, two promoted from each Division 2 and so on.
Rule changes:
Change 3000m/5000m schedule so that men/women cover the same distance and run together.
Agreed where this was sensible to do so. (41 votes to 19)
Combine the male and female pole vault as two mixed consecutive competitions: one for vaulters with pbs <=2.50m, say, and one for better vaulters with a starting height of, say, 2.40m.
Agreed where this was sensible to do so. (38 votes to 5)
Leave it to the discretion of host clubs to combine other events to provide better competition for the athletes, making it clear before the meeting what events would be combined (based on declarations) and whether the combined event would be held at the time of the men’s event or at the time of the women’s event.
Agreed that hosts should have the option to combine events where this made better competition for the athletes. Hosts would have to let clubs know of any variations to the timetable before the start of the meeting.
Other changes:
We can expect a few other changes like the pole-vault will be run as two events the first being for people opening up at say 2.40 and the second one for people above regardless of Male or Female.
In conclusion this league has always evolved in the 12 years it has been running now so all of the above should be read as lessons learnt and action taken. More information will be provided or as always ask Stuart your Team Manager or Brian.
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SAL 2023 News
