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Mid-Season Meeting 11.12.23 - Notes/Minutes

The Five Towns Quiz League – Mid-Season Meeting Minutes

Venue: Olde Tavern
Meeting opened at 20:30
Committee Present: Simon Curtis, Ian Moore, Simon Topps, Helen Topps

Teams Represented:

Featherstone Phoenix

Y

Upton Bees

Y

Carleton Grangers

Y

Kippax British Legion

Y

Flanagan’s Army

Y

The Vic

Y

Olde Taverners

Y

Kippax Legionnaires

Y

Lofthouse Lions

Y

The Other Team

Y

Olde Tavern Allsorts

Y

Golden Lion Dudes

Y

King’s Arms

N

 

 

 

 

 
Apologies from Chair, Dave Bill, were given and Stuart Topps opened the meeting acting as Chairman.
 
There was no set agenda for the meeting so the floor was opened up for comment and questions.
 
Agenda Item
Heading
Details
1
Questions
There was an open question around how teams had found the questions this year.  It was generally agreed that the questions had been of overall good quality although there were a few specific issues raised:
 
a. There have been a couple of times duplicate questions had been used in the same quiz (or even the same round).
 
b. Some question categories are a bit narrow.  Examples given were Netflix and ballet, as opposed to TV or the arts.
 
c. ‘Lazy’ question setting whereby a round is the same question throughout.  An example would be the postcode round we had recently where each question was ‘Name the postcode area from the town or city provided’.  It was felt that these types of question should be used sparingly rather than the more frequent nature they currently appear.
 
There was also a more general comment that we need to ensure we do not shut out more modern subjects that may appeal to younger quizzers just out of tradition.
 
SC to raise these issues with the question setter.
2
Website
There are continual problems with the website loading up an older homepage.  The issue is known about and SC is trying to resolve with the host.  SC agreed to re-send out the website details in future question packs to ensure everyone had the correct, more up-to-date information.
 
(FYI: http://www.ftql.com/welcometothefivetownsquizleague/index.html).  Type this a first time and then add where it takes you to your bookmarks/favourites.
3
Handicap Cup
IM presented some analysis on the differences between Division 1 and Division 2 to calculate a sensible handicap for the Handicap Cup.
 
The first difference was the current league standings, indicating D1 teams score on average around 5 points more than D2 teams.
 
The second difference is the question set.  Handicap cup matches will use D2 questions which are slightly easier.  This has been calculated to be worth around and extra 8 points for D1 teams.
 
The third difference is the relative strength of the players (a D1 team playing a D2 team will be facing lower strength players on average).  This is very hard to quantify.
 
The Committee’s recommendation was to have a 13 point starting handicap for D2 teams, accounting for the first and second points above, as well as the points difference from the league tables.  This was put to a vote and was agreed with 10 teams voting in favour.
4
WhatsApp Group
Since the AGM held in September, a WhatsApp group has been set up to help teams communicate better.  It was generally agreed that this is a good addition however some concern was raised about the frequency and timing of some messages.
 
It was agreed that we should follow two main principles:
 
i.  Only use the group for league business.  Please message people personally for other business.
ii. Please use it sensibly and do not message late at night unless necessary, especially taking in to account point i above.
5
Professional Players
Concern was raised about a few instances whereby ‘professional’ quizzers have participated in the league this year and there was a suggestion that they should be banned.  The general feeling around the room was that this goes against the ethos of the league where all players, regardless of ability, are welcomed and it also generates good publicity for the league.
 
There was agreement that there is potential to play ‘professional’ players in cup matches and this could be seen to be abused however the decision was to not make any changes to the rules at this time but would be under constant review, if it feels the integrity of the competition is jeopardised.
6
Mid-Season Meeting Timing
The question was asked as to whether having the mid-season meeting on the penultimate week of the calendar year was ideal and whether closing the year with the meeting would be better, especially with the Christmas season making pubs busier and quizzing more difficult.
 
It was mentioned that the historic reason for this was to allow teams to have adequate time to prepare for cup matches that used to be the first week back in the new year, however this has changed recently with the cup matches taking place on the second week.
 
The proposal therefore was to make the final week of the calendar year the week for the meeting and to keep the first round of the Knockout Cup the second week of the new year.  This was approved with 11 teams voting in favour.
7
Knockout Cup Draw
The draw for the Knockout Cup was made.  The ties are to be played on the 15th January 2024.
 
Olde Tavern Allsorts v Flanagan’s Army
Golden Lion Dudes v Olde Tavern
Kippax Legion v The Other Team
Upton Bees v Carleton Grangers
Kings Arms v Kippax Legionnaires
The Vic v Lofthouse Lions
 
Bye - Featherstone Phoenix
 
It was reiterated that any team receiving a bye would not be eligible for a bye in the next round.
Winners plus bye to play in the Knockout Cup Rd.2 and runners up to play in Knockout Plate Knockout Rd.1.