British Foosball Association

BFA League - 2006 Season

Description / Format

The BFA league is a team-based competition for venues with local player bases, e.g. pubs, universities, schools.

In round 1, teams will be organised in groups of 4 to 6 teams. Where possible these will be regional. After round 1 the format for qualified teams will be either home/away knockout playoffs or weekend grand finals. Trophies will be awarded to first and second place.

Teams consist of between 4 and 8 players per match, and can use different players for different matches. All players must be selected from a squad which the captain submits to the organisers at the start of the season. Changes to squads can be made during the season. If a venue/club enters B or C teams, the squads may overlap slightly.

Matches in round 1 and in the playoffs will be roughly once every 3 or 4 weeks, and the default fixture calendar will be scheduled to avoid clashes with important events (e.g. major tournaments, school/uni exams etc) where possible. Matches consist of 8 games (4 singles, 4 doubles) - for more details see the below. Teams can use between 4 and 8 players per match.

Results will be submitted by email to the organisers by team captains, and tables / fixture lists will be hosted on Britfoos.


Calendar

The timetable below lists the default dates for fixtures, but obviously teams can arrange matches for more convenient dates as necessary. These dates are provisional and may change depending on the number of entries. Note that starred dates are outwith some university term-dates.

Round 1

28th Jan - GROUP WEEK 1
18th Feb - GROUP WEEK 2
11th Mar - GROUP WEEK 3
1st Apr * - GROUP WEEK 4
21st Apr * - GROUP WEEK 5
13th May - GROUP WEEK 6

Semis/Final

23rd Sep * - SEMI LEG 1
14th Oct - SEMI LEG 2
4th Nov - FINAL LEG 1
25th Nov - FINAL LEG 2

Deadlines

Entry deadline: 8th Jan  [fixtures will be finalised and sent out by 15th Jan]
First 3 group matches deadline: 1st May
Last 3 group matches deadline: 1st Aug
Semis deadline: 1st Nov
Finals deadline: 1st Dec


Rules

Full rules - http://www.britfoos.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2828
These are also preliminary and may be amended by the organisers at any time (all partcipating captains will be notified).

Summary of Main Rules

- Team captains contact each other to arrange matches. Once a date is agreed, it can only be postponed with 2 days notice to opposition and organisers.
- No shows = 8-0 loss.
- No player can play for more than one team without permission from organisers.
- Teams should use genuine locals or club members; using travelling players (mercenaries) instead is prohibited.
- If a venue/club enters a B team, the best players should play for the A team (i.e. no ringers).

Match rules

Assuming teams of 4 (ABCD vs 1234):

Doubles:
A&B  v  1&2
A&B  v  3&4
C&D  v  1&2
C&D  v  3&4
Singles:
A    v   1
B    v   2
C    v   3
D    v   4

- Game format best of 3 legs, first to 6 goals (if time: if not then 1-9).
- In KO stage, if aggregate score level after both legs, each team puts forward one singles player to decide the match.
- ITSF rules of play used (unless captains agree otherwise).
- Singles is meant to be ordered properly in order of ability (1st v 1st, 2nd v 2nd etc). I.e. no stacking.
- Teams can use more than 4 players (max 8 )  with opposition captain's permission, and if doing so should decide on an appropriate playing order (each player can play at most 2 doubles and at most 1 singles).
- Full results including all player names and game scores must be sent to the organiser [if not, then your match doesn't count and you have to replay it].

In league table points awarded as follows:
8-0 = 12 pts
7-1 = 11 pts
6-2 = 10 pts
5-3 =  9 pts
4-4 =  6 pts
3-5 =  3 pts
2-6 =  2 pts
1-7 =  1 pts
0-8 =  0 pts


To enter

Entry deadline: 6pm Monday 8th January 2006
Entry fees: £10 per team (cheques made payable to BFA).

To register a team, email nfm24@cam.ac.uk with the following required information:

Home venue (full address and phone) and home table type.
Captain (full name, address, email, phone).
Vice captain (ditto).
Squad with a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 8 players (full names).
Preferred days/times for matches (at least one weekend session, one weeknight session).

[Teams may be required to produce player photos at a later date].

Entries are not confirmed until I send a reply.

Any questions or comments I would prefer you pm me or email nfm24@cam.ac.uk instead of posting here.

I will be unable to reply until the 12/13th January but will confirm all entered teams when I return.