Russell Sherwood Saturday, July 1, 2017
In a past post I suggested a method to estimate the number of games a player could concurrently manage.
As we move towards the start of a new season I offer a different, complementary approach to aid the player in planning their season.
So why is Season Planning important? In simple terms, it allows us to make sensible choices about which events to participate in and which to not!
So how do we undertake this? Much depends on if you are an established or new player. For the Established player the steps are:
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List all the events you took part in the last (current) season. ICCF “My Events” is a good place to get this information from, but don’t forget those events which were not on the server (Postal, email…..)
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For each of the events you need the number of games, the level (Category or Average rating)
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Add to the list any events you did not enter this season but would like to consider for next season.
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Add the Start date for each event.
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Go to ICCF Ratings and calculate your average number of games completed per rating period. This approach will give you an estimate of how many games you can play per season.
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Go back to the Events list you have created and add an “importance” rating for each one. This is a very personal measurement based on a combination of factors of why an event is important to you. 1 is the most important, 3 is the Least.
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Order the list with “1’s” at the top and “3’s” at the bottom.
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Go through the list, allocating your Total games to events, on a reducing balance until all are allocated.
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At this point you can see which events you have capacity to play in and which you do not. In addition you can look at periods of the season which will be busy (Typically October and March), which may affect your choice of entry.
For new players the process is very similar, although step 3 takes much more relevance. If you are unsure of which events are around, details of repeating events are held at http://www.welshccf.org.uk/ under Play – Tournament Calendar
