The Official APAT UK PingPong Championships, Sunday 27th January in Luton!

[AJDUK]

Vauxhall sports centre is a pretty big place......

Tried to save you some time  

[Matt D]

Vauxhall sports centre is a pretty big place......

Tried to save you some time  

lol, ooops! Thought I"d heard that name somewhere before!...

Right, I"ve just heard from Vauxhall Recreation Centre, and they"ve offered the following (it"s all they have availability-wise):

4 tables from 10.05am to 11.55am.

So, I"m just going to rejig everything now so we make most use of those tables.

[Matt D]

Okay, it"s possible, but everyone is going to have to turn up on time and be ready and in position to play at 10.05 exactly!...

Here"s the Math:

Group stages
4 groups of 4 = 16 players.
Everyone plays Best of 3.
6 matches per group x 2.5 average sets per match = 15 sets per group.
60 sets in total over group stage (4 groups of 15 sets).

Time: 240 minutes (60 sets x 4 mins per set).
Total time: 60 minutes for group stages (240 minutes divided by 4 tables)

Top 2 from each group stage progress to:

Quarter Finals
8 players left = 4 matches to play
4 matches * 2.5 sets (on average) = 10 sets.

Time: 40 minutes (10 sets x 4 mins per set).
Total time: 10 minutes for Quarter Finals (40 minutes divided by 4 tables)

QF winners progress to:

Semi Final
4 players left = 2 matches to play
2 matches * 2.5 sets (on average) = 5 sets.

Time: 20 minutes (5 sets x 4 mins per set)
Total time: 10 minutes for Semi Finals (20 minutes divided by 2 tables)

SF winners progress to:

Final
2 players left = 1 match
1 match * 5 sets max. (we"ll play best of 5 in the final) = 5 sets.

Time: 20 minutes (5 sets x 4 mins per set)
Total time: 20 minutes for Final



Overall time:
60 + 10 + 10 + 20 = 100 minutes = 1 hour 40 minutes. We have the tables booked for 1 hour 55 minutes, so that gives us a small window for anything over-running.

[Matt D]

Though, it might make more sense to run the group stages to:

Group stages
4 groups of 4 = 16 players.
Everyone plays 2 sets versus each other (1 point per set won).
6 matches per group * 2 sets per match = 12 sets per group.
48 sets in total over group stage (4 groups of 12 sets).

Time: 192 minutes (48 sets * 4 mins per set).
Total time: 48 minutes for group stages (240 minutes divided by 4 tables)

That would make the total time:
48 + 10 + 10 + 20 = 88 minutes = 1 hour 28 minutes. (gives us more time in the event of delays, which are probably pretty likely?)....


Will make a final decision and post on a new thread (this one is way too long now! ) later today.

[Matt D]

Entry fee is going to be £10 per player, and will be spent thus:

£70 hire of tables.
£30 special trophy for winner.
£40 winner of tournament.
£20 second place.

I wonder if Des will put any added value in?

[AMRN]

Think your second option of 2 sets per match, with one point per set, is a far more viable option given the time restriction, and the definite need to reserve contingency time. (delays will happen, it will not run smoothly all the way through).

I presume the draw will be entirely random for the four groups, and that each group will umpire/score for itself - what happens if a group contains four novices, none of whom is able to umpire?

£70 for table hire?  Hope they"re gold plated and in private rooms!!

[nosey-p]

This is starting to get serious, £40 winner + £30 cup, thought this was a bit of fun to fill the time in, will have to start training now. First of all no drinking on Saturday night.  

If I Don't get in the 16, I will still come and umpire. Trouble is I don't know the rules; the last time I played it was first to 21, each having 5 serves

[Matt D]

£70 for table hire?  Hope they"re gold plated and in private rooms!!

Aye, and that"s a special deal they"re doing for us. The normal cost is £12.15 per table per hour Strewth!... (http://www.vauxhallrecreation.co.uk/sports_price.php)

In Bristol, the tables are £5 to £8 an hour, depending on where you play.

[Des]

Entry fee is going to be £10 per player, and will be spent thus:

£70 hire of tables.
£30 special trophy for winner.
£40 winner of tournament.
£20 second place.

I wonder if Des will put any added value in?

...you"re the added value

[Matt D]

I presume the draw will be entirely random for the four groups, and that each group will umpire/score for itself - what happens if a group contains four novices, none of whom is able to umpire?

Aye, I"ll do a draw on Day1 of APAT Luton. Will get everyone to pick a card from a deck, which will determine the group they"re in. Will also collect tenners off everyone then. No show = no refund!

[pokerpops]

Are they supplying bats?

and balls?

[Matt D]

Are they supplying bats?

and balls?

Aha, that"s a very good point! I"ll ask (I expect there"s a further cost involved too - will ask if they can chuck all that in for free).

[AMRN]

Are they supplying bats?

and balls?

Aha, that"s a very good point! I"ll ask (I expect there"s a further cost involved too - will ask if they can chuck all that in for free).

I can probably bring a couple of decent "spare" bats, and probably have four balls kicking about too. Won"t have 8 bats though.

[Matt D]

I"ve got 2 bats + 5 balls.

So, that"s 4 bats + 9 balls so far.

Any more for any more?

Also, can I have 2 more volunteers for Umpiring duties please? (I"ve already got 2, but need one per group - they won"t be in the random draw).

[Matt D]

If I Don't get in the 16, I will still come and umpire. Trouble is I don't know the rules; the last time I played it was first to 21, each having 5 serves

We"ve had a drop-out, so you"re in

Rules are simple:
2 serves each, first to 11. If you get to 10-10 then it"s just 1 serve each.
Toss a coin to see who serves first. The loser of the first game serves 1st in the second match.

Here"s some basic rules: http://www.pongworld.com/more/rules.php .

Just read the "What you need to know to play a fun game of ping-pong"

To simplify things a bit: For this game any serve will be considered "legal" as long as it bounces first on the servers side, then on the opponents side. We won"t bother with the "6 inches" rule (this can make it really difficult for beginners). Note, you don"t need to serve to a certain side of the table (e.g. right/left), just getting it over the net is fine (as long as it bounces before the net before going over).