TEAMS
Organization of the AGTTA Team League is underway. Table Tennis players who have been involved in the Georgia Cup or the annual Teams Championships in Baltimore already know how much fun this can be. We are very aware that it is also a big challenge. We welcome your suggestions and questions. Your club is committed to making our teams experience a positive one for everyone.
If you want to register a team, begin looking for two to four players who are rated near your own rating and pitch the idea of forming a team with them. Let us know by emailing your team members' names and ratings to topspin2000@gmail.com so we can begin scheduling. We've already begun, and each new team we add makes our league better. As details are being worked out, updates will be posted here. Update, February 13, 2012: An excellent question was asked about how strictly we will be enforcing rating requirements for divisions. The answer is not that strictly. The idea is to have competitive matches and have some fun with it. The deciding factor on what division a team should be in is the average player rating for the entire team. We are gradually putting some teams in place to start the team season in March. We definitely need to get a few more teams together for a top division and for players below 1300. The middle division is set to go with five teams and others forming. We can still put together some great team competition even if we only get a few teams in some divisions.
Update, February 6, 2012: The AGTTA Team League is growing. Most of the teams that have formed are made up of players with 1300-1800 ratings. The teams we have are Georgia Tech, Georgia State, The Ping Pong Players, The Long Pips Posse, The Dynamic Dasaris, and the AGTTA Division One Team. We also have a number of players looking to join a team. None of our playing locations are expensive and many are free. Most teams will not have to travel away from their home gym more than once a month. The team format allows for plenty of matches for all team members including some doubles matches. Our first season will run from March through June. Medals will be awarded to division winners. Deadline for submitting a team is March 1st. To register a team of three to five players, email topspin2000@gmail.com with a list of your players and ratings or give your list to Patsy Barrett at any AGTTA function.
Update, January 30, 2012: Our plan is to start this program fairly modestly. Most teams can expect to have about two matches a month. While a team can be as few as three players it is recommended that you have a few extra players to insure that at least three can make all the matches. This is all new to most of us so the plan is to start slowly and grow this program over time. We would like to have several divisions but the number of divisions will depend on how many teams and players sign up.
Team matches do not affect individual ratings. Matches for the most part should be competitive but not nearly as stressful as tournaments. Matches will all be scheduled in the metro Atlanta area. Playing on a team means connecting with other players in ways that individual play does not allow for. We have added another team (currently unnamed) of 1600 level players that should provide some competition for the Georgia State Panther team. The Long Pips Posse is made up mostly of 1200 level players. There is another school team forming that would be playing at the 1200 level as well.
There has been some interest shown in starting a youth division. If we can put together a division of higher rated players it will allow for more chances to play against the best players on a more regular basis and a chance to train with them as well.el as well. There has been some interest shown in starting a youth div
ision. If we can put together a division of higher rated players it will allow for more chances to pn
Update, January 23, 2012: We will be borrowing heavily from the format of the Watford England Table Tennis League. Thanks to Michael Levene for his suggestion of an excellent program to model ours after.
Teams may be as few as 3 players, but it's best to have a couple extra for those times when someone is unavailable. There will be eight singles matches and two doubles matches for each team event. We plan to have a Premier Division, Division 1, and Division 2. The Premier Division will require a 1900 rating and Division 1 will require a 1300 rating. There is no minimum rating required for Division 2. Players must play within their own division. Matches played will not affect your USATT or AGTTA rating. All match results and standings will be posted on the AGTTA Teams page.
We already have two teams committed to play: the Georgia State Panthers and the Long Pips Posse. We also have several other players who would like to join or form teams. Perhaps the biggest challenge to a team league is scheduling times and places that are convenient to our players who live in all corners of the Atlanta area and have very different schedules. Being aware of this, every effort will be made to schedule matches on weekends and to utilize the many venues available to us.