The below outlines the venue and promotion/demotion rules for the 2012-2013 season:
Venue:
The playoffs this year will be held in the Kingston facilities at Princes Key on the weekend of the 11th / 12th May.
We will have a 4 pitch venue with blocked off referee areas. However we will not be creating a boat park, nor tented time keeping stations. Security will have to be responsibility of each player/team. It is likely that we can have a strong box with a KKC member looking after it, details will be made available closer to the date. There will be some toilets but there will be no container nor other stages etc. There are currently no specific parking arrangements but this is being looked into. However there is plenty of paid for parking available albeit some has height restrictions. There will not be any organised camping but there are local facilities which will be forwarded on closer to the date.
Your understanding that this cannot be run in the same way as the Hull International is appreciated. The International competition requires a huge amount of effort from KKC, planning and coordination with the local council.
Promotion / Demotion:
Div1 Open
The 10 Division 1 teams will complete the second half of the season entirely over the playoffs weekend, not spread over 2 weekends as originally planned now that we have a four pitch venue. The bottom 2 teams will be automatically demoted into division 2.
Div 2 Open
The top 2 teams from div 2 north will play against the top 2 teams from Div 2 south in a straight league of 4. The top 2 teams from this mini league will gain promotion. This will take place on the Sunday. Where there are already 2 teams from that club in division 1 already the playoff place will be given to the 3rd placed team from their division. The 10th placed team from each will be automatically demoted, where there are only 9 teams in the league there will be no auto demotion. The 9th placed team from each league will go into a playoff that will take place on the Sunday.
Div 3 Open
The 1st placed team from each division 3 will gain automatic promotion into division 2. The second placed teams from each division will go into a playoff with the 9th placed teams from division 2. This will make a 5 team league playing for 1 place in Division 2. This league will play on the Sunday. The 10th placed team from each division will be automatically demoted into div 4,where there are only 9 teams in the league there will be no auto demotion. The 9th placed team from each league will go into a playoff that will take place on the Saturday.
Div 4 Open
The 1st placed team from each division will gain automatic promotion into division 3. The 2nd placed team from each division will enter a league with the 9th placed teams from division 3. This will make a 7 team league playing for 3 teams in division 3. There is an extra spot up for grabs this year in division 3, there is usually only 2 spots available. The 9th and 10th placed teams will not be automatically demoted, however, should their region be oversubscribed then the committee will consider allowing new teams to join in their place based on any relevant factors.
Ladies
The promotion / demotion for the Ladies leagues will be discussed at the committee meeting on January 12th 2013.
Good Luck everyone!!
Dave Plowman | dave.plowman@canoepolo.org.uk