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What can we learn from backgammon's popularity in Denmark?
Posted By: Henrik Bukkjaer In Response To: What can we learn from backgammon's popularity in Denmark? (mtuhtan)
Date: Monday, 6 December 2010, at 2:33 p.m.
Here goes:
The top two divisions (Elite and 1st division) are country-wide (keep in mind that Denmark is not exactly a huge country!).
2nd and 3rd divisions are split in east and west.
There's a system for moving up and down between divisions:
A division consists of 12 teams and are played like two round robins (home and away), giving a regular season of 22 matches.
All "local" matches are played Thursday evenings (unless the teams agree otherwise, in which case they can move their match) in a period between September and February. Typically the season starts when the summer holidays are well over, and goes on until some time before easter (where Nordic Open is in focus), allowing to skip weeks of typical Danish holidays (fall vacation week 42, x-mas and winter vacation periods week 7 & 8).
East vs. West matches in the countrywide divisions are typically planned during a weekend, where several matches are played in one location (an East team will host a weekend, to which 2-3 West teams will travel, and play multiple matches).
The final 2 or 4 rounds of all divisions are planned and hosted by the DBgF at a big venue, so that all teams can follow the final stages closely, checking results and matches, playing for division titles, moving up/down, etc. Typically we aim at setting of the "long distance" matchups to happen in this weekend in order to avoid the travel during the regular season.
Now a team consist of 4 players. A team match is 4 individual matches to 17 points, starting at 7:30 with clock preference. The home team have the advantage of determining matchups (visitors write their names on the protocol, then home team fills in their names and thus the matchups).
In a division, the score that counts are the individual number of matches won. So a 4-0 victory will give your team 4 points, a draw (2-2) will give your team just 2 points. In case of even scores, the number of team match points will be the tiebreaker. 4-0 and 3-1 = 2 MP, 2-2 = 1 MP.
The home team has the responsibility of securing a playroom that meets certain conditions, 4 boards, dice and cups, a printout of the DBgF rules, and the two team captains collectively act as Tournament Director throughout a match. Any twists can be passed on the the DBgF Tournament Committee, but the vast majority is solved by the captains on site.
All results are reported through the internet (with approval from both captains), and results and ratings are then calculated automatically, so apart from the planning phase, the tournament doesn't require much administration.
The winners of the Elite division are considered the Danish Champions for Teams. In all other divisions, the winners move up to the next division and get their entry fee for the following season payed as their price.
The entry fees are approx. $50 for 3rd div, $100 for 2nd, $300 for 1st and $1100 for Elite. In Elite and 1st divisions $100 is reg fee the rest is prize money.
Clubs vary in size between one team (4-9 players) and 8 teams (70 players). The DBgF encourages clubs to run multiple teams, since larger more established clubs are good for the federation (they can make events, better attract new players, etc.). The rules about switching players between teams, etc. give a little advantage for those in bigger clubs.
As a new try-out this season, we're trying to run 3rd division with teams of 3 players instead of the usual 4, in order to make it easier to start new teams in smaller cities. It's yet very difficult to say, if the effect of this is positive.
Best regards, Henrik
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