The tournament will be held on the main field at the St. Louis Soccer Park, in Fenton Missouri.
Guest's and spectators are welcome to stop by FREE of charge! St. Louis
Soccer Park offers a full bar; outside beverages are not permitted.
Food options such as pizza, brats, hotdogs and nachos are also available
for purchase.
Depending
on the number of teams in the league as a whole, Kickball STL will
invite 8-16 teams to participate. Typically spring is the largest
session, and thus, 16 teams will be invited. Whereas, summer and fall
have a lower registration, so normally 8 teams are invited. Winter
session typically does not offer a bi state tournament.
Team Selection & Seeding Process
First
and foremost, the top teams are determined based on the regular
season standings, and subsequent selection processes will be implemented
if needed. (unless the location is divided into 2 general
divisions, in which case teams that registered their team as competive will be eligibe for selection) The 16 tournament seeds are divided between each division
based on the number of teams that the division has in comparison to the
league as a whole. For example, if the session has 100 teams league
wide, and the St. Charles division has 25 teams, that would mean that
St. Charles teams make up 25% of the league, and thus, receive 25% of
the seeds; which would equal 4 seeded teams out of that division. In the
instance that a division has an uneven ratio, say 10% of the leagues
teams (equaling 1.6 seeded teams, which means another division has a 1.4
ratio, or close to it), Kickball STL will issue a wild card to a team
from one of those divisions. The wild card team will be selected using a
league wide statistical method that will factor in league wide
averages, and then score how each wild card team performed in comparison
to the league-wide average.
If a seeded team drops out of the tournament for any reason, the open spot will be awarded as follows:
1.
If the above wild card scenario is in play, the 1st runner-up of the
wild card will get the spot. Subsequent runners-up will be next in line.
2.
If the wild card scenario is not in play, any "low seeded team from the
divisional playoffs" (any team seeded 2 and below) that won their
divisional playoff round will be awarded the seed. In the instance that 2
or more "low seeded teams" won their divisional playoff round, the
league wide statistical rating system will determine the team that
advances. Runners up in the divisional championship game can only
qualify for the bi state per the seasonal standings, as the runner up
positions holds no weight in terms of bi state qualification.
3.
If neither above scenario is applicable, Kickball STL will choose an
alternate team based on the league wide statistical rating system, and
award the seed to the team with the highest score. Since Kickball STL is
subdivided into three competition levels, (competitive, general, and
recreational) the league will first choose a team from the competitive
division to advance, and then if a subsequent spot is available, the
league will select a team from one of the general divisions.
Typically recreational teams are not selected for the Bi-State
tournament.
As
stated above, if a location offers both competitive and recreational
divisions, generally only teams that sign up for the competitive
division will qualify for the tournament; unless outlined or disclosed
at the beginning of the season. If a location has two seperate general
divisions, the playoffs will determine the teams that advance to the bi
state.
In
terms of tournament seeding; record, runs scored, and run differential
all factor in to the process; as outlined by the "league wide
statistical scoring method". Also factored into the seeding process is
the type of division that a team participated in. Competitive divisions
will always seed higher than general divisions, simply due to the fact
that the competitive teams have encountered a more difficult "path" to
the tournament, and are thus rewarded with a seed placement from the
"top teir".
The
bi state schedule is typically posted 1 week after the payment
deadline. Teams that qualify for bi state tournament will be contacted
by email within 14 days of the conclusion of the regular season.
Q & A Regarding Selection Policies
Why
does the regular season standings determine who makes it to the
bi-state, as opposed to the playoff round and championship game?
Originally
the playoff round was the deciding factor for advancement into the
bi-state tournament. However numerous times in the past, teams would
have players out of town on playoff Sunday, and as a result, would lose
and be eliminated from the bi state tournament. Obviously Kickball STL
is a recreational league, not a professional league in which the players
get paid to participate. Because of this, Kickball STL league members
typically will not miss a family vacation to play kickball. This is the
primary reason why we do not allow the playoff outcome to decide who
advances to the bi state. Our standpoint is that 1 day should not
determine the entire 12 game season.
Another
reason for this methodology is to ensure that the Bi-State teams are of
the highest caliber. To uphold the competitive integrity of the
bi-state tournament, Kickball STL has the responsibility to put policies
in place that have the highest probability of ensuring that the best
teams are seeded in the tournament. To determine this policy we ask:
What measure is most likely to ensure that the best teams make it to the
bi state tournament: regular season standings or playoff results?
Statistically speaking, the seasonal standings provide a better sample,
simply because there's more games to rate performance.
The
final reason that we base Bi-State advancement on regular season
standings derives from past instances in which teams cheated on
playoff Sunday. Several times in the past teams have loaded up with
"ringers", and ultimately won their divisional playoff and advanced to
the Bi-State tournament. Our standpoint is this: By placing so much
importance on a single day, the temptation to bring in "ringers" is
greatly elevated, and for some teams, the temptation to cheat is
something that they can't pass up, unfortunately. On the flip side, by
basing tournament advancement on seasonal standings, the likelihood of
"ringers" affecting the outcome is greatly reduced. A "weaker" player is
more likely to give up his/her jersey on playoff Sunday, as opposed to
giving it up every game throughout the season. We've tried to eliminate
this issue by making players bring their id's on playoff Sunday,
however, that led to more problems than it solved. Numerous people ended
up forgeting their wallet/id and subsequently were furious that they
were not allowed to participate in the playoffs.
Since when, in any sport, does the season matter more than the playoffs?
You
could think of it like this. If a pro golfer wins a single PGA event,
that doesn't give them an automatic bid to the Masters. The Masters is
the best of the best, and is determined based on seasonal success.
Similiarly, the Bi State tournament seeds are distributed to our "best"
teams. Regardless of this analogy, the real answer to the question is
that Kickball STL is an independent league and governs itself under it's
own policies and procedures. We're constantly tweaking policies in an
effort to ensure a fair experience for all league members.
What's
the point of having playoffs if the top seeds from the regular
season advance to the Bi State, even if they lose in the playoffs?
Wrapping
up the season with a playoff round is fun. It gives the top seeded
teams a chance to play an extra day and battle it out for the division
title. Remember, division winners are permanently displayed on website
as champions, and also receive commemorative championship t-shirts.
