Bi-State Tournament

The Bi-State tournament is a showdown of the top teams from all metro area divisions. The Bi-State tournament for the Spring 2017 session will be held on Sunday June 25th, 2017  at 10:30 am. This is a rain or shine event. The park will open at 10:00 am, teams are required to arrive 30 minutes prior to their first game.
Bi-State Is Played On Artificial Turf!
 The tournament features 2 umpires per game and also individual trophies for the 1st place team; including a large premium trophy for the captain! Kickball STL provides over $300 in trophies in total! Regular season standings will determine the teams that make the tournament, as well as tournament seeds. The tournament cost is $140 per team (about $10/player). Money is due on or before June 15th 2017. Payments can be made using the Paypal button below.
 
The tournament will be held on field #1 at the Scott Gallagher Soccer Completx (2350 Creve Coeur Mill Road South). Guest's and spectators are welcome to stop by FREE of charge! This tournament is BYOB, fans and players are permitted to bring their own beverages to the park, but not on the playing field during the game.

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.
Bi-State Tournament Field Layout


Summer 2015 Bi-State Schedule

 Payment Instructions


Step 1:
 
Make your payment using the Paypal button below.
 
Step 2: Fill out the form below and click submit.
Bi State Tournament Payment
$140.00