Team Rumble League

Summary
Rumble's Unbelievably Masterful Bludgeoning League of Excellence, or simply Team Rumble League, is a month-long league in which teams compete against each other in 4v4 team rumbles twice a week. It is very similar in format to the Olympic Champions League. Note that no temporary or permanent swaps are allowed, unlike in OCL.

Up to 6 pirates may be on a team, although only 4 can participate in any given match. The first three weeks of the league are season play, with the fourth week devoted to playoffs. All matches will be played on the Sage Ocean.

Registration
Registration lasts until Thursday, April 26th. You may sign up with fewer than the maximum number of teammates, but may not modify your team roster after registration ends. Sign-up is available on the forums in this thread or by contacting Vara on Sage.


 * 1) Team Name
 * 2) Team Captain (pirate name)
 * 3) Team Captain's account name
 * 4) Team Mates
 * 5) Times and their priority for Saturday
 * 6) Times and their priority for Sunday

Each Team is to submit 3 times (from 8am, 10am, noon, 2pm, 4pm) in order from most convenient to least for each of the match days. These times will be used to schedule matches against other teams. Times may be changed and updated up until scheduling begins when they will be assigned for you.

The league is open to pirates from all oceans.

League Format
For 8 or fewer teams, only a single division will exist. For 9-16, two divisions will be created, and so on. Ideally, each team will get to play a match against each of the other teams in their division.

Matches will be played Saturday and Sunday of each week. The first three weeks will be devoted to season play, with teams playing against teams in their own division. Playoffs will be held on the final weekend, with season statistics used for seeding.

A match consists of 6 rounds. Each round is a 4v4 team rumble. Scoring is based on the number of rounds won in a match. If team A won 4 rounds, and team B won 2 rounds, then team A won 4-2.

All bludgeon types are allowed. If both captains agree, the rumble can be played with the No Bludgeons option selected.

Scheduling
(This part is pretty much straight OCL.)

Scheduling is done based on the following formula:
 * 1st priority time = 3 points
 * 2nd priority time = 2 points
 * 3rd priority time = 1 point

Adding up the point values for each of the 5 times, we pick the one with the highest score. In the event of a tie, we give preference to a 2nd/2nd over a 1st/3rd preference spread. After that ties are resolved based on the following time priorities:

Time Priorities:
 * 1) Noon
 * 2) 2pm
 * 3) 10am
 * 4) 4pm
 * 5) 8am

Rescheduling

Teams are welcome to arrange a different time to meet. To make an official reschedule, both teams are required to post to the forums as to the new day/time of the match. Teams have either: 1 week past the scheduled match day time -or- until 24 hours after the last match day (at the latest match time) of the season, whichever is shorter, to report their rescheduled match scores.

Reschedule Requests

If a team is unable to make the scheduled time and is unable to contact the other team about a reschedule then they may post in the scheduling/results thread that they are requesting a reschedule of their match. This post needs to be made at least 48 hours before the scheduled match time. Note: This may only be done after an attempt has been made to contact the other team, it'll get too cluttered otherwise. Penalties for being unable to reschedule a match in time will be dealt with on a case to case basis, likely ending in one team taking a forfeit.

Forfeits: No shows and missed matches

If an opposing team is not ready to start 15 minutes past the scheduled time, the present team takes a forfeit and gain full points for the match.

If no post is made by either team regarding a score in the 24 hours following a match, it will be assumed that neither team showed up and both teams will be given forfeits and full losses.

Game Updates and Rescheduling as a result of

Any match which happens to coincide with a game update will be rescheduled if a team is unable to sport a full team due to problems related to the update. Rescheduled matches in these cases will be under the same time constraints as regular rescheduled matches.

Nitpicky Stuff

 * Disconnects are not grounds for a "redo" unless agreed to by both teams.
 * A team can play with a man down if necessary.
 * Team Captains are responsible for organizing their team as well as coordinating with other team captains for any necessary arrangements or scheduling.
 * We suggest that you hold matches on "neutral" territory, such as a palace or an inn.
 * Teams dropping out of a division or league can have a significant effect on the final scores. We reserve the right to totally remove the scores of non-participating (or low-participation) teams from the cumulative scores if a division is adversely affected.
 * Green-named pirates are ineligible for play.
 * Pirates may not be a member of more than one team.

Prizes
The following prizes are available:
 * Renamed war frigate with rumbly decor
 * Set of six renamed sloops
 * Set of (orderable) bludgeons, bludgeon trunk, and a rumble pit

The winning team gets first pick of the three list items. Second place gets to pick from the two remaining, and then third place gets the last remaining item.

Distribution of prizes among team members is the responsibility of the team captain, so make sure you trust your captain!

Sponsors
Generous donors for this event include:
 * Faldrok of The Lost Lot
 * Avera of The Lost Lot (Artwork)
 * Carolgr (Independent)

Match Schedule
The Team Rumble League Season 1 match schedule is now available.