2005-2006 HWSA Board Meetings
September 9-10, 2005
Austin, TX
Attendees:
Larry & Lori Cochran
Matt & Shannon Cochran
Tim & Shirley Day
Jon & Mary Dickens
Chuck & Becky Hendricks
Jim & Donna Kill
Robert & Cindy Stephenson
Major Board Decisions
Tournament Dates & Locations
HWSA Regional Qualifying tournaments will be held on the weekend of April 20-22, 2006, with the Rain Makeup Weekend scheduled for the following weekend, April 27-29, 2006. The World Series tournament will be held on the week of May 21-25, 2006, in Pensacola, Florida.
Prospective Regional locations:
Southwest: Ft. Worth, TX or Denton, TX
West: Tulsa, OK
South: Atlanta, GA
East: Danville, VA
Placement:
The Top Four teams at the 2005 World Series (Dallas Angels, Atlanta Barons, Raleigh Warriors, and Atlanta South Knights) will be placed at four different 2006 qualifying tournaments. All other teams will be placed at the tournament locations based upon tournament equity, travel history, and geographical locations. The Tournament Committee will make recommendations to the Board on final team placement.
Regional Tournament Format
All HWSA Regional Qualifying tournaments will implement a one‑pool double‑elimination bracketing structure for 2006.
Rationale: To accommodate growth in our organization and to eliminate the tie-breaker rules that are necessary in multiple-pool, round-robin-type tournaments.
Features:
1. Format accommodates 4–8 teams for each qualifying tournament, accommodating 16–32 teams total.
2. Format accommodates "unequal" qualifying tournaments, i.e., one tournament may have 5 teams, while another may have 6 teams. Qualifying tournaments with 5–7 teams have at least one “bye” built into the tournament format. (See Qualifying Tournament Brackets.)
3. Bracketing, including allocation of “byes” for each qualifying tournament, is performed by random drawing at the coaches meeting the night before the first game of the tournament.
4. All games are played to completion with an established winner. (Mercy rules apply.)
5. Format eliminates the need for tie-breaker rules.
6. Format sends 2 qualifiers from each qualifying tournament to the World Series.
7. All teams are guaranteed a minimum of 3 games. Note: Under the double-elimination bracket structure, at least one team is eliminated from each regional after only two games. Though eliminated from qualifying for the World Series, each eliminated team is guaranteed one additional game against whichever team has played the least games at the end of the tournament.
8. All teams are guaranteed a maximum of 5 games.
World Series Tournament Format
The HWSA World Series tournament will implement a unique two-tiered format that features a double-elimination format for pool play and two divisions utilizing a standard bracketing format for the medal rounds.
Rationale: To eliminate the tie-breaker rules that are necessary in multiple-pool, round‑robin-type tournaments and to create a second division for those teams that would not ordinarily reach the championship round.
Features:
1. Format accommodates 8 teams, with 4 teams in 2 separate pools.
2. Bracketing for each pool is pre-set based upon the results of the qualifying tournaments.
3. Each pool participates in its own double-elimination bracket, with the top 2 teams in each pool advancing to the Gold Division and the bottom 2 teams in each pool advancing to the Silver Division. (See World Series Brackets.)
4. Each Division holds its own standard 4-team tournament with the championship and 3rd place games played on the last day of the tournament. The winner of the Gold Division is crowned World Series Champion. The winner of the Silver Division is named Silver Division Champion. (See World Series Brackets.)
5. All games are played to completion with an established winner. (Mercy rules apply.)
6. Format eliminates the need for tie-breaker rules.
7. All teams are guaranteed a minimum of 4 games.
8. All teams are guaranteed a maximum of 5 games.
