Suggestions Summary

[wolfberries]

Just thinking about the 2nd cup competition. Given that the MKMC takes up 11 weeks of a 15 week season not really possible to fit in another senior cup unless it only had 4/5 rounds. So any second cup would have to be a youth cup. Presumably played saturdays,

I like the idea of a youth cup but I'm not 100% which of the ideas I like best, all three have their merits.

[boscorp]

Does a youth cup really need to be held late in the season? Dealing with extra fatigue and squad members at the sticky end of the season doesn't appeal to me. Couldn't it be played on Sat or Sunday along with the MKMC matches? I don't see why Senior and youth matches cant be played on the same weekend.

[MOD-MrMoose]

I like the idea of a Saturday Youth Cup.

Would maybe require a change to friendlies (ie allow one friendly to be played on a Saturday or Sunday even if there’s a cup match) to allow teams to participate in friendly comps.

[Madcarrot]

I don't mind Saturday but I think the format could change just to make it more interesting. Maybe a nation wide cup to qualify for the FTP youth cup, with the top 2 or 4 from each countries youth cup continuing the knockout

[crackit]

I have posted somewhere before that we should have a national cup, youth and senior . I believed in the idea so much I have created friendly T20 cups and plates (for div 3&4 teams who couldn't make the cup or are knocked out in the first round).

We are in our third year, not everyone participates but I probably get comfortably over 50% apply but not made 64 yet . Those who join seem to like it, it hasn't generated as much chat as I wanted but I think it helps some feel part of something. It also provides an opportunity to engage new teams in their first season.

I actually think the invitation in some ways is better, because it gives a sense of being asked to join something, you wouldn't get that from a mandatory competition.

I invest a lot of time and effort putting commentary around it, not certain about the value but definitely the feedback suggests it is appreciated.

If you were going to incorporate national qualifiers for the youth, it may be heretical but I think you should for the seniors. And ditch the seeding for some genuine cup magic. Did I say that out loud?!

Given it's happening here, why not poll the Irish teams to see why they join or don't ? What they like and don't like about it? Whether they have an alternative idea.

Final comment, the issue with the MKMC for me is fatigue and the financial cost of managing it. I have to hire a whole other team to ensure league performance isn't impacted. You might have the same issue for the youth cup, although they do seem to recover quicker. The advantage of the current friendly cups I run is it can just be for fun; and an opportunity for some teams to match themselves against the best. There must be loads of teams that "throw" MKMC games by playing weak lineups as a way of managing this, even later in the competition as soon as they meet a team they figure they can't beat.

Sorry, another thought, if you want to have cross league engagement, why not pair countries (even divisions) for close season tours.. Four go one way, four the other and play a series of four friendlies, one of each type to see how the team's are shaping up for the new season. I'll be honest, the international element of the MKMC doesn't do much for me; it just means I have no idea when my game is being played. It might mean more to teams who go deep into the draw, so why not a champions cup or similar?

For me personally, national cups will build community more easily, elite competition will stretch the bests teams and international tours (or even an off-season league v league tour / competition where all games contribute would help build national community).