Comments
If you were made "The Boss" of Forum Sevens what (if anything) would you change first?
Timing for marking a match - some of these take a long time to get marked.
Find another 'boss', which I did
The Fact that i'm the boss... something has gone askew!
I'd like to see less playing referees and more non-playing referees. But basically Id leave it the way it is, but might stick my feelers out across the world wide web, trying to attract more players.
Special round to cater for interests outside league
I would make sure that the refs are in good space and have enough time to mark games in 48 hours or less.
Eliminate the bye.
Change the scoring system. There should be a wider range of marks between the best articles and the worst ones. Articles that are obviously poorer should score something closer to 55-60 rather than 80.
I'd suggest topics are given for the round, say choice of 3 topics, or 3 key words or phrases that need to be included in each post.
i wouldnt want to do it Pistol is doing a gun job
Wider use of the marking scale, currently it feels like the majority of articles get between 80 and 90. While it may be disheartening for some people to get a mark of 50 or 60 for a piece, it couldn't hurt to use a bit more of the scale when judging work. In short, don't be afraid to be a little more harsh on articles.
Ensure that each team has the same squad size. For many years some teams have had a full 15 man squad while several others have struggled, not to mention teams dropping out and new ones constantly coming in. If we could spread out the players amongst all sides it would be a more enjoyable, fairer competition.
Reduce the words and number of players.
I think the marking should be done by the Saturday deadline. I't's a bit of an anti-climax when it's not marked until (in some cases the following Thursday)later.
Ensure the main website was up to date with articles and content eg article of the round
A time limit on referees. I know time can be tough for them, but it's tough for the rest of the players as well.
Reduce number of teams to get more quality articles with dedicated players
Remove hidden management forums. This leads to mistrust, cliques and accountability issues.
Less team squads, reduce from 15 to 10 so more talent can be spread out evenly. 4 articles at 750 words & 1 article at 1000 words, worth double points.
Make any team who doesn't fulfil their full compliment of match posts for the previous season (or a % very close to it) to "show cause" for their inclusion in the next season. ie they must demonstrate effort in the recruitment and/or pre-season competition, or show improved team management arrangements (eg change in leadership group) in order to be invited to retain their place in the competition - only teams that have demonstrated perfect match posting record would be entitled to automatic invitation.
Do you have any ideas that could boost the overall depth of writers in the competition and ensure more 5 vs 5 games?
Topics per match? Types of writing (historical, persuasive, comic, etc.) Some variations on 5v5 (perhaps a "doubles" set up)
1. Captains actively recruiting across the forums - it is large membership and newbies coming in every day. 2. Telling workmates, family, friends about a great article writing competition. Word of mouth is a great promotion tool. 3. More articles on main page of LU. Someone with the time to do it. Then we could look at having articles published elsewhere to help spread the word. 4. A F7s book. Again, needs someone with the time to do it.
Yes, I believe that while it is an outstanding competition, it isn't being shown well enough throughout LU, and it should be known to every member of LU, whether they participate or not.
Mention it to every rugby league fan you know!
Incentives. If a writer has over 50% of his articles in he will recieve a reward. However, if it is a 10 game season, he MUST have at least 5 in, but Finals will also be included.
Challenge other forums; sponsored prizes (not cash but perhaps something like contra subscriptions to RL mags that could be enlisted to publish F7's articles)
I think the above is good idea as thinking of something to write about it the hardest part. Also if you save own ideas for representative matches you may find greater participation in rep games as 3 or 4 articles is easier to think up.
teams lose points for not posting the 5. players can get suspended for a week for not showing up.
Should introduce a round where a writer can write about any sport they like.
Less teams, perhaps be more strict on team entry. Bringing it down to eight or even six teams in the comp would make for more full games. I think player burnout is a major issue, too. As somebody who was on a successful but under-manned side for several years, I am now struggling to contribute to the team, and we are at a 'whoever asks can join' stage to fill our playing ranks. I doubt I am alone in burnout in our side too, considering the base of our team from three years ago that were writing every game are now no longer involved in F7's or are in a much reduced capacity. I doubt my team is the only one going through this, players leaving after short two or three season stints because they are burned out. Finally, more reward for excellent pieces could be put in, perhaps a front page boxout for the latest top F7's articles, where the opinion columns like 'off the wall' appear, so they get a little more recognition before being pushed off the front page by news headlines. Everybody gets a kick out of seeing their work displayed, it could be a good motivating factor. Another idea could be some kind of F7's electronic magazine, where at the end of the year the best articles are compiled into a PDF magazine or something like that, or part of a F7's yearbook. It could even become a print edition, but I would imagine that is getting a little too ambitious.
Possibly have your article published in a newspaper/sports magazine etc, as well as on the LU website. More/bigger prizes etc.
Increase the bonus point for 5 v 5.
Pretty difficult, it's always been a problem with no easy answer. There seems to be a couple of teams that have no problem. The rest struggle game to game. Commitment is a big thing obviously, maybe thought could be given to reducing squad sizes, (spreading the players out more between teams)and make the game 4 v 4. Though personally I'd rather it stay at 5 v 5. Like I said not easy.
Player loan system
Keep people talking and interested, sometimes even ask someone who's opinion strikes you as being a possible team member.
Contact other major sporting forums, websites and challenge them.
Promotion of F7s through the forums (by forum messages and website features) throughout the off-season, so that recruitment to F7 teams each year does not fall solely on the shoulders of the team captains.
