AC Inter-County Championship 2011

[<<] [>>] by Bill Arliss at Southwick and Compton
1 Nov 2010 (AC - Championships)

As at the AC Tournament Committee meeting on Sat 30 Oct, only 20 provisional county entries had been received for the 2011 event as Wiltshire has decided that they cannot raise a viable team. Allowing for a CA Select team, this will mean a total of 21 teams and if we stick to our normal programme would mean two bye rounds for each second division team.

This is not very satisfactory as the necessary nine games in division two could be completed in three days. On this basis Manager, Chris Williams, has had a look at possible formats and has suggested the following:

Div 1 will remain in its normal format, covering four days with each team having one bye. Div 2 will be reduced to three days ( No byes and no play on Tuesday) with play at the two venues being arranged as follows:

On the first two days, three Div 1 and four Div 2 counties go to Compton and so six of the Div1 counties will have their byes at Compton in those two days.

On the third day all 10 division two counties are at Southwick, which means that seven Div 1 counties will be at Compton (another 3 byes)

On the final day all 11 Div1 counties are at Southwick (remaining two byes).

This format would appear to be ideal and has the following advantages:

• There will still be a good mix of division one and two players at the two venues which many feel is the basis for popularity of this event.
• The accommodation costs of division two teams may be reduced.
• All teams in a division will be at the same venue when they complete their programme so no problems with trophy presentation.

NOTE As Div 2 teams will finish late on the Monday, a 9.00am start may be considered for that day.

As there is still a possibility that we could get an entry from a joint team, the AC Tournament Committee has decided that the programme will not be finalised until the Spring meeting of the committee. The entry of all teams who have made the provisional entry is confirmed and any further viable entries received by the Office before 30 Jan will be considered for the final place.

If no further entries are received, the event will be shortened to three days for the Div 2 and the entry fee reduced by £12/team. If a further viable team enters, the competition will revert to the normal four days for each division.

The entry of a CA Select team for 2011 is therefore confirmed and any players interested in playing for that team should contact myself.

Bill Arliss
Tournament Director