Trevor

I agree I was not as clear as I might have been vis a vis advanced
level, advanced handicap and ordinary level play. But I think people
got my drift.

I don't think the argument re half courts is really worth re-visiting.
No States in Aus use this format for tournament play, and I can't see
Vic wanting to revert to the old system. In my view at least the use of
half courts did not help the transition from 'beginner' stages to the
next stage. On the contrary, when I came to Vic from NSW I saw a
greater rigidity among those in 3rd and 4th Div, with less desire (and
ability) to move ahead. The comments of JR in this respect are, I
think, spot on.I don't think the number of entries in tournaments has
anything to do with this issue. Very few tournaments have to restrict
the number of entries for 3 and 4 Div. The problem is getting enough
entries these days. And I believe there are plenty of other reasons for
the reduction in the number of new top players coming through.

I accept that the question of advanced play for 4th Div is more
debatable, and agree there are pros and cons. It is interesting that
all States except Vic do seem to favour advanced play (usually advanced
handicap) . We should be open to review why that is so, and prepared to
change if the arguments are cogent. Which is one of the reasons I put
the issue on this forum.

Regards

Doron

On 02/05/2008, at 8:37 AM, Trevor Bassett wrote:

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