What’s the impetus behind this possible rule change? This is the first I’m hearing of a desire to limit the time for alliance selection. Is there a worry a team will abuse their time if no limit is placed?
because the alliance reps don’t feel enough pressure representing their team in front of 60+ other teams
37 Likes
So what happens if they exceed the time? Someone just picks for them? Next highest ranked team? Draw out of a hat? They get a refund and don’t compete?
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I vote the next highest ranked team is autopicked. If they decline, clock starts over or at half time.
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we go back to 2016 and have the audience selection
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I’d say @Karthik nailed it head on when he said this and would love to hear his input on this “pitch clock”.
Also as much as I love the MLB I’d say people are more familiar with a shot clock or a play clock
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My best guess is the tight schedule to get the desired # of matches and the 4 team alliances.
Iri is not a bad place to trial this considering every team there is very familiar with being in a picking position.
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Also against the pick timer. I dont see how there would be large scale time savings (maybe you save 2 minutes total?) and selection goes into lunch anyway. Doesn’t seem like there are logistical benefits and I see the potential for a negative impact on student experience if it ever comes into play. Selections are already plenty stressful.
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Treat it as a clock that determines how long you have before the next alliance to pick gets to jump you and make their pick before you make yours, rather than a hard time limit.
Without elaborating on the whole “pressure” issue as that’s being beaten to death:
What general timeframe are you considering, and does it vary by round? (Also: When does the clock start/stop?)
What’s the penalty for a clock violation?
In the case of back-to-back picks, is there extra time allowed for input from the newest member of the alliance?
What happens if there’s a decline? Full reset of the clock, clock starts from where it was when the decline happened, some other amount of time?
IMO, using a timer could go unnoticed, or it could really wreck the event. Too big of a change to spring on teams at this point.
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Is this a feature supported by the offseason FMSField Management System?
1 Like
I talked to Andy for a few minutes during load in about the timer for alliance selection. The tentative plan is to give each alliance 10 minutes on the practice field before playoffs. Each pick will have a 1 minute timer and if an alliance goes over that 1 minute, the extra time will be deducted from the 10 minute practice time.
I don’t mean to speak for Andy and it didn’t sound like the plan was 100% finalized, but don’t want people to freak out since it doesn’t seem that a super significant penalty for taking too long.
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If the last digit of the pitch clock matches the last digit of the team being picked, then they should play fireworks on the screen.
Summary
mario
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Echoing the “why?” questions from earlier in the thread. I can’t wrap my head around why this is necessary.
Alliance selection is already an under-pressure environment for these students and I’m confused why there’s a desire to place additional, unnecessary pressure for something that over the course of an event adds a-minute-or-so-per-team. I can only speak for myself but I’d gladly spend an extra half hour at the event, rather than think that even a handful of other people’s students went home stressed out and unhappy over something avoidable.
IMO, it’s not ok to do that to frazzled young people, even at an offseason that’s “just for fun”. The pressure isn’t that far reduced just because it’s IRI instead of an official event. Some of these selectors may be out there for the first time, and they may be running with half of a scouting team - and even if they’re the best-prepared, most highly trained selector out there - this still doesn’t feel necessary.
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I had some hand in pitching this idea if something is to be enforced. In hindsight, I’m now very easily imagining it taking more time to explain and enforce this structure than the time that might be saved.
PCH is an offender on this front (taking near the full allotted hour for PCH DCMP) so I can understand why it’s getting kicked around a bit. IRI has been a good proving ground for new rules in the past. Not sure of any good way to do but interesting to see ideas tossed out.
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(Bold is from me) So @Kellen_Hill what I’m hearing is that PCH is the offender, but still didn’t impact event schedule. I really liked what @Libby_K proposed on FUN (let’s see if I get this right…) Combine Lunch and Alliance selection in to one block of time. No student standing in front of hundreds of people waiting for a pick, but instead run it like the NFL draft, when a team has a pick they send a student up to the MC with their pick.
No stress. When a team is selected, they can more easily gather with the alliance captain team. Since teams are eating during this time, the whole alliance can start preparing for Elims. In the current model teams need to eat after alliance selection.
And Kellen, and why would you want to be the cause of another alliance selection change?!
Wasn’t one enough? 
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Additionally, is the clock the “thinking time”, or does it include the time it takes the alliance captain to repeat their top 15 sponsors?
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For people such as myself that haven’t a clue what goes on during an NFL draft, could you elaborate?
I dont think ive properly understood what it is you’re trying to suggest, but my initial reaction is lets not take even more time out of lunch. At multiple events I attended this season, lunch was either drastically shortened from the scheduled time, or literally skipped entirely.
These are long, stressful days for students, mentors and volunteers alike. Encouraging them (or forcing them, depending on how you view it) to go almost an entire day without eating is not safe, healthy or acceptable. Taking even more time away from scheduled breaks to allow people to eat and/or rest is not the right solution.
I’ve likely misinterpreted/don’t understand how you’re suggesting alliance selection and lunch be adjusted, so please do correct me and clarify (preferably without any sports metaphors 
).
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The basic method goes like this:
Teams have a picking order, 1-X. They can trade slots if they want to, but the point is that at or before Time A, Team 1 sends someone up with “We choose so-and-so”. (NFL draft has no declines, unless the rookie doesn’t sign his contract later.) Team 2 then has some number of minutes (20?) to either trade their slot to another team or lose it. Usually TV coverage is split between commenting on the previous pick and speculating on the next slot. Once Team 2 makes a decision they send their person, pick Who, repeat the cycle. There’s nobody at the podium unless an announcement is being made, all the discussion happens behind the scenes, etc.
I think what is being suggested is that rather than drag everyone down there, you put only a few people there, everybody else has lunch, and 1st seed (then 2nd, 3rd, etc) come to the MC when they’re ready to pick–but for the sake of timeliness you put a light clock on them.
@Joe_Ross I move to include it. Wouldn’t be opposed to >5 sponsors at a time being a foul in your next match either. 
Currently teams just sit in the stands while alliance selection happens. In the suggested format there’s a 2hr lunch period in which alliance selection happens. 1Seed is on the clock, but teams are grouped up, eating lunch and discussing pick options. When the 1 seed has a pick, a student brings up a pick (verbally or on paper) to the MC. The MC announces the pick and announces 2 seed is on the clock. Rinse and repeat. At the end of the draft most teams will have eaten. In PCH, all teams will have eaten, LOL.
This does a couple of things…
First and foremost: We don’t have hundreds of people staring at the student on the field while thinking “Come on, make a pick”, when in reality often they are just waiting for an off field strategy team to decide on the pick.
Other bonuses
Current System, everyone is tightly packed in the stands making it harder for people to move around. In the Draft During Lunch format, teams are spread out, so if your team is picked your strategy team can easily move to meet up with the strategy team that picked them.
As you noted, after alliance selection things get crazy, so some student don’t get a chance to eat. In this version everyone should be able to eat.
1 Like