Sunday, 15 November 2015

Pétanque league points system - time for a change?


Hello fellow pétanquers,

I have been doing some research on the way other regions manage their pétanque leagues. A few can produce draws while others are only interested in the aggregate points score, 59-46 for instance. While I am not necessarily a fan of these, I still think our current format of two points for a win and zero for a loss is a little one dimensional.

The only time an odd number of points may arise, is when a team have been penalised for bad conduct. However, this can be easily be adopted in any league format and very rarely occurs.

So, at the moment in our current league set up, we have two points for a win and zero for a loss. TWO possible outcomes... 2, 0. Teams on the same amount of points (which happens a lot) are sorted first by games difference then points difference.

My suggestion would be to award three points for a win, one (bonus point) for a 3-2 loss (the nearest thing to a draw) and zero for a 4-1, 5-0 loss. THREE possible outcomes... 3, 1, 0. In this format, teams are less likely to have the same number of total points (once the season gets going) and makes for a more interesting league table. Teams sharing the same points total, would be separated first by the number of WINS, then by games difference and so on.

Another way, would be to award one point for every game won within a match PLUS one additional point for a win. SIX possible outcomes... 6, 5, 4, 2, 1, 0. This system is the same as how the City of Norwich Winter League operates but with a 'bonus point' for winning the match (they do this sort of thing in the South Eastern region).

Les (from our club) suggested that we use the aggregate points tally during a match instead of wins. Many possible outcomes and big point totals!

Cyril (also from Bressingham) had the idea of three points for a win and one (bonus point) for an aggregate win if on the losing side. THREE possible outcomes... 3, 1, 0.

I have come across other scoring systems (some I couldn't even work out) but they get unnecessarily complicated with breakdowns on types of wins and so best be avoided.

I would be interested to hear your views.

Dave Smith @ Bressingham PC.

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