Most complicated sports league

[Ron Manager]

The wife's home town rugby team in NZ (Wellington Lions) have got through to the final of the Air NZ NPC Cup (which is a big deal apparently).

Having looked on the net about this I found the rules for this competition. Can anyone come up with a more confusing and complicated league structure than this? It's totally baffling!

Deep breath, here goes.....

"11/05/2006

The Air New Zealand Cup consists of a 14-team, two-pool competition comprising:

Pool A:
• Auckland
• North Harbour
• Wellington
• Bay of Plenty
• Taranaki
• Tasman
• Manawatu

Pool B:
• Otago
• Canterbury
• Southland
• Waikato
• Northland
• Hawke's Bay
• Counties Manukau


- The two pools are seeded based on finishing positions in the previous year’s competition (which for the 2006 competition will be finishing positions in the 2005 Air New Zealand NPC).

- Click here to view the competition structure

- The competition takes place over three “rounds”.

Round One involves:

• the teams within each pool playing a round robin;

• each team playing three home/three away, and having a bye;

• at the conclusion of Round One, the top three teams from each pool moving to the “Top Six” and the bottom four teams from each pool moving to either Repechage A or Repechage B in Round Two of the competition.

Round Two will comprise:

Top Six:

• teams will play the three teams they did not play in Round One (with either two home/one away or one home/two away);

• the number of home games will be determined by finishing position at the endof Round One (i.e. the teams with the most points at the end of Round One will have the most home games in Round Two);

• all points from Round One will carry through to Round Two;

• all points from both Round One and Round Two will count in determining the finishing position of teams at the conclusion of Round Two;

• all teams in the Top Six will move to the quarterfinals;

Repechage A and Repechage B:

• Repechage A will be made up of four teams: the teams finishing fourth and seventh in Pool A in Round One and the teams finishing fifth and sixth in Pool B in Round One;

• Repechage B will be made up of four teams: the teams finishing fourth and seventh in Pool B in Round One and the teams finishing fifth and sixth in Pool A in Round One;

• teams will play a round robin within each Repechage (with either two home/one away or one home/two away);

• the number of home games will be determined by finishing position at the end of Round One (i.e. the teams with the most points at the end of Round One will have the most home games in Round Two);

• no points from Round One will carry through to Round Two;

• only points earned in Round Two will count in determining the winner of each of Repechage A and Repechage B;

• the winner of each of Repechage A and Repechage B will move to the quarterfinals (as the seventh-and eighth-ranked quarterfinalists).

Round Three will comprise:

Quarterfinals:

• made up of the:

- Top Six (ranked one to six on finishing position in the Top Six); and

- the winner of Repechage A and the winner of Repechage B (ranked seventh and eighth based on points from Round Two);

• home games will be awarded to the teams ranked one to four;

Semifinals:

• made up of the winners of each of the four quarterfinals;

• home games will be awarded to the teams ranked the highest in the quarterfinals;

Final:

• made up of the winners of each semifinal;

• the home game will be awarded to the team ranked highest in the quarterfinals. "

 

[MK Shrimper]

To save myself reading all that, I'll just say no.

 

[Bielzibubz]

Sorry, must have dozed off after the 5th line, but even that sounded laborious to me.

Typical Kiwi I say

They make it that complicated purely to stop the Aussies understanding it and getting good at it. Like they have every other fekkin game they've tried and played. Bloody immigrants!

 

[Bluesmanager]

It's actually rather simple.

Repache A/B is made up of 4th and 5th placed teams in Pool A, and 6th and 7th placed teams in Pool B. They play each other a number of times, and the top team from those groups goes to the quarters.

I'm a bit of a basketball fan, I got used to byes, repache groups and other such stuff a while back.

 

[Bielzibubz]

Quote[/b] (Bluesmanager @ Oct. 14 2006,21:47)]It's actually rather simple.

Repache A/B is made up of 4th and 5th placed teams in Pool A, and 6th and 7th placed teams in Pool B. They play each other a number of times, and the top team from those groups goes to the quarters.

I'm a bit of a basketball fan, I got used to byes, repache groups and other such stuff a while back.

Nobody likes a smart arse

 

[Bluesmanager]

Meh. Just trying to help.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Aren't the Repache a native american tribe?

 

[sufcintheprem]

Quote[/b] (Bluesmanager @ Oct. 14 2006,21:47)]It's actually rather simple.

Repache A/B is made up of 4th and 5th placed teams in Pool A, and 6th and 7th placed teams in Pool B. They play each other a number of times, and the top team from those groups goes to the quarters.

I'm a bit of a basketball fan, I got used to byes, repache groups and other such stuff a while back.

Actually, reparachage A/B is made up of 4th and 7th from Pool A/B and 5th and 6th from Pool B/A.

I don't know why I read it all.

 

[dloman]

got to say lost the will to live after about the 4th line      

 

[Ron Manager]

Quote[/b] (D62SUBOY @ Oct. 14 2006,21:46)]Typical Kiwi I say

They make it that complicated

Oi, that's my wife you're talking about. You saying she makes life difficult.......? Actually, good point!