WTFL Wpg. Touch Football League - WTFL

112 Posts

Wow, that's quite the change. From 7 divisions down to 3...

679 Posts

We're still working on the divisions, so those aren't finalized yet. The two best numbers for division size are 10 and 7 so ideally would like to rearrange things to fit that for scheduling purposes.

If you are a team captain and want to move out of the current division you are in into another, send me an email: marc@wtfl.ca.

679 Posts

The plan is to do the following:

-2 divisions of 10 teams each.
-Teams play each team twice to make up the 18 game schedule.
-At the end of the regular season, we will break up the 2 large divisions into 4 divisions of 5 teams based on regular season ranking.

The idea here is to give everybody a variety of teams to play, but for playoffs you'd play the teams that are in closest to your level.

Can you please check out the teams page and let me know if you are happy with where you are right now. It's hard to know where everybody should go because I haven't seen everybody yet this year.

Please email me at marc@wtfl.ca and we'll work this out.

Thanks!

6 Posts

This is my 5th year playing in the WTFL, and without sounding like a skeptic, i would like to ask the league exec and some of the people who make this league happen what exactly the issues are facing the league. There have obviously been a serious decline in registration which i can only assume is due large in part to the multi team rule. Over the past few weeks i have seen teams remove there teams from this site and signing up in other leagues. We are down to fewer than 30 teams in this league excluding the womens divs and down from 8 divs to only 3. I anticipate so many problems with this new format described above and few solutions. At this time of year this site is usually filled with posts with fellow players excited about the upcoming season, but this year not so much. Is this league is serious trouble? I look forward to hearing some responses from the people who have made this league so sucessfull in the past.

112 Posts

I echo the same sentiments. Wish people would have sat together and talked rather than performing covert operations to open a splinter cell league that in the end cheaps out the players rather than being FOR THE PLAYERS. Is there even going to be a Stadium final at this rate?

50 Posts

Hi Goodguy123 and all WTFL league members,

Understandably, you have some concerns. Please be assured that the WTFL is strong and ready to provide one of our best years ever. Also be assured that those that have decided to switch leagues have their own misgivings.

There is no doubt that it has been an interesting year this year in regards to the WTFL. The Board decided to get rid of the Multi-Team Player (MTP) rule. This was done for a few reasons- the most important was that our resources were being stretched to the max and we were very limited in what we could do to make improvements to the league.

If you remember 2,3 and 4 years ago most games were being played with 2 refs and quite often 1 ref. Having 3 refs (which teams paid for and expected) was not being delivered and was considered a luxury. Also teams were playing on weekends throughout the summer months of July and August (Remember that 1pm Sunday game you had in 30 degree heat, with only 8 players because your team mates were all at the lake?) Both of these issues were the cause of a lot of justified complaints by most teams.

Last season the board committed themselves to solving the above problems. Through conscripting MTP players to referee and by front and back ending the season to avoid summer weekends we were able to do this. Unfortunately both of these solutions came with there own set of shortcomings and complaints. It was successful only because of the hard work of the board and more specifically 2 or 3 people. These people were spending close to 40 hours a week to make sure games were refereed by full crews. Proudly, we had full ref crews for approximately 95% of our games. Unfortunately these same people were not willing to commit the same amount of personal time for another season. This is one of the reasons we lost our Officials Coordinator from last year.

The league was becoming bottom heavy because teams were not able to move up divisions when they should, because they had players that played on teams in the division above them. We had lower division teams complaining that they had to play teams with elite caliber players on them. We had MTP players complaining that they were being conscripted to ref games.

We were unable to offer our annual All-Star game because we had spent our budget on multiple ref clinics to train conscripted MTP players and our Board did not have the time, resources or energy to plan and run it. This year the very popular All-Star game at Canadinns stadium is back!

Most importantly we were handcuffed by our MTP rule. There are things we can now do that we could not do before. The board is looking at options that other leagues across the country have, that make touch football more balance and competitive with an eye to helping all teams compete at higher levels and improve the overall play. I would like to get more specific here but the WTFL does have competition so the board will release more info as we have our plans more firmed. It would appear that although we have new competition the WTFL is the model that is followed.

This year we are willing to accept multiple schedule requests and will do our best to full-fill them. Last year you were allowed one request.

Your non-profit WTFL Board of Directors will continue to do our best to increase the profile of touch football in Winnipeg. We will once again be training the best refs in Winnipeg with another FREE Ref Clinic. We will also be having another Women’s Clinic as the WTFL proudly provides the only Women's Division for touch football in Winnipeg.

Have we lost some teams this year? Yes, and quite frankly more than we expected due to the creation of a new league. At the same time we are very proud that our Elite division teams remained with the WTFL. The longest running and most experienced teams in Winnipeg have chosen to continue to play in the WTFL- this says a lot! So if you decided to stay in the W you have very good company. (We must be doing something right as the gentlemen that started the new league have registered once again to continue to play in the W for the 2009 season!)

The WTFL has operated since 1974 (I believe it was started by former Bomber QB Don Jonas) and in that time many people have been on the board. It has grown, shrunk, grown and shrunk and evolved over the years due to the work of many different volunteers over 35 years. There is absolutely no reason for you to have any concerns about the stability of this league.

We are in an exceptional position to provide all of our teams with a great year. We have a healthy bank account and reserve fund which we know will keep us at the fore front of Touch Football in Manitoba that. You have a board that is looking at providing innovative and proven options for you that are wildly popular in other jurisdictions. And you have a board that is committed to continue to give you the best Game Day Experience.

Here's to a great season and please feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Cheers,

Craig
President
WTFL Board of Directors (a dedicated group of volunteers)

50 Posts

Yes Jyuen,

There the finals are going to be at the stadium. We have a date booked for them.

Craig

96 Posts

Please say that this date booked for the finals is after nationals!