Season Too Short, Off Season Too Long - Idea

[SpursFlu]

Heading says it all. Instead of flying to Mexico or Europe for a preseason. Why not start the season a few weeks earlier. Add a few more games to the schedule so you don't lose home games and play at a neutral site. It's 18 degrees out in the Lower mainland this weekend why not here? Somewhere convenient to get to. Or if there is an indoor option in Canada? Play in Cancun. There are some creative options out there

I just feel this off season is way too long

Edited March 16 by SpursFlu

[SoccMan]

2 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

Heading says it all. Instead of flying to Mexico or Europe. Why not start the season a few weeks earlier. Add a few more games to the schedule so you don't lose home games and play at a neutral site. It's 18 degrees out in the Lower mainland this weekend why not here? Somewhere convenient to get to. Or if there is an indoor option in Canada? Play in Cancun. There are some creative options out there

I just feel this off season is way too long

Yup too long need to get creative and add more games or maybe a preseason cup like competition at a neutral ground . 

[SpursFlu]

1 hour ago, SoccMan said:

Yup too long need to get creative and add more games or maybe a preseason cup like competition at a neutral ground . 

No need for a cup. Just send everyone down to Cancun for a couple weeks and everyone's first 2 regular season games happen there. Get it moving 

[narduch]

The way climate change is going you probably could start by April 1 and go til end of November now 

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

3 hours ago, SoccMan said:

Yup too long need to get creative and add more games or maybe a preseason cup like competition at a neutral ground . 

Used to toy with the idea of starting a Subtropical Canada website advocating increased emissions of greenhouse gasses to enhance Canada's climate but too many people don't understand when something is supposed to be satirical even when it should be blindingly obvious.

I suspect not much can be done about this. Even in southern Ontario it's normal for municipalities not to allow soccer pitches to be used until early May and I believe that's also what happens in Halifax with the Wanderers Grounds, so good luck extending the season significantly where Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are concerned.

The obvious answer for clubs in lower mainland BC that can play soccer outdoors on grass all year round would be to look south rather than east for opponents at this time of year. If you want to push a Canadian league format you have to live with the drawbacks as well as the advantages.

Edited March 16 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[longlugan]

47 minutes ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Used to toy with the idea of starting a Subtropical Canada website advocating increased emissions of greenhouse gasses to enhance Canada's climate but too many people don't understand when something is supposed to be satirical even when it should be blindingly obvious.

I suspect not much can be done about this. Even in southern Ontario it's normal for municipalities not to allow soccer pitches to be used until early May and I believe that's also what happens in Halifax with the Wanderers Grounds, so good luck extending the season significantly where Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are concerned.

The obvious answer for clubs in lower mainland BC that can play soccer outdoors on grass all year round would be to look south rather than east for opponents at this time of year. If you want to push a Canadian league format you have to live with the drawbacks as well as the advantages.

You really don't understand the topic at hand...once again.

[SpursFlu]

My two funnest game nowadays.. have a drink everytime someone mentions nazis and everytime some brings up climate change 

The problem is the weather is too cold in Canada to play soccer in certain months but somehow it's not cold it's actually warm because climate change. Ok i guess there is no reason to not be playing this league months longer in Canada. My bad. I guess they'll make the appropriate changes for 2025

Edited March 16 by SpursFlu

[yothat2]

2 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

No need for a cup. Just send everyone down to Cancun for a couple weeks and everyone's first 2 regular season games happen there. Get it moving 

That's exactly what shouid happen until the weather gets warmer 

[phil03]

Just now, SpursFlu said:

My two funnest game nowadays.. have a drink everytime someone mentions nazis and everytime some brings up climate change 

The problem is the weather is too cold in Canada to play soccer in certain months but somehow it's not cold it's actually warm because climate change. Ok i guess there is no reason to not be playing this league months longer in Canada. My bad

Yes climate change does have an impact on conditions of play but no climate change hasn't gone bad enough yet for the season to be anything else but lengthened a tiny bit around the edges. Maybe in 10-20 years things will be bad enough globally for that but we aren't there yet.

1 minute ago, yothat2 said:

That's exactly what shouid happen until the weather gets warmer 

If you can find the money to do so without taking it from somewhere else in Canada's Soccer ecosystem then I am 100% for the idea. If not, then Canadian Soccer in general is cash-strapped enough as it is.

On a more positive note, the one strategy I could find would be for Pacific and VFC to host a for the first few weeks. Maybe we could have expansions in Kelowna and the Niagara peninsula to have more clubs with pitches who could be used earlier in the year...

Admittedly, hosting a bunch of games in March probably wouldn't be great for their attendance numbers and they'd probably request some kind of financial compensation from the league but that would probably be the one way that is both financially and meteorologically viable right now. 

[maccaliam]

My son’s team has already started training outdoors for his outdoor season (we’ve probably trained 9-10 times outside so far) so it is certainly doable (probably need turf fields like we use though). We are not that far from Tim Horton’s field either, so the biggest issue is likely the crowds depending on what the weather is like leading up to kickoff. 

[jdheid]

I love the idea of a pre-season cup. I think that's what they do in Finland (indoor). If the money was there for it, you could use VFC and PFC's stadiums and maybe even Swangard.  Over time, it could grow and maybe you could add League 1 teams or maybe even some USL clubs.

[Aird25]

It would probably help prepare teams for continental play if that's going to continue to start so early in the year. It would be cool to include some international teams from northern europe or something that are also out of season 

[Unnamed Trialist]

I too was going to refer to what @jdheid mentions, these pre-season Cup rounds, or stand-alone cups/tournaments. Typical in Scandinavia but mind you, in most of Scandinavia temperatures are low but above zero in March. So it does not work ideally for fans and for weather in some parts of our country.

When CPL expands, even 1 team, that adds 4 fixtures to a season in the current format, and you might end up tacking some of those on in late March, starting earlier by 2 weeks. It depends on how clubs' calculation on fan support goes: better to have a good game time on a weekend in iffy weather, or a midweek evening in pleasant summer?

CPL is not in a position to just throw away home-game opportunities, we are still dependent on gate.

If we had 10 teams, that under current balanced format is 4x9=36 fixtures for a  full league, which would require a longer season no question. But same deal in analyzing how that should work.

Edited March 17 by Unnamed Trialist

[CDNFootballer]

10 hours ago, jdheid said:

I love the idea of a pre-season cup. I think that's what they do in Finland (indoor). If the money was there for it, you could use VFC and PFC's stadiums and maybe even Swangard.  Over time, it could grow and maybe you could add League 1 teams or maybe even some USL clubs.

I agree, like the idea of a pre-season cup, just not the part about possibly including the USA's lower level USL - no upside for Canada's Div 1 league to include them, keep it all Canadian.

[SpursFlu]

I have a hard time with a cup for the sake of a cup. It just feels like pre season. You need to have regular season games or a cup that qualifies you for something, or it just feels like people are going thru three motions before the season starts

Edited March 18 by SpursFlu

[Cheeta]

I don't know, be careful what you wish for.

I have a difficult time imagining a pre-season tourney bringing any street cred along with it.  Useful exercise, playing competitively (at some level) always is, but bestowing a grand title onto a turd doesn't stop the turd from being a turd.  So no to a pre-season cup.  No one will have respect for it and if that's the case then why bother? 

The season end playoff tourney has real value in Canada.  Transfering some of that value onto "pre-season" neutral site fixtures through results based rewards, that is to say league points, in an effort to lend value to those neutral site tests does not, to my mind, add value to the very important playoff property.  Quite the opposite is my opinion.

Imagine Valour squeeking into the playoffs because they took 9 points at Swangard and Wanderers didn't.  Such rubbish.

I see it now.  The argument will be made that it was the same for all the teams and if HFX didn't put as much emphasis on the neutral site, season launching fixtures as Valour did then they have no one to blame but themselves.  Except that the answer is no.  No, it isn't the same.  Otherwise why do we bother playing home and away fixtures?

Sorry, bit long.  Difficult question, difficult answers, if there even is one.  But I'm no seeing a way out of the status quo that's an improvement.  Afraid that means we're stuck with things as they are. 

 

 

 

 

[yothat2]

On 3/16/2024 at 10:20 PM, phil03 said:

Yes climate change does have an impact on conditions of play but no climate change hasn't gone bad enough yet for the season to be anything else but lengthened a tiny bit around the edges. Maybe in 10-20 years things will be bad enough globally for that but we aren't there yet.

If you can find the money to do so without taking it from somewhere else in Canada's Soccer ecosystem then I am 100% for the idea. If not, then Canadian Soccer in general is cash-strapped enough as it is.

On a more positive note, the one strategy I could find would be for Pacific and VFC to host a for the first few weeks. Maybe we could have expansions in Kelowna and the Niagara peninsula to have more clubs with pitches who could be used earlier in the year...

Admittedly, hosting a bunch of games in March probably wouldn't be great for their attendance numbers and they'd probably request some kind of financial compensation from the league but that would probably be the one way that is both financially and meteorologically viable right now. 

It's prob most feasible financially starting the season in mexico, Dominican republic or a small Carribean island where the Canadian dollar can reduce the overhead .. try to build the fanbase of the league. Can schedule exhibitions games vs various national teams  

 

I feel like it would just be too expensive starting in an Kelowna or Victoria without any gov support .. 

[Aird25]

3 hours ago, yothat2 said:

It's prob most feasible financially starting the season in mexico, Dominican republic or a small Carribean island where the Canadian dollar can reduce the overhead .. try to build the fanbase of the league. Can schedule exhibitions games vs various national teams  

 

I feel like it would just be too expensive starting in an Kelowna or Victoria without any gov support .. 

Right, throwing all that revenue to another country is probably best

[Kingston]

Many years ago, there was an at least semi-serious discussion about Turks and Caicos joining Canada.  Maybe this could be the impetus to finally make it happen.

[jonovision]

On 3/16/2024 at 2:11 PM, SpursFlu said:

My two funnest game nowadays.. have a drink everytime someone mentions nazis and everytime some brings up climate change 

The problem is the weather is too cold in Canada to play soccer in certain months but somehow it's not cold it's actually warm because climate change. Ok i guess there is no reason to not be playing this league months longer in Canada. My bad. I guess they'll make the appropriate changes for 2025

Without trying to stir things up, milder winters in Canada on average are a recent and accelerating trend. Observed phenomena. I will not speculate as to causes.

I don't think the change is yet dramatic enough to make a significantly earlier start possible (or at least desirable) in most of the league's cities.

[jdheid]

1 hour ago, Kingston said:

Many years ago, there was an at least semi-serious discussion about Turks and Caicos joining Canada.  Maybe this could be the impetus to finally make it happen.

I think Turks and Caicos rekindles that discussion every decade or so.

[Kingston]

49 minutes ago, jdheid said:

I think Turks and Caicos rekindles that discussion every decade or so.

I'm not sure if it is T and C that rekindles it so much as Canadian MPs who decide they need to do a "fact finding" expedition in January. 

[SpursFlu]

1 hour ago, jonovision said:

Without trying to stir things up, milder winters in Canada on average are a recent and accelerating trend. Observed phenomena. I will not speculate as to causes.

I don't think the change is yet dramatic enough to make a significantly earlier start possible (or at least desirable) in most of the league's cities.

You would definitely play out doors in bc in March np. I think an issue the league has extends beyond the weather. Better facilities would help. Enclosed stadiums etc etc

[jonovision]

9 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

You would definitely play out doors in bc in March np. I think an issue the league has extends beyond the weather. Better facilities would help. Enclosed stadiums etc etc

I doubt they can even turn on the plumbing at IG Field Princess Auto Stadium in March. I also think that soccer ought to always be played outdoors, but I'm not a fan of certain teams having to start each season with a prolonged stretch of road games. Really puts them on the back foot, competitively, as we will see with Valour for (mostly) non-weather related reasons this year. 

[SpursFlu]

2 minutes ago, jonovision said:

I doubt they can even turn on the plumbing at IG Field Princess Auto Stadium in March. I also think that soccer ought to always be played outdoors, but I'm not a fan of certain teams having to start each season with a prolonged stretch of road games. Really puts them on the back foot, competitively, as we will see with Valour for (mostly) non-weather related reasons this year. 

I was saying indoors but if they can have air-conditioning in out door stadiums. I think you can build an outdoor stadium with cold weather, rain whatever in mind. At the very least with fans consideration in mind

Edited March 18 by SpursFlu