LHGCL Season is over

From the league:

As each of you know, the enormous amount of Rain has wreaked havoc on our attempts to complete our 2014/2015 season. Games have been rescheduled and cancelled numerous times and are still yet to be played. Our playing venues have taken an enormous hit, some under feet of water. The fields will recover, but we will be well into June before that happens.

The life cycle of a competitive playing year is also coming to a rapid close. June 1st means open tryouts and a crucial time for our teams to regroup and reset for the upcoming playing year. Teams need to know where they stand for the fall so expectations can be set for returning and incoming players. Our families are important and we respect that vacations have been planned, camps have been paid for etc. For LHGCL it's a time when we are full speed into preparing for the next playing year as well as planning and preparing for the upcoming Qualifying Tournament which is only seven weeks away.

With the above said, the difficult decision was made to end the 2014/2015 playing year as of today, May 31st, 2015. This was not a decision that came easily - we have wrestled several weeks with the issues and consequences of ending the season without playing all games.  It is a decision that, unfortunately, we have been  forced to make due to the record breaking rain we have all experienced.

For the fall 2015/2016 the following will apply:

•Incoming U11s are not effected. The same super group structure will still apply.

•Incoming U12s will still be a three division format. ◦Promotion, Relegation and Elimination was calculated by examining mathematical opportunity to achieve promotion or escape relegation.

•Returning and incoming U13s through U17 will shift into two larger divisions, Division I and DIvision II. (The size of the divisions will vary based on age group)
◦We achieved this split by applying the following: ◾In Division II, if a team had a mathematical opportunity to gain promotion under our current bye rules they were promoted.
◾In Division III,  if a team was mathematically eliminated under our current bye rules, they were eliminated and must re-qualify in our summer qualifying tournament.
◾The size of the divisions does vary by age group.

◦Each team will play each other once over the course of the year.

•Returning U19s will also remain in a 3 division format. ◦All current Div I, II and III U17 teams have earned a bye back into the league. (Bye rules still apply) Teams will be seeded into three divisions. Promotion was determined using the same logic. If a team had a mathematical opportunity to gain promotion, they were promoted.  

How do I know what Division my team will be in?

Division assignments will be posted in the next 24 hours on our website and are subject to change if a team does not meet their bye requirements or disbands.

Do all bye requirements still apply?

1. Yes, teams must meet the requirements to maintain their newly posted bye. We will have a bye application online shortly with instructions on how to apply for your bye. If you have questions on bye eligibility based on this new format please contact your commissioner.

I mathematically earned promotion, why are the three teams under me being promoted as well?

1. They could have mathematically earned promotion as well.

2. The new divisions in U13 - U17 were designed for each team to play each other once throughout the playing year. This meant adding 1-2 teams to achieve that goal.

My team is incoming U12 team, why are we still in three divisions for the upcoming year?

Current U11s were already in two divisions, maintaining two divisions was not mathematically possible and would have made an unfair split for some teams. It is never our intention to penalize a team that could have potentially earned a promotion spot.

My team is an incoming U19 team, why are we still in three divisions and how did you promote and relegate?

1. Every current U17 team including ALL division 3 teams have a bye back into the league. There will be no elimination in Division 3. (Bye rules do still apply) As with the other divisions, we did not relegate in Division 1 or 2. We only promoted where it was mathematically possible for a team to earn promotion.

2. Three divisions were maintained due to our newly passed U19 rule set. U19s will play their entire season in the Fall. The only way to achieve that is limit the size of the divisions so each team can play all their games in the fall.

Will the Club Player Pass Rule change?

1. We are reviewing the rule and how it will apply to the new format. I would discourage building a team under the assumption that the club pass rule will remain the same. We will announce any changes to the rule prior to the fall season.

Will there still be a 2015 Qualifying Tournament?

Yes! All remaining spots in Division II will be filled at the 2015 Qualifying Tournament. Tournament Registration will open soon.

What will next year's promotion and relegation look like?

We can tell you there will be a promotion and relegation system. We are working diligently to finalize that plan and will have it posted soon.

If you have specific questions regarding this, please contact your age group commissioner.

We want to thank each of you for continuing to support Lake Highlands Girls Classic League during this challenging season. This next year will be transitional but we felt that this plan was the cleanest and fairest way to put an end to this season.

Sincerely,

Lake Highlands Girls Classic League

Well, if I read this correctly for the upcoming U13's it will be the top 9 teams in D1, plus at least adding FWFC Black to the group and maybe LP Rush and FCD Red. This makes for a much shorter season I suppose...and one where "Mother Nature" will be hard pressed to earn a back-to-back victory. I'm assuming LP Keegan drops to D2 group. The bottom four in D3 will have to requalify to get into the new D2 group.

I guess Sting Sanchez would feel the greatest pain, by virtue of gaining a promotion only to be back in the same group with 5 of their former D3 buddies.

Wonder what this impact will have on rosters this coming year?

And for the U13/02G's (1st yr ECNL) - how does the potential for the top 5 teams pulling out of LHGCL impact this new format too?

Not sure if this is true or not, but rumor has it that none of the ECNL TEAMS ARE GiVING UP THEIR BYE this year, but June 15th will be telling when teams have to register.