The Reno Ice Adult League had announced in an email to captains that “The Championship winner of B-League will be automatically moved up to A-League the following season. The worst B-league team will be relegated down to C-League. The Championship winner of C-League will be relegated to B-League.”
I am not sure if this will be for one season or if this will be for every season moving forward.
Soccer fans will know what promotion and relegation is. It is common in European soccer. Basically promotion is when a team is sent up to the next highest league, relegation is when a team is sent down to the next lowest league. Pro/rel is good for professional sports as it allows teams to grow. Pro/rel is mostly for finical purposes. Usually higher leagues make more money. The NHL makes more money than the AHL. If an AHL team could get into the NHL, they would go from making under 15 million to making hundreds of millions. One of the biggest advantages for professional leagues that use Pro/rel (outside of money) is that teams will find the size of league that fits the team. For example a team that is playing in a 60k seat stadium probably shouldn’t be in the same league as a team who plays in a 2,500 seat stadium. Pro/rel encourages owners to invest more into their team. Pro/rel doesn’t limit teams as to what they can do. If a team wants to be in the top level all they have to do throw enough money towards it.
Pro/rel can also be good in non professional leagues such as recreational leagues. When done right, pro/rel can create evenly matched leagues. The better teams go up. The worse teams go down. At some point every team will get into a level they fit in. I don’t the way the pro/rel that the Reno Ice Adult League has set up pro/rel. I think it can hurt teams. I think that a team that worked hard to win a championship in B League could get destroyed in A League. Then that becomes no fun. Essentially that could just be punishing teams for doing well.
I think that with pro/rel leagues should start by limiting the devision sizes. Twelve teams would be the max. In a twelve team league, the top two teams at the end of the regular season would qualify for promotion as well as the team that wins the championship. The bottom 2 teams at the end of the regular season would qualify for relegation as well as the bottom third team if the championship team in the lower level is promoted. In a twelve team league 6 to 8 teams stay in the league. I think 6 team leagues would work best for the RIAL. That would create 3 leagues of 6 with 1 league of 9. The bottom league would have 9. 4 leagues of 6 would be possible with 3 extra teams. The top team at the end of the regular season plus the championship team would qualify for promotion. The bottom team at the end of the regular season would qualify for relegation. In a 6 team system 2 to 4 teams would remain in the league leaving the core of the league. A 6 team league could also be divided into, 3 team divisions. In six team league with a twelve game season, teams would have 6 hame and 6 away games. Teams would play teams outside of their divisions twice, and teams inside of their division three times.
Here is an example using current standings:
Promotion would also be optional. That way teams aren’t hurt by being forced up to the next league. A system would also be put in place so teams don’t just win endless league titles or championships. If a team qualifies for promotion in 2 out of 3 seasons or 3 out of 5 (or something like that), they would be forced to be promoted. Teams could be forced up by the league. If a team is winning every game by 10 goals they should be forced up. New teams would be put into the bottom league and would have to be promoted up. That may cause new teams to dominate lower level leagues. This would be the best system for leagues to be competitive and for teams to find leagues where they will be competitive.
This is just my idea. What do you think?
Zac Electrifly 