League News

ENYTB Teams Have Two Ways To Win Entry To A Sanctioned National Championship Tournament Series (NCTS)!

Post-season play usually means sanctioned tournament play. ENYTB affiliates with four different sanctioning bodies: AABC; PONY; NABF; and CABA. Each of these sanctioning bodies conducts its own National Championship Tournament Series (NCTS) at each age level, which concludes with the crowning of an age division national champion in late summer. Many travel teams share the goal of qualifying for a NCTS and the dream of possibly going all the way. It is a dream that is rarely realized but nonetheless possible. In fact, four ENYTB teams have done so in the very recent past (pictures of our 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 age division national champions rotate 24x7 on our Wall Of Champions (see home page)).

To get there though, every team must go through two steps:

• Eligibility; and,
• Qualification

Each step is fully described below.

(1) Eligibility is determined by the choices a team makes on its online league registration form.

ENYTB is not a one-size-fits-all league. ENYTB teams are not required to purchase the same post-season package. Instead, we offer teams a wide range of post-season eligibility options on an ala carte basis and each team pays for only what they take. This lets teams decide for themselves how they want to spend their money. The only downside to this approach is that it requires teams to actually make choices and to enter their choices on their online registration form. Regrettably, every year, many teams lose the opportunity for eligibility because they don't understand this and consequently, they don't fill out their online team registration form.

Every ENYTB team is given its own online registration form, customized to its age and competition level. This form includes a menu of all post-season options available to that team through its membership in this league. Thus to make itself eligible for any NCTS option, a team simply needs to check that item on its customized online registration form. When a team fails to check an item, it is assumed the team has declined that option. It is each team's responsibility to complete its online registration form.

The league holds an educational meeting for members every year that focuses on post-season eligibility and qualification. Unfortunately, many teams don't attend this meeting and/or never complete their online registration form. By doing so, they lose the opportunity to be eligible for participation in all sanctioned post-season play. The online registration form must be completed by the close of registration (Mar 15 (12U and under) and April 1 (13U and over)).

Some related Q & A ....

Q1. What does it mean when a team chooses NOT to sanction with a particular sanctioning body?

A1. It simply means that they are not eligible to participate in any post-season play sponsored by that sanctioning body.

Q2. What does it mean if a team chooses NOT to sanction with any of the available sanctioning bodies?

A2. It simply means that they are not eligible to participate in any sanctioned post-season play i.e., they are playing their regular season for "games" only.

Q3. Are unsanctioned teams treated any differently than sanctioned teams for purposes of regular season play by the league or their opponents?

A3. Absolutely not. Unsanctioned teams are given customized and competitively balanced, regular season schedules. Their games will count in the regular season standings for those opponents who elected to be eligible for sanctioned post-season play. The only difference would be that the sanctioned team is playing to qualify for sanctioned post-season play and would appear in various standings that the unsanctioned team would not.

(2) To qualify for sanctioned post-season play ENYTB teams must compete with other eligible ENYTB teams for a limited number of NCTS berths.

Every year ENYTB sends teams to more than 40 sanctioned National Championship Tournament Series (NCTS). In many instances, the league purchases multiple berths to the same NCTS so the number of ENYTB teams qualifying for sanctioned post-season tournament play is far greater than 40. However, regardless of the number of berths available, there are always more eligible teams than there are berths, so not every eligible team qualifies for sanctioned post-season play. Because ENYTB affiliates with four different sanctioning bodies, its berth ratio is far greater than other leagues. Some leagues qualify 5 percent or less of their eligible teams for sanctioned post-season play. Other reach as high as 25%. ENYTB is typically above 50%.

How does an ENYTB team qualify for the honor of representing the league in a sanctioned national championship tournament series?

ENYTB offer teams two paths to qualify for sanctioned post-season play. They are:

• Via Standings - where all berth awards are determined solely on the results of regular season play; and,
• Via June Madness Tournaments - where all berth awards are determined solely on the results of the June Madness Tournament

More re: Qualification For Post-season Play Based On The Results Of Regular Season Play Alone...

Like MLB, ENYTB uses team W-L records from regular season play to qualify its teams for post-season play. Before the season begins, ENYTB earmarks a specific number of NCTS berths to each STANDINGS. Then, at season's end, those berths are awarded based on the team rankings within that standings.

A separate standings is maintained for each sanctioned NCTS and only those teams who registered for that sanctioning are included in that standings. However, the standings include games against all opponents who are age eligible for the NCTS that the particular standings applies to. For example, if Team A is 14U, Gold and registered for AABC, its games against any other 14U or 13U team would count in its AABC14 standings record regardless of whether that team was or was not AABC registered. Its games against teams older than 14U would not count in this particular standings.

The rankings in all ENYTB standings are adjusted for strength-of-schedule. Thus, there is no advantage to teams taking an easier schedule i.e., a win against a 14Gold team would count much more than a win against a 13Hi Silver team and, similarly, a loss against a 14Gold team would count much less than a loss against a 14Lo Silver team.

ENYTB's opportunities to qualify for sanctioned post-season play don't stop there.

More re: Qualification For Post-season Play Based On The Results Of The June Madness Tournament Alone ...

ENYTB also conducts a mid-season tournament in each age division, dubbed the June Madness tournament. The "Madness" name is borrowed from the March Madness of NCAA basketball fame because the two formats share many of the same characteristics, including single elimination so that every game is do or die.

ENYTB purchases additional post-season berths from its various sanctioning bodies and awards them as "bonus" berths to the top finishing teams in its June Madness Tournament. This allows teams to qualify for sanctioned post-season play regardless of their regular season record. This gives teams who get off to a slow start in regular season play a "2nd chance" if you will, to qualify for post-season play. It also rewards teams that perform better under tournament conditions or happen to get hot at the right time.

The format of these tournaments is also geared to produce balanced competition throughout the tournament. While the real March Madness uses a limited "play-in" concept, June Madness extends the applicability of "play-in" to multiple rounds. Thus, the lesser ranked teams face each other in the early rounds while the higher ranked teams enjoy a bye in early rounds. A lesser ranked team that enjoys success in the early rounds will ultimately have to face the higher seeds. Thus, similar to the March Madness format, advancing teams face increasingly higher seeded teams.

Depending on the choices teams make when they register with the league, a single ENYTB team has the opportunity to earn a berth to up to any of three different sanctioned NCTS berths via the June Madness tournament. That's quite a 2nd chance!

June Madness Tournament Entry Fee: $125/team.

It is important to understand that this fee is more than an eligibility fee. Every paying team is GUARANTEED entry to the June Madness tournament (JMT). Thus, it is a sure thing in that sense.

NOTE: Every team participating in a JMT must also be sanctioned by at least one of the sanctioning bodies included in the JMT. For example, if a JMT is offering bonus berths for AABC, PONY and NABF, all teams entering that particular JMT must also be sanctioned by at least one of those three sanctioning bodies.

Any team wishing to maximize its chances of winning entry to at least one sanctioned NCTS would register for the maximum sanctioning available in its age division. It can cost a team as much as $125 or more to be sanctioned under a particular sanctioning body. Thus, in the case of a JMT with three possible sanctioning choices, a team could pay as much as $500 extra to be eligible for all possible post-season opportunities. For that fee, however, the team would be guaranteed entry to the June Madness Tournament, as well as overall eligibility for up to 10 opportunities to qualify for any of three sanctioned NCTS. Teams that qualify for a sanctioned NCTS do not pay again i.e., participation in those tournaments is free. To the victors belong the spoils!