- Jul 16, 2015
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- #1
Hello all,
Admin applications closed last night and I received several quality applications.
A total of 4 candidates will run in this seasons election (There was a 5th, but it didn’t pass the sniff test).
I am opening this thread for a public screening of each candidate. They will then be taken to the committee for a more private debate. Around R10, I will call for a vote to decide the next admin.
Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to our candidates for S34 and beyond Administrator as well as their platforms.
Candidate #1: Barrybran
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests and NaturalDisaster
I, Barrybran, am hereby nominating myself for the position of Sweet FA Administrator for season 34 and beyond.
My platform for Sweet FA will include easy entry and exit, appropriate signage and line markings, seating, and plenty of room to accommodate waiting passengers. I believe Sweet FA is currently drunk and should start attending AA meetings. My experience is extensive and my vision is 20/20. I support players’ rights to have e-spouses.
Look, you all know who I am and what I bring to the table. Some of you like me. Some of you don’t. I don’t particularly want the responsibility of being the administrator and I feel PMBangers would do a fine job however I’m aware I am probably best placed to take this board through the next couple of seasons and I believe people deserve a choice where a choice is offered. If I am chosen you know I will do an excellent job. If I don’t, you all get to laugh at me.
I have no grand vision for where to take this board. There are many great ideas and my role as administrator will be to pull these ideas together into a cohesive plan. One such example will be to assist Kennedy Parker to refine QootyPy with a view to replacing Mobbs ’ version sometime within the next three seasons.
My goal really would be to keep the board running. The administrators across 32 seasons have done a fantastic job to build Sweet FA into what it is today. As much as people complain about this place at times, an average of 196 people turned up to match threads each week last season (courtesy of serial_thrilla), which represents and average of 16 per team per week. When you consider there are seven primary positions and maybe six secondary positions, we’re doing alright. There’s not much I need to do. All I have to do is keep the wheels turning.
Where I would likely differ to NaturalDisaster and Ant Bear, as the previous administrators, is to be more autonomous. I won't be running every decision by the committee. Their role is to keep the administrator accountable but the administrator's role is to lead, organise and execute. I’ve been around long enough to know how everything works, what needs to be done and how to do it. Please don’t confuse autonomous for autocratic. My goal will be to collect and collate ideas from the membership of this board and implement those I feel will add the most value to the board. My methods will work for some. It won’t work for others. For those it doesn’t work for, there’s always rule 10A.
I have enjoyed the seven seasons I’ve been here so far and I am sure I will enjoy the next few seasons whether I am administrator or not.
I, Barrybran, am hereby nominating myself for the position of Sweet FA Administrator for season 34 and beyond.
My platform for Sweet FA will include easy entry and exit, appropriate signage and line markings, seating, and plenty of room to accommodate waiting passengers. I believe Sweet FA is currently drunk and should start attending AA meetings. My experience is extensive and my vision is 20/20. I support players’ rights to have e-spouses.
Look, you all know who I am and what I bring to the table. Some of you like me. Some of you don’t. I don’t particularly want the responsibility of being the administrator and I feel PMBangers would do a fine job however I’m aware I am probably best placed to take this board through the next couple of seasons and I believe people deserve a choice where a choice is offered. If I am chosen you know I will do an excellent job. If I don’t, you all get to laugh at me.
I have no grand vision for where to take this board. There are many great ideas and my role as administrator will be to pull these ideas together into a cohesive plan. One such example will be to assist Kennedy Parker to refine QootyPy with a view to replacing Mobbs ’ version sometime within the next three seasons.
My goal really would be to keep the board running. The administrators across 32 seasons have done a fantastic job to build Sweet FA into what it is today. As much as people complain about this place at times, an average of 196 people turned up to match threads each week last season (courtesy of serial_thrilla), which represents and average of 16 per team per week. When you consider there are seven primary positions and maybe six secondary positions, we’re doing alright. There’s not much I need to do. All I have to do is keep the wheels turning.
Where I would likely differ to NaturalDisaster and Ant Bear, as the previous administrators, is to be more autonomous. I won't be running every decision by the committee. Their role is to keep the administrator accountable but the administrator's role is to lead, organise and execute. I’ve been around long enough to know how everything works, what needs to be done and how to do it. Please don’t confuse autonomous for autocratic. My goal will be to collect and collate ideas from the membership of this board and implement those I feel will add the most value to the board. My methods will work for some. It won’t work for others. For those it doesn’t work for, there’s always rule 10A.
I have enjoyed the seven seasons I’ve been here so far and I am sure I will enjoy the next few seasons whether I am administrator or not.
Candidate #2: kdavva
I would like to formally apply to become the next Administrator of the Sweet FA.
I am an avid student of the league's history, traditions and mechanisms and this would be my strongest area of my candidacy. I am a big believer in maintaining and promoting the history of the game as well as prioritising qooty discussion, banter and media across the league. I don't think there really is any such thing as a bad poster in the Sweet FA, I genuinely believe nearly all activity is good activity, and I would never think to dictate what can or cannot be posted on here. But I do think more can be done to promote qooty itself as well as the vast history of the league, which is now over 20 years old, and should be a drawcard in and of itself. Heritage Round would be as important to me as Mobbs Medal Night and I would like to work closely with some of the league's legends to have more content around the league's history moving forwards. In my capacity as administrator of the league, I'd also like to take a more active hand in honouring significant milestones across the league. My work on the Las Vegas Bears and Coney Island Warriors history, as can be attested by JoshWoodenSpoon and TheInjuryFactory, is a good demonstration of my commitment to this end.
Expansion is obviously a hot topic in the league currently as well, and should I become Administrator, I would like to be completely transparent in saying I would allow any teams a second chance to present their bid should they fail in Season 33. I would not look to enforce the expansion and any final decision would be held by a majority of the committee but I do believe it would be a welcome addition to the league and I would lend any support I could to an Orphidian Old Boys' second bid or indeed any other expansion team that wished to enter the league. I would not at any stage consider folding, merging or in any other way altering the remaining Sweet FA clubs unless explicitly asked to do so by that club's leadership and I strongly believe that this league is largely self-correcting when it comes to clubs with supposedly 'weaker' lists. The work of Barrybran at the Gumbies, The Filth Wizard at the Royals and others in my time in the league shows that it only takes one strong-willed poster to turn a club around.
In terms of the governance of the league, I commend NaturalDisaster's work in largely keeping the ship steady and at the sake of sounding boring, I don't think any wide-sweeping changes are needed. I do have a number of further policies/visions that I would like to see implemented if I were admin, namely:
My time in this league has seen me work with players from every corner of the league, working on a variety of projects including media, league history, league stats, awards nights and leadership groups. I have been an active and involved LG member of every club I have played for and I am hard-working behind the scenes to ensure they run smoothly and that their legacies and histories are preserved. I have served as league statistician previously, for which I won the S27 Frankston Rover Award, and although my committee experience is admittedly brief, I have been privy to countless committee processes through my times in the Bears, Warriors and Furies leadership groups.
In summary, I'm as passionate about the league's histories, legacies and machinations as anyone on this forum and over the last 8 seasons in the league I have expanded my horizons far beyond the annoying rookie I once was. I genuinely believe I am ready to step up to the Administrator role that many expected me to so many seasons ago and I want to continue to improve this beautiful corner of the internet every single day if I can. I have my own ideas, thoughts and opinions on where things should be heading but I think more importantly I respect the wide array of opinions and thoughts across the league and I want to involve as many people as I can in improving this place because ultimately the board is for everyone.
I hope you will consider my application.
Kind regards,
Dav
I am an avid student of the league's history, traditions and mechanisms and this would be my strongest area of my candidacy. I am a big believer in maintaining and promoting the history of the game as well as prioritising qooty discussion, banter and media across the league. I don't think there really is any such thing as a bad poster in the Sweet FA, I genuinely believe nearly all activity is good activity, and I would never think to dictate what can or cannot be posted on here. But I do think more can be done to promote qooty itself as well as the vast history of the league, which is now over 20 years old, and should be a drawcard in and of itself. Heritage Round would be as important to me as Mobbs Medal Night and I would like to work closely with some of the league's legends to have more content around the league's history moving forwards. In my capacity as administrator of the league, I'd also like to take a more active hand in honouring significant milestones across the league. My work on the Las Vegas Bears and Coney Island Warriors history, as can be attested by JoshWoodenSpoon and TheInjuryFactory, is a good demonstration of my commitment to this end.
Expansion is obviously a hot topic in the league currently as well, and should I become Administrator, I would like to be completely transparent in saying I would allow any teams a second chance to present their bid should they fail in Season 33. I would not look to enforce the expansion and any final decision would be held by a majority of the committee but I do believe it would be a welcome addition to the league and I would lend any support I could to an Orphidian Old Boys' second bid or indeed any other expansion team that wished to enter the league. I would not at any stage consider folding, merging or in any other way altering the remaining Sweet FA clubs unless explicitly asked to do so by that club's leadership and I strongly believe that this league is largely self-correcting when it comes to clubs with supposedly 'weaker' lists. The work of Barrybran at the Gumbies, The Filth Wizard at the Royals and others in my time in the league shows that it only takes one strong-willed poster to turn a club around.
In terms of the governance of the league, I commend NaturalDisaster's work in largely keeping the ship steady and at the sake of sounding boring, I don't think any wide-sweeping changes are needed. I do have a number of further policies/visions that I would like to see implemented if I were admin, namely:
- I would like to establish smaller subcommittees similar to the Hall of Fame subcommittee dedicated to certain aspects of the league, as I believe there are many extremely talented and dedicated posters out there that should be harnessed in helping keep up engagement and discussion in this league.
- I would like to look into alternative ways of recruiting from around BigFooty, namely the feasability of a Recruitment Subcommittee and the potential to develop a pool of potential rookie players to form a dedicated team to play instead of putting out feelers in various club boards
- I would like to compile a list of Sweet FA admin decisions throughout the last 10 seasons or so to create a sort of 'Common Law' for the Sweet FA to provide more transparency when it comes to rulings against clubs or players.
- Further to my general views on promoting the history of the league, I would also like to revamp the Sweet FA Wiki and generally clean up the Archives Subforum to make viewing the history of the sport easier.
- I have faith in the Committee to also play an active role in improving the league on a day-to-day basis and similarly to NaturalDisaster I would look to work side by side with them rather than having a more autocratic role.
- I would like to look into the feasibility of officially incorporating TJASTA's All-Star concept into the league in alternating off-seasons from the State of Origin.
My time in this league has seen me work with players from every corner of the league, working on a variety of projects including media, league history, league stats, awards nights and leadership groups. I have been an active and involved LG member of every club I have played for and I am hard-working behind the scenes to ensure they run smoothly and that their legacies and histories are preserved. I have served as league statistician previously, for which I won the S27 Frankston Rover Award, and although my committee experience is admittedly brief, I have been privy to countless committee processes through my times in the Bears, Warriors and Furies leadership groups.
In summary, I'm as passionate about the league's histories, legacies and machinations as anyone on this forum and over the last 8 seasons in the league I have expanded my horizons far beyond the annoying rookie I once was. I genuinely believe I am ready to step up to the Administrator role that many expected me to so many seasons ago and I want to continue to improve this beautiful corner of the internet every single day if I can. I have my own ideas, thoughts and opinions on where things should be heading but I think more importantly I respect the wide array of opinions and thoughts across the league and I want to involve as many people as I can in improving this place because ultimately the board is for everyone.
I hope you will consider my application.
Kind regards,
Dav
Aight, former admins never win but here goes nothing.
So the first thing anyone reading this might be thinking is "You've already been admin, why the fu** would you like to do this again?" Well it's a valid question. I think put simply every admin tenure is different and depending on what era have the role you need to respond to different challenges. S25-S27 was mostly about steadying the ship and restoring order to the league after a very turbulent S24. Right now the times are different and the league is in a better place which presents more opportunities for innovation and improvement making the role more interesting than when I previously held it.
Set out your platform/Current State of the league
Since S29 we've seen growth in participation 3 out of 4 seasons and the league has never been more active in its history than now. And while that could be driven by COVID and lockdowns initially, the growth has persisted even as the country begins opening up which is promising.
And that might be an argument in favour of keeping things the same, maintaining the status quo. But we need to remember that the whole reason why the SFA became what it is in the first place is because of innovation and timely large structural changes.
This is a fantasy league where anything is possible if we want to make it happen.
So maybe we should start acting like it.
State any relevant experience that you may possess
I was admin before in S25-S27. During which I revived SoO after it was thought to be dead and buried, empowered the committee. Prior to S25, there were no official tribunal hearing, veto or admin elections.
Present your vision for where you wish to take the league
14 teams, an updated sim, and an integrated reserves competition by S36. SoO still alive and thriving and hey for good measure maybe we'll have an off-season cricket side competition once we make that failed fantasy cricket comp a sub-forum of the SFA.
Espouse policies that may enhance the experience of all of the players.
I don't claim to be the originator of all of these ideas, some of them may be ideas from previous applications that I like:
So the first thing anyone reading this might be thinking is "You've already been admin, why the fu** would you like to do this again?" Well it's a valid question. I think put simply every admin tenure is different and depending on what era have the role you need to respond to different challenges. S25-S27 was mostly about steadying the ship and restoring order to the league after a very turbulent S24. Right now the times are different and the league is in a better place which presents more opportunities for innovation and improvement making the role more interesting than when I previously held it.
Set out your platform/Current State of the league
Since S29 we've seen growth in participation 3 out of 4 seasons and the league has never been more active in its history than now. And while that could be driven by COVID and lockdowns initially, the growth has persisted even as the country begins opening up which is promising.
And that might be an argument in favour of keeping things the same, maintaining the status quo. But we need to remember that the whole reason why the SFA became what it is in the first place is because of innovation and timely large structural changes.
This is a fantasy league where anything is possible if we want to make it happen.
So maybe we should start acting like it.
State any relevant experience that you may possess
I was admin before in S25-S27. During which I revived SoO after it was thought to be dead and buried, empowered the committee. Prior to S25, there were no official tribunal hearing, veto or admin elections.
Present your vision for where you wish to take the league
14 teams, an updated sim, and an integrated reserves competition by S36. SoO still alive and thriving and hey for good measure maybe we'll have an off-season cricket side competition once we make that failed fantasy cricket comp a sub-forum of the SFA.
Espouse policies that may enhance the experience of all of the players.
I don't claim to be the originator of all of these ideas, some of them may be ideas from previous applications that I like:
- A reserves competition, originally thought of by kdavva in his initial 5-minute run for admin when I stepped down. Every SFA team should have an affiliate team in a lower league where the remaining squad players play in the plumb spots and fictional characters top up the rest.
- A sim update - open doors to newer updates down the line and new features, such as boundary throw-ins and randomised quarter end times.
- The creation of a new role: SFA General Manager of Qooty Operations, yes this is a fancy name for manangatang's 2IC idea.
- GM does the day to day tasks to keep the league running e.g. as rostering simmers, organising match thread posters, posting the awards. The admin focuses more of strategic matters: rules, struture, initiatives.
- Everyone knows that I like deregulation in terms of penalties and team sheets - strip out any penalties that don't directly impede the simming or statskeeping process.
- Squad maximum should be lifted back up to 30, captains should have the flexibility to more aggressively recruit without having to delist a club legend or a sporadic poster that may post 1-2 times a week.
- I'd scrap re-sims for all finals except the grand final, if it's a draw the home team wins - that equates to a 1-2% home team advantage in finals. Besides an immediate replay after a EF/QF/SF/PF draw just kills the realism of the league.
- Delisted free agency or trade week, one of them should go. That or we restrict club's opportunities to delist in-season.
- Players should need to be on a list for x number of weeks before being eligible to play finals.
Candidate #4: PMBangers
Hello ND, and committee, I bet you're surprised to hear from me
This is my expression of interest for Admin, as TL;DR I believe I'm fit for the role given my demonstrated organisational and communication skills within my personal life, and objectivity on league matters where benefit of the league/ impact on important roles such as record keeping and simming are the front of my mind.
Set Out Your Platform
I believe that over the next 2 seasons the league will be going through a transition phase from the 'old guard' over to new, and with that the direction of what the league is will be remoulded, and what posters are looking to get out of the league will be pretty different to what it currently is. I want to provide a steady head that respects how the league has and is currently run, and the values that are important to the old guard and legends of the league, whilst allowing it room to grow and become more fit for the newer posters that are becoming more prominent.
Give your interpretation on the current state of league and how it could be improved
As it stands I think the league is in a safe spot without looking like slowing down for the most engaged of us, activity wise we're thriving across the board, but there are of course areas of improvement. My main issue currently is how Qooty and the world of sweet have somewhat taken a backseat and we're seeing a lot of posters taking it too seriously, I'd like to see a return to the days of persona's, rivalries and 'storylines' by making Qooty a centre piece again. Ideally, this would mean more light hearted banter rather than what we have now, which at times can come across as personal, and with that more quality media around different topics from the league and the season of qooty itself.
I also think that recruitment could do with some sort of overhaul, this would include a set 'agenda' for Qooty Tours and a more co-operative approach to rookie recruitment across the board, rather than having 12 clubs hounding every single Tour poster. I've expressed ideas on this in the past but I think the option of taking Qooty off site to other forums or footy social media areas (not necessarily in the form of a tour) is one I want explored regardless of if I'm successful in my application
State any relevant experience you have
Within the SFA itself I've been an LG member for 3 seasons and captain for 2, as well as on the committee for around 4 months at the time of this application. I've also participated in Mobbs, beez and EKA presentation nights so understand the requirements from that POV
Outside of sweet I've had multiple committee roles at my local footy club and run small teams/ worksites in my occupation, and also moderate the Draft, Free Agency & Trade board
Present your vision and where you want to take the league
That's the beauty of it, I don't know where the league will end up as we see some of the old guard filter out, but I want to keep it steady in terms of activity whilst boosting recruitment, quality and enjoyment overall. A few particular things I think could assist this include;
Policies and such
Nothing I've got on the actual rules of the league is drastic, recent events around Squad Submission rules have shown that there's probably better ways to go about that, and I'd like to consult with Hate and the simming team before making any changes to that or anything else as to whether they're negatively impacted by anything
The most relevant one to speak about is the rules around expansion, I think we're getting closer and closer to an expansion bid becoming successful and need to prepare for the eventuality that we'll end up having an odd number of teams at some stage. My suggestions around this are;
I've also suggested changes to the minimum expansion bid criteria in the past that I think will eliminate sides only going for a 'bare minimum' bid, these changes include;
-Increasing the amount of rookie/ returning players to the league to 50% from 40%, with an absolute minimum of 13, 7 of which need to be rookies
-Setting guidelines about what counts as 'material damage to an existing club', this would include setting a maximum number of players any one club can lose to an expansion bid, with exceptions to be made if captains agree it's ok
Thank you for reading, I hope you consider this a serious EOI and understand I am happy to answer questions
This is my expression of interest for Admin, as TL;DR I believe I'm fit for the role given my demonstrated organisational and communication skills within my personal life, and objectivity on league matters where benefit of the league/ impact on important roles such as record keeping and simming are the front of my mind.
Set Out Your Platform
I believe that over the next 2 seasons the league will be going through a transition phase from the 'old guard' over to new, and with that the direction of what the league is will be remoulded, and what posters are looking to get out of the league will be pretty different to what it currently is. I want to provide a steady head that respects how the league has and is currently run, and the values that are important to the old guard and legends of the league, whilst allowing it room to grow and become more fit for the newer posters that are becoming more prominent.
Give your interpretation on the current state of league and how it could be improved
As it stands I think the league is in a safe spot without looking like slowing down for the most engaged of us, activity wise we're thriving across the board, but there are of course areas of improvement. My main issue currently is how Qooty and the world of sweet have somewhat taken a backseat and we're seeing a lot of posters taking it too seriously, I'd like to see a return to the days of persona's, rivalries and 'storylines' by making Qooty a centre piece again. Ideally, this would mean more light hearted banter rather than what we have now, which at times can come across as personal, and with that more quality media around different topics from the league and the season of qooty itself.
I also think that recruitment could do with some sort of overhaul, this would include a set 'agenda' for Qooty Tours and a more co-operative approach to rookie recruitment across the board, rather than having 12 clubs hounding every single Tour poster. I've expressed ideas on this in the past but I think the option of taking Qooty off site to other forums or footy social media areas (not necessarily in the form of a tour) is one I want explored regardless of if I'm successful in my application
State any relevant experience you have
Within the SFA itself I've been an LG member for 3 seasons and captain for 2, as well as on the committee for around 4 months at the time of this application. I've also participated in Mobbs, beez and EKA presentation nights so understand the requirements from that POV
Outside of sweet I've had multiple committee roles at my local footy club and run small teams/ worksites in my occupation, and also moderate the Draft, Free Agency & Trade board
Present your vision and where you want to take the league
That's the beauty of it, I don't know where the league will end up as we see some of the old guard filter out, but I want to keep it steady in terms of activity whilst boosting recruitment, quality and enjoyment overall. A few particular things I think could assist this include;
- Give the creative aspects of awards nights to our creative posters (encourage the Sweet Entertainment Media Group to get more involved)
- More Novelty matches/ competitions through the seasons and off seasons (this would include implementing a State of Origin Committee to ensure the legacy of the competition is continued)
- 'Set up' dramas, I'm happy to play a villain role for situations like these
- Simplify the All-SFA process with set guidelines, with input from the committee and from the more stats knowledgeable users in the league
- And as I've stated previously, I think that some changes to the sim like single game impacting events could help with increased enjoyment/ immersion into the world of Sweet, however this is something that would need to be discussed further with the committee/ KP as to what's A) Possible and B) Enjoyable
Policies and such
Nothing I've got on the actual rules of the league is drastic, recent events around Squad Submission rules have shown that there's probably better ways to go about that, and I'd like to consult with Hate and the simming team before making any changes to that or anything else as to whether they're negatively impacted by anything
The most relevant one to speak about is the rules around expansion, I think we're getting closer and closer to an expansion bid becoming successful and need to prepare for the eventuality that we'll end up having an odd number of teams at some stage. My suggestions around this are;
- Accept the Bye Round, but keep the team with the bye engaged by giving them responsibilities such as Match Thread OPs, and maybe a collaborative media piece like 'match previews' or 'weekly wrap'
- Reduce the Home and Away season to 12 rounds, but have 'decider matches' during the Finals series so those teams knocked out are still getting their 16 games, this way we're not effecting anyone's efforts to reach milestones
- Framework for set BTGID charges in the case of a team with the Bye spamming match threads maliciously, early days but it'd be something to do with both captains of the effected clubs messaging the admin together and presenting their case
- I'm also open to the Home and Away season being 13/14 Rounds as well, and look to bring back an official rivalry round + a rolling fixture for a Round 14 that could be determined based on ladder or other events
I've also suggested changes to the minimum expansion bid criteria in the past that I think will eliminate sides only going for a 'bare minimum' bid, these changes include;
-Increasing the amount of rookie/ returning players to the league to 50% from 40%, with an absolute minimum of 13, 7 of which need to be rookies
-Setting guidelines about what counts as 'material damage to an existing club', this would include setting a maximum number of players any one club can lose to an expansion bid, with exceptions to be made if captains agree it's ok
Thank you for reading, I hope you consider this a serious EOI and understand I am happy to answer questions
Let the interrogations begin.
Please feel free to question, scorn, praise these candidates as much as possible.
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