Today, I was not very surprised to hear that Rankings HQ are switching to a fee-based system. I won't replicate the entire letter here but it runs some like "case for sympathy, blah, blah, if you don't find a sponsor for your national rankings, then each player must pay a $12 fee, blah, blah, hard regrettable decision". It's the classic bait and switch gambit that, let's be honest, we were warned would happen when the decision was made to go with Rankings HQ.
I'm curious as to whether an alternative Irish rankings system will be created, some poor sucker convinced to sponsor the Irish page or whether it'll mark the death-knell of the rankings system. I'm leaning towards the latter. It was originally intended to be a fair method of ETC team selection (despite claims otherwise) in a charged atmosphere. It's fair to say that a lot of the heat has gone out of the selection process over time and this year, some captains are more likely to be troubled by a lack of potential players rather than an abundance of volunteers.
There is the possibility of a retailer taking the hit and sponsoring the page but I suspect that it will be hard to justify the cost as it's not exactly going to boost their profile or sales. I've seen several other ranking systems sputter and die which suggests that a home-grown system might not succeed.
Personally, I'm now a staunch convert to the "rankings are evil" camp and will be hoping that this will prove a badly needed death-blow which will end the era of the rankings and let us all return to happy, simpler times.Labels: Irish Tournaments, Newbreed, News, Rankings
