TOPL membership?

[Vengeance]

Yes, but there is a breaking point eventually, TOPL has grown by leaps and bounds but with limited public space and playing out of members homes, it could get to a point where it is too many people.

We had 31 people attend our last meeting at Nick's (that doesn't count the spectators who were there just to hang out) we have members homes who couldn't support that kind of volume, and we also have to think about the impact on the families as they may not want 30 some odd people trampling through their home every other month which could mean we lose locations.

So there is such a thing as too accessible, we are always happy to accept new members but you need to put the effort in, it has helped keep things in check so that we don't grow out on control and also keep a member base that really wants to participate.

 

[frolic]

Ok, well, 31 people is plenty. I couldn't have that many in my home. Then I'm not sure where the balance is found.

I didn't realize you had such big turn outs, I thought attendance was a problem, thats why I suggested the public forum. Maybe that is not a good idea then.

 

[Vengeance]

Last season TOPL saw an average attendance of 17 people per night with our lowest attended night being 9 people and our largest attended night being 24

So attendance isn't out problem

More locations would be nice

 

[frolic]

Any idea how leagues in other larger markets handle this? Or are we kind of screwed by the fact for a city so large there are hardly any public venues for pinball?

 

[Vengeance]

We are not the largest league by any means.

The fact we play every week helps with attendance as other then the die hards (like myself) most people can't make it out every single week.

Other larger leagues that I know of down in the US limit attendance and some have waiting lists of people wanting to join.

I don't like that idea personally, anyone should be able to play anytime IMO

We'll see how it goes, we aren't at critical mass yet, if we got 31 people every single week, we might have to come up with some new ideas, but for now things are still ok.

 

[frolic]

Cool. I think we are all in the same boat that we want to promote and evangelize pinball. So it's a bummer when it becomes too much of a good thing.

 

[SquidVicious]

Any idea how leagues in other larger markets handle this? Or are we kind of screwed by the fact for a city so large there are hardly any public venues for pinball?

Some leagues have a members list but TOPL has to remain open as it is IFPA sancitoned .. most of our locations handle the turn out pretty well a few get a little tight but Nick's at 31 players (35 including lurkers) was a high water mark. There are smaller leagues outside of the GTA but none other that I'm aware of in the GTA (Topl is also pretty much the only weekly league in Canada - lots of weekly leagues exist states side .. most other Cdn leagues are monthly or less frequent)

 

[Chris Bardon]

I have no idea what we'd do if I had 31 people show up at my house for a league night. That might start to get a little crowded, and with only 7 machines to go around, it could take longer to get through.

Just to add my two cents in, there are some really competitive players in TOPL, but anyone is still welcome. I like to compete, but definitely know that I'm not at the same level as a lot of the guys there. For me it's a great way to keep getting better, and to get out once a week to hang out and play some pinball. Being a weekly event actually helps a lot because it means it's a regularly scheduled night out, so my wife and kids are expecting it (we've each got our own "thing" through the week, and mine happens to be competitive pinball).

Even if you can't make it out to all the weekly nights, you can still come out for playoffs, you'll just need to pay the entry fee ($30, same as the season). Those are usually at one of the larger locations, so even if you lose in two rounds of double elimination, there's still lots of pinball to be played.

 

[tim.sanderson]

Wow, I didn't expect to see so many pages of discussion when I got home from work!
I 100% agree on the importance of the host's privacy. I wondered how that worked. I didn't realize there would be that many people at a session!
I was never too concerned about not hearing back. Honestly, at my current skill level, I'd still be way over my head at a TOPL night. (even more so back a few months ago when I first inquired). It sounds like TOPL's been around 34 times longer than I've even been playing PB. The mystery actually makes it more intriguing, like the Stonecutters , or S.P.H.I.N.X.

I hope my OP didn't make it sound like I was complaining or anything. That wasn't my intent!

Thanks for the info Adam and everyone else. Maybe one night I'll be able to tag along to watch how the pros play. Until then, I'm very happy to hone my skills at the Pinball Cafe and Playdium.

 

[Chris Bardon]

Tim, if you can't make it out to Ancaster this Monday, then he week after is out in Ajax, which is a bit more of a haul. I manage to make it because I work on that end of the city though, so I just go straight from work if it's an east end night. I'm hosting on the 10th though, so if you want to come to something closer, then that's a good bet. I believe the week after that is at Kev's in Brampton, which is also close to home, and a really unique lineup.

 

[tim.sanderson]

Very cool. Thanks Chris! Ajax would be a bit far, and I'll have to find out were Ancaster is. (If I were to guess, out past Hamilton?) Brampton (and especially) Mississauga sound doable though.
Thanks, if you don't really don't mind, I'll pencil in the 10th!

 

[SquidVicious]

Very cool. Thanks Chris! Ajax would be a bit far, and I'll have to find out were Ancaster is. (If I were to guess, out past Hamilton?) Brampton (and especially) Mississauga sound doable though.
Thanks, if you don't really don't mind, I'll pencil in the 10th!

To get to Dan's place you basically follow the QEW to Burlington where the split between the 403 and QEW occurs .. take the 403 and follow it up the mountain and the off ramp for Dan's place is basically at the top of the mountain (you can get the address from the topl yahoo group)

From mid Oakville it's about 15-20 minutes to Dan's place (a little longer in rush hour)

 

[SquidVicious]

Wow, I didn't expect to see so many pages of discussion when I got home from work!
I 100% agree on the importance of the host's privacy. I wondered how that worked. I didn't realize there would be that many people at a session!
I was never too concerned about not hearing back. Honestly, at my current skill level, I'd still be way over my head at a TOPL night. (even more so back a few months ago when I first inquired). It sounds like TOPL's been around 34 times longer than I've even been playing PB. The mystery actually makes it more intriguing, like the Stonecutters , or S.P.H.I.N.X.

I hope my OP didn't make it sound like I was complaining or anything. That wasn't my intent!

Thanks for the info Adam and everyone else. Maybe one night I'll be able to tag along to watch how the pros play. Until then, I'm very happy to hone my skills at the Pinball Cafe and Playdium.

Tim there is a huge mix of talent levels in topl .. no matter what you'll fit in

Cheers

 

[tim.sanderson]

Thanks SquidVicious. I just submitted my application, so I'll look into the possibility of a pre-Dec 10 meeting.

 

[frolic]

More locations would be nice

What are the smallest collections to host tpol?

 

[Slam_Tilt]

More locations would be nice

What are the smallest collections to host tpol?

For the size we have now I would think minimum would be 7 working pins.

 

[frolic]

I'll need a new house first .

 

[Vengeance]

More locations would be nice

What are the smallest collections to host tpol?

The bare minimum required to host is 4 machines.

Ideally we would like a location to have 5 or 6 machines so that if one machine happens to crap out, we have alternatives.

 

[Slam_Tilt]

More locations would be nice

What are the smallest collections to host tpol?

The bare minimum required to host is 4 machines.

Ideally we would like a location to have 5 or 6 machines so that if one machine happens to crap out, we have alternatives.

Can we really handle the current membership with 4-6 pins? Especially since we have been averaging 25-30 people lately. We would need to add an extra hour to the league night.

 

[Vengeance]

Can we really handle the current membership with 4-6 pins? Especially since we have been averaging 25-30 people lately. We would need to add an extra hour to the league night.

It could be done, it wouldn't work very well, but it could be done, also I don't think we would get 25 - 30 people if there were only 4 machines available to play.