So when I was looking over scheduling dates for our upcoming summer and autumn seasons, I did notice that the 4th of July fell on a Monday. After discussing it with the rest of the HL staff, we initially opted to not give the week off for numerous reasons.
The biggest one by far is that we’re on a very tight schedule. Many players have been feeling the effect this off-season of our time constraints, due to the Bracket Reset as well as the previous Valentine’s Day break. The time between Grands and s12 is 4 weeks, with a 3-week team registration period and 1 week for any qualifiers, which makes for one of the shortest off-seasons.
Currently I have s13, the autumn season, planned for October 3rd–which is the latest I can possibly go without being Christmas week. Season 12 is currently set to end on August 22nd. It would mean that next season will just be as uncomfortable for many teams if we add the break.
We also have to factor in that we have many players competing from out of the states, including Canada, Mexico, and other out of region countries. Valentine’s Day was observed internationally compared to the 4th of July, which is purely an American holiday.
Also where do we draw the line with holidays? Do we include every federal holiday? Every religious holiday? Halloween is also on a Monday this Autumn. The only way we can take Halloween off is if we move the season forward. If we take both Halloween and the 4th of July off, we will have a 3-week off-season with only a 2-week team registration for the Fall. Are players okay with essentially non-stop seasons? I would imagine it would cause quite a bit of burn-out in the long run.
RGL also already has a break planned mid-season for the RGL LAN. This would mean s12 would have two breaks extending the season.
I would like everyone to factor in the consequences that will impact the future seasons! Utilizing subs and rescheduling matches would be the easiest way for teams to accommodate each other while still giving people ample preparation for the Autumn season!