DO QUALIFIERS PROPERLY PREPARE? 2019 saw the introduction of a whole new layer to the format of the Marble League – The Marble League Showdown. It was created to function as a qualifier to the qualifiers and to shine a light on new teams as well as neglected teams which hadn’t been reaching much success. Though widely enjoyed, some have questioned whether there are just too few events in qualification rounds to the games. Do qualifiers properly prepare? Ultimately, qualifiers are in place to separate the elite from the rest. The selectees go on to compete in events of greater prestige. So, can it really be said that just four events is enough to decide which marble teams are above the rest? Teams with brilliant stamina and endurance could dominate the sixteen-event Marble League despite a slow start. Still, with such few events in the qualifiers it is quite possible that such teams fail to make it through while quick starters but poor finishers make it through. Many would argue that qualifiers are simply too short to adequately prepare teams for the real experience. On the flipside, it could be argued that qualifiers test a very important quality in marbles — their ability to cope under pressure. Look no further than the Oceanics’ performance in 2019 to see the damaging effects of weak wills. Unable to deal with the extreme pressure of be-
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ing the hosts and with their home crowd looking on, they collapsed and finished a humiliating last. The ability to consistently succeed under pressure is what separates the best from the great and it is important that qualifiers reflect this important aspect to the Marble League. Even if mental strength is an integral part to competition, it cannot be denied that there are days which teams just aren’t at their best. Qualifiers should mainly determine the likelihood of success of a team in the real Marble League, so, is it fair that the fate of a team can be determined by as little as a couple poor finishes in the qualifiers? The teams which reach the main event gain so many more supporters than those which even only just miss out on making it in. Especially now, with the introduction of the Marble League Showdown, it can be difficult to emerge from past failures. The multi-levelled system is designed to keep high scorers in the main events while poorer performers struggle. The Kobalts and the Rojo Rollers used to be close to reaching the main event — they just needed to make it through the qualifiers — but this year they had to first progress through the Marble Showdown first in order to even reach the qualifiers. The Rojo Rollers made it through but the Kobalts did not and will have to wait another year to recompete — a devastating blow for their (few) supporters. Perhaps this new system rather than adding entertain-
