MWS Application For Free Agent Membership : About The MWS

The MWS: What Is Its Purpose
By The Swammi
January 17, 2003

After Nationals I and shortly before Nationals II there was a lot of talk at the Madden Forum about all of the leagues coming together to unify under one governing body to discuss standardizing game play across the nation. One of the main proponents of this was Player Coach. He along with others saw the need for getting everyone on the same page in order to take Nationals and the Madden Community to another level. And after witnessing the small success we had with Nationals I, he brought the idea to me feeling I was in a position to really carry it forward.

We brought it to the ballers just before Nationals III in New Orleans, and the community as a whole thought it was a great idea. We had our first meeting in New Orleans, and thus the MWS was born.

Since then, as an organization we have grown tremendously. And with growth comes more challenges, especially logistical challenges. Running the MWS physically has been basically a two man job between myself and P.C. With the rapid growth of the MWS, the physical part of record keeping, maintaining the web site, and other administrative duties have proven to be more than one or two people can handle.

Last season we had over 200 plus names on the roster between the 10 MWS leagues and free agents that were listed. This year that number will soar to well above 300, thus presenting more logistical challenges for us as an organization.

Is saying that, we must all realize that as the organization grows, there will be a need for restructure and reassessment. We can no longer take the same approach to conducting MWS business now as we did when the community was smaller. Thus we must all be prepared for the changes that are in store for us as an organization.

I wanted to give you a brief perspective on history and philosophy as anr to this article on what the MWS is all about. Now I would like to dispel some common myths about the MWS that I have encountered.

The MWS tells other leagues how they should play the game.
This is a myth. The MWS is not here to tell other leagues how to conduct their league business. It is here to serve as a governing body that has more of an impact as to how tournaments and match play are going to be played. The MWS focuses more on setting nation wide standards on how the game should be played rather than what members do in their own local leagues.
The Competition Committee makes rules that suit their style of play.
Myth again. The Competition Committee can only make recommendations as to how they feel the game should be played based on extensive research of the game for flaws, programming errors, or potential ethical issues. The committee makes recommendations to the MWS League Council and the membership as to how they feel those items should be resolved. Then it is up to the council and the membership to decide to either adopt or reject the committee's proposal. Last season we voted on some issues, and on others the council gave the committee autonomy on deciding the key issues as we drew closer to the tournament. In addition, if you carefully study the committee you will see four different leagues represented, all with a variety of ideals and philosophies as to how this game is played.
The MWS members pay for a ranking.
Another myth. MWS membership dues go towards the payment of website services at , and the MWS message board. They also offset the cost of banners and accessories for the National Madden Tournament. The MWS ranking system is just a small part of what the MWS does. The behind the scenes work that is takes to organize the syndicate, complete the paper work for the group, maintain and update the website often goes unnoticed.

These are just a few of the common myths that I have heard by either new members in the community or those that are outside the community. For more common questions, visit our FAQ page. There you will find common questions that are frequently asked about the MWS.

What is the MWS about? I would have to say its about all of the leagues and free agents coming together in an attempt to find consistent guidelines and standards when we compete on the national level. The national level should be classified as any type of competition where different leagues or league members compete against one another outside of their home league. So when the MPL and the UMF members match play one another, or compete against each other in the LA Tourneys, that is the national level, even though they are both from the same city. And when we compete on the national level, there needs to be common ground. Well, that is what the MWS is here for, to provide that common ground.

Finally, any perspective or new member to the MWS should read the Constitution and By-laws of the MWS to see how the organization is structured and set up. As one of the founding members of The PFL, myself, along with Wayne Allen and Tony Womack realized that the key to having a successful league that would survive the test of time is to be structured and organized. I try to take the same approach to running the MWS. That is why our constitution and by-laws are in place. I encourage everyone to read them.

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