I’ve been working with AB lately in tab, trying to break in a little new blood. One of the big lessons is that the tab room is not in charge of anything. I point this out to the boringly named commenter John (thanks to whom I now know what H.A.M. means). (I will also point out one of my favorite Goldwynisms: When the legendary Hollywood producer was told about a new potential film, and what the name of the main character would be, he replied, “John? What kind of name is John? Every Tom, Dick and Harry is named John.”) He asked why there’s no MJP at Scarsdale. You’re asking the wrong person. I don’t run Scarsdale, or Newark, or most tournaments I tab. Instead, I tab those tournaments. There is a big difference.
Tournaments definitely have personalities, which is reflected in a lot of my commentary here. They are not all the same. Some of them are dreadful, but most of them are perfectly acceptable. Some are exceptional. But whatever makes them what they are all stems from the tournament directors; tab is just one piece of the machine that the tournament directors manage. When there are problems, it is the TD who solves them, not tab. One of the things I’ve been demonstrating to AB is what problems are not in our domain. If people don’t want to judge certain rounds, or in certain divisions, or whatever, this is not our business. Of course, we can technically make the switch, but the decision to make the switch comes from the TD, not us. When a round is in dispute, we can look at the ballots (which is the only guide we use in tab for determining a decision), but if there is something not on those ballots it is the TD who must listen to the arguments from both sides and make a determination. When someone wants to complain about a judge, they need to do so to the TD, not to us. (By the way, that person you’re complaining about has usually been complained about so many times before that you should just take a number: your real complaint in these cases should be to the coaches who drag inept people to tournaments to judge week after week, which is the only thing the TD can do, and it never really takes, to tell you the truth.)
The TD does everything. The TD decides what kind of food will be served (if any). The TD decides the nature and prices of the concessions. The TD decides if there’s housing, or special hotel arrangements or transportation. The TD hires (or doesn’t hire) judges. The TD sets fees. The TD decides how many rounds there are, what will determine team rankings, if judging will be preffed or random or ranked. The TD knows how to get the rooms unlocked. The TD secures tab staff. The TD staffs the ballot table and trains the runners. Et cetera, et cetera.
What makes a tournament good, bad or indifferent? How well the TD does all of these things. What gets prioritized? How organized are things? How friendly are things? I make a big issue of that one. I remember early in my career going to a tournament where I felt that the tournament director literally hated everyone in the place. I did not enjoy that tournament, and subsequently acted accordingly. I do not want to feel like an unwelcome guest.
To be honest, I feel that all the high school tournaments I go to get high marks on all of these counts. The TDs work to the best of their abilities to run a good show. Colleges, on the other hand, can be hit or miss, which is something that CP helped improved by taking on TD responsibilities himself at so many of them. As he’s slowed down, some of the rest of the traveling tabroom have filled in, so things have overall held firm (I’m especially pleased with how Columbia was revived this year).
So you can fault me as TD at Bump, the MHLs (unless O’C is in the vicinity, in which case, it’s his fault) or the couple of college tournaments I’ve stepped up to. As for the rest, talk to the TD. Tab is just a cog in the machine. We’re just following orders. As the saying goes, we’re not being paid to think.
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