Tournament management

I do think we should give prizes to people who, instead of asking me to read the invitation for them, can read it for themselves. I wonder how these people would have fared not too long ago, when everything was handled by the US mail, which meant that getting invitations was luck of the draw, especially if you were new on the scene, and changes were made in-camera, and maybe you had to fax things if you were all state-of-the-art and technological. There’s a reason RTFM is an instantly recognizable acronym. RTFI should be too.

Then there’s the whole, I’ll register the minute it opens deal. This is a down side of the present technology, insofar as if you don’t get in that first day, there’s a very good chance you won’t get in at all, depending on the venue. I’ve got as many people on the waitlist for the Gem as I actually have in, at least in the debate divisions. That separation of fair, as in, first come first served, versus need to make arrangements, as in planes and hotels, is tough. Then there’s all the people who think they are owed slots, or people who precipitously made reservations based on waitlisted entries which somehow becomes my problem rather than theirs, or people who just generally think they should get everything they want, period. I’ve tried to be helpful to people who came to me early claiming newness, and I’ve tried to be fair in clearing the decks, but it’s a toughie. At least I feel as if I’m earning my keep, such as it is, in pulling the various levers while the Gemmers do whatever it is they’re doing.

This is the side of tournament management that often doesn’t arise, certainly not at small local tournaments. Most events I run never have to deal with waitlists. But there’s more to it than that. Running a good tournament means managing everything, including the judge pool and the fields. You need certain balances. As one gets closer to the event, you need to be at the pilot’s station, navigating every shoal. This may be why a lot of tournaments sort of suck. They get people, and they get judges, but it’s all sort of random. I look, for contrast, at the Schappaughtational. I’ve been following Steve as he’s meticulously put this together, with his eye on everything, keeping everyone informed every step of the way, pulling all the gears and levers. No wonder the event became so popular so quickly: he’s working it like a pro. We’ve talked a lot about tournament management on TVFT, and if you ever think you want to run one yourself, you should have a listen. There’s more to it than opening a file on tabroom and downloading TRPC. Lots more. As I say, I think I’m earning my keep, doing my thing backstage, however much it looks as if nothing is going on. It should be so easy.

Then again, I was doing a little too much on the Byram Hills event, which is really Ari’s headache, aside from my wedging in the Academy stuff. I had stupidly put myself in as the contact, which I changed this morning when people started, uh, contacting me. The only tournament I feel that I can wheel and deal on is Bump. For everything else, access though I may have, it is the tournament director who has to make the calls. Start callin’, AP. One disappointment about the tournament is its diabolical lack of cell service, which means that we can’t really do much about notifications via tabroom. I’ll set it up, just to keep my hand in, but no one will get anything until they get home that night. The thing is, if you do it all the time, you build the mental muscle memory. Just do it occasionally and every time it’s all new again with a whole new learning curve. Not the best way to handle things.

I haven't been to a tournament in about a month, now. I think I'm going crazy. I need to get back into the swim of things. Tally-ho!