In which we send a whole bunch of folks to Ft. Lauderdale on Memorial Day weekend

Last Saturday was our CFL qualifier, always a most interesting tournament. Kaz, who obviously is unaware that she lives in Massachusetts, was there to help out. Thank goodness. Given the nature of the beast, all hands are definitely required on deck.

CFL Grands is a small event. I think there were 16 in LD and 12 in PF, but in terms of competition, it may be the stiffest one people face all year. Every team in the hunt is potentially capable of qualifying. Results are based on ballot count, and it is rare that everyone doesn’t pick up a ballot or two. From a tabbing prospective, first there’s the issue of the judges. We allow judging on the opposite side, but only after the first three rounds. We want as much cleanliness as possible, but the tournament would be unrunnable if we didn’t allow alternate sides in round 4. More interesting is the pairings. Round 3, at least, has no side constraints, but now you have everything from 0 to 4 ballots, plus usually 3 teams from one school (multiplied a couple of times). We do this by hand, needless to say. For round 4, we now throw in side constraints, since even PF is set sides, a la CatNats (and, for that matter, the NYCFL during the regular season). The thing is, occasionally you can bye people out of that final round. What we do is a whole bunch of math analyzing the prospects. If there’s no way someone can not qualify, we might bye them. If there’s no way some can qualify, we might bye them. Sometimes you need to keep people in to have someone for them to debate, like giving someone with 2 ballots, who might qualify, a round against someone with 1 ballot, who can’t. Very complicated, in other words. Fortunately JV and Kaz can almost do this stuff in their heads, but still, cards are tossed like nobody’s business. To tell you the truth, this is some of the most fun we have all year in tab, because of the challenge.

One good thing about Saturday was that we were at Stuyvesant, and their administration was quickly and efficiently able to step in and make a venue switch for next week’s State Championships, which were originally scheduled to take place in the Bronx, and which will now be on Chambers Street. Tough times can bring out the best in people. And we were able to figure out most of the details of what needs to be done and get people involved to do it. We’re going to have a great tab room lineup; what I need to do next, after registration closes tonight, it put together a workable schedule.

After which, with the notable exception of NDCA, my tournament season will be over. I’m looking forward to a little rest and relaxation.