In which there are flightless birds

I’m going to say that the biggest question some tournaments are going to have is the question of caps. 

 

If you previously had 240 entries in your PF division—normal at Ivies—and broke all 4-2s (54 of them or so) to a triple/runoff after 7 rounds, what do you do when you have 6 rounds breaking to doubles (32 of them)? If you still cap at 240, most of your 4-2s won’t break. The only way all your 4-2s break is to cap at 90. Dropping from 240 to 90 is pretty draconian. Not breaking with a 4-2 record is also pretty draconian. A field cap necessitates a school cap. It all gets pretty painful.

 

Of course, adding a Community/Open division at least lets you keep your numbers. With the Ivies especially, debating there and doing well has always been a feather in the cap above and beyond the bid issue. One wonders if that will hold with virtual tournaments. I tend to think so. Plus, second-years and lightly seasoned third-years and former MS stars in 9^th grade really aren’t (or shouldn’t be) in the bid hunt. In a way, they’re just easy pickings for the more sturdy bid-hunters. 

 

A limited bid division will be a tougher division, but I think that is as it should be. Still, where do you cap? Do you cap at the solid 90 for all 4-2s? Or at 130, for half the 4-2s? That latter option is a real one, especially in PF where 4-2 screws are relatively common. It sounds to me like a much better option than endless 4-2 screws. And while an unlimited C/O division might end up with lots of 4-2 screws as well, at least those aren’t screws of the bidworthy variety.

 

And none of this begins to address MPJ, obligations, single v. double flights…

 

Anyone who thinks virtual tournaments will be like IRL tournaments should say hello to the heads of the other ostriches down there in the sand with them.