[SBU Board] Team Event Proposal

[Eric Sieg]

Proposal for Team Events. the following was constructed based on feedback
from A/B/C players, directors, ACBL guidelines in regards to how many
boards to play in Swiss events, and ACBL guidelines (and consultation with
Jeff Ford) on how many rounds to play for a certain # of teams.

It seems good to have this voted on and confirmed as a board to allow for
predictable events and so that there are clear guidelines for directors so
we don't need have huddle every sectional to figure out how many boards to
play. The likely area for discussion tonight is the recommendation on how
many boards to play when A, B, and C players are playing together as well
as the concept of prompt rounds. Other places in the ACBL have enforced
time penalties and I have never ever seen someone get upset about it. The
key is to communicate their existence and the reasoning clearly. It has
always been well received and appreciated and results in people getting out
quickly. I think everyone appreciates getting out 30+ minutes earlier as a
result of rounds being called promptly and it'd be great to see this become
part of our approach here in Seattle.

By far the overwhelming feedback I heard from the last sectional (after the
chairs) was the reduced amount of boards in play for the Swiss. Two
different people said they felt misled and expressed the feeling that had
they known, they would not have played.

*SWISS*

If less than 20 teams in an event, 6 rounds. If Open or A/X or similar,
then 6 9 board rounds. If an event with an upper masterpoint limit, then 6
8 board rounds.
If 20 or more teams in an event, 7 rounds. If Open/ or A/X or all levels,
then 7 8 board rounds. If an event with an upper masterpoint limit, then 7
7 board rounds.

*Special rule, if A/X and BCD are split then try to stretch to keep the
same # of rounds to simplify lunches. If the team with more teams has more
than 19 but less than 24, then run 6 rounds in both events. Conversely, if
the team with the most has over 24 and the lower team has 18 (but not 20),
then run as 7 round event.

**If there are going to be a different # of rounds, then tournament chairs
should work with directors to insure that there is not an overly long break
for one team resulting in a longer event. This might involve fetching
lunches, trying to line up help or a director while the other is eating,
maybe buying/lining up lunch for a director that won't get a full lunch
break, etc.

In order to ensure getting out in a timely manner, time per round should be
visible on round clocks at all times. Announcements should include an
announcement about time deadlines being enforced: scores must be reported
before clock hits 0 and that discussions should happen AFTER the scores are
reported. First failure will result in warning (mark on scoresheet),
further violations will be assessed a penalty. The goal here is to keep
things moving, not make people feel bad. Nobody likes to go home later than
necessary, but if the movement isn't kept moving then that can easily
happen. This has been handled well in other locations (with no hard
feelings and appreciated by almost all) but is new for Seattle, so
dedicating extra energy to education at the start is recommended.

For all team Swiss team events, 36 boards should be pre-duplicated for the
event and pre-duplicated boards should be made available for the open event
after the 3rd round for 7 round events and after the 2nd round for 6 round
events. Enough boards for at least the top 4 matches should be prepared
ahead of time.

*KNOCKOUTS*

For knockouts, during the round robin rounds there will be 24 boards in
play. For semi-final and final rounds, there should be 28 boards in play
for the top bracket and 26 boards in play for lower brackets.

The semi finals and finals of the top bracket should have pre-duplicated
boards. Ideally all matches on the 2nd day would have preduplicated boards,
but that might not be financially feasible. Pre-duped boards would also
allow for discussion and/or a lecture between rounds that all levels can
participate in.
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