Define a Legit Tournament

[m92king]

Hey guys, Matt King here. My team is getting ready to host one of the biggest tournaments in Texas so far, besides UT cause its a college. So with getting prepared for a huge crowd for the NIETOC tournament and loads of out of state schools too. Just about 800 competitors. And that's when I got to thinking, This tournament needs to be LEGIT. Almost too legit to quit! ahah corny. But answer your opinion here!

What makes an efficient tournament? (Good Judges, Chairmans, Time Keepers...?)

Biggest tournament pet peeve?

What food do you LOVE to see at concessions? or HATE?

What make a bad awards ceremony?

Best kind of postings? (Drop down posters, artistic event titles?)

Favorite part of a tournament?

Wish they had....? (chapstick, gum, coughdrops...?)


Thanks guys... Answer what you feel like.

Make it Legit.

[Topo]

This is a good topic!

Well when I tell people a tournament was "legit" it has something to with the amount of competitors, and it seems you already got that going for you!

Definitely judges who know what they're doing. The last thing anybody wants to hear is a judge asking the competitors what to do....

I hate the one clap rule at awards ceremonies. I understand trying to make it go faster, but give the people who did well the credit they deserved with some applause.

Drop down postings for sure!! Love them. I never care if they have pictures on them or creative titles or funny sayings...I just like that they are big and drop down....

Make sure big events have big finals rooms! I went to Stanford 2 years ago and it might have been my favorite competition i ever went to in high school, but the only downside was duo finals were in a very small room that only help about 30 people. I was so excited to make finals at a big tournament and perform in front of a big audience but that didn't end up happening.

Ummm....big/cool trophies? That's definitely motivation

[Nebraska OO]

When it comes to your concession stands, there isn't one food particular that I would like to see, but one of my pet peeves is that in my state, the stand closes during finals, and if I make it to finals, after finals is really the only time I have to eat. So one of my pet peeves is coming out of finals and the stand being closed.

For posting, I don't ever even notice the crative stuff so I wouldn't bother. Just make sure that they are posted quickly.

And I don't mind the one clap roll, we follow it religously in NE. But please make sure that both the contestants know what to do when there name is called and that the person who is handing out awards knows who they are supposed to hand it to. That didn't happen at my last tourney.

[prosergal]

One of my biggest pet peeves was when we would compete in a school that was HUGE, had additions everywhere, no clear logic on how the building was organized, AND THE HOST TEAM OFFERED NO MAPS OR HELP TO FIGURE OUT WHERE TO GO!

True, most schools are easy to navigate. But if yours falls into the above category, please, I BEG YOU, do everyone a favor and give a map or past signs or something.

[k3l5h10s]

a must is judges who know what they are doing. it really just makes everything seem crappy. organization is also key, but i'm sure you know this. i did a small comp on halloween at a college where in the middle of my piece a professor walked into the room and walked around prepping for class. ticked me off, but worked through it. i can speak for my entire team in saying we dont care what the posters for postings look like...just post 'em!!!! just keep things efficient and everyone is happy. and as far as finals rooms....big is always better!

[remiss]

1. Have a lot of volunteers/helpers; an understaffed tournament is annoying for both the competitors and the hosting school.

2. Starting hours behind schedule.

3. I hate to see greasy, cheap pasta and pizza. I think you should have a salad bar... people will pay the price and it's much more refreshing, especially for a forensics tournament.

4. Having everyone wait in the auditorium for a loonnng time. It's nerve wracking and also annoying for people who want to leave.

5. For schematics, they don't really have to be fancy. Just make sure they're spread out. It's annoying when everyone' clumped together. And for whoever breaks to Semis/Octas/Finals, have a nicely drawn poster. Those are nice.

6. My favorite part of the tournament is completing my rounds and doing well in them. Try to make the whole speaking experience pleasant... don't have late judges or overcrowded rooms.

I wish they had some way to not immediately go straight to semis/finals with only SIX people. It's very frustrating, especially when you have over 50 people. One stupid judge ballot can ruin your entire result. I'd suggest breaking to octas/semis (of more than 6 people) if you have this large of a tournament. And try to provide some sort of consolation prize to those who pass eliminations in general, like a small medal or teeny trophy. It's really a lot nicer than a certificate, and it'd make the tournament more memorable if you gave more trophies out.

[ummmmmm12]

Mostly everything I have to say has already been said so I won't repeat it. Some other thing(s):
When making the schedule plan to allow for some extra time between rounds-then when you a problem arises people will still think you are running on time.

Key ideas from other people to reiterate:
Maps if the building is confusing (and room numbers)
Spread out postings/schemats
Start on time

defining legit tournaments for me has to do with the number of people (which as someone already noted you already have), the quality of the competitors (which with that many people I can only assume is there to at least some extent), and the quality of judges. I know some people who dont like to go to tournaments without hired judging because it means schools are listing un-qualified judges just to meet the requirement (I'm not suggesting this is always the case, but if they need to fulfill the requirement, they will do it). Also, it annoys me if someone judges me for more than one round.

As for food pizza is fine for me, but I do think it is nice when a school opens the cafeteria for food because it allows for more variety

Awards: nicer/bigger awards are always nice, but bigger ones do cost more. Plan the ceremony at a time when tabulating results should be done. Lots of places go late and that makes people angry.

And on a last note tell people how/to what level the events are breaking. I find it frustrating when I'm in Congress and don't know how people are breaking because it can change some things. In other events i like to go in having a general idea of how well i need to do to break


Anyway, thats enough rambling for now...

[remiss]

IT WOULD ALSO BE NICE IF YOU HAD AIR CONDITIONING/HEATING, based on the season/location of course. And make sure the rooms are unlocked and if they happen to be locked, that you UNLOCK IT IMMEDIATELY. I had a meet where all the rooms were freezing and locked and we went two and a half hours behind. And on my ballot the judge says "you seem uncomfortable and rigid. work on that." -.-