Tournament Committee 2015 Report

The Tournament Committee has prepared the following contribution to NASPA's 2015 collection of reports on committee activity.

The Tournament Committee continues to carry out its responsibilities of sanctioning tournaments and reviewing tournament-related incident reports. The committee handled six reported incidents in the past year. It also examined the issues of hybrid lexicon tournaments and Gibsonization based on spread. The Advisory Board approved a committee-drafted policy for the sanctioning of hybrid tournaments, allowing them to be sanctioned as long as each player plays at least four games in each lexicon and the director clearly outlines the details of how the hybrid format will work on the tournament flyer. The committee, with the help of data from John Chew, and the input of the Ratings and Pairings Committees, has decided on allowable spread caps for Gibsonization.

The committee is looking to improve the exchange of information with players. It wants to codify its procedures to better inform incoming members, players and directors. The idea of having an informal complaint/compliment form has been raised. The committee wants to encourage players and directors to report improper behavior even if they feel that it may not rise to the level of an Incident. We would also like to know when players or directors are doing well, and if any best practices ought to be shared with the community. The committee has also noted an increase in short midweek tournaments and cancellations of such tournaments. The committee is discussing a cancellation policy and reviewing its sanctioning guidelines.

There has been a lot of personnel movement. Paul Avrin and Siri Tillekeratne have left the committee, and we thank them for their service. As of May 1, Jason Keller was named head of the committee. We thank Dallas Johnson for giving his time and effort as chair. Dallas will continuing to serve on the committee in an advisory position, but he, Kurt Davies, and Pete Zeigler, have informed the committee that they will each be stepping down in the near future. The Tournament Committee has launched a search for new members, and hopes to have a fresh set of faces from all over North America and all over the ratings curve. The committee is still accepting applications.

Jason Keller