Wow albiet a very long tournament, a very successful one at that. 12 bladers signed up as confirmed, 5 backed out for whatever reason. 10 bladers came as walk-ons. I had posted signage around and really got agressive with pm's etc. The bladers that were to bring the other stadiums either couldn't make it, or forgot their stadiums. With that in mind, I made the decision to hold the event as a Full RR. Yes I understand it should have been a block RR, but with only 1 stadium and seeing as the turnout was quite unexpected, I made that call. In retrospect, I think it was the correct one. So yea, I'm in the market for another BB-10. The top tier bladers are also planning on buying one themselves to help along the way.
The tournament started exactly on time with the venue changing their hours,(Actually, just their phone message changed hours, they still were at normal times). There was alot of free play for the bladers and it was GREAT to see everyone enjoying themselves. We ended up having a 3 way tie for the third place spot for the finals and that went off without any normal Richmond extra play. That's to say only 1 RR strsightened it out. The finals went off without a hitch and everyone got something they needed.

Pros:
Many new bladers and parents very excited about future events
Great sportsmanship by all bladers
Parents being patient. (Holiday rainy weekend may have helped)
Venue very supportive.
Watching all the newer guys eyeballing the experienced guys!
Dark not being there lol JK
10 walk-ins bladers
starting on time
sold a bunch of passports

Cons:
1 stadium
Long event...don't ask how long but I'm sure close to a record
1 stadium
1 stadium
4 kids had to leave early about midway in the tournament
1 stadium
Dark Mousy not being able to make it

---

:sgtohno:

Round Robin for twelve people is acceptable, at least. EDIT : Wait, seventeen players ? Ask Arupaeo, but he might be really fed up with processing matches that should not have happened ...

If you could get an estimate of the time the tournament took, it would be cool, because I am curious, hah.

Truely Sorry Arupaeo didn't want to cause you any grief. Having to keep things rolling and running smoothly, it was more efficient for me to run it this way. Quite a bit going on. My last two tournaments had 8 people, which I was one, and 10 people. 17 took me by surprise. I stayed out so that I could keep it rolling smoothly. I'll be better prepared next time. as far as how long the tournament went on? from tournament first battle to last battle. approx 5.5 hrs.

FYI - According to Angry, this may have been the largest Virginia tournament ever. Not bad for a newly established Richmond area. I am confident that we will continue to grow the area as well. I am a marketing manager IRL and it's kind of exciting to see the results of hard work. P.S. - anyone have a bb-10 they want to donate? lol
Thanks again for your support everyone and

---

:sgtohno:

Looking back I wish I could've came. But didn't have the gas money. Pruebame: if you come down to the next NC tournament we will be selling BB10's.

---

WBO Facebook | WBO Twitter

Beginner's Guide to the WBO!

My Blog (Updated 9/24

I wish we could DM but schedule restrictions keep me from getting there this time around. If there are any BB-10's left, I know of about 2-3 people up here that want one. Send a PM to Drpepsidew. I know he's looking also.

BTW- Wish you could have been there

---

:sgtohno:

With that in mind, I made the decision to hold the event as a Full RR. Yes I understand it should have been a block RR, but with only 1 stadium and seeing as the turnout was quite unexpected, I made that call. In retrospect, I think it was the correct one.

Nope. Definitely the wrong decision.

3 Blocks (6, 6, and 5) would have been 40 total matches before the finals and taken about 90-120 minutes at the pace you were running. This would have allowed most of the Bladers to have 4 or 5 quality matches and then go home in a reasonable amount of time (as most parents are wont to do). From what I've heard you run a good tournament, but even if they won't tell you to your face the law of averages would suggest at least that some of the parents were angry about being there for 5 hours.

If you wanted to provide the possibility for additional matches because of the bigger field, the better decision would have been to take the top 2 from each of the 3 blocks for a 6-person Final. The larger final is actually more desirable from a competitive point of view because there is still the possibility of not finishing with a "Place Face" - so every match matters. It also means that there is less parental angst about extra time. Their kid is in the Final, so they can't feel bad about them being a success, right? (Still happens sometimes, but less often) Plus it would only be an additional 30-40 minutes on top of 90-ish, and 2-2.5 hours is a reasonable amount of time.

RR: 132 regular matches + 3 match tiebreak + 3 match final = 138 matches & 5+ hours.
BRR: 40 regular matches + 15 match final = 55 matches & 2+ hours

Now, let's keep this all in perspective though. Under less than ideal circumstances you held a well-run tournament where almost no one left before the end, all the matches were correctly recorded using Challonge, and nothing illegal happened that is going to change the outcome. You are correct, it was a successful tournament. Well done!

What I outlined above on tournament structure should provide an insight into the thinking that has led to the rules and tournament guide. Parents are an important part of this hobby and if the tournaments are too long, less parents will be willing to support their children coming to tournaments.

And +1 for buying another stadium!