Should Hosts Compete in their own Tournament?

oh ok well then i guess thats good
I do not know about the other games that were mentioned, but any smart parent would have to understand that there is just nothing that can be really 'rigged' by the host of a Beyblade tournament. If the tournament is Round Robin, their kid plays against each other person : that is it. The host playing has no effect at all, it is just the moral and ethics in retrospective that bother some people.

In fact, some of the Summer Spin Showdown tournaments were won by the organisers, and since we were dealing with a whole new crowd and that we had Toywiz share the responsibility, it did look bad. For instance, Arupaeo won his own tournament (but he was not supposed to host it, Otsu was), and with Toywiz's advertisement, a lot of kids came : it looked to a few parents that a man had fun beating all of their kids.

Not accepting the prizes is actually a noble idea, or you could clearly tell everyone that you will save them for a later tournament instead of keeping them for your own collection.

Otherwise, I think hosts participating or not is something that should be entirely up to them. One of the main values of the World Beyblade Organization is that we have no age limits, so I do not want to impose such a restriction, even if it is just asking hosts participating once in two events or something like that.

Regarding the battles in free play, people are complaining that plastics and HMS tournaments should not be processed in the same Beypoint System, so I do not know how such random battles would be any more valid than HMS and plastics tournaments.
(Sep. 30, 2011  2:37 AM)Kai-V Wrote: I do not know about the other games that were mentioned, but any smart parent would have to understand that there is just nothing that can be really 'rigged' by the host of a Beyblade tournament. If the tournament is Round Robin, their kid plays against each other person : that is it. The host playing has no effect at all, it is just the moral and ethics in retrospective that bother some people.
Some kids launch late, other times a parent doesn't understand that a double KO is not always a double KO; one can leave last. Some can think that if a kid is holding their bey that that is their selection and if they attach a different bey, this is cheating. Also, they can think that because I bought Japanese parts that are not available here, that is also unfair for whatever reason. That's a large part of why I sell at tournaments so they can't possibly make that argument.

Most of the parents who take their kids to the tournaments because they or their child found out about it through the WBO know that it is not rigged. The problem is when we had beydays and ToyWiz tournaments, two promoted events, I saw a lot of parents who did not understand.

(Sep. 30, 2011  2:37 AM)Kai-V Wrote: In fact, some of the Summer Spin Showdown tournaments were won by the organisers, and since we were dealing with a whole new crowd and that we had Toywiz share the responsibility, it did look bad. For instance, Arupaeo won his own tournament (but he was not supposed to host it, Otsu was), and with Toywiz's advertisement, a lot of kids came : it looked to a few parents that a man had fun beating all of their kids.
Basically, this. The easiest solution if we did this again would be "hosts don't compete", but I think a fairer solution would be "hosts can be challenged". Even if that isn't implemented as mandatory, I think it would be a viable alternative if the host has this guilt factor.

(Sep. 30, 2011  2:37 AM)Kai-V Wrote: Not accepting the prizes is actually a noble idea, or you could clearly tell everyone that you will save them for a later tournament instead of keeping them for your own collection.
This is essentially what I try to do so their is less money to be spent. I've only accepted my prizes once.

(Sep. 30, 2011  2:37 AM)Kai-V Wrote: Otherwise, I think hosts participating or not is something that should be entirely up to them. One of the main values of the World Beyblade Organization is that we have no age limits, so I do not want to impose such a restriction, even if it is just asking hosts participating once in two events or something like that.

Regarding the battles in free play, people are complaining that plastics and HMS tournaments should not be processed in the same Beypoint System, so I do not know how such random battles would be any more valid than HMS and plastics tournaments.
I don't think they would be random. If a kid knows the host's skill level, it's their choice to challenge them or not. If I were being challenge, I think it would be very fair if I cannot deny it because then I have to defend my rank. I think that for people like Kei, Arupaeo, Uwik, Yamislayer, and I, it makes us the "players to beat" as a more exclusive challenge.

The argument against HMS and Plastics being processed was because they were an entirely different format, wasn't it?
Well I think the host should be able to attend tournaments the only reason I decided to start hosting tournaments in sydney was because the regular host's have lost interest or unable to host tournaments. I came 2nd at the first tournament I hosted and came 1st at the second tournament I hosted , the parents don't care they are just happy there kids had fun and got to meet new people in stuff like that most of them don't really expect there kids to do well anyway since they have small collections of beys. The only thing parents have a problem with sometimes are kids who have access to Takara Tomy beys and SPAM things like basalt and the parents easily catch on that they are over powered and I can kind of tell they think it is unfair as there child is using something like Earth 145WD.

(Sep. 30, 2011  1:33 AM)Deikailo Wrote: It would be cool if I don't compete, but people can challenge me to battle, I have to accept, we play, and it gets counted. I think as long as I don't do the challenging and I can't refuse, it seems fair.

I like this idea i think it is a great one , as I think you should be able to challenge people for points , without them participating in tournaments because some kids will come extremely late and miss the tournament and I feel bad for them but there is nothing I can do since we are halfway through the tournament , so if they were able to challenge people for points it might be a more fun experience for them as most of them don't come back (Keep in mind it was a DE tournament.)

I think the host should get a prize because they put in a lot of effort to host a tournament so if they don't get a prize i think it would be unfair.
(Sep. 30, 2011  3:21 AM)RustyXD Wrote: I think the host should get a prize because they put in a lot of effort to host a tournament so if they don't get a prize i think it would be unfair.
I see credits as a much better option for prizes on my part. It would just be nice to not take the opportunity of winning away from people so many times, but still have the opportunity to play all the same. As a host, though, it would be silly to pick my own battles, which is why I say they challenge, I can't refuse.
Man! I hate reading ENTIRE posts! LOL

I would say, at this point, I'm a veteran parent. My son has done 6 events and is no stranger to what goes on. At our first gig in Central Park back in April '11, I did "notice" all the non child participants LOL I never thought anything negative except for the "oh man, my kid is gonna get creamed!" Although he has experienced more than his fair share of "oversights" or "missed" rules that went against his favor or crying after he got ousted at his 1st, we NEVER had a problem with hosts competing except for that nutty girl who seems to own a small part of King's Games...[Image: innocent0009.gif][Image: innocent0009.gif][Image: innocent0009.gif]

A host deserves to participate. Period. I can understand why some parents might carp, but WBO events are what they are. Good luck to all who enter. I invited a friend to Cyber Blader's Ridgewood event. The kid's dad was bitching at the score of his kid's match because he did not understand the rules re: KOs. He thinks he knows everything about everything and the judge (Bluezee) did NOTHING wrong. The kid even won and dad was still bitching about it and about how Beyblades "are just a modern day D & D" and about how hot it was and about how his kid was crying at the end because he did not win a prize for 5th place (tried to take MY kid's 2nd place prize!). I agree with the don't accept the prize thing. It sends a really nice message to all the parents. I think another thing that would be helpful is to touch on the whole age thing like letting the group know before start that even though some are young, rules must be followed yadda yadda.They can always leave if they need to.
(Sep. 30, 2011  3:29 AM)KillerSpinner Wrote: except for that nutty girl who seems to own a small part of King's Games...[Image: innocent0009.gif][Image: innocent0009.gif][Image: innocent0009.gif]
Sssh! They aren't supposed to know that!

I was actually thinking about printing up a very large poster and bringing that to tournaments so everyone knows the rules. I just point and say "these are the rules. Know them. If you don't, not my fault."
Am I risking another racist comment if I ask if this problem is possibly another issue that is exclusive to parents in the United States, just like it seems that there are truly only impatient parents in the United States, not at any of our other events ?


Deikailo, the matches would not follow any sort of format : that is what I meant by "random". Plus, OK you would get some Beypoints, but you would only at most get three Credits ever, and no Face. Furthermore, there would have to be a clear limit to how many matches are recorded : if Double Elimination was used and that you do six battles on the side, that would probably end up being more than what someone who actually participated in the tournament played. But then, if it was Single Elimination, you could also just do one match ? It just seems too bothersome for a problem that is not really there, it is only seen by people who want to see it.
(Sep. 30, 2011  4:54 AM)Kai-V Wrote: Am I risking another racist comment if I ask if this problem is possibly another issue that is exclusive to parents in the United States, just like it seems that there are truly only impatient parents in the United States, not at any of our other events ?
Yes, how dare you even imply this?

No, I've been to both Canada and the US and I have to say, Dan's mother is the only Canadian parent that hates tournaments. In the US, many parents are impatient and/or incompetent, much like our driving in comparison to yours.


(Sep. 30, 2011  4:54 AM)Kai-V Wrote: Deikailo, the matches would not follow any sort of format : that is what I meant by "random". Plus, OK you would get some Beypoints, but you would only at most get three Credits ever, and no Face. Furthermore, there would have to be a clear limit to how many matches are recorded : if Double Elimination was used and that you do six battles on the side, that would probably end up being more than what someone who actually participated in the tournament played. But then, if it was Single Elimination, you could also just do one match ? It just seems too bothersome for a problem that is not really there, it is only seen by people who want to see it.
And you know what? I am totally cool with those limits. You know I do travel occasionally so if I want to participate in a tournament, I would just simply go to Toronto, North Carolina, or Maryland where I'm uncommon and not in charge and enjoy myself there.

Would it almost be fair to say that if I host a double elimination tournament, I can only have free rank matches until a) no one challenges me b) I am defeated twice or c) I reach the limit? To determine who wants to challenge me in what order, I could always ask them at the beginning of the tournament to draw a number out of a hat and then they have to battle in that order. That way, there would be no issue with my "picking off the weak" first because it will be random, like the tournament. If I was running block, then I just battle the same amount of people that was in the preliminary blocks.
(Sep. 30, 2011  4:54 AM)Kai-V Wrote: Am I risking another racist comment if I ask if this problem is possibly another issue that is exclusive to parents in the United States, just like it seems that there are truly only impatient parents in the United States, not at any of our other events ?


Deikailo, the matches would not follow any sort of format : that is what I meant by "random". Plus, OK you would get some Beypoints, but you would only at most get three Credits ever, and no Face. Furthermore, there would have to be a clear limit to how many matches are recorded : if Double Elimination was used and that you do six battles on the side, that would probably end up being more than what someone who actually participated in the tournament played. But then, if it was Single Elimination, you could also just do one match ? It just seems too bothersome for a problem that is not really there, it is only seen by people who want to see it.
New York City area (or the Northeast for those just outside) is a lot of things. It's a lot of things in a hurry. Just the way it is. To be real honest here, I haven't seen any parental hassle at the few we've been to. Kai-V, have you been down here?
(Sep. 30, 2011  5:53 AM)KillerSpinner Wrote: New York City area (or the Northeast for those just outside) is a lot of things. It's a lot of things in a hurry. Just the way it is. To be real honest here, I haven't seen any parental hassle at the few we've been to. Kai-V, have you been down here?
That would be because I am on top of it VERY quickly, but I had a few headaches as I've traveled down south.
(Sep. 30, 2011  5:53 AM)KillerSpinner Wrote: New York City area (or the Northeast for those just outside) is a lot of things. It's a lot of things in a hurry. Just the way it is. To be real honest here, I haven't seen any parental hassle at the few we've been to. Kai-V, have you been down here?

I was referring to all of the United States. We have been getting several feedbacks mentioning parents who were impatient and angry only in the United States. Every single other region seems to have absolutely no problem with that.

If I take the eight states that hosted Summer Spin Showdown events, these are those for which we definitely observed such a problem : Illinois, Georgia, New York (some of them), Maryland, and perhaps others I forgot complaints from.
Virginia had a complaint while I was there... two of the parents were asking me why only the judges won. She said we were making up rules. I'm pretty sure one must have come from LA from that cancellation, right?

But yes, the United States is just so much more uptight. It's just a pretty wild culture here where they expect us to be professional, as if we are being paid for this.
I think it's because $5.00 makes their expectations run high LOL We do have 10 times the pop you guys do up there giving us a greater chance to produce irritating parents. Maybe someday, free healthcare will fix that. I dunno.
I must say that this has been a difficult thread for me to read. I want to have a positive influence on the game, and it saddens me to find that my participation in tournaments has been so negatively received by some.

I would be willing to sit out of some tournaments if we felt it was the right thing to do, but would hope that there was still room for a competitive experience for adult hosts - who do in fact also like to have the chance to add a gold face or two to their profiles as well.

Deikailo's idea to have hosts do challenge matches at "open" events is one that I find to be interesting from the standpoint of credits and rank. Another alternative would be to pair an open event with a rank-limited closed event if the host agrees to refrain from competing in the open event.

I would suggest though that the closed event be held at a lower k-value (like 16), so that the host isn't always in the position of losing so many points when already disadvantaged by having to consistently face a tougher field of competitors and the reality of the decreased win percentage that this would carry along with it.

My last thought is that perhaps there are people in the Yu-Gi-Oh community who might have some insights to share here that would be helpful for us to better understand the age dynamic. The top Yu-Gi-Oh players are well into adulthood as I understand it, and certainly there is a large and vibrant college-age scene. How have they dealt with parents when they bring their kids to a tournament where the winners are all 20+ years old?
A lot of places have enough trouble making the numbers as is, and in Australia, at least, no one really believes there will be any bias. However, I don't take prizes at my own tournament, I bump them down to the next person, which I think is enough to satisfy people.
(Sep. 30, 2011  6:40 AM)Arupaeo Wrote: I must say that this has been a difficult thread for me to read. I want to have a positive influence on the game, and it saddens me to find that my participation in tournaments has been so negatively received by some.

I would be willing to sit out of some tournaments if we felt it was the right thing to do, but would hope that there was still room for a competitive experience for adult hosts - who do in fact also like to have the chance to add a gold face or two to their profiles as well.

Deikailo's idea to have hosts do challenge matches at "open" events is one that I find to be interesting from the standpoint of credits and rank. Another alternative would be to pair an open event with a rank-limited closed event if the host agrees to refrain from competing in the open event.

I would suggest though that the closed event be held at a lower k-value (like 16), so that the host isn't always in the position of losing so many points when already disadvantaged by having to consistently face a tougher field of competitors and the reality of the decreased win percentage that this would carry along with it.

My last thought is that perhaps there are people in the Yu-Gi-Oh community who might have some insights to share here that would be helpful for us to better understand the age dynamic. The top Yu-Gi-Oh players are well into adulthood as I understand it, and certainly there is a large and vibrant college-age scene. How have they dealt with parents when they bring their kids to a tournament where the winners are all 20+ years old?
When I go to regionals with my dad or locals with my mom they don't care if I lose to adults (which are the only people there besides my friends) My parents don't scolded at the adults because they beat me. They know I did my best and sometimes it just isn't good enough for some players. But after alot of practicing my mom yelling at me for me staying for 5 hours because I top 8 at locals every week. And they don't give me money to buy these and win they give me money to buy these and I can have fun. Beyblade is just about having fun.
P.s thanks Arupaeo, Deikailo, Greimatter (and all the rest of you US organizers)
I definitely think the problem is not with most parents, but enough for us to wonder.
(Sep. 30, 2011  3:37 PM)Kai-V Wrote: I definitely think the problem is not with most parents, but enough for us to wonder.

About Parents or the United States?? LOL

J/K about some of last night's postings.
I think the problem doesn't lie in older bladers because I've seen the older kids lose by under estimating a 7-13 year old. In fact, Hell Kid and ControL_ are great examples. Both are young, but still maintain a spot in the top three.

The issue I see would be the host competing and then winning. Maybe once is cool, but multiple times may get parents wary. I know my first gold face I got a lot of carp for and since then, I am very hesitant to win.

I think in every community, there exists at least 2 people capable of running a tournament anyway. If that's the case, hosting duties could be alternated.

Although, I really enjoy the idea of going back to a free play system as the beyrank was originally designed for. Tournaments are great, but I think it would make them so much more exciting if they did not exist so frequently. Having an open format builds excitement for future tournaments while giving a more laid back day. People can just swing by, stay for an hour or two to get some matches in, and then leave. It would most likely work better for parents who are impatient or drive long distances because they will not have to stay as long. I think this would be a great solution, but maybe it's for a different topic?
This is a really interesting thread and an issue we've discussed amongst Committee before. Really interested to see what kind of solutions we can get out of this.

(Sep. 30, 2011  12:25 PM)th!nk Wrote: A lot of places have enough trouble making the numbers as is, and in Australia, at least, no one really believes there will be any bias. However, I don't take prizes at my own tournament, I bump them down to the next person, which I think is enough to satisfy people.

This is a good idea and a lot of other hosts also do the same. I know you're not implying it, but equally I don't see why any host would have to feel obliged to do this either. The crux of the problem is that most hosts (and I'm keen to emphasise most) will be older; with that comes not only an added sense of responsibility, but generally a larger budget and easier access to resources to succeed. The unfortunate side of all this is that hosts are more often than not going to find themselves in a Catch 22 of sorts when they succeed, simply because of who they are. On this level, I don't think it's particularly fair to penalise those who put in a magnificent collective effort to host, but I can also see that it generally looks to be terribly bad form from a parental perspective.

I know there are a few blanket statements in there, but clearly for the purposes of this discussion it's impossible to highlight every single exception. I will add however that there are areas with a higher parent attendance percentage than others - in London, at least from when I previously attended, there weren't that many parents in proportion to Bladers. I'm not saying that parents are the sole reason for such problems either, because there is bound to be tension in such a competitive hobby. However, as I said, I would love to see perhaps some guidelines to be put into place with regards to hosting and competing.
(Sep. 30, 2011  4:15 PM)Deikailo Wrote: Although, I really enjoy the idea of going back to a free play system as the beyrank was originally designed for. Tournaments are great, but I think it would make them so much more exciting if they did not exist so frequently. Having an open format builds excitement for future tournaments while giving a more laid back day. People can just swing by, stay for an hour or two to get some matches in, and then leave. It would most likely work better for parents who are impatient or drive long distances because they will not have to stay as long. I think this would be a great solution, but maybe it's for a different topic?

There is a reason it is not for free matches anymore ... And if you are going to pay to validate your existence, we prefer to hold an actual organised tournament.
Personally as someone who has no one to play in my area if I come to London to host a tourney then i'd really love to play beyblade. I mean if I don't then what's the point in me hosting a tourney? The extra credit? That counts for little against playing a game I enjoy against others. Also as for the prize thing I personally wouldn't feel obliged to give my prize away. Why should I? I'm a player like everyone else. How does me hosting the tourney change that?
If there are actually enough people, if possible, try not to join.
Else, just join in.

Having a dedicate judge seems more fair. Bottom line is, it doesnt really have to be the hoster, just a non playing judge would do.

Making younger players cry is a burden every older kid who play will eventually carry when they defeat one.
Hearing the parents complain is what ear plugs are for.

One example was a recent open cat WBBA tournament. Although a bit out of topic, nagging parents are the real problem here.

Finals are on Tornado Stadium with 5 second direction switch. TT advertise these things to make plastic F based tips to be imba. But RS is the real killer for these things to the extent that it should be illegal (though surprisingly no one knew). Hence, the top 2 of the tourney clinched it the prize using RS based combos. Nothing wrong so far yes? Until one parent (who was a participant as well) indirectly complained to the management -___- albeit through Facebook though. His kids didnt won. They were "national champs". But yeah, he wasnt too happy about it (never mentioned it directly but we all knew).

Bottom line is, when kids cry, just carry the burden.
When parents nag, prepare ear plugs or prepare to pacify them. You cant do much but keep the game going for the other players.
It is completely understandable that hosts would want to play, because they are not even paid to do this. If people had been paid then perhaps they would not mind just taking the money and not participating, but I doubt anyone is going to host tournaments just to host. Organisers here, compared to basically anything else in Beyblade, host tournaments because they love Beyblade. This is another reason why I do not want to impose any sort of restriction, because I know that if we do, then I think we will get less and less hosts after a while.