Hello World Bladers!

In this summery update we bring few but impactful clarifications and changes to you, with a focus on empowering Organizers as well as curating the huge uptick in Organized Play Events we're grappling with.

• [IMPORTANT] Organizer's Guide: Organizer Responsibilities and Fees Clarification!
  
• [IMPORTANT] All Organizers: 4 Events Scheduled per Organizer!
  

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Organizer's Guide: Organizer Responsibilities, Admission Fees

Over the years the World Beyblade Organization website has been a stomping ground for western Beyblade communities, and in many ways became the de facto governing body of competitive Beyblade in areas that have historically gone underrepresented or unheard by the game's manufacturers and distributors.

We have always relied on the hard work and perseverance of our Organizers to build up their communities and allow Beyblade to prosper where it would otherwise struggle.

Our implicit and explicit roles have also undergone many changes over the years, and what is acceptable or expected of the WBO platform or Staff a decade ago is not the same as what it is today. 

Today, Organizer's take on the responsibility of more than just ensuring correct brackets or seeding, but also the physical incentives, hopes, and legal responsibilities that come with organizing group play sessions in a given locale.

Our Organizer's Guide has lagged behind this reality, though, leaving the Organizer's Agreement to pick up just some of the pieces, with Organizer's often being ham-strung by outdated expectations or rules that they shouldn't be bound to. 

The World Beyblade Organization remains our online platform to organize play sessions and Events, that hasn't changed, but we wanted to update the Organizer's Guide to make things very clear for all new Organizers, as well as clear up any confusion going forward. The power is in your hands.

Things like Event Fees (admission, venue, prizing) or community disputes (harassment, bullying etc.) are aspects of Event organizing that Organizers have taken on tacitly over the years, and are now accurately reflected in the Organizer's Guide.

At the end of the day, our organization is nothing without the tireless effort of Organizer work, so we want to be abundantly clear that Events Organizers host are indeed theirs in every sense of the word, and they are in the driver's seat when it comes to all aspects of their Events.

While the Organized Play Team is here to try and help/support both new and existing Organizers in their efforts or through confusing situations, things like "approving" admission fees or dealing with in-person unsportsmanlike conduct by local players are not Organized Play's raison d'être, but completely up to the Organizer's discretion and realities.

Please read below the updates/tweaks to the "Organizer's Responsibilities" section as well as the all-new "Admission Fees" section that should make what many of you already know is true feel more "real".

Event Organizers (“Organizers”) are user independent of the World Beyblade Organization, Fighting Spirits Inc., its directors, members, staff, or volunteers. 

Organizers are, instead, local leaders in their communities, and are tasked with:

• Scheduling and promoting tournaments 
  
• Communicating Event-specific information to local bladers and parents 
  
• Providing an appropriate, publicly accessible venue for their events
  
• Bringing relevant appropriate equipment and supplies to the tournament venue
  
• Following and enforcing WBO tournament rules and regulations
  
• Appropriately handling bladers that cheat or pose a problem to the local community
  
• Accurately tracking the progress of every match
  
• Handling and reporting rule violations
  
• Submitting accurate tournament results
  

Above all else, Organizers are expected to instill the values of good sportsmanship, act with honesty and integrity, and create a welcoming atmosphere for all bladers.

Event Organizers are users independent of the World Beyblade Organization, Fighting Spirits Inc., its directors, members, staff, or volunteers. As such, any materials (stadiums, general tournament materials, trophies, product prizing, gift cards, etc.) and fees (venue fees, liability insurance costs, fuel costs, etc.) related to organizing an Event are the unique responsibility of the Organizer. The World Beyblade Organization by Fighting Spirits Inc. accepts no liability over any potential Organizer costs or materials.

The Organizer has the ability to stipulate an Event’s “Admission Fee” on the World Beyblade Organization’s “Schedule an Event” Page at their discretion as a means to provide potential Event Participants with full knowledge and means to become an Event Participant for that specific Event.  We implore all Organizer’s to abide by all relevant local and federal laws regarding any form of direct monetary exchange that could arise between Event Participants and the Organizer themselves.

The World Beyblade Organization by Fighting Spirits Inc. has no control over  the means/methods/outcomes involved in the enforcement of any Organizer’s Admission Fee, nor can it verify, check, or enforce the costs and payments that an Organizer Event Admission Fee may entail.

To be clear, things like Ranked Play punishment/correction, Incident Reports, or the potential for temporary/permanent banning from the World Beyblade Organization platform are still handled by the World Beyblade Organization Staff, but they are secondary to the real-time problem-solving that Organizer's can and historically have taken to deal with their Events how they please.

If you as a Blader or Organizer feel a certain way about an Event or its proceedings held by an Organizer advertised on the World Beyblade Organization platform, or think that the Organized Play Staff can help with a specific scenario/ruling/issue/user incident, we are here and aren't going anywhere.

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All Organizers: No More Than 4 Events Posted at a Time!

We have recently seen an incredible influx of Organizer applicants and Organizers in general. This is an excellent thing that we love to see, especially when they represent areas that have historically seen little competitive play until now.

With more Organizers comes more events, though, and we find that our Beyblade Tournaments page is growing even longer, making it harder to find events as easily, potentially reducing exposure/visibility for everyone as a whole.

Because of this influx, we have decided that until further notice all Organizers may only have up to a maximum of 4 events approved at a time. If you are running a series of events that wants to schedule more than 4 events at one time, you'll have to consider collaboration and networking with other Organizers for the time being.

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Feedback?
Your input is greatly appreciated If you have any feedback on these particular changes, or any questions or suggestions for further adjustments or additions, please post your thoughts below or in the WBO Organized Play Rules thread. 

Thank you to everyone for your continued support of WBO Organized Play! We appreciate any and all feedback and are always looking to improve and clarify things where possible.

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shout out 2 kai-v 2.

The Complete Competitive HMS Resource

Great stuff. As a recent Organizer applicant it did feel like the guide was a little behind in certain places, especially in regards to clarification surrounding admission fees. With the rise of tabletop gaming in the mainstream over the past few years. I feel as if Beyblade is much more likely to pop up in your LGS and as a result, making it clear of WBO's role and expectations is a much needed and appreciated addition.

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Katherine B, Crystal Covenant founder.
Harlequins Games Preston employee.
52 Manchester Road, Preston, England. PR13YH.

If one of us is going to host an event outside of our regular event schedule, and it’s going to be a larger event with multiple tournaments over multiple days (for example, all of the midsummer events series events) it seems imperative that we would have to plan those in advance. This definitely will make those types of events more than difficult to host.

Thanks Dan!

Does this mean we can now schedule a tournament where an entry fee goes directly into a prize pool for the players?

If one of us is going to host an event outside of our regular event schedule, and it’s going to be a larger event with multiple tournaments over multiple days (for example, all of the midsummer events series events) it seems imperative that we would have to plan those in advance. This definitely will make those types of events more than difficult to host.

The idea is that local organizers will discuss event weekends (such as the midsummer event series) in advance and split hosting accordingly. It is rare for organizers to need more than four events up at once, so I don't believe it will cause too much trouble even for regions with a limited number of organizers.

Keep in mind that even prior to this announcement, having more than one event posted at a time was a special request. A few events at one time is generally fine, but it becomes problematic when organizers have 5+ tournaments up at once. Some organizers want to be on the first page of events for publicity reasons. Due to the high volume of events we are seeing, we recently had three pages worth of upcoming tournaments... people weren't happy, haha.

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Player and Organizer for NC Beyblade | Use code "HASHTAGFAFNIR" for 8% off on BeysAndBricks!

If one of us is going to host an event outside of our regular event schedule, and it’s going to be a larger event with multiple tournaments over multiple days (for example, all of the midsummer events series events) it seems imperative that we would have to plan those in advance.  This definitely will make those types of events more than difficult to host.

The idea is that local organizers will discuss event weekends (such as the midsummer event series) in advance and split hosting accordingly. It is rare for organizers to need more than four events up at once, so I don't believe it will cause too much trouble even for regions with a limited number of organizers.

Keep in mind that even prior to this announcement, having more than one event posted at a time was a special request. A few events at one time is generally fine, but it becomes problematic when organizers have 5+ tournaments up at once. Some organizers want to be on the first page of events for publicity reasons. Due to the high volume of events we are seeing, we recently had three pages worth of upcoming tournaments... people weren't happy, haha.

That makes sense. I have a very active community and I’m the only person actively hosting, so that’s tricky. I know that may be changing soon though too, so we will see how it goes.

This is amazing to hear! Always open to new changes, and these seem like fine ones at that. Keep up the great work Staff!!!!! We appreciate ya! <3

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I'm probably going to have to organize some events with others in my state. The problem is that I have no way of getting to those areas. I want to promote Beyblade in my area, but I need to make progress.

Is the problem more in that there are too many events, or in that searching for events is difficult as there (as far as I can tell) are no filters

With more Organizers comes more events, though, and we find that our Beyblade Tournaments page is growing even longer, making it harder to find events as easily, potentially reducing exposure/visibility for everyone as a whole.