Charity Vintage Tournament Idea

[Kataki_Rulez]

Hello, world!
Yes, that's right I want to hold a tournament. However, before I hold, or even plan on organizing this tournament, I will need your feedback. This is why I am posting here instead of the Announcement Forum, because it needs people's feedback, and it may not even happen (though I hope it will).
Here's what I was thinking:
Vintage Tournament in Toronto, probably in a rented church or gym. I wish to attract players to play Type 1, and their entry fees will mostly be given to the Stephen Lewis Foundation, a foundation fighting AIDS. I am not trying to promote this group on the forums, so I hope that I am not in violation of any rules. I merely want to give everyone interested information. What I will do is the following. The tournament will begin at 11, or 12. I know for a fact that there aren't nearly as many Type 1 players in Toronto as in Hamilton, so I want to give them an incentive to come. I also know that younger players (like myself) need to be home at a certain time, so I also want to make sure that these people can get a shot at both winning and going home at a reasonable hour, hence the early start time.There will probably be four/five rounds of Swiss, one hour for lunch, and Top Eight pairings. In order to gain incentive, I plan to have the standard-issue preregistration draw for a pack of Italian Legends. I also plan to give a pack of "Leggende" out to the first person who arrives, in order to ensure people arrive early, however, the people who run the place will NOT be happy if you camp outside Star Wars style! My prize structure would be first place, either a Mox, Timetwister, Library of Alexandria, or Bazaar of Baghdad (I needed help with this; I don't know precisely what everybody wants power, but economic constraints may limit that. If I really need to, I could make the Timetwister Beta). The second prize will probably be a Mana Drain, a PGS-graded Volcanic Island. Fourth place will be a Revised Dual, if I can get one. 5th will get something special (I don't quite know what), 6th will get a Tinker and DSC, 7th will get a Revised Serendib Djinn (or Arabian Nights Serendib Efreet), and eighth will get a Wheel of Fortune and a Sol Ring. Just because I feel sorry for him (it WILL be a man, we all know that), 9th place will get a Chinese, black-bordered Strip Mine. I also have a buddy who works in a cardstore, so there may be a booth selling packs. Once again, this needs some revision and feedback, right now I just need to know if I will get supported. Entry fee will be $25, and will include 15 proxies, you can pay $1 for each one after that. Unsanctioned, of course. Once again, if you have any doubts, post them, and remember, if you're driving from Hamilton, you're doing it for a good cause!
-Kataki

[wethepeople]

Although I would never be able to attend the tournament (I live in western Massachusetts), I think it's an overall great idea. Good luck with organizing the event, and I hope that all goes well.

[Kataki_Rulez]

Wow, no posts for a while. I followed your advice and PM'd the Moderators, and applied, but it seems not to be taking off. I still will do it, I just was wondering if anyone else here cared . I need to ask everyone else their opinion first, so please, post!
EDIT: Whoah, I AM a TO!!! Posts will soon follow, I just hope that the moderators don't close me down first! I am also wondering to all people here, if I were to announce a tournament with no fixed date, but just general info and change it later, would I get closed down? It's just that I need to launch this as soon as possible.

[Jacob Orlove]

Having your original post as one giant block of text probably didn't help. I would suggest reformatting it.

[Kataki_Rulez]

Hmm, a moderator replied! Excellent, and I bow to you for the advice .

OK: Here's what I have until I post on the TO thread:

CHARITY VINTAGE TOURNAMENT:

This tournament will be held in early to middle August. It will be open at 10, the tourney begins at 11:30, and will go to 8:30-10:00 at night based upon attendance.

This tournament's location will be announced shortly.
T
he prize structure will constitute prizes for the Top Eight (who will also have play off), and a prize for the 9th-placed contestant.

FORMAT: Type 1, with 15 proxies legal, and $1 for each proxy in addition to 15, no maximum. $20-$25 entry, depending on the popularity of the event. 4 rounds of Swiss followed up by Top Eight pairings and playoffs.

POINTS: You get 3 points for winning 3-0, you get 2 for winning 2-1, and 1 point for loosing. You get one tie-breaker each time you win 2-1 (you're less likely to Top
Eight anyways, so we'll give you a better chance).

Promotions: The first person to show up gets a pack of Leggende (Italian Legends)! If you pre-register, your name will be put in a raffle for another pack of Italian Legends.

Administration: This event is player run, aka, we are a forgiving bunch! No man thrown out for forgetting how Chains of Mephistopheles works! That said, a judge will be procured for rules disputes. I myself am quite young, but I will still manage.

Other: Lunch is for 1 hour after the end of round 1. If you want, please leave $5 or so at the front desk when you register and your preferred drink or pizza, and all of this money will go towards ordering a pizza for the people who participated in the pizza deal. Oh, and extra money ALL goes to charity! If you want to go out and get your own food, that's also cool, but I will NOT have hungry players getting pissed with one another.

Thanks all!!!

[LordHomerCat]

A small bit of advice:  Run the tournament with normal swiss scoring.  Don't set up some goofy point system where you win an extra point if you 2-0 instead of 2-1.  Just leave that to tiebreakers, like a regular swiss tourney, and give 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, none for a loss.  Unless of course you are trying to set up some system to discourage intentional draws, in which case I disagree with your scoring system on principle and you are free to do whatever you want and ignore my suggestion.

Also, location TBA, right?  Any idea, like, a state or even area (NE, Midwest, etc.) ?

[Kataki_Rulez]

A small bit of advice:  Run the tournament with normal swiss scoring.  Don't set up some goofy point system where you win an extra point if you 2-0 instead of 2-1.  Just leave that to tiebreakers, like a regular swiss tourney, and give 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, none for a loss.  Unless of course you are trying to set up some system to discourage intentional draws, in which case I disagree with your scoring system on principle and you are free to do whatever you want and ignore my suggestion.

Also, location TBA, right?  Any idea, like, a state or even area (NE, Midwest, etc.) ?

The scoring system is weird; I more or less invented it because, even though I've played in about 30 DCI tournaments, I still don't understand their system, and don't have a computer. I will have to do them by hand, maybe differently. Anyways, if you're interested (which would be nice) this is in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sounds like you're in the Midwest, but it's good that you're interested. Anyways, I'm buying a Beta Sinkhole for 3rd place today, so enjoy!

[orgcandman]

The scoring system is weird; I more or less invented it because, even though I've played in about 30 DCI tournaments, I still don't understand their system, and don't have a computer. I will have to do them by hand, maybe differently. Anyways, if you're interested (which would be nice) this is in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sounds like you're in the Midwest, but it's good that you're interested. Anyways, I'm buying a Beta Sinkhole for 3rd place today, so enjoy!

Not to sound like a jerk, but you should really get logistical things straightened out first.

The things that are top priority:
1) Location!
  Select a location which has ample amount of room, and is sure to keep the interruptions at a minimum. Something like a Knights of Columbus Hall (I don't know if KoC exists in Canada) would be good. Shop around, and make sure that you don't just go with the cheapest, but go with the best value (bang for the buck).

2) Prize support
  This is as important as #1, but logistically easier to assemble for a TO. You need to offer a prize that is attractive. You can't just say "You'll be playing for top8 prizes." You need to say "First place gets X, second gets Y, third gets Z" and so on. A lot of players would look at the announcement and move on.

3) Judging / Format / tournament organization
  You've decided on proxy vintage. Great! But you also need to get appropriate judging staff, and the DCI reporter software. This is definitely a big part of the attractiveness a tournament has. People are much more inclined to play swiss than some wacky point system. Even if your wacky point system is perfectly sound, how does it actually account for ties between 8th and 9th? You're going to calculate win percentages by hand? The DCI reporter software is familiar, and the points system is easy once you learn it.

4) Cost-Benefit analysis
   Since this is for charity, weigh the costs of how much you'll be able to donate through the tournament, vs. how much you'd be able to donate without doing a tournament. Tournaments are expensive, and newer TOs especially barely, if even, cover costs. It might be better to get in touch with a local, established TO and work out a deal where you provide prizes, and the TO helps with the other logistical stuff. Hell, you should probably get in touch with an experience TO anyway so that you can get a good understanding of what you'll need to do, which local judges you should contact, etc.

That's about all I can think of right now.

[Shock Wave]

Not to sound like a jerk, but you should really get logistical things straightened out first.

The things that are top priority:
1) Location!
  Select a location which has ample amount of room, and is sure to keep the interruptions at a minimum. Something like a Knights of Columbus Hall (I don't know if KoC exists in Canada) would be good. Shop around, and make sure that you don't just go with the cheapest, but go with the best value (bang for the buck).

2) Prize support
  This is as important as #1, but logistically easier to assemble for a TO. You need to offer a prize that is attractive. You can't just say "You'll be playing for top8 prizes." You need to say "First place gets X, second gets Y, third gets Z" and so on. A lot of players would look at the announcement and move on.

3) Judging / Format / tournament organization
  You've decided on proxy vintage. Great! But you also need to get appropriate judging staff, and the DCI reporter software. This is definitely a big part of the attractiveness a tournament has. People are much more inclined to play swiss than some wacky point system. Even if your wacky point system is perfectly sound, how does it actually account for ties between 8th and 9th? You're going to calculate win percentages by hand? The DCI reporter software is familiar, and the points system is easy once you learn it.

4) Cost-Benefit analysis
   Since this is for charity, weigh the costs of how much you'll be able to donate through the tournament, vs. how much you'd be able to donate without doing a tournament. Tournaments are expensive, and newer TOs especially barely, if even, cover costs. It might be better to get in touch with a local, established TO and work out a deal where you provide prizes, and the TO helps with the other logistical stuff. Hell, you should probably get in touch with an experience TO anyway so that you can get a good understanding of what you'll need to do, which local judges you should contact, etc.

That's about all I can think of right now.

Kataki, take the above post to heart. If you want this tournament to be a success, you're going to have to adhere to the proper standards. I would love to support this event, but if I get the inkling that the logistics are unclear, then it is probably a mess that I would rather avoid, as these sorts of situation tend to get messy rather quickly.

[Kataki_Rulez]

Yup, you're right. However, I am still in the works (remember, this is still being thought through. The event will be held in an air-conditioned place, most likely a Boys and Girls club gym, if you have them in the States). Second, prizes are being determined, but here's what I have right now:

1st: Bazaar of Baghdad
2nd: Mana Drain
3rd: Beta Sinkhole
4th: Tropical Island
5th: Fat Pack of Xth
6th: Force of Will
7th: Fat Pack of Tenth
8th: Wheel of Fortune and Sol Ring
9th (because I feel sorry for him): Spirit of the Night (bad condition, though. Yes, I know it LOOKS like a n00b fattie, however, that player will now be blessed with the ability to make 3-fattie Oath)

Second, where can I acquire the DCI software? I know it's probably one of these corporate secrets thingies, but, heck, I have very little to work with here, eh. I see what you said about location; once again it's TBA. I like what you have to say about getting space and software from other experienced TO's, so I'll say to all Toronto/Hamilton area players to look up Dueling Grounds, once again, I don't know if I can get space there, but that would be my first choice in this situation. There WILL be a (probably) Level 1 judge, or myself, acting upon my own behalf as a pseudo Level 0 (and, yes, I will print out the rules insert on banding, lol, and Chains of Mephistopheles, which is not so funny). Oh, and about cost, that is being decided; however, if people want to come, I'll do this, otherwise I will be the proud owner of a Beta Sinkhole.
-Kataki