If you’re reading this web page, it’s probably because you’ve agreed to help run the club one night. Thank you!
This document describes the four jobs that need to be done on a weekly basis at the club. The registrar position is usually filled by Denis Farbstein; the pairings officer, emcee and director of record are usually John Chew. If you have offered to act as a substitute director, you should read the following and be ready to do all three of John's jobs.
Before you leave for the club, print out the following:
Look at:
and copy the twoonie prize winners’ names to the sign-in sheet.
Arrive no later than 6:55 P.M. Bring with you the deck of preprinted result slips that are updated each week, and are usually carried either by John or Denis. When you arrive, take several blank result slips for newcomers out of the wooden club box in the closet.
Make sure there are enough tables and chairs set out for 48 players.
Check supplies on the following items and tell Tony Leah if we are running low:
Tell any players who have arrived before you that registration is open, and make sure that they come check in.
To register a returning player, accept their entry fee as indicated on the sign-in sheet, check off their name, see if they are owed a twoonie prize (if so, pay it and check it off), find their slip and pass it to the pairings officer.
To register a new player, give them a blank result slip, ask them to print their name clearly on the front and their phone number and/or e-mail address on the back. If they have a tournament rating, fill it in as their provisional club rating. If they don't, record a rating of zero and refer them to any club member willing to introduce them to club members. Write their name at the bottom of the sign-in sheet and their amount paid.
The pairings officer may have a list of players who have called to say that they will be arriving too late to register (after 7:15) but early enough to play in the first round (by 7:30). Give him a slip for each player, and circle each player's checkbox.
Regular members pay $3, seniors and students pay $2, those outside of commuting distance are free. Brantford is within commuting distance, Kingston is not. Players playing fewer than three games in one night pay $1 per game.
If time permits, check to make sure that the number of slips passed, names checked and players present are equal. Don't forget to include the director and yourself.
Before you leave for the club, print the following documents:
You should plan on arriving no later than 7:00 P.M.
Sit down on the Registrar’s right. Take the score slips that he passes you, sort them by rating and divide them into groups of eight. If there are leftover players, make a group of more than eight players in the middle. If there are leftover players and an even number of groups, make the oversize group be the one the higher-rated of the two middle groups. (A good quick way to do this is to count out the bottom eight players, then the top eight players, then eight more from the bottom, then eight more from the top.) There cannot be more than two newcomers in any group; if there are more than two newcomers, start adding them to higher groups but warn them as to what is happening, and try to add the players who think they are stronger to the higher groups.
Within each group, the easiest good way to do the pairings is Swiss: 1-5, 2-6, 3-7, 4-8. A better way to do it if you have time is to refer to the pairings recommendations table and choose opponents from the first list beside each active player's name while avoiding opponents from the second.
At 7:15, take $8 from the entry fees for each group except the middle one (even if the middle one has exactly eight players) and hand it to one of the players who have volunteered to be group leaders: John, Sal, Lisa K, Mad, Libero, Lynda, Tony L, Joseph B and possibly others. Make sure that group leaders initial their player slips and/or keep a list of who their players are.
If the remaining group is odd, consult the Sit-Outs List and get ready to tell the player in the group whose name appears highest on the list to sit out the first round. Out-of-town players, newcomers and players who are not playing all three games in an evening do not sit out. Pair the remaining players and hand out their slips. Take $8 for prizes if there are 8 or 9 players, otherwise $16.
If a player arrives unannounced after 7:15 P.M. and the remaining group is odd, he plays the person who was supposed to sit out. If the group is even, he sits out. If the remaining group reaches 16 players, split it into two groups of 8 and hand one group off to a group leader with an $8 prize.
After the first round, check to see if any players have arrived to play in the second round, or left and will not be playing in the second round. Make sure latecomers pay the appropriate entry fee ($1/game) to the registrar.
If you need to adjust groups because of such mid-session roster changes, here are the criteria you need to consider in decreasing priority:
In the second round, for the middle group, pair winners against winners, in order of spread but ensuring that opponents are within 400 ratings points. If the number of winners is odd, pair the low winner with the highest available loser.
In the third round, for the middle group, pair double-winners against double-winners, in order of spread but ensuring that opponents are within 400 ratings points. If the number of WW players is odd, allow one WW-WL pairing. Give the $8 prize money with the score slips to any WW games.
Before you leave for the club, print the following documents:
Have a weekly challenge picked before you arrive at the club.
You should plan on arriving no later than 7:10 P.M. Post the standings on the wall.
At 7:20 P.M., make the announcements. Don't forget to draw for the weekly bingo letters.
You have two equally important jobs. One is to keep the club running on time, the other is to adjudicate any disputes that may arise. Arrive no later than 7:15 P.M., and bring a copy of the NSA Tournament Rules.
Round 1 starts at 7:30, Round 2 at 8:30, Round 3 at 9:30. If players have not arrived to play by 7:40 (or 8:40 or 9:40), start their clocks. (If a player phones to say that they will be arriving late and then never shows up at all, without calling again before pairings time to let you know, let John know. They will no longer be allowed to phone ahead to say they will be arriving late. The list of such people currently consists of: Charles H, Jacob Z, Vivienne M.) If there are games in progress at 8:35, warn people that their games will be ended at 8:40, and likewise for 9:35, 9:40, 10:35 and 10:40. At 10:30, ask people to help put away furniture. At 10:40, strongly encourage people to leave the room, which closes at 10:45. If there is a spoiler game, make sure any $8 prizes that go unclaimed as a result of a spoiler win go back into the evening’s proceeds, if you still have them, or hold them to give to Lisa next week if not.
When making adjudications, follow the NSA tournament rules but in the many ambiguous cases, err on the side of leniency because of the club environment, while stating what penalties might be enforced in a tournament. In general, try to act as a mediator rather than a jurist, making sure that both parties are satisfied with how the dispute is settled, and even asking them to suggest solutions when the subject is far beyond what is covered in the rules.
If there are newcomers present, it's a good idea to keep an eye on them and make sure they are enjoying and behaving themselves. In particular, if a newcomer is having severe time management problems, suggest that they make the best play they have found after two minutes.
If Lisa Kessler is present, make sure she gets the collected cash and sign-in sheet. If not, take it home to give to her next week. There are usually little coffee tins in the wooden club box for carrying the cash and sheets in.
At the end of the evening, make sure that a data entry person (Mark Edelson or Glenn Mosher) takes home the score slips. If no data entry person is available, take the slips home or give them to someone who lives downtown to give to John.