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How To Run A Tournament Often the least expensive and most efficient means of getting games is via tournament play, in which your team plays several games throughout the course of a weekend. Unfortunately, there are two disadvantages with tournaments that are difficult to overcome. One deals with preparing for a specific opponent, since you obviously do not have any practice time between games. The second deals with fan support, since it is difficult to schedule your own games at specific times within a tournament format. As you progress in the tournament, often there is no way you can predict when you will play. Realizing these disadvantages, tournament play can still be very exciting. The steps involved in tournament organization are as follows:
Format The format of the tournament will be based on pool hours available and personal preference. Although there are a multitude of variations, there are two basic formats. Bracket play seeds teams within brackets. Teams then play round robin to determine a ranking, with the better teams advancing to some form of championship round and the losers to a consolation round. Elimination play generally ranks teams in order of ability, with the best playing the worst team, the second best playing the second worst, and so on. Teams advance to the finals if they continue to win, with the losers playing for consolation positions. Each format has advantages and disadvantages. The bracket play does not require perfect seeding in order to be fair, since a team could still lose a game and advance to the finals. The elimination method on the other hand, is an extremely efficient method of determining a champion with the least amount of pool time, but seeding is crucial. Examples of each format are provided at the end of this section.Budget Once you have determined how many total games the tournament include and the number of teams that will be involved, you can accurately determine awards and officiating costs. Entry fees are generally not expected to completely pay for all of the costs. The host is expected to defray some of the costs, since they are not traveling and subsequently not burdened with hotel and transportation fees. Usually entry fees are based on the amount of referee fees.Host teams can work to defray their costs by selling food and tournament items such as shirts or bags. They can also solicit advertisers for donations. Let common sense be your guide by not making unrealistic claims to local businesses. If you state that they will be receiving large amounts of exposure from fans, you are probably being unrealistic and may be damaging future contacts in your community. It is better to be honest in the beginning, asking for donations, rather than guaranteeing a great deal of advertising opportunities.Invitations Team invitations should include all of the necessary information a coach requires. The information should answer the following questions:
Officials Once you decide on a date for your tournament, you may either contact the officials yourself, or call the Collegiate Water Polo Association Director of Officials. There is a surcharge if you use the CWPA office for arranging your officials (see the section on arranging non-conference games).Awards Awards can be as extensive as you desire, from trophies for the top three places plus individual awards, to nothing at all. It depends upon what you want and what you can afford. Most invitational tournaments at least provide some form of award to the top finisher. If you are establishing an annual event, you may want to select something that will remain constant over the years, such as a large bowl or banner. Some tournaments give out individual awards in lieu of a team award, while others give out both. There is certainly no limit and is up to your own personal preference.Equipment Other equipment that is necessary to have at a tournament includes timing equipment for the game time and shot time, horns and whistles for the ending of these time periods, cones to mark the pool at appropriate designations, flags for the officials desk, ice and plastic bags to treat injuries, scorebook, pencils, extra game schedules or programs with players names and numbers, several new game balls, and an extra set of caps (optional). Although all of these items are not crucial, many are. Make sure you read the rulebook for the final say on desk equipment and pool markers.Desk Officials Traditionally, this job has fallen to the host team. Basically, you need at least three individuals to run a competent desk; one person to score, one person to time the shot possession, and one person to time the game and work the scoreboard. This person should also cover the ejection time if you do not have a fourth individual. Naturally if you can afford it, it is easier on your team to pay individuals to work the table during the tournament. However, since a reasonable fee might be $6/game, you have effectively increased your costs between $6 and $18/game, dependent upon the number of people employed.No matter where you find your desk officials, it is always a good idea to schedule the desk officials for a few games or scrimmages before the tournament, in order to get them comfortable with their tasks. This may mean discussing all of the jobs with your team during a practice. It may seem like a waste of valuable practice time, but will pay off in dividends during the tournament. Failure to ensure your table's competence will almost guarantee problems during the games. A copy of the desk officials' training manual is available on this web site.Lastly, make sure your officials receive a copy of their game assignments before the tournament begins, so that if they have any conflicts, you can work them out beforehand. Furthermore, be sure to post a schedule at the desk. When scheduling desk officials, realize that you cannot please everyone who will be assisting at the table.Complete the Game Schedule Write out all of the games which will take place and then write out a blank schedule, listing only the times the games are to occur, such as 8 am, 9:20 am, etc.. NCAA games require about an hour and a quarter. As you begin to complete the schedule, check off the game being scheduled, satisfying any individual requirements first. An individual requirement is one that limits when a team can play. For example, determine which teams have the greatest distance to travel and try not to schedule them to play the first game of the tournament. Decide if there is a game that has a lot of spectator interest and locate the best time for it to be played. Once you have the individual requirements taken care of, you can complete the remaining portion of the schedule. As you schedule, give teams at least two hours off between games to ensure adequate rest periods whenever possible. Likewise, teams should not play more than three games in a day. When the schedule is finished, write out each team's individual schedule to determine if it is fair. If not, see what can be done to change it and make the changes whenever possible. Also, double check that all the games are scheduled. Send the schedules out with as much advance notice as possible. Not only is it more professional, but it also provides a safety margin in the event that a change must be made. Running the Tournament The most important thing about conducting a tournament is to create safeguards to handle the unexpected. For example, plan on someone to fill in for desk officials that fail to show up for their assignments. Be aware that during most tournaments, someone will get hurt and require some form of emergency treatment. Expect that if you do not require the money up front, a team may not pay you on time. Realize that not everyone is honest and ensure that you have a few back-up game balls in the event that some are "misplaced". Understanding that every tournament has problems and creating ways to handle them before they arise is the key to running an enjoyable event.Results Teams require results in order to produce their own press releases and to analyze their own performance. You should try to get them copied as the tournament progresses. If that is not possible, results should be mailed the day following the tournament. Remember the adage, "old news is no news".Final Note If you are planning on running your first tournament, make it small. Try not to be too ambitious your first time through the process and you will save yourself a lot of misery. Invite a few teams for a small round robin event on a Saturday. You can alwaysexpand later. The main thing is to keep it within reason and everyone involved will benefit.Tournament Examples Bracket
Format
*A variation of this format has the last two teams playing twice for fifth, in order to guarantee each team four games. Elimination FormatListed below is a sample single elimination tournament with eight teams, playing out to all places.
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