Having one section, open.

[timjust]

@martinak

@Mulfish

And I’d love to see if our veteran TDs agree that with the handling of the A player who finished in the tie for 1st-3rd. He brought in the U-2200 prize into the mix rather than the U-2000 prize since it was a higher class, though the dollar amounts were equal.

That is all correct. The one thing that I do different when organizing is try to make all the prizes slightly different - say by $5. That makes it easier to explain to people and for them to understand - they just take the most money. And you don’t have people saying that they want the 1st place in their class rather than 2nd place.

Yep!

[jwiewel]

@Mulfish

In an open section prize distribution can be very complicated, especially in a larger one. When people from several rating classes finish with the same score determining who gets what prize is complex. Here is a TD explaining how to handle a particularly messy one. It’s worth listening to. And I’d love to see if our veteran TDs agree that with the handling of the A player who finished in the tie for 1st-3rd. He brought in the U-2200 prize into the mix rather than the U-2000 prize since it was a higher class, though the dollar amounts were equal.

My apologies that this didn’t come across as a link.

youtube.com/watch?v=D_LZ0Ch0aEU

Based on your description, the distribution was correct.
Saying it is a higher prize is a little clearer than saying it is a higher class. If it was an expert prize and a class-A prize (instead of two different under prizes) then the A player would have brought in the A prize (and if the expert prize was $5 greater than the A prize then the A prize would still have been what the A player brought into the mix).

[brennanprice]

@Mulfish

In an open section prize distribution can be very complicated, especially in a larger one. When people from several rating classes finish with the same score determining who gets what prize is complex. Here is a TD explaining how to handle a particularly messy one. It’s worth listening to. And I’d love to see if our veteran TDs agree that with the handling of the A player who finished in the tie for 1st-3rd. He brought in the U-2200 prize into the mix rather than the U-2000 prize since it was a higher class, though the dollar amounts were equal.

My apologies that this didn’t come across as a link.

youtube.com/watch?v=D_LZ0Ch0aEU

The distribution is correct. When a player could win multiple under X pizes of equal value, s/he wins the prize for the greater or greatest value of X. As others mentioned, small differences in the value of each prize can avoid this circumstance, as can use of class prizes instead of under prizes, but both of these have potential drawbacks as well. Pick what works best for you.

[wilecoyote]

@brennanprice

@Mulfish

In an open section prize distribution can be very complicated, especially in a larger one. When people from several rating classes finish with the same score determining who gets what prize is complex. Here is a TD explaining how to handle a particularly messy one. It’s worth listening to. And I’d love to see if our veteran TDs agree that with the handling of the A player who finished in the tie for 1st-3rd. He brought in the U-2200 prize into the mix rather than the U-2000 prize since it was a higher class, though the dollar amounts were equal.

My apologies that this didn’t come across as a link.

youtube.com/watch?v=D_LZ0Ch0aEU

The distribution is correct. When a player could win multiple under X pizes of equal value, s/he wins the prize for the greater or greatest value of X. As others mentioned, small differences in the value of each prize can avoid this circumstance, as can use of class prizes instead of under prizes, but both of these have potential drawbacks as well. Pick what works best for you.

While it may be obvious, the rationale for ranking an “under 2200” prize over an “under 2000” prize of an equal amount is that more players are eligible for the former. So, having the highest score among all players in the event rated under 2200 is a more significant accomplishment than having the highest score among all players in the event rated under 2000.

Note that this logic applies to “under” prizes, not to “class” prizes. Class prizes are for disjoint rating classes (e.g., “top expert” applies to players rated between 2000 and 2199, inclusive). One does very well to be careful with terminology, using “class” and “under” to describe rating-restricted prizes correctly.

Also, although it wasn’t asked, I’ll take the opportunity to remind readers that unrated players are not eligible for “under” prizes unless the prize explicitly states otherwise. Many players think that, because they are unrated, their rating is zero and they should therefore be eligible for all “under” prizes. That is not true; “unrated” means “has no rating number whatsoever,” so the player has no number to compare against the upper limit for the prize. If unrated players are eligible for an under prize, describe the prize as (for example) “under 1200/unrated” (or “under 1200/unr”, using a common abbreviation for “unrated”).

[Mulfish]

Thanks. I thought this exercise would by informative for our budding TD. It certainly illustrates some issues - and shows why multiple sections can be easier if you have enough players. And why quads, hexes and octagonals are good options.

[DENTONCHESS]

@Mulfish

Thanks. I thought this exercise would by informative for our budding TD. It certainly illustrates some issues - and shows why multiple sections can be easier if you have enough players. And why quads, hexes and octagonals are good options.

Mulfish, you are absolutely correct here. I love this thread, and
do wish to see more of it. Whatever we can do to make the
starting process easier we need to at least examine.

Rob Jones