Search of TDs?

Running Chess Tournaments
1

Hi,

Is there functionality planned, perhaps in the TD/Affiliate section, to search for TDs by location (city, state, zip)? I know there is a list of above Club somewhere, but that’s not too useful.

What I’m thinking about is a contact list that an affiliate or TD could use for organziation of events, for example, if they thought they needed extra help or a substitute for a particular round.

Here in RI we are only a handful of TDs known to each other by word-of-mouth, going to tournaments, etc. It would be great to know others who are certified and willing to help out. Perhaps there could be an option to not publish details, if a TD does not want to get arbitrary requests.

Thanks,

Luis

2

For a number of years been thinking of that same problem. The USCF is only willing to post the directors state, not the city or the zip code. Even if they posted the city or zip code, it would narrow the field from the whole state to a region of the state.

For a organizer or player looking for a director, there are other modes to find one. The organizer would not have a problem to make contact with the official state assocation. Even look at the tournament calander (state assocation and the TLA), finding what director is active and make some contact.

Having a direct list, were directors can post information of location and what type of events they are willing to direct. Then having that information as public information. Do not even seeing that happen with the USCF.

There are only a small number of directors in any given state. In some areas of the nation, there are large regions were there is only one. It does go by word of mouth, myself have a very clear understanding were the active directors are in my state. Were the inactive directors are, some I know and some I do not know.

If a organizer and very much in need to find a director. Have from time to time gotten a letter, with the mailing list sold by the USCF. If you want to find me, just order the mailing list.

3

I think that most of the active TDs in any area can probably be found by checking through a few recent issues of Chess Life. I don’t imagine that there are many people who are all that active, and willing to direct someone else’s tournament, that don’t feature in TLAs. I think that it is very possible that most directors who don’t advertise aren’t really interested in running tournaments.

As Mr. Forsythe suggests, the State Chapter Affiliate probably knows how to contact any interested TD. I can’t imagine anyone seriously interested in directing tournaments not being either a member of their State Chapter Affiliate or taking out TLAs.

Alex Relyea

4

Even with active directors, its’ a question on how many events the director wish to have in any given year. Since a local director needs 4 tournaments in 4 years, for the testing requirement for re-certification is waived. Any director having one tournament in a given year would be looked on as being active.

The state associations would be any directors most important organization, for the tournament calendar in the published issued, and the published tournament calendar in the website if the state association has one.

With the question on TLAs, at this time have very little wish to have any TLAs published in Chess Life. Even at my new site, having one player come from Texas for the first. The second having one from Illinois and one from Ohio. It was a little shocking, but understand its’ not the norm. Im not looking to find players come from a different state to my events. Its’ just a little over 70 highway miles from Grand Rapids to the Michigan - Indiana border. If someone came from Ohio, would have to use the back roads to get onto the interstate highway system. As I - 80 and I - 94 both run west and east. If they want to use the interstate highway system, would have to cross the Michigan - Ohio border in the Toledo area. From Grand Rapids to Toledo is a 3 hour highway drive. The TLAs are a nice way for a organizer to find a director. But not all active directors would ever dream of spending the time and money on one.

If someone wants to find a active director in the area. The state associations are the best place. In fact a number of the members of the state associations are the most active directors in the state. Emailing a board member of the state association, it would be fair to say you found the director of your next event.

Its’ not so hard finding a director, its harder finding a director in your local area.

5

I don’t quite agree. In Southern California, for example, there are perhaps half a dozen people who run tournaments that are listed in CL. There are twenty or thirty chess clubs that run rated tournaments, 95% of which do not have TLAs. If you are looking for somone to direct a 100+ player tournament, that’s one thing, but you don’t need an NTD for a small local event. Find a club or local TD with ambitions. We need more of them.

6

Luis:

What I did was use the tournament rated and check the state of Rhode Island going back to January 2002. There were only 5 people that performed as chief tournament director. One director is now placed as a “TD expired” and one as “not a certified TD.” With the directors having tournaments in Rhode Island since January 2002, only shows one Senior TD, one Local TD and one Club TD. The majority of the tournaments are in Providence, with the last tournament outside of Providence being the tournament in Natick in December 2002. With the last tournaments being in the cities of Malden in November 2002, North Providence in July 2002 and Warwick in January 2002.

Did not check the records from December 2001 or earlier, as a director having tournaments before then should be as a non-active director. Only see Rhode Island having 3 certified tournament directors. With one having his standing as a 'TD expired", it could be in error or the director forgotten to have his certification renewaled.

Just looking at the data of the MSA and the tournament rated (02.25.05). Was able to find the active directors in you’re state, and what cities had tournaments going back to January 2002. As the active directors have used the same affiliate (T5014425), would say the directors know each. As the affiliate is the state chapter (T5014425), would start emailing the elected members of that state association. If you want to organize a tournament in Rhode Island.

7

Thanks!!! That’s a great idea…

I know all of the ones you are talking about. I was hoping to find new ones. The RI state association does not really exist. All it does is organize a couple of monthly tourneys, one adult, one scholastic, but does not keep track of anything else.

8

The best way to find more TDs is to grow them!

In Nebraska, the state association once offered to buy a copy of the rulebook for anyone who would sign up to become a TD and agree to work in at least three tournaments. We also offered a free entry into the next state association sponsored event if they would work as a TD one of our events.

It worked fairly well, several of the TDs we recruited that way are still directing, though a couple of them have moved out of Nebraska.

9

  1. If the USCF wants to set up some system for linking to TDs, it had better be an “opt-in” system. The USCF should not publish telephone numbers (or even e-mails) for anyone without express permission.

  2. I think there is some misunderstanding in other parts of the country about New England geography. Malden and Natick are suburbs of Boston. The states are so small, and the player pools so closely integrated, that dividing things up by state usually makes little sense. That’s why Region I was the only one of the old regions that really worked. Last time I looked, the president of RICA lived somewhere on the Cape. If you want to organize something in RI, the place to start would probably the the MACA web page (masschess.org).

10

The data came from the USCF tournaments rated search. From time to time, the location of the tournament is the directors home city then the tournament location city. If Malden and Natick are in Massachusetts, then the data field of the city location of the tournament is in error. During my life been in 38 states and DC, but have not been in the New England states. If I did do some traveling in New England, would have a better understanding of the smaller cities in the state. As New Windsor New York is much closer to the New England states then Michigan, my better excuse is being 800 miles west of New Windsor.

11

In Nebraska, the state association once offered to buy a copy of the rulebook for anyone who would sign up to become a TD and agree to work in at least three tournaments. We also offered a free entry into the next state association sponsored event if they would work as a TD one of our events.

It worked fairly well, several of the TDs we recruited that way are still directing, though a couple of them have moved out of Nebraska.
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Growing the directors pool will grow the USCF membership base. If there is an active director, would give a reason for current members to renewal their membership, and new members joining the federation. As the bulk of tournaments are category D, most directors are not willing to travel a long distance to perform duties in a category D event. As category D events are designed to be local, the director is also the organizer or the organizer and director are only a few miles from each other. If the director is the organizer, the director wants to organize the event less then 30 miles from home.

When a director starts to teach a new director, the apple does not fall far away from the tree. There are cities of any given state with a large number of tournaments, and other cities in the state that never had a tournament in years. When checking the tournament rated search for Nebraska, limited to 25 events (on 02.25.05). Only Columbus, Central City, Hampton, Lincoln and Omaha were the only cities on a list of 25. Tournaments happen in cities, making the cities the location of the active directors.

When I lived in Ann Arbor Michigan, during the last year there, had 3 senior directors and 3 local directors (Washtenaw County), and a number of club directors all over the place. Then look at other parts of the state, only know of two active club director north of Grand Rapids, and that is up to the bridge. The director in Muskegon is going to have 4 events this year, not sure with the director in Mesick, and north of the bridge will have one. For tournaments in Michigan, north of Grand Rapids, Lansing and Flint, would say no more then 10 tournaments. For the tournaments south of Grand Rapids, Lansing and Flint, it will be over 100.

If you have tournaments all the time, you will have directors bumping into each other all the time. If a club director starts out in a location were there has not been any, could be the only director in 100 miles. Building new directors is not a problem, the problem is the location.

If the USCF is going to grow directors, is there a way to grow them like a seed in the wind then a apple falling from a tree.

12

Precisely my thoughts on enabling TD networking.

“Activity Means Members”

:slight_smile:

13

Here in Oklahoma the state association used to run tournaments not only in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, but also in the smaller cities of Bartlesville and Stillwater. Now the guys who used to run the state association are still doing that, and next month are going to Enid. Shawnee in April.

It’s really a matter of trying to invigorate membership. I talked to a player at one event last fall who wondered why there weren’t any events in his area. I suggested that he form an affiliate and get his certification so that he can do tournaments there himself. Look at what has happened in Lindsborg, KS. Most of the tournaments there (all?) are done by out of town directors. It can happen.

Alex Relyea

14

The ones Douglas was referring to are 5 tourneys that do seem to be misclassified as far as state goes:

021103525
021117034
021117035
021208312
021208313

The TD is a RI TD, as he correctly guessed. :slight_smile:

15

The USCF does not check the city/state/zip code information on rating reports, though it does require those fields be present.

My favorite such error is one of the Chicago Opens, which MSA says was held in NY.

16

Looking only at the TLAs to find directors will not find all of the directors. As an NTD I’ve directed a number of tournaments that exceeded 200 and even 400 players without any TLA. Even if they had had a TLA, I was not the organizer and would not have been listed. Assistant TDs that are quite capable of being chief TDs have not been listed even in those events that listed me in the TLA and, if memory serves me correctly, I was already a senior TD before my first such listing.

You can still use the TLAs and state association as a starting point. You may then need to ask the people you’ve found that way (which may even include successful organizers who cannot play the game but know how to hold an event) who they know that may be available as a director.

I may have overlooked it, but I didn’t notice anybody suggesting that you look at the area affiliates listed on the state and national web sites and find out if they know of directors.