I’m interested to find out what organizers nowadays pay TDs per day for directing tournaments.
I searched and found a handful of old threads with minimal information. One post mentioned that TDs should be payed $1 a day per player. Another mentioned $170 a day from CCA for a very large tournament. Yet another mentioned that Senior TDs and up should make $250 a day.
If you have organized a tournament in the past few years and paid a TD or TDs (not yourself), how much did you pay the TD(s)? What was the duration, format and size of the tournament?
If the level of certification was a factor, and you paid different TDs a different amount because of their level, please state the levels and different amounts.
Did you reimburse players for travel and/or accommodations, or provide it? If so, what was the expense covered?
Also, it would be nice to get data on FIDE arbiters. How much have you paid FIDE arbiters for your tournaments?
I don’t think there is any “should” standard across the nation, but the $1-3 per player per day makes sense. Ultimately it’s whatever doesn’t break the budget and is considered normal for your area.
I’ve been paid between $10 for a very small tournament to $50 for being the lead floor TD at a 100+ scholastic. $20 for gas and lunch was more usual for a weekend tournament. Often a Chief TD credit for a category C tournament is pay enough for a Local bucking for Senior.
For what it’s worth, I’ve seen payouts between Local TDs differ down to directing style–e.g. the one who has more experience / Jedi-mind tricks to calm down tense situations was given more. That’s a delicate situation if the organizer knows all the TDs and expects the TDs to compare their pay. I don’t see any right / wrong / ineffective in those situations, it’s all a matter of what the organizer is willing to take on.
I haven’t had a tournament big enough to hire multiple TDs in a few years but I work for several other organizers. It varies by organizer. Other factors are how long the tournament lasts. A 4 round game/30 can finish in less than 5 hours. Less hours tends to mean less money.
Some scholastic organizers have a staff of teachers that they use to direct but aren’t certified except maybe the chief TD. These uncertified TDs are often paid less. The reason for receiving less may be that when lower sections are done, the assistant can go home while the chief must stay until every game is over. Chief TDs also may have extra work to do before and after the event which is not done by the assistants. (registrations, memberships, rating reports, etc.) If there is a difference in pay, it is more likely to be a result of responsibilities rather than TD level.
$200 is usually a minimum for a full day tournament for a certified TD in the New York metropolitan area. I can’t speak for the rest of the country.
CCA pays for travel, parking, and hotel for out of town events. CCA is unique in that most organizers run events in a small radius and CCA runs them coast to coast. Any director who is staying in a hotel should have that covered.
FIDE arbiters (IA, FA) are also TDs and I haven’t received anything extra because the tournament was also FIDE rated. The affiliate does pay an extra fee to the USCF which is then sent to FIDE.
At the Boylston Chess Club in Boston, the TD gets $30 or $40 for a four-round Saturday tournament. But so far, out here in Yonder Cornburg, I haven’t taken a TD fee for any tournament I’ve directed. At first, we weren’t certain that our meager club budget could support it; now, I suspect, it’s going to stay that way because that’s how we’ve done it so far. (Maybe I’ll be able to make a case for $1 per player when I get upgraded from club to local.)
There’s another club in this state – I won’t name it – which has apparently had a nasty internal spat because the founding TD took no fee for directing, but his successor did. At least one player was quite angry over this; he felt strongly that the TD was there to support the game and the players, that taking a fee for directing was an affront to them, and that the second TD either didn’t understand this or willfully disregarded it. I like and admire this player, but I disagree. Even club-level tournament directing takes a modicum of specialized knowledge, and especially in this wretched economy, a person who has put in the time and effort to acquire a skill that allows him to provide a service for which demand, however modest, does usually exceed supply deserves reasonable remuneration for it – “reasonable,” of course, depending on the size and complexity of the event, the resources of the sponsoring organization and local cost of living. That might be $170, or it might be $40, or it might be a beer. But the less universal a set of skills or knowledge is, the less reasonable it is to expect it to be done on a purely volunteer basis.
Then again, I might be stuck in an outdated mindset – my first career was as a copy editor, and people stopped paying for that years ago.
I usually ask such people why THEY don’t step in and do it for free.
That usually settles it, but in some cases I go on to remind them that means buying a rule book, reading and learning it thoroughly, passing a TD test, becoming proficient at pairings, in most cases buying and becoming proficient with pairings software, keeping up to date with rule changes, tolerating complaining parents and players, etc., all of which also means investing time to TD on a regular basis to keep up and improve skills, and foregoing opportunities to play in tournaments as often, etc.
I’m certainly not in it for the money, but as busy as life is, getting some amount of pay helps rationalize doing it.
When I run week night tournaments at the club I don’t take anything for myself. When I end out playing because there’s an odd number, I pay the entry fee to help increase the prize fund. These are not big money tournaments. $10 entry and all the money being returned in prizes.
Like Harold I work for several organizers for weekend events and the pay varies accordingly. For most of the tournaments I direct I’m doing the memberships and online submission. That is taken into account.
I do agree 100% with Nolan about choosing to work for free versus being expected to work for free.
It is a great question, and it definitely varies from case to case, and place to place. When someone wants to hire me to direct, my fee depends on a number of things:
What type of tournament is it? For a tournament that is a charity or fundraising event I have been known to TD for free on occasion. For a scholastic charging a $5 EF then I will try not to break the bank. However, here in Chicago $25 EF scholastics are more common, and profitable for the organizer, I am not going to work nearly as cheaply.
What will my role be as a TD there? If it is just to walk the floor, that is one thing. If I have to take entries, answer questions before and after the event, layout the playing area, and do some of the organizer functions, I will charge more. If I am the only TD for 150 players, that is significantly more exhausting than directing a 25 player event.
Who is the organizer? Newer organizers often require more hand holding. Bad organizers bring headaches of their own. Good organizers make the event a joy to work, and simplify things.
How far away is the event?
Good TDs are skilled pros. We have read, and own copies of the rulebook, have logged hundreds or thousands of hours honing our craft, have the ability to solve problems on the fly, and are key to making a tournament successful. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be paid fairly for those skills.
Good post by Glen. Some other points. The TD frequently provides an affiliate, computer software, computer hardware, printer supplies - especially some provide the very expensive ink cartridges - Score sheets, and small stuff like paper and pens.
Even if I work for free, sometimes I will sometimes ask for reimbursement for items like the following:
Events share of laser cartridge usage - $2-$4
Cost of score sheets - typically $3-$10
Pens $2
Share of affiliate $2
Absolute minimum - free coffee!!!
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Never heard of it? You gotta try a latte da
Ernie is absolutely right about the supplies. Earlier this year, I directed for a new organizer that expected that I brought the tournament boards and sets, and trophies as prizes.
I happened to ask her a few days before the event if she had enough boards and sets since registration had been larger than expected. She asked what I meant because she assumed the TD provides all the equipment. Same with the trophies!!!
There was at one time some suggested fees for TDs based on their certification level, but I’m not sure anyone paid much attention to them, as they were neither mandatory nor maximum fees.
It really depends on the event and the specific tasks assigned, which could include tasks both before the event starts and after it ends. (The chief TD is often the first one to arrive at the site and the last one to leave, often both.)
Back in the dark ages =1993; when I applied to take the Local exam, the TD Director Certification Standards/ January 1988 stated:
5. Compensation at National Tournaments: $20 per round, maximum $40 per day, subject to negotiation with the organizers.
I don’t find that wording in the latest revision dated 04-Jan-2010
It was probably a good idea this was removed. Not only does inflation change what amount is reasonable but it also depends on what part of the country one lives in. If you have any doubt, compare what size residence $1,000,000 buys you in Manhattan and a rural area. Currently the average residence in Manhattan is over $1,000,000 and most are not spacious.
My policy is that I expect to be paid to direct tournaments run by professional organizers like CCA but I direct other tournaments for free. If I stay at a hotel when I’m directing a tournament I expect the organizer to pay for the room, and I expect the organizer to reimburse me for direct expenses like the rating fee and USCF dues. It’s trickier with expenses like scoresheets, pens, printer ink and so forth. If I buy something specifically for a tournament I might ask to be reimbursed for it, but usually I have a supply of such things which I replenish as needed, so it’s hard to say how much I spent for any particular tournament.
Even though I direct non-profit tournaments for free (other than expenses) I don’t have a problem with other TDs charging a fee, except in organizations like MACA and NHCA where I’m an officer and therefore responsible for the organization’s finances. Why should MACA and NHCA pay TDs when there are TDs willing to work for free? If we had a shortage of TDs then we’d have to consider paying TD fees again (MACA has done this in the past).
Very often good tournament directors pay for themselves, not only in the job they
do to keep things flowing smoothly, thus repeat business, but also due to the fact
that quite a few of us have excellent data basis that we tap into to help ensure
the tournament’s success. Successful tournaments most often require extensive,
unpaid pre-tournament work and marketing. Finding those who are willing to give
this kind of support I assure you is far more difficult without reasonable financial
incentives.
