I have a tournament scheduled for november with 4 sections, Elementary, Junior High, High and College. What if only 15 players shows up? Should I change my tournament to just one section? I would like to hear about what has been done in the past. Any ideas?
Well, if you only have fifteen players you could have one section. Than again, having a K - college section, it would not be fun for the players. Having four sections with fifteen players would be an average of 3 3/4. If you do have three or four players per-section, why not try a quad. If that does not work, you could have a round robin.
The important point is this, breaking it down from four sections into small sections. You want the players to be around the same age group, but also be around the same level with understanding chess. Whatever you do, you are going to have some problems with the parents and the players. Some could withdraw before the start of the tournament or after the first round.
Whatever you do, you are going to find very unhappy campers. The parents are not going to like it the most, the players that understand what is going on will feel sorry for you but still upset. Having a very low turn out is always a problem, having a pathetic turn out never makes anyone happy.
If you were on the H.M.S. Titanic, and worry from the start the ship was going to sink, you would not have a good time before the iceberg.
How many players were you planning to have in each section? How many rounds is each section scheduled for, and at what time control?
How were/are you promoting your event?
It is certainly possible to have upset parents and players as our friend from Grand Rapids has shared. (GR is my hometown–I love that place!)
In my experience though, I have never had an upset parent or player due to turnout. It sounds as though you are beginning something new—an opportunity where there hasn’t been too many in the recent past. That is the situation I found myself in a few years ago. In general, parents and players are just thankful for the opportunity. In our advertisements we mention that posted sections are dependent on sufficient turnout.
If turnout is evenly spread throughout the four sections I would simplify to K-6 and 7-12. If you anticipate mostly novices and you are heavy in elementary turnout you could stay with one section. Parents love to see young Janey defeat that big ol’ 10th grader.
One benefit of “starting out” and “small” is that you may know your participants very well. Use common sense and communicate.
Overall, communicate with the parents regarding your “re-shaping” of the event and all should be fine. As a parent of five I tend to want to “think the best” of my fellow parents.
It is my hope that you will be appreciated for your efforts. You should be.
Parents, most are nice and happy to have their child being in a tournament. The majority of the parents will not become upset, but will ask some questions. The questions can be about the most basic questions about the event. The parents, just like the scholastic players are new to the tournaments, asking questions of the most basic formatting about the event.
Than, you can get a father that makes an oral statement to kill the director and the other father and his child. Than, you can have an upset grandmother that pulls her grandson out of the tournament because she did not know it was not a scholastic tournament. Only to have her daughter come over to apologize for her mothers’ actions.
Having a K-College would not make anyone happy. The college players would not be happy to play someone only six years old, the parents would not be happy their six year old is paired with someone in college. When they came to the tournament to be in an age and grade level tournament for their child. You could be forced into it, if you have two players at the age of six and eight, the rest at sixteen and older. It would not be just to have the six and eight year old be in a match against each other. It would not be just to have the six and eight year old, being paired with players sixteen years old and older. If the numbers are two low, you might have to cancel the section.
If you are still in the GR area, you should come to the club – we are in Wyoming.