PLANNING
THE TOURNAMENT
These are the three major variables
to consider in planning a tournament:
1. Number of Dartboards
2. Number of Players
3. Number of Hours
Time, dartboards and number of players are the determining factors
you must keep in mind when selecting the tournament format, tournament
event, match format and, to a lesser degree, the game you play.
The number of dartboards and the number of players will dictate
the length of time an event will be over. This computation becomes
critical in the scheduling of events and determining the number
of events.
For example, if the anticipated participants are 70 players with
12 dartboards and the event is draw doubles, best of three 501,
single elimination, the computation is as follows:
Number of pairs – 35
Time per match – 30 to 40 minutes
Number of dartboards – 12
Number of rounds – 6
* Example shown in Figure 1
40 minutes 1st Round – 12 matches (3 matches to reach Top
32 and 9 matches of Top 32)
40 minutes 2nd Round – 7 matches to finish Top 32
30 minutes 3rd round – 8 matches of Top 16
30 minutes 4th Round – 4 matches of Top 8
30 minutes 5th Round – 2 matches of Top 4
30 minutes 6th Round – Championship
200 minutes
3 hours and 15 minutes
The value of this computation is to project a time reference for
scheduling of events. Too many events in one day can be disastrous
especially if the tournament reaches the early morning hours. This
computation serves as a basis to determine the most efficient number
of dartboards with the projected number of participants.
As a general rule, you should plan an event to be over within three
or four hours. That means you can start an event at eight o’clock
and the winners can be on their way home by eleven or twelve o’clock.
Double elimination tournaments seem to be more popular all the time
and some Tournament Directors are modifying the double elimination
tournaments so that they move a little faster in the losers’
bracket. One of the ways to speed up play is to reduce the number
of legs. For example, play two of three legs in the winners’
bracket and one leg in the losers’ bracket.
Whichever match format you select, make sure that it is one that
will run quickly without a long wait between matches, will be over
in three or four hours and will be one that the players enjoy.
Starting dart activities on time will surely guarantee finishing
your events on schedule. |
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