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for March 2003 |
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for March 2003 |
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Michael J. Smarrelli Coach, Team Tuaca The Holiday Party Prelude originally was scheduled as one women’s A tournament and one women’s BB/B tournament, but 13 A teams and seven BB/B teams submitted entries. To accommodate the demand, a second A tournament was added to the event allowing six more teams to play. A Half-Day tournament consists of two pools of three teams. Each team plays three games against the other two teams in its pool, and the pool winners advance to a championship match. Since pool play consists of only three matches, the teams are kept busy — it’s either play or work, never “off” — and the day moves quickly. In addition to leaving time on tournament day for other interests, players also may be attracted to Half-Day tournaments by the lower entrance fees. The Holiday Party Prelude BB/B tournament cost $75 per team because team officials were used for all matches. Paid non-playing officials were required for the A tournaments so the cost was $90 per team. Both fees are considerably lower than full-day tournaments that can cost $145 per team or more. For hosts, Half-Day tournaments offer similar timesaving advantages. With only six teams and three matches, the tournament is easier to run. There is just one playoff round to manage and staff, and the little things that make life complicated for Tournament Directors (e.g., a team that’s gone AWOL) are less likely to occur. By any measure (other than our team’s record), the December 14 tournaments were a success. Applications exceeded the available slots, and the comments from players after the tournament were overwhelmingly positive. The Half-Day format also has been used as a fallback. Earlier this season, two separate full-day tournaments, hosted by another club, did not receive applications from eight teams. Rather than cancel either event, the host converted both to the Half-Day format and ran two successful tournaments. So, yes, it is possible to play a USAV tournament and still have time and energy for other things. Try a Half-Day tournament as a participant or host — unless, of course, you need a full-day tournament as an alibi to avoid those other things! |
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