What makes it an outstanding tournament?

[Seabrook]

We have all been to tournaments with a players pack and lunch. But what makes a tournament really stand out for you? Could I ask you also if you are a Pro or Am as we all as you probably have different expectations.

Is it side games? Is there a festival in the city you loved? Was the lunch over and above the usual? Was there an evening players party?

Thanks, S.

 

[Stardoggy]

I really like two day setups, with Open/Adv one day, and Int/Rec the other. Lunch included is always nice, as well.

Personally, I'm just there for the discing. I don't care all that much about the side games or raffles (even though I do participate). I could take them or leave them, especially on longer days.

 

[simpletwist]

I'm an Am. And what makes a tournament outstanding is when I win!

Honestly though I've never had a bad tournament experience. I suppose if hard pressed for something concrete, the tournament would be outstanding for this old man if the course is played as designed without artificial OB, etc. And the tournament would be no more than one round per day. Also starting on time is a plus for us older players particularly in the colder months.

Players packs are nice, lunch is nice, merch payouts are nice but regardless of the quality of of those things none of them are showstoppers for a tourney I choose to play.

 

[allinpflop]

For me it's all about the course and how well the tourney is run......I also prefer to play bigger events which are usually multiple day events with lots of things going on.....worlds bg ams ledgestone.....and these events usually have a great players packs and in most cases great payouts as well. I don't play many local one day events unless it's a course that I really really like.

 

[JC17393]

Three things make or break a tournament for me, and they all kinda tie together...

1) TD and course is prepared for the event...OB, mandos, drop zones are well marked, course guide/caddy notes available, scoreport utilized, etc.

2) Everything -rounds, lunch, awards, etc- run on or as close to on time as possible.

3) Pace of play on the course is reasonable (no monster back-ups, no avoidable delays or slow groups)

The rest is window dressing to me. As a pro, player packs and side games are irrelevant to my enjoyment of the day/weekend. They're nice, but they aren't needed for me to thoroughly enjoy the tournament.

Everything for me comes down to the TD and staff being organized and proactive. When they are, it shows. And when they aren't, it really shows.

 

[DavidSauls]

First and foremost, the course. A great course makes up for a lot, and there's not much you can do for a poor course.

Second, the field---much more fun with a full field, and at least 10 in my usually-small division.

Then, well-run, where rules are clear and things start on time. It's hard to make a tournament better by running it well--but easy to make it worse by screwing up.

Bonus points for tournaments with unusual formats that I enjoy, such as match play or team play. It's refreshing to vary from the regular every-weekend format.

For me, most of the rest doesn't matter---payouts, players packs, parties, sidegames, etc. It's not that I don't enjoy this stuff, but it doesn't make or break the tournament for me.

 

[roggenb3]

Efficient use of time is the most important thing.

Start on time.
Don't have excessively long lunch breaks (over an hour from last card in).
Wrap things up quickly and get people outta there.

Nobody that drives 2+ hours for a tournament, especially on a Sunday, wants to hang around afterwards for 3 or more hours just to get their $20 of funny money. Played a couple tourneys where first round started at ~8am and I didn't leave until after 8pm. That should never happen.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Lunch included is always nice, as well.

Agreed, but that said, but only if it's handled well.

I've played in events where lunch was included but not well planned... became more of a hassle than anything else. TD tried to pull off too much and spread himself too thin. Probably would've worked out well if they had sufficient help, but things went sideways. It all comes down to the TD's ability to plan and/or delegate. I guess you could say that for any aspect of an event, but I wouldn't suggest anyone plan on including lunch in the first event they host.

My advice to prospective TD's: start simple and get the basics right. A well intentioned plus can go be a negative if poorly executed. Add more as your ability and help allow you to do so without issues.

 

[JC17393]

Lunch is a perk, but if it is going to be offered and definitely if it will be included with entry in the tournament, do everyone a favor and advertise in advance what the menu will be. There are lots of various dietary issues that players may have that would render the provided lunch inedible or insufficient. While I would never demand that the lunch provided include an option friendly to my dietary needs, I do like to know if it won't suit me so I can plan accordingly (specifically, so I can bring lunch with me).

 

[DanJon]

I agree with pretty much everything mentioned so far.

Another important thing is for a TD to be neutral when making decisions/enforcing things.

 

[Major Tomahawk]

It's nice to have a sheet with all of the rules for all of the holes being played. Sometimes the tee signs don't have everything you need written on them. Lunch is cool, but I always bring my own food. Hot dogs and beans just don't get it. Kegs of premium crafted beer is a must. It makes it easier to beat players that get liquored up between rounds. Printed out lists of players' scores is fun to gawk at as well between rounds. Knowing what hole you are starting on each round before player meetings help a lot. You can still find your hole that you are beginning on even if you miss your name being called out since people are usually noisily rude during the player meetings.

If you have a raffle at the end of your tourney, I suggest that you begin the awards during the raffle. Do a division, then do some raffle, repeat. Don't raffle off the last item until all of the awards are complete. This way almost everyone will be there when the trophies and money are passed out and you can (if you place) recognize your sponsors and the people that ran or helped run the tourney. Give out the props!

 

[Pbmercil]

Three things make or break a tournament for me, and they all kinda tie together...

1) TD and course is prepared for the event...OB, mandos, drop zones are well marked, course guide/caddy notes available, scoreport utilized, etc.

2) Everything -rounds, lunch, awards, etc- run on or as close to on time as possible.

3) Pace of play on the course is reasonable (no monster back-ups, no avoidable delays or slow groups)

The rest is window dressing to me. As a pro, player packs and side games are irrelevant to my enjoyment of the day/weekend. They're nice, but they aren't needed for me to thoroughly enjoy the tournament.

Everything for me comes down to the TD and staff being organized and proactive. When they are, it shows. And when they aren't, it really shows.

Pretty much this. I'm an Am player, and what I look at the most is how smoothly everything runs.

I don't really care about entry fees, payouts, or players packs. If I have a fairly expensive entry fee, then I do care that I get a decent value for my $$$ but my expectations are fairly low.

 

[corin_brown]

Great question. I play Am.

First of all, a big thanks to all the TD's who run the tournaments I play in SoCal. On balance, the tournaments have all been awesome player experiences. As for preferences & observations:

1) don't want lunch, if it adds to the TD's costs. I appreciate the gesture but it's always a risk that the meal will suck. I can pack my own lunch and guarantee I'd like it and not providing lunch may reduce the cost for the TD.

2) dont need a player pack. I don't get the obsession with player packs, stamped discs, dri-fits, etc. It just adds to the cost of the tournament and I'm not sure any of the discs I've received are too special. And I certainly don't need any more minis. As for the polyester dri-fits, I'm not sure a more worthless garment exists in the world. Are we in Italy? I don't think we're in Italy. If you must provide a shirt, please make it a non-white cotton tee shirt?

3) if you have to do a raffle, do it after the awards. The raffle is always a mind-numbing time suck and is never run smoothly. I'm not blaming the TD's for this - they're not professional rafflers, but for some reason it's become standard to run them before the awards. I guess they want the winners to hang around for the raffle? The last thing I want to do after grinding for two days in a row is to sit around during an interminable raffle as the sun sets and the weekend traffic worsens, lengthening my 2 hour drive home geometrically with every passing minute I wait to depart. It's Sunday! I need to get home, see my family, eat a nice dinner, watch GoT/WD and get a good night's sleep before the week, I don't need to wait around for an hour at dusk waiting to see if I've won a random tournament disc from 6 years ago in a raffle.

4) Climo had it right when he suggested to 86 all the raindeer games. CTP, RoF, dis golf shuttle board, etc. Waste of time.

5) TD's could communicate better what time the second round started as the first round finished. I value highly the time between rounds, sometimes I leave the course to get lunch, so the clock is frequently ticking for me. But it always seems to be guesswork about round two start times. And the harried TD & associate TD's who are frantically tabulating the scores as the cards come in understandably hate answering the question. I always thought that hanging a visible white board at tournament central and posting relevant info, like times, would be a great solution. That would reduce the amount of questions the TD would have to answer while they are sorting out the incoming scores/cards. I also thought that TD's could create FB pages or Twitter accounts for their tournaments where they could post timely info, like start times.

Still love all the SoCal TD's.

 

[DavidSauls]

A fair amount of the answers here are not so much about what makes a great tournament, but what makes a bad tournament---or at least diminishes a good one. Things not-to-do, to run a great event.

It interests me to see the differences between localities. A few things have been mentioned that make me think, "They really do that at tournaments somewhere?"

 

[biscoe]

A fair amount of the answers here are not so much about what makes a great tournament, but what makes a bad tournament---or at least diminishes a good one. Things not-to-do, to run a great event.

It interests me to see the differences between localities. A few things have been mentioned that make me think, "They really do that at tournaments somewhere?"

Blows me away to think they still call out groups/holes anywhere.

 

[DavidSauls]

Blows me away to think they still call out groups/holes anywhere.

I've only been around 20 years, but I've never encountered that, anywhere.

 

[Ziggy]

As a Deaf discer, the most successful events are the ones where the TD does not talk outside of thanking their sponsors and yelling 2 minutes.

The less they say indicates how smooth the event is and how the players are able to through the motions effortlessly.

Of use is the program book or listing of all local rules/information. Preparation beforehand rules!!

If the TD has to yakety yak endlessly, there is a problem.

 

[KDFrosty]

Blows me away to think they still call out groups/holes anywhere.

I've only been around 20 years, but I've never encountered that, anywhere.

If youre referring to calling players names on cards and/or starting hole then they still do that here for EVERY tournament with a shotgun start. I've never seen it any other way, and am positive our players would be seriously confused otherwise. I think we're about 5-10 years behind the curve on disc golf though.

 

[thrembo]

Am

I like a good players pack. Makes me feel like I'm getting something, besides just donating my money. Same thing for ctp's, it gives me a chance to win something! Now I'm a firm believer in that whoever has the most fun wins though.

What makes for an outstanding tournament? An outstanding TD, outstanding people to throw with, and outstanding courses.

 

[Vonbeezy1]

I'm an open player.
In no particular order, here is what I look for in a tourney
1. Tier of the tourney, how many ppl r signed up, and how many played last year
2. Payout structure
3. What the course rating is and whether or not I like the course
4. If I think ppl will want to side bet or even playour more after
5. How much the tourney costs or if it's a fundraiser
6. If there r ppl signed up in open that I know I don't like based on mannerisms and if they are talkative or not