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Guidelines for a Successful Tournament

Nov. 20, 2003 – Special to the News

By Johnny Perry

Special to Softball News

The job of a tournament director may not always be as easy as it looks. Many months of planning, scheduling, and preparation go into each tournament. These individuals work because of their love for senior softball.

All tournament directors try to host a fair and competitive event for everyone involved. At times it may seem that one team plays at a better time or one team gets an easier draw. It is impossible to schedule every team at the times that are most convenient for their players, but your tournament director does everything in his/her power to meet the manager's needs.

There are several things that you as a player or manager can do to make a tournament more successful:

Appoint one person to represent you team. This person should be the only one to contact the tournament director with questions, etc. This representative should leave a phone number and address with the director for future contacts. He/she will be the only contact for your team.

Give your team representative a list of all questions. The tournament director wants to answer any questions you may have, but he/she does not have time to answer the same question several times from multiple players on the same team. The team representative will answer all players' questions.

Make sure the tournament director knows the name and age division of your team. In some cases multiple teams in different age groups have the same name. This can be very confusing unless you identify your team to the director.

Make the director aware of your team classification such as Major, AAA, AA, etc. (This is not your opinion of your team classification, but the rating given by the associations) If you report an incorrect classification it could result in improper scheduling. The tournament director cannot change your classification prior to tournament play. He/she can only give their opinion after watching your team play.

Give the director the name and local phone number where your team can be reached. This will probably be a hotel number if you are an out of town team. If there is any news regarding rescheduling etc., the tournament director will contact your team representative at this number and the team members will get the necessary information from their team representative.

Get your roster and entry fee in by the published deadline. Remember that you are not the only team that the director is dealing with, so don't ask special favors. If all entry fees and rosters are submitted by the tournament deadline, the brackets can be drawn and the game times can be announced well before the teams get to the tournament. When you are late with your paperwork, it inconveniences all teams.

The next time you are playing in a tournament try to make it a pleasurable experience for everyone involved by following these simple guidelines.

Johnny Perry is a SSWC National Qualifier Tournament Director.