Tweet
Re: Show me the money
I welcome the subject of entry fees and refunds.
I don't think that anybody's judgment should be overly influenced by the meaning of the word "Invitation". In both French and English, labels applied as section names often do not make sense. You often have "Open" sections which might be better named "Premier" (or Premiere or Première) when lower-rated entries are excluded or discouraged. Of course, an ordinary player cannot enter the French Open (of tennis) or the US Open (of golf). The organizers would LOL to anybody who tried.
More recently we've had the Elite Championship of Québec, an event which included at least one player whose rating began with 18. There may be a couple of provinces where you'd need to include "A" class players in an Elite championship to make the event a tournament rather than a match, but Québec isn't one of them.
It doesn't end there. "A" class sections often allow "B" class players to compete. "Under-1400" prizes often allow unrated players to be eligible. What do "Closed" and "Reserve" mean? And even when you get a meaningful name, it often goes out of style. There used to be a "BC Woodpushers" tournament (which I won once and only once), limited to players rated under 1800. That disappeared about 40 years ago. Somebody said that the term woodpusher was insulting to lower-rated players and that they'd stay away--yet it was one of the more popular events in the calendar. In another thread, we've seen that players rated 1400-1800, who once made up the bulk of the tournament and rated club play scene, are now under-represented in CFC rated play. Where have the woodpushers gone? What is in a name? A wood rose would smell as sweet !
Another question that is rarely addressed is: what happens to an entry fee (to an open tournament), often submitted long in advance, when the player discovers that he cannot play, days before the tournament starts, and properly notifies the organizer? In my experience, some organizers refund the fee, and some do not. It would be reasonable to extract a handling or warehousing fee before refunding the entry, but I've never encountered that. Few organizers state their policy in the tournament prospectus. Yet you'd think that those who offer full refunds would so state because it would encourage early entries.
I welcome the subject of entry fees and refunds.
I don't think that anybody's judgment should be overly influenced by the meaning of the word "Invitation". In both French and English, labels applied as section names often do not make sense. You often have "Open" sections which might be better named "Premier" (or Premiere or Première) when lower-rated entries are excluded or discouraged. Of course, an ordinary player cannot enter the French Open (of tennis) or the US Open (of golf). The organizers would LOL to anybody who tried.
More recently we've had the Elite Championship of Québec, an event which included at least one player whose rating began with 18. There may be a couple of provinces where you'd need to include "A" class players in an Elite championship to make the event a tournament rather than a match, but Québec isn't one of them.
It doesn't end there. "A" class sections often allow "B" class players to compete. "Under-1400" prizes often allow unrated players to be eligible. What do "Closed" and "Reserve" mean? And even when you get a meaningful name, it often goes out of style. There used to be a "BC Woodpushers" tournament (which I won once and only once), limited to players rated under 1800. That disappeared about 40 years ago. Somebody said that the term woodpusher was insulting to lower-rated players and that they'd stay away--yet it was one of the more popular events in the calendar. In another thread, we've seen that players rated 1400-1800, who once made up the bulk of the tournament and rated club play scene, are now under-represented in CFC rated play. Where have the woodpushers gone? What is in a name? A wood rose would smell as sweet !
Another question that is rarely addressed is: what happens to an entry fee (to an open tournament), often submitted long in advance, when the player discovers that he cannot play, days before the tournament starts, and properly notifies the organizer? In my experience, some organizers refund the fee, and some do not. It would be reasonable to extract a handling or warehousing fee before refunding the entry, but I've never encountered that. Few organizers state their policy in the tournament prospectus. Yet you'd think that those who offer full refunds would so state because it would encourage early entries.
Comment