SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT CHAIRPERSON RESPONSIBILITIES
ATTN: Tournament Chairperson(s) at the conclusion of the tournament- Please make any corrections to this, and add your notes at the end of the sections.
2 YEARS AHEAD
Unit Tournament Coordinator [UTC] (currently Cathy Wolford) will apply for sanction via email to ACBL and District
Tournament Coordinator.
1 YEAR AHEAD
Unit Tournament Coordinator will arrange for site.
Tournament Chairpersons [TC] will prepare schedule [events for sectional]. Approval must be obtained from the UTC and the Board of Directors for any substantial change in the standard format. Schedule MUST be submitted to ACBL six months prior to sectional. Once schedule is approved, UTC will email the schedule to the ACBL.
BEFORE TOURNAMENT FLYER IS DISTRIBUTED, IT MUST BE APPROVED BY THE ACBL.
Flyer can by prepared by the UTC or the TC. Please secure the mailing list if you choose to do the mailings or you may have the Unit Secretary mail out the flyers. Flyers must include the following data:
Sanction Number
Dates
Location
Entry Fee
Program Schedule
Partnership Chair [name, email, phone]
Tournament Chairs [contact information]
Hospitality being offered
Director in Charge
THREE MONTHS AHEAD
Confirm with site that we are expected. Find out what our responsibilities are re set-up and clean-up.
Check to be sure someone is available [even if only by phone] during tournament in case of emergency.
Confirm with Caddy, Partnership and Prize and Hospitality Chairs that they are available for the tournament. If they are not, you will need to work with them to find replacements. RECONFIRM 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO TOURNAMENT.
ONE MONTH AHEAD
Send out mass email mailing. Contact Bill Hogsett for details.
THREE WEEKS AHEAD
Confirm with the person in charge of facility arrangements for set up of tables and hospitality.
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SETTING UP TABLES AND CHAIRS: The K of C Hall has allowed us, in the past, to set up the tables and bring in hospitality supplies and food on Thursday afternoon. Currently the tables are stored in the outside pod at the K of C Hall. Enlist 4 people to set up tables and chairs, as well as help bring in food and supplies. Long tables and extra card tables need to be set up at the front of the room (Hospitality Chair knows what is needed). Steve Vrooman likes to be one of the people there, to make sure all tables and chairs are set up correctly. Bob Bartko is frequently there to help, and tape the bags to the tables. If 2/bags table are not taped on Thursday, make sure he comes early on Friday to complete this task. Kathy Sulgrove, the current hospitality chair, is there.
SUPPLIES: TC are responsible for the delivery to the tournament site of at least 9 board cases, table cards [inside board cases], and bidding boxes at least 2 hours before game time. These are frequently brought on Thursday. Check to see if any new cards are needed and that complete sets of table cards are enclosed in cases. New cards should be available from Supply Chair. ALL SUPPLIES [board cases containing boards 1-36, complete sets of table cards] must be returned from the location they were retrieved from. TC should check each case at end of tournament.
Supply Chair is responsible for all paper supplies being at tournament at least an hour before gametime including convention cards, pick-up slips, and team game fillers.
HOSPITALITY Chairs are responsible for making arrangements and providing food, beverage inc coffee and soft drinks during games Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Meals are currently being served between sessions Saturday and Sunday. The Hospitality Chairperson is currently hiring assistance for all day Saturday and Sunday, as well as friday evenings. The cost is generally around $450. Help Chair Friday afternoon.
FREE ENTRIES are provided by the Treasurer and to be distributed by the TC to the following:
Tournament Chairs: free entries for the entire tournament for each of the two TCs
Hospitality Chairs: a total of up to eighteen free entries will be given to them.
Caddy Chair: free entries for the entire tournament
Partnership Chair: 2 free entries.
Table Chair: one [two] free entries
WEEK BEFORE-
Make arrangements a week before with Wally to gain access to hall, to set up tables and chairs on Thursday. Plan on having Steve, plus 4 more people, if yourself is included. Usually 3-4pm is the time. Let the Hospitality Chairperson know, so they can be there to bring food and supplies. Sometimes HC needs help bringing in supplies and setting up.
DURING THE TOURNAMENT
Pass out the Free Entries at the start of the tournament. These are prepared by tournament coordinator.
Make sure that arrangements have been made for the Hospitality Chairperson to gain access to the Hall earlier, before the sessions. Check with HC, to see what time they wish to arrive each day. Arrive at site at least one hour before game time unless you have supplies or are helping HC. Arrive two hours ahead with supplies. Ask the Hospitality Chairperson if they require your assistance earlier.
Ask the Hospitality Chairperson if there is anything which requires a trip to the store. Sometimes additional items need to be purchased. See if you can help during the meals.
Remind the Head director of the entry fees and to announce the cell phone penalty each session.
Make an announcement, if needed, asking players to place their trash into the waste baskets.
Assemble an appeals committee if necessary. Ask appeals chairperson for help if you are not familiar with this process.
Unit Treasurer will settle all bills on Sunday.
Send all expenses you have incurred to treasurer as soon as possible.
You are responsible to make decisions during the tournament so be prepared. Try
to solve all problems-violations of smoking policy, cell phone policy and zero tolerance policy. If directors are not enforcing these, you must speak with them.
Be sure location is at least in the same condition as it was found before the caddies and TC leave at the end of the tournament. Stay until everyone has left, and the Hall person has arrived. Recommendation: Assign person(s) ahead of time to handle trash duty throughout tournament.
REMIND ALL BOARD MEMBERS THAT THEY ARE GOOD WILL AMBASSADORS AND SHOULD MAKE THEMSELVES AVAILABLE TO LEND A HAND. This may include refilling coffee, water, picking up debris on floors, and serving food and assisting in clean-up on Saturday and/or Sunday.
PLEASE ENJOY YOUR EXPERIENCE BUT REMEMBER TO BE DIPLOMATIC BUT DECISIVE!
2013-Jeff Snodgrass, 216-870-7242, who has historically been there to assist us, has asked that we make all arrangements in the future with Wally Goralczyk of Wal-Tam's 216-429-1956.
Recommendations for the future-
Discuss arrangements for cleaning during tournament with Wally. Specifically the bathrooms and running the sweeper near the hospitality table. Otherwise, you will be doing this.
Locate the key to the handicapped bathrooms ahead of time. If they are not unlocked as the user leaves, they lock from the outside, and this happens frequently. It helps somewhat to put a sign on the inside of the doors asking people to inlock them.
Make sure there is soap and paper towels in all of the bathrooms.
We are currently in the process of providing Bridgemates for all matchpoint events, as well as using a duplicating machine to pre-duplicate hands. The exact procedures are not yet in place, however. The Unit, as of 12/1/13 has purchased 25 Bridgemates, and should now have a duplicating machine. You will need to arrange for an additional 25 Bridgemates. We rented, for the Nov. 2013 Sectional, 25 Bridgemates @ .50/table/session (we paid for only the ones actually used), as well as one duplicating machine @ $10/session, from the Canton Unit. Kathy Sulgrove picked them up from John Tscholl, and Steve Vrooman returned them. Remind Steve and Bob Bartko to use the Bridgemates which our Unit owns, whenever possible, rather then the rental ones. Steve Vrooman pre-duplicated the boards for Nov., and charged $10/case. It took him approx. 1 hr/case. Since we are using the bridgemates, the need for a caddy during the sessions is now questionable. We still require the caddy before sessions, however, as well as at the end. Kathy Sulgrove suggested, and Steve and Bob Bartko agreed, that maybe we can use Bob during the sessions Friday afternoon, Friday evening, and Saturday morning to use the dealing machine and pre-make the boards. Check with Steve about this, as a seperate computer is necessary.
Rev. 12/2013 Sharon Robertson/Kathy Sulgrove
Recommendations for the future-
Wally was not there at all over the weekend. Bob Bartko was hired at a cost of
$20/session to clean the restrooms after each session.
I ran the vacuum after a couple of sessions, towards the fron tof the room.
Bob Bartko used the dealing machine during the sessions to make the boards for the next sessions. Harvey brought the dealing machine. Harvey and Steve assisted getting him set up. Bob was then available to clean up and did caddy duties after each sessions. Steve pre-duplicated the boards for the first session on Friday.
Make sure to have people there Sunday night to put away tables. Otherwise, everyone will leave and you will be putting them away yourself.
Bill Hogsett assembled a group to set up tables on Thursday.
We tried an earlier starting time on Friday evening, to increase attendance. It did not help, and we will try a Swiss team next time.
Rev. 4/2014 Kathy Sulgrove