BOWLLIARDS Tournament
(1-day) Saturday, June 17.
Slate Street, Rio Rancho, NM.

Tournament Overview (details follow).

This tournament is offered as a fun diversion using a game that mimics bowling.   The self-seeding format being used should allow it to run in a, more or less, predictable amount of time (about 75 to 90 minutes per round, with at most 5 rounds).

Doors will open at 9:00am.   Players must be registered and should have their entry fee paid by 10:00am to be in tournament.

Around 9:30 we will briefly go over the rules of BOWLLIARDS, scoring each players turn, time-management, and managing the flow between players (shooter, ball returner, and score-keeper).   With a bit of time for questions I'm hoping to get matches started by 10:15.   With 15-minute breaks between rounds I'm figuring the last round should be finished sometime between 8:30pm and 9:00pm.

This 1-day BOWLLIARDS tournament will use a self-seeding format.

The competition is pure offense as the shooter always starts with a fresh rack (there is never a need to respond to an opponent's leave – keeping up with their score is a separate issue).

A minimum of 16 players (4 foursomes) is needed for the self-seeding aspect of the tournament to work decently.

Here are two examples of the SELF-SEEDING FORMAT used for  Cut Throat tournaments.   The first is from 1990 (first shot at it): Spring 1990 Cut Throat Tournament.   The second is from 2015: Spring 2015 Cut Throat Tournament.

Contents:

1. Reminders.
2. Entry fee and Donations.
3. Payouts.
4. Signing Up.
5. Divisions ('A' and 'B').
6. Time Management.
7. TOURNAMENT RESULTS.

Some reminders are in order before the tournament begins (some may need to be repeated as it's going along too).

• The tournament will use the following rule sets (please take the time to read them).
  • Tournament Rules and Regulations.
  • The General Rules of Pocket Billiards.
  • The rules for BOWLLIARDS.

• Here are some things to be aware of that might get missed in reading the above rule sets.

• As there will be no less than three players per match the following will help keep things moving at a good pace.   While one player is shooting, another will be (at the table, out of the shooter's way) ready to: rack, spot balls as needed, and return the cue ball to the shooter when needed.   A third player will be keeping score.

  With three people playing the following works as a smooth rotation. The person keeping score would be the next shooter, the person who was managing the table would become the score keeper, and the person who was shooting would manage the table.

  When there are more than three players the person who was shooting gets to rest some while the another player manages the table.

• A clip-board should be kept by the Tournament Director(s).   It's useful to write down any decisions or rulings made by an official in case the same situation comes up again.

  That will help with giving consistent rulings.   It can also help with future tournaments.

The entry fee is $50.   The player entry fee needs to be paid before matches start in order to be in the tournament.

Donations will be accepted to cover prizes like most games of 300, and to increase the prize money for placing in either division (if there's more than one).

When playing foursomes:

• 32 to 40 players will result in two divisions ('A' & 'B') with the following payouts.

  'A' — First: 30%,  Second: 18%,  Third: 12%.
  
  'B' — First: 20%,  Second: 12%,  Third: 8%.

• 16 players will result in one division with the following payouts.

  First: 50%,  Second: 30%,  Third: 20%.

When playing threesomes:

• 18 to 24 players will result in two divisions ('A' & 'B') with the following payouts.

  'A' — First: 36%,  Second: 24%.
  
  'B' — First: 24%,  Second: 16%.

• 9 to 12 players will result in one division with the following payouts.

  First: 60%,  Second: 40%.

  We were able to run 3 threesomes for 9 players.   The payouts listed above (for 18 to 24 players) were used.   So we paid the top two places in both 'A' and 'B'.

• There will also be a prize for most games of 300.   (People with 300 games that did not win this prize can't use their 300 score for the next prize.)

  This prize will be $200 plus whatever is added through donations.   Specified donations for this can push it higher.

• There is also a prize for highest game other than 300. Ties will be broken by players' second highest game.

  This prize reached $170 with the help of donations.

There will be a sign-up sheet at Slate Street.   If you decide to enter please get your entry on that sheet as soon as you can since the tournament is limited to 40 players.   Sign-ups beyond 40 are okay but will be listed as alternates in case a preceding entrant doesn't make it to the tournament.

Remember to provide a means of contact (phone number, and/or email) next to your name when you sign-up.

You don't need to choose a division to play in as the flow of the tournament will sort that out as it goes along.   The first two rounds will seed players for the remaining rounds (2 or 3 depending on number of players).   When there are more than 32 players at the end of the second round the field will be cut to 32.   The cut will be determined by where you placed, group-wise (i.e. round points, in the first two rounds (see the self-seeding format description for an idea of how things may shake-out).   If there are ties on round points then players' total Bowlliard scores from the first two rounds will break the tie (after that it's a coin flip).

The number of divisions will depend on the number of people playing.   The following are some examples.

When playing foursomes (32) or fivesomes (up to 40):

• 32 to 40 players will result in two divisions ('A' & 'B') each with First through Fourth places.   This would take five rounds.   (The second round cut leaves 32 players.)
• 16 players will result in one division for First through Fourth places.   This would take four rounds.

When playing threesomes (18) or foursomes (up to 24):

• 18 to 24 players will result in two divisions ('A' & 'B') each with First through Third places.   This would take five rounds.   (The second round cut leaves 18 players.)
• 12 players will result in one division for First through Third places.   This would take four rounds.

• To help the tournament run smoothly please be ready to play at least 15-minutes before the next round is scheduled to start.   If no time is shown (somewhat likely to happen for all but the first round) the players should be in ear-shout for when the round start is called.

  Note that the posted times are subject to change as the tournament progresses.   Be sure to periodically check for updates.

• The number of frames played per match is adjusted to help keep the rounds to no more that 1.5 hours.   If things look like they may exceed 1.5 hours the TD will announce X-minutes left in the round.   At that point a match should stop when all players have an equal number of frames in.

• Allowances may be made for player to take a quick break (for a pressing problem) during a match by skipping to the next shooter (or two).   This should be avoided as it can mess with the flow of the match.