Our Elimination Format:


   We will adopt an elimination format viewed by many Backgammon Clubs around the country as more appropriate for a club that meets on a week night.  (Want Details?  See: http://www.bkgm.com/articles/FormingABackgammonClub/ ) This format guarantees each player in the tournament two matches but not necessarily two losses.  Players who lose their first match in the main bracket will be filtered into a Consolation Bracket where they must lose a second match to be eliminated from the tournament.  Players who win their first match in the main bracket will continue in that bracket but will be eliminated  from the tournament after their first loss.
Match Lengths: Main Bracket 5 Points, Consolation Bracket 3 Points.  In the event that we have fewer than five players, we reserve the right to go to a double-elimination round robin format instead of the above.

   Those who may think it a bit unfair for first match winners to be eliminated from the tournament after only their first loss should consider one significant downside of the alternative elimination format.  While the alternative format guarantees most players a second loss in the consolation bracket as well before elimination, with this format a player who advances quickly in the main round before a loss may find himself/herself with a long wait (perhaps an hour or more) for a consolation match.  Such a wait could be a rather uncomfortable one for someone who has to get up early the next morning for work or class.  With the format we have adopted, this situation simply will not arise. 

   Nothing is set in stone.  We plan to go with our present elimination format through the end of calendar year 2007 during which time we hope to get some feedback from club members on whether to continue with it into 2008.

   We will also follow the uniform set of tournament rules adopted by most Backgammon Clubs around the country and which may be found at: http://www.chicagopoint.com/usrules.html

The tournament rules presuppose knowledge of the basic rules of Backgammon which can be found many places on the Internet including: http://www.hoosierbgclub.org/fund10c.html